RAUL RODRIGUEZ
MANAGING MEMBER, CREI HOLDINGS, SWEETWATER
CREI is known for its Li’l Abner Apartments, featuring senior and workforce housing. The latest installment, currently under construction, is set to be completed in early 2026 and will offer 316 more affordable and workforce apartments in Sweetwater, a suburb of Miami. To make that happen, CREI had to empty out its Li’l Abner Mobile Home Park to make room — a process that drew protests, media coverage and a class-action lawsuit. Most of the mobile home park residents took a buyout, but some had to be evicted. CREI was founded in 1982, and Rodriguez became managing member in 2020. He established the nonprofit Li’l Abner Foundation to provide free after-school activities such as tutoring, dance classes, archery and taekwondo, as well as scholarships.
