Can crowdfunded property turn rundown neighbourhoods around?

A space along West Jefferson Boulevard in Los Angeles redeveloped through a crowdfunded campaign by Fundrise. — Handout photo by Fundrise via Thomson Reuters Foundation

WASHINGTON: When residents of a quiet neighbourhood in Washington D.C. heard their century-old corner store would be shut down and sold, they reeled in disbelief for a few days – then went all out to save it.

“It’s always been here,” said Christine Campbell, 57, a third-generation resident whose home is just down the street from Mott’s Market.