Jubilee Housing moving headquarters to future Adams Morgan development site
Ben Peters | Washington Business Journal
Jubilee Housing will relocate its headquarters to a former Adams Morgan bank building which the organization is seeking to redevelop as affordable housing.
The nonprofit is leaving its office at 1801 Adams Mill Road NW, where it subleases 4,900 square feet, and moving across 18th Street into a recently refurbished 5,300-square-foot space at 1800 Columbia Road NW, President and CEO Jim Knight told me in an interview.
Pending D.C. approval, Jubilee plans to redevelop the former SunTrust bank branch into a 75,000-square-foot, all-affordable multifamily building with 50 units, ground-floor retail and a public plaza fronting the building. (Washington Business Journal Publisher Alex Orfinger is board chair emeritus of Jubilee Housing.)
The new headquarters is only temporary — a permanent Jubilee office will be incorporated into the new development — will house 20 of the nonprofit’s 70 employees. The organization anticipates moving into the refurbished space the week of Sept. 23.
“This central location reflects our deep roots in the community and will allow us to strengthen the connection with our central community and expand the impact of our Justice Housing mission,” Knight said in a statement.
Jubilee’s redevelopment proposal is making its way through the D.C. Historic Preservation review process — Jubilee this week filed revised drawings reflecting a few minor refinements, according to Knight. The final product, designed by D.C. architect Eric Colbert & Associates, would include underground parking and a top-floor penthouse with a community room and social-services center.
Once work is underway, Jubilee will temporarily relocate its headquarters again during construction to other nearby facilities — 1724 Kalorama Road NW, 1631 Euclid St. NW and 2400 Ontario Pl. NW — until the new building is complete, Knight said.
The former bank branch was donated to Jubilee in 2023 by Truist Financial Corp. (NYSE: TFC) following a pitched neighborhood fight over a 2016 development plan offered by the previous contract purchaser, Hoffman & Associates.