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JBG SMITH Properties is a publicly traded real estate investment trust based in Bethesda, Maryland.[1]

As of December 31, 2022, the company owned 51 operating properties, 2 additional properties under construction, and had 20 properties in its development pipeline. All of the company's properties are in the Washington metropolitan area, mostly in National Landing, almost all of which are accessible by the Washington Metro.[1]

History

In late 1956, three attorneys — Gerald J. Miller, Donald A. Brown, and Joseph Bernard Gildenhorn — formed a real estate law practice in Rockville, Maryland called Miller, Brown & Gildenhorn. In 1962, after realizing that it was more profitable to develop on their own account, the company changed to a real estate development company and Benjamin A. Jacobs joined the firm.[2][3]

In 1969, Miller was replaced with Jacobs and the company changed its name to JBG Associates.

In the late 1980s, the company was among the first real estate development firms in the D.C. area to redevelop properties for third-party clients for a set fee. This strategy helped the company survive the early 1990s recession.[4]

The company aggressively acquired several properties after the early 1990s recession. With 26 buildings in its portfolio in the early 1990s, the company considered an initial public offering, although it did not happen.[2]

By 1997, the company had an ownership interest in 21 commercial properties, including many office buildings, two hotels and one shopping center. It sold most of its assets to Trizec Properties in 1997 for $560 million.[4][5] The deal did not include 10 apartment projects owned by JBG.[4][6] The sale helped raise capital for the firm. But with a smaller portfolio, the company also shed most of its staff, and only 15 people remained with the firm and Brown and Gildenhorn retired from daily management.[2]

In 1999, the company decided on a new investment strategy, seeking individual, and later institutional, investors that gave the firm access to funds it could use at its discretion. The first investment fund closed in 2002, and its first institutional investor was the financial endowment of Yale University.[2] By fall 2012, JBG had established 8 investment funds and raised $5.5 billion; several of the funds were specifically created just for investment by Yale.

In 2005, JBG recapitalized several office buildings by selling a stake in the buildings to Morgan Stanley for $644 million.[7][8]

In August 2007, the company formed a joint venture with MacFarlane Partners to develop several properties.[9]

By 2011, the company had $10 billion in assets. That year, Jacobs retired as managing member.[2]

In 2013, the company was named as the most active real estate developer in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.[10][11]

The company opened a real estate investment fund called JBG/Fund IX on March 17, 2014, and by September 2014, the company had raised $680 million.[12][13]

In July 2017, the company merged with Charles E. Smith Companies, a subsidiary of Vornado Realty Trust that owned its assets in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The company changed its name to JBG Smith and was spun off into a public company.[14]

In November 2018, the company sold land with 4.1 million developable square feet to Amazon and announced lease transactions with Amazon at National Landing as part of the Amazon HQ2 initiative.[15][16]

References

  1. ^ a b c "JBG SMITH Properties 2022 Form 10-K Annual Report". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
  2. ^ a b c d e O'Connell, Jonathan (January 10, 2011). "As Jacobs steps aside, JBG aggressively repositions itself again". The Washington Post.
  3. ^ Arcieri, Katie (November 29, 2018). "How three men and a drive to make money turned into JBG". American City Business Journals.
  4. ^ a b c Fruehling, Douglas (September 29, 1997). "JBG selling portfolio to TrizecHahn". American City Business Journals.
  5. ^ Greenberg, Larry M. (September 29, 1997). "TrizecHahn Agrees to Buy JBG, Increasing Washington Assets". The Wall Street Journal.
  6. ^ Sernovitz, Daniel J. (March 16, 2012). "The secret to JBG's success". American City Business Journals.
  7. ^ Clabaugh, Jeff (October 3, 2005). "Morgan Stanley pays $644M for Washington properties". American City Business Journals.
  8. ^ "Morgan Stanley buys into D.C. real estate". United Press International. October 3, 2005.
  9. ^ Natarajan, Prabha (August 20, 2007). "JBG and MacFarlane to team up in Washington area projects". American City Business Journals.
  10. ^ Neibauer, Michael (November 13, 2013). "It's not just you: JBG is everywhere". American City Business Journals.
  11. ^ "DC Development Report" (PDF). Washington DC Economic Partnership.
  12. ^ Sernovitz, Daniel J. (April 30, 2014). "JBG's next multimillion-dollar cash raise". American City Business Journals.
  13. ^ Sernovitz, Daniel J. (September 9, 2014). "How D.C.'s sputtering real estate market helped JBG raise $680 million". American City Business Journals.
  14. ^ "JBG SMITH Properties Announces Completion of Its Spin-Off From Vornado Realty Trust and Its Combination With The JBG Companies" (Press release). PR Newswire. July 18, 2017.
  15. ^ "JBG SMITH Announces Amazon Has Selected Its Assets at National Landing for Headquarters Location" (Press release). PR Newswire. November 13, 2018.
  16. ^ Fernandez, Marisa (November 13, 2018). "Amazon's East Coast takeover". Axios.

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