Item 1. Business
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
The Company
JBG SMITH, a Maryland real estate investment trust, owns, operates and develops mixed-use properties concentrated in amenity-rich, Metro-served submarkets in and around Washington, D.C., most notably National Landing, that we believe have long-term growth potential and appeal to residential, office and retail tenants. Through an intense focus on placemaking, JBG SMITH cultivates vibrant, highly amenitized, walkable neighborhoods throughout the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Approximately 75.0% of our holdings are in the National Landing submarket in Northern Virginia, which is anchored by four key demand drivers: Amazon's headquarters; Virginia Tech's $1 billion Innovation Campus; proximity to the Pentagon; and our placemaking initiatives and public infrastructure improvements. In addition, our third-party asset management and real estate services business provides fee-based real estate services.
Substantially all our assets are held by, and our operations are conducted through, JBG SMITH LP. As of December 31, 2024, JBG SMITH, as its sole general partner, controlled JBG SMITH LP and owned 86.0% of its OP Units, after giving effect to the conversion of certain vested LTIP Units that are convertible into OP Units. JBG SMITH is referred to herein as "we," "us," "our" or other similar terms.
As of December 31, 2024, our Operating Portfolio consisted of 38 operating assets comprising 16 multifamily assets totaling 6,781 units (6,781 units at our share), 20 commercial assets totaling 6.7 million square feet (6.3 million square feet at our share) and two wholly owned land assets for which we are the ground lessor. Additionally, we have one under-construction multifamily asset with 775 units (775 units at our share) and 19 assets in our development pipeline totaling 11.0 million square feet (8.9 million square feet at our share) of estimated potential development density. We present combined portfolio operating data that aggregate assets we consolidate in our consolidated financial statements and assets in which we own an interest, but do not consolidate in our financial results. For additional information regarding our assets, see Item 2 "Properties."
Certain terms used throughout this Annual Report on Form 10-K are defined under "Definitions" starting on page 3.
Our Strategy
We own and operate urban mixed-use properties concentrated in amenity-rich, Metro-served submarkets in and around Washington, D.C., most notably National Landing, that we believe have long-term growth potential and appeal to residential, office and retail tenants. We have significant expertise with multifamily, office and retail assets. We believe that we are known for our creative deal-making and capital allocation skills and for our development and value creation expertise. Since the Formation Transaction, we have consistently focused our capital allocation strategy on maximizing long-term NAV per share growth, and will continue to do so. We intend to continue to opportunistically sell or recapitalize assets (which may be multifamily, commercial, and/or retail assets) as well as land sites where a ground lease or joint venture execution may represent the most attractive path to maximizing value. As long as we believe our share price does not reflect the underlying, intrinsic value of our business, as we do now, we expect to continue repurchasing shares through our share repurchase plan (which has a capacity of approximately $838 million as of February 14, 2025) and to fund such repurchases through such assets sales or recapitalizations. In a climate where office assets are near cyclical lows with limited liquidity, we intend in the near term to focus on sourcing liquidity from multifamily assets, specifically our multifamily assets in Washington, D.C. where our holdings are less concentrated. Recycling these assets will also further advance our strategy to concentrate our portfolio in National Landing.
One of our approaches to value creation uses a series of complementary disciplines through a process we call "Placemaking." Placemaking involves strategically mixing high-quality multifamily and commercial buildings with anchor, specialty and neighborhood retail in a high density, thoughtfully planned and designed public space. Through this process, we create synergies, and thus value, across those varied uses leading to unique, amenity-rich, walkable neighborhoods that are desirable and enhance tenant and investor demand. We believe our Placemaking approach will increase occupancy and rental rates in our portfolio, in particular with respect to our concentrated and extensive land and
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operating asset holdings in National Landing. National Landing, situated in Northern Virginia directly across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., is the interconnected and walkable neighborhood that encompasses Crystal City, the eastern portion of Pentagon City and the northern portion of Potomac Yard. We believe National Landing is one of the region's best-located urban mixed-use communities due to its central location with proximity to the Pentagon, Amazon’s headquarters, Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus and Reagan National Airport, and its large base of existing offices, apartments and hotels.
We continue to implement our comprehensive plan to reposition our holdings in National Landing by executing a broad array of Placemaking strategies. Our Placemaking includes the delivery of new multifamily assets, the delivery of redeveloped and new office assets subject to demand therefor, amenity retail, and thoughtful improvements to the streetscape, sidewalks, parks and other outdoor gathering spaces. In keeping with our dedication to Placemaking, each new project is intended to contribute to an authentic and distinct neighborhood by creating a vibrant street environment with robust retail offerings and other amenities, including improved public spaces. To that end, we saw the delivery of two placemaking projects, Water Park and Surreal in 2023. In 2024, we delivered The Grace and Reva with 808 multifamily units and approximately 38,000 square feet of retail space, which were 68.6% leased as of December 31, 2024. We expect to deliver 2000/2001 South Bell Street, a 775-unit multifamily asset comprising two towers, Valen and The Zoe with ground floor retail, in 2025. Additionally, in 2024, we started construction on a new office amenity hub at 2011 Crystal Drive that, along with a repositioning of the asset itself, brings a large scale externally managed meeting and conference facility, two elevated food and beverage offerings, and an activated public lobby.
