A Rich History

WC Smith begins managing Bliss portfolio, ten buildings with 900 units

Chris Smith joins the company

Home Rule Act: Congress passes the Home Rule Act, allowing DC residents to elect a Mayor and 13–member Council. The first Mayor is Walter Washington.

The Metrorail Opens: The first section is the red line from Farragut North to Rhode Island Ave, opens

John Ritz joins the company

The average rent at a WC Smith property is $155/month

The Tremont Hotel in Baltimore opens. WC Smith bought the property at 8 East Pleasant in Baltimore (adjacent to the Tremont Plaza) and converted into an all-suite hotel.

The first Mac computer is offered for sale

WC Smith acquires Jetu, 426 units in northeast DC

The company headquarters move to new offices at 1220 L Street NW

Washington Commercial Services, WC Smith’s first subsidiary company, is formed

Washington Heating and Cooling, a WC Smith subsidiary company, is formed

Kelley Smith (Worman) and Tracey Smith (Patch) join the company

WC Smith acquires the Dupont Apartments

The company completes the renovation of the 353–unit Washington View Apartments, in southeast DC

Baltimore Orioles Cal Ripken Jr. breaks Lou Gehrig’s record of 2,131consecutive games played, earning the title of “The Iron Man”

Marion Barry is elected Mayor

THEARC development starts. WC Smith incorporates a 501(c)3 non–profit organization, Building Bridges Across the River(BBAR) to oversee the development and management of THEARC, The Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus. It took several years of fundraising before construction could begin.

The MCI Center (now the Capital One Arena) opens at Gallery Place, sparking the revitalization of downtown DC

The company builds its first office building at 1100 New Jersey Ave SE. The following year the corporate office moves in.

WC Smith forms the Canal Park Development Association to plan and develop Canal Park

THEARC celebrates its grand opening with ten non–profit partners: the Washington Ballet, the Levine School of Music, the Corcoran School of Art, Covenant House, Children’s National Medical Center, the Parklands Community Center, the Boys and Girls’ Club, the Washington School for Girls, Building Bridges Across the River, and Trinity University

The Montreal Expos are brought to DC to become the Washington Nationals

WC Smith and 800 volunteers begin the first phase of the Oxon Park revitalization, cleaning the park, installing new playgrounds, repairing basketball courts and rebuilding the outdoor amphitheater

Apple produces the first iPhone

Adrian Fenty is elected Mayor of DC

Fairway Park with 406 units, opens in northeast DC, a transformation of a formerly troubled apartment community

The Skyland Workforce Center opens. The Center is a partnership of the Skyland Town Center development team and five nonprofits that provide employment services to the community. In its first two years of operations, the Center helped 200 people find employment.

Skyland Town Center Groundbreaking WC Smith and partners break ground on the Skyland Town Center, an 18–acre mixed–use project in southeast DC

Sheridan Station is complete. WC Smith finishes work on all three phases of Sheridan Station, a 327–unit mixed–income community, made up of both rental and homeownership units.

Muriel Bowser elected Mayor of DC

Park Chelsea at The Collective opens

WCS Mortgage closes its first $100 million loan

Agora at The Collective opens, the second phase of the amenity–rich trilogy of buildings

WC Smith adopts Yardi, completing a major overhaul of the property management software.

The third building at THEARC opens.The new building provides an additional 93,000 SF and allows THEARC to expand to 15 partners.

Archer Park opens 190 affordable apartments on Mississippi Ave SE

WC Smith celebrates 50 years of building and managing communities in Washington DC