- Three under 40 visionaries are making their marks in DC's renaissance.
- Joe Reger of JCR Companies, John Wilkinson of The Boundary Group and Jill Homan of Javelin 19 are leaders in the area.
- The three have weathered the economic downturn, and are now breathing life through projects featuring urban infill and refreshing neighborhoods.
The DC area is home to a 40 and under crowd that has a vision for restoring the vitality of Washington’s urban spaces and buildings. Many in this group have impressive academic credentials, as well as significant experience in the real estate field.
The Mayflower Hotel will play host to this group on Dec. 17 at Bisnow’s New Generation of Real Estate Leaders.
Keynotes will include Joe Reger, a Montana native who has amassed a 18-property portfolio as managing principal of JCR Companies. Anyone who frequents DC hotspots knows Reger’s holdings. He develops the full gamut of properties, shopping centers and office spaces, high-street retail and apartments. JCR holdings are located in the 14th St Corridor, Georgetown, Old Town Alexandria, Dupont Circle and Logan Circle.
Reger left Montana for college in Texas and never looked back. When his wife landed an internship with the Smithsonian, the couple landed in DC to stay. He started JCR Companies in 2009, after having worked at companies that include Marcus & Millichap and Next Realty, where he learned how to purchase value-add retail in big cities across the country.
The Mayflower is the largest luxury hotel in Washington D.C. Erika Cross / Shutterstock.com
Urban infill is an emerging and important development approach in older cities, and The Boundary Company founder John Wilkinson is establishing a name for himself in that specialty. Even though his organization is a mere two years old, he says the company name speaks to their successful real estate development philosophy – there are no boundaries.
Wilkinson has made his biggest splash by partnering with his former firm The JBG Cos. on a mixed-use development on 3.1 acres in Eckington. That project sets out to construct four connected residential buildings with 691 suites, about 50,000 square feet of retail space and 292 underground parking spots. A special feature of the development will be a woonerf, which is an alley in between the buildings that can be used by cars, bikes and pedestrians.
Jill Homan, principal/chief strategy officer at Javelin 19, is half of a two-person firm that is skilled in core-plus and value-add multifamily, and office properties in the $5 to $50 million range in DC.
A small firm leads to a jack-of-all-trades sensibility, and Homan has done it all in the five years she’s been at Javelin 19. Homan has worked sourcing, underwriting, structuring and closing deals. In October, Javelin 19 was part of notable deal for the rebirth of DC neighborhoods, as 1101 Pennsylvania Ave SE was acquired. The site will one day be home to a mixed-use building of 50 condos over a refreshed neighborhood hardware store.