We developed two new office buildings for Amazon on Metropolitan Park in National Landing, totaling 2.1 million square feet, inclusive of approximately 50,000 square feet of street-level retail with new shops and restaurants, and Amazon took occupancy of its new headquarters in 2023. We are the property manager and retail leasing agent for Amazon's headquarters at National Landing. As of December 31, 2024, we have leases with Amazon totaling approximately 357,000 square feet in two office buildings in National Landing.
In connection with Amazon's headquarters in National Landing, the Commonwealth of Virginia agreed to provide tax incentives to Amazon to create a minimum of 25,000 new full-time jobs and potentially 37,850 full-time jobs in National Landing with average annual wage targets for each calendar year, starting with $150,000 in 2019, and escalating 1.5% per year. As of April 2024, Amazon had created approximately 8,000 new full-time jobs in National Landing. We, alongside Amazon, Virginia Tech, and federal, state, and local governments plan to invest over $12.0 billion, including infrastructure investments, that will directly benefit National Landing. The infrastructure investments include: a Metro station (Potomac Yard) that opened in 2023, a new Metro entrance (Crystal Drive) currently under construction, a pedestrian bridge to Reagan National Airport; a new commuter rail station located between two of our Crystal Drive office assets; lowering of elevated sections of U.S. Route 1 that currently divide parts of National Landing to create better multimodal access and walkability; funding for the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus; and Long Bridge, the planned two-track rail connection between Washington, D.C. and National Landing. In addition to these publicly-funded efforts, we have also deployed digital infrastructure enhancements such as a densified, high-capacity fiber grid and 5G small cells as well as provisions for a small “edge” data center should there be demand for one in the future.
We believe Virginia Tech's $1 billion Innovation Campus in National Landing is a powerful demand driver sitting adjacent to 1.3 million square feet of development density we own in National Landing and the Potomac Yard Metro station, all approximately one mile south of Amazon's headquarters. The campus is part of a 20-acre innovation district, of which the first phase encompasses approximately 1.6 million square feet of space, including four office towers and two residential buildings, with ground-level retail. In January 2025, the first building opened. At this campus, Virginia Tech intends to create an innovation ecosystem by co-locating academic and private sector uses to accelerate research and development spending, as well as the commercialization of technology. Virginia Tech plans to annually enroll approximately 750 master students and 200 PhD students in STEM fields at this campus.
The following are key components of our strategy:
Capitalize on Significant Demand Catalysts in National Landing. We believe that demand will continue to materialize at the critical intersection of defense and technology. The tailwinds created by Amazon, the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus, the Pentagon and our National Landing digital infrastructure platform will contribute to substantial growth from
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our Operating Portfolio and our 6.8 million square foot development pipeline in National Landing. Approximately 75.0% of our portfolio is located in National Landing where Amazon is incentivized to create a minimum of 25,000 new full-time jobs and potentially 37,850 full-time jobs, and Virginia Tech's $1 billion Innovation Campus is located. As of January 2025, Amazon required their corporate employees to work from the office five days per week which we believe will be a significant boon to National Landing demand and vibrancy.
Given National Landing’s proximity to the Pentagon, recent historic increases in the U.S. defense budget and robust foreign defense spending, we believe National Landing is positioned to capture growing demand from defense-focused tenants. In 2024, 81.9% of leases executed by us in National Landing were with the Department of Defense and defense contractors, including technology companies. Defense and national security remain a priority for the current administration and we believe that there will be an increasing focus on technology’s role in those areas.
Thoughtfully Allocate our Capital and Concentrate our Portfolio in National Landing. A fundamental component of our strategy to maximize long-term NAV per share is thoughtful capital allocation. We evaluate development, dispositions, share repurchases and other investment decisions based on how they may impact long-term NAV per share. We intend to continue to opportunistically sell or recapitalize assets as well as monetize land sites where a ground lease or joint venture execution may represent the most attractive path to maximizing value. Successful execution of our capital allocation strategy enables us to source capital at NAV from the disposition of assets generating low cash yields and repurchase our shares, since we believe our share price currently fails to reflect the underlying, intrinsic value of our business, and invest in development projects with significant yield spreads and profit potential. While recent market conditions have significantly slowed down the pace of asset sales, we believe market conditions may be improving and anticipate redeploying the proceeds from any sales to share repurchases and funding our planned growth in National Landing. In a climate where office assets are near cyclical lows with limited liquidity, we intend in the near term to focus on sourcing liquidity from multifamily assets, specifically our multifamily assets in Washington, D.C. where our holdings are less concentrated. In the meantime, we continue to advance the design and entitlement of our 11.0 million square feet (8.9 million square feet at our share) of estimated potential development density in our development pipeline and intend to look to source joint venture capital as a means of funding these developments as market conditions permit.
