Ayanna Oliver-Taylor has launched two affordable housing companies before turning 38.
She is the founder and principal of Henge Development, a New York City-based firm that has closed several complex acquisition-rehabilitation projects and is growing a pipeline of new-construction deals. It is one of only a few Black woman-owned development firms executing large-scale transactions in the nation.
After establishing Henge in 2021, she began focusing full time on the firm last year. So far, the company and its affiliates have been a co-developer and co-owner on four projects involving approximately 5,500 units with the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), and several more large deals are on track to close this year.
“I was drawn to the idea of doing housing in a way that brings people along and brings people who represent the community fabric along so they are not left behind,” says Oliver-Taylor. “It’s important to me that the development Henge does centers around the residents to ensure they have a long-term role in their communities.”
She was a teenager when her mother won a lottery for an affordable housing co-op in the city, an event that provided the family with stability. “There are a few equalizers in life,” she says. “Housing and education are two of them.”
Prior to Henge, Oliver-Taylor was a managing director at L+M Development Partners, a prominent affordable and mixed-use developer. She maintains a strategic partnership with the company, with L+M and Henge collaborating on NYCHA redevelopment projects.
Her work with Henge also informed her affiliated venture, Urban Shift Relocation Services, which provides strategic end-to-end tenant relocation management for occupied construction projects. “Relocation work is critical,” she says. “I think the lived experience sometimes gets lost in the work we do. Urban Shift is focused on creating a dignified experience for residents through the construction process.”
Looking ahead, Oliver-Taylor plans to grow both her companies, building a model for equitable development that prioritizes resident voices, thoughtful design, and long-term community benefit. She also serves on the boards of the Noel Pointer Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to providing music education to youth in underserved communities, and City Limits, a New York City nonprofit investigative journalism organization that reports on urban issues.