On Wednesday, May 29, the 2019 National Building Museum Gala honored all of the work and progress made this past year by JBG SMITH and the Federal City Council in establishing the Washington Housing Initiative (WHI) to preserve affordable workforce housing in the DC region.
There are two components to the WHI. The first is the Impact Pool with a capped investor return that will be used to acquire properties. The second is the Washington Housing Conservancy (WHC), housed at the FC2, which will own the properties and manage rent subsidies to keep neighborhood services nearby like affordable childcare.
A lot has been accomplished this year. The WHC refined its real estate model, establishing the criteria for selecting geographic locations for property acquisitions. It reached more than 40 percent of its initial five-year fundraising goal of $30 million, by securing $13.5 million in philanthropic, land and program-related investments from a diverse pool of corporations, foundations and individuals.
A special thank you is due to the below FC2 Trustees who are serving on the WHC Board:
Joshua Bernstein (Bernstein Management Corporation)
Charlene Drew Jarvis (Jarvis Commercial Real Estate)
Carry Hatch (MDB Communications)
Mark Katz (Arent Fox)
David Roodberg (Horning Brothers)
Carol Thompson Cole (Venture Philanthropy Partners)
Thank you to FC2 Trustees Matt Kelly and A.J. Jackson (both of JBG SMITH) for leading the WHI and managing its Impact Pool.
Also thank you to Rob Stewart (JBG SMITH) and to Richard Newman (Arent Fox), as the WHC’s general counsel, for their insights and creativity that led to the development of the Washington Housing Initiative’s innovative model.
