JBG SMITH (NYSE: JBGS), a leading owner and developer of high-quality, mixed-use properties in the Washington, DC market, today announced that the Washington Housing Initiative’s Impact Pool surpassed $104 million in investor commitments and closed on a $15.1 million mezzanine loan for the Alexandria Housing Development Corporation’s (AHDC) purchase of a residential community in Alexandria.
The Impact Pool provided a $15.1 million loan to the non-profit AHDC, supporting the acquisition of Avana – to be renamed the Parkstone Apartments – a recently renovated 326-unit, high rise residential community at 3001 Park Center Drive in Alexandria, Virginia for $106 million. JBG SMITH will also serve as the property manager for the Parkstone Apartments.
Currently, most of the units at Parkstone are naturally occurring workforce housing with rents affordable to middle-income renters. Because there are no affordability protections in place, the property was marketed to potential purchasers as an opportunity to increase rents. Thanks in part to the Impact Pool loan, AHDC will commit to keep the property affordable for middle-income renters through long term covenants, in addition to making investments to ensure it remains high-quality housing.
“The Impact Pool’s financing allows Parkstone to remain affordable to Alexandria’s workforce, rather than it being converted to expensive luxury housing,” said AJ Jackson, Executive Vice President of Social Impact Investments at JBG SMITH. “The Washington Housing Initiative is focused on creating housing opportunities for the missing middle – those who earn too much to qualify for traditional rental assistance but still struggle to pay for quality housing – and we look forward to having an even larger impact going forward.”
Leading local developers and some of the country’s largest banking institutions have committed more than $104 million to the Impact Pool, including a $10.2 million commitment from JBG SMITH. TD Bank, M&T Bank, Hingham Institution for Savings, and CityBridge Foundation are among the new investors in the Impact Pool, the financing component of the Washington Housing Initiative.
The Impact Pool is designed to leverage JBG SMITH’s experience and expertise by investing in the preservation or development of affordable workforce housing in high impact areas that are particularly vulnerable to rapidly rising housing costs. In addition to its inaugural investment, the Impact Pool is currently evaluating a pipeline of acquisitions that could preserve nearly 6,000 units of affordable workforce housing across the DC region.
“In just over a year, the Impact Pool has raised more than $104 million in private capital to preserve affordable workforce housing in the Washington, DC region,” said Matt Kelly, Chief Executive Officer of JBG SMITH. “We are already far outpacing our own high expectations and we are proud to demonstrate what can happen when private, public, and nonprofit organizations work together for the betterment of our community and the long term, sustainable growth of our economy.”
The Impact Pool is part of the Washington Housing Initiative, launched by JBG SMITH and the Federal City Council in 2018. The Washington Housing Initiative is a transformational market-driven approach to preserve and create affordable workforce housing in rapidly changing communities throughout the Washington, DC region. For more information on the Washington Housing Initiative and the Impact Pool please visit, www.
About JBG SMITH
JBG SMITH is an S&P 400 company that owns, operates, invests in, and develops a dynamic portfolio of high-quality mixed-use properties in and around Washington, DC. Through an intense focus on placemaking, JBG SMITH cultivates vibrant, amenity-rich, walkable neighborhoods throughout the Capital region, including National Landing where it now serves as the exclusive developer for Amazon’s new headquarters. JBG SMITH’s portfolio currently comprises 20.6 million square feetof high-quality office, multifamily and retail assets, 98% at our share of which are Metro-served. It also maintains a robust future pipeline encompassing 18.7 million square feet of mixed-use development opportunities. For more information on JBG SMITH please visit www.jbgsmith.com.
