ULI-Washington on April 28 honored WC Smith Chairman Chris Smith with its 2026 Visionary Leadership Award.
The award, ULI noted, “recognizes a long-standing leader whose professional and philanthropic efforts have helped shape a sustainable and transformative future for the National Capital Region.”
ULI cited the work Smith and WC Smith have done to build and support communities throughout DC, particularly his founding of and longstanding commitment to Building Bridges Across the River and THEARC.
Also recognized were DC Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Nina Albert, who was given the Changemaker Award, and Senthil Sankaran, Managing Principal of the Amazon Housing Fund, who received the Groundbreaker Award.
ULI produced and showed that night a testimonial video featuring former DC Mayor Anthony Williams, United Bankshares CEO Rick Adams, Merrick Malone, Director of Housing and Community Development for Richmond, VA, and Victor Hoskins, former president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority.
All spoke of Chris’ and the company’s accomplishments and contributions to DC, including THEARC, the Splash Park at the Villages of Parklands and our housing developments in underserved parts of the city.
You can view the video here: https://wcsmith.com/awards/
Photo credit: LNJ Designs for ULI Washington.
