Created in 1969 by the laws of Bendel State Edict No. 3 OF 1969 and amended by Edict No. 11 of 1979, BendelDevelopment and Property Authority (BDPA) (as it was then known), had powers ranging from planning and development to the acquisition and sales of landed properties. This enabled it to grow and thrive. The Authority had estates in major cities of the old Bendel State but did not have staff localised to the areas for effective property management of its asset base. This would have affected response and turnaround times for complaints and collection of revenues from the assets not located in Benin City where it operated from.

EDPA managed revenue generating assets on behalf of the State Government, notable among them are Edo House, Victoria Island, Warehouses at Isolo and staff residence at Yaba all in Lagos State. Edo House, Abuja and the Edo Library Complex in Benin City. The intention is to maximise the revenues from these commercial assets to ensure that they contribute to the State’s Internally Generated Revenues (IGR).  Over the years following changes in government and policies, EDPA was moved from one ministry to another. This affected its operations as it could only operate dependent on the capacity of the ministry overseeing it at any point in time. Regardless of this, EDPA was able to deliver notable developments amongst which is its iconic headquarters – EDPA building. It is a five-floor commercial development sitting on 1.2hectares of land between 2^nd and 3^rd Junctions by Ekiosa on the popular Sokponba Road, Benin City. It is worthy to note further that EDPA Building was built from the internal resources of EDPA as EDPA had a brick factory and leased out scaffolding which contributed to its revenue streams.