Washington Housing Initiative receives $10 million from BB&T to preserve affordable workforce housing
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., May 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT) today announced a $10 million social impact investment to the Impact Pool of the Washington Housing Initiative. The Bank's equity investment will be used to help address the scarcity of housing for middle-income individuals and families in the Washington D.C. metro region.
The Washington Housing Initiative is a transformational, market-driven model that brings together capital from private and philanthropic sources to prevent displacement and preserve affordable workforce housing for people with income too high to qualify for housing subsidies, but who do not earn enough to afford Washington's soaring, market-rate home prices. The program expects to preserve or build between 2,000 and 3,000 units of affordable housing in the Washington region over the next decade.
"Access to decent, affordable housing provides critical stability for families and significantly contributes to the long-term health and growth of any community," said BB&T Greater Washington D.C. Regional President Jodie Hughes. "As part of our mission, to help make the communities where we work better places to live, we're very happy to make this commitment to the Washington Housing Initiative and support affordable housing efforts for hard-working individuals and families throughout our region."
The Impact Pool for the Washington Housing Initiative is managed by JBG SMITH and focuses on "High-Impact Locations," rapidly growing areas that are still affordable today but are expected to become less so over the next 5-10 years. Capital from the Impact Pool will bridge the gap between traditional mortgage financing and charitable contributions with mezzanine investments that provide sufficient investor returns coupled with long-term affordability and neighborhood services.
"We are very grateful for our inaugural investors, like BB&T, who share our mission to provide innovative, resident-focused, affordable housing for working Washingtonians," said JBG SMITH Executive Vice President of Social Impact Investing, AJ Jackson. "In a city like Washington, access to affordable housing becomes just as important to economic growth as education and job skills. BB&T's commitment to our Impact Pool will go a long way toward helping us address this critical need for our community and local economy."
During the past three years, BB&T has invested approximately $165 million in the Washington D.C. area for affordable housing initiatives. These projects include Woodmont Crossing, Keswick, Maycroft Apartments and Meadow Green Court.
About BB&T
BB&T is one of the largest financial services holding companies in the U.S. with $227.7 billion in assets and market capitalization of approximately $35.6 billion, as of March 31, 2018. Building on a long tradition of excellence in community banking, BB&T offers a wide range of financial services including retail and commercial banking, investments, insurance, wealth management, asset management, mortgage, corporate banking, capital markets and specialized lending. Based in Winston-Salem, N.C., the company operates more than 1,800 financial centers in 15 states and Washington, D.C., and is consistently recognized for outstanding client service by Greenwich Associates for small business and middle market banking. More information about BB&T and its full line of products and services is available at BBT.com.
SOURCE BB&T Corporation
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