While our Primary Focus is on Continuing to Grow our Investments in National Landing, we Continue to Operate Mixed-Use Assets in Other High-Growth, Metro-Served Submarkets in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. To the extent it does not conflict with our capital allocation strategy and to the extent we believe doing so will maximize our long-term NAV per share growth, we intend to continue owning and operating urban mixed-use properties concentrated in what we believe are the highest growth, Metro-served submarkets in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area with high barriers to entry and vibrant urban amenities. In addition to National Landing, these submarkets currently include the Ballpark, U Street/Shaw and Union Market/NoMa in the District of Columbia. These submarkets generally feature strong economic and demographic attributes, as well as superior transportation infrastructure that caters to the preferences of multifamily, office and retail tenants. We believe these positive attributes will enable our assets located in these high-growth submarkets to outperform the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area as a whole.
Drive Incremental Growth Through Lease-up and Stabilization of Our Operating Assets, and Deliver Our Under-Construction Asset. Given our leasing capabilities and tenant demand for high-quality space in our submarkets, we believe that we are well positioned to achieve significant internal growth from the lease-up of vacant space in our in-service Operating Portfolio. As of December 31, 2024, we had 16 multifamily assets totaling 6,781 units (6,781 units at our share), which were 92.9% leased at our share. As of December 31, 2024, we had 20 commercial assets totaling 6.7 million square feet (6.3 million square feet at our share), which were 78.6% leased at our share, resulting in 1.4 million square feet available for lease. In addition to portfolio lease-up, we expect increases in NOI from: (i) the commencement of signed but not yet commenced office and retail leases ($5.6 million total annualized estimated rent as of December 31, 2024, of which $1.5 million is expected in 2025) and (ii) contractual rent escalators in our non-GSA office and retail leases, which are based on increases in the Consumer Price Index or a fixed percentage.
As of December 31, 2024, we had 775 multifamily units under construction in National Landing at 2000/2001 South Bell Street (Valen and The Zoe) and started construction on a new amenity hub at 2011 Crystal Drive that, based on our current plans and estimates, require an additional $73.3 million to complete, which we anticipate will be primarily expended over the next year.
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Monetize Our Substantial Development Pipeline. We expect our development pipeline will produce favorable risk-adjusted returns on invested capital.
As of December 31, 2024, our development pipeline consisted of 19 assets, and we estimate it can support 11.0 million square feet (8.9 million square feet at our share) of estimated potential development density: 87.1% of this potential development density comprises multifamily projects located in the high-growth submarkets of National Landing and Union Market/NoMa; and 100.0% of this potential development density is Metro-served. Subject to market conditions, we intend to invest in multifamily development and potentially new office development subject to preleasing. The estimated potential development densities and uses reflect our current business plans as of December 31, 2024 and are subject to change based on market conditions.
In addition to developing select assets in this pipeline, we expect to unlock value through opportunistic asset sales, ground leases and recapitalizations.
Third-Party Services Business
Our third-party asset management and real estate services business provides fee-based real estate services to third parties, including the JBG Legacy Funds. Although a significant portion of the assets and interests in assets formerly owned by certain of the JBG Legacy Funds were contributed to us in the Combination, the JBG Legacy Funds retained certain assets that were not consistent with our long-term business strategy. With respect to the remaining investments of the JBG Legacy Funds, we provide asset management, property management, development, construction management, leasing and other services. We expect to continue to earn fees for the management of the JBG Legacy Funds until their investments are liquidated. Certain individual members of our management team own direct equity co-investment and promote interests in the JBG Legacy Funds and certain of the funds' investments that were not contributed to us. These economic interests will be eliminated as the JBG Legacy Funds are wound down over time. As of December 31, 2024, the JBG Legacy Funds had four remaining assets. Additionally, we often retain management of properties we sell as part of our capital allocation strategy. These assets, while no longer owned by us, continue to generate third-party service fees.
We believe that the fees we earn in connection with providing these third-party services enhance our overall returns, provide additional scale and efficiency in our operating and development businesses and absorb a portion of the overhead and other administrative costs of our platform. This scale provides competitive advantages, including market knowledge, buying power and operating efficiencies across all product types. We also believe that our existing relationships arising out of our third-party asset management and real estate services business will continue to provide potential access to capital and new investment opportunities.
Competition
The commercial real estate markets in which we operate are highly competitive. We compete with numerous acquirers, developers, owners and operators of commercial real estate including other REITs, private equity investors, domestic and foreign financial institutions, life insurance companies, pension trusts, partnerships, and individual investors, many of which own or may seek to acquire or develop assets similar to ours in the same markets in which our assets are located. These competitors may have greater financial resources or access to capital than we do or be willing to acquire assets in transactions which are more highly leveraged or are less attractive from a financial viewpoint than we are willing to pursue, which may reduce the number of suitable investment opportunities available to us or increase pricing. Leasing is a major component of our business and is highly competitive. The principal means of competition in leasing are lease terms (including rent charged and tenant improvement allowances), location, services provided, and the nature and condition of the asset to be leased. If our competitors offer space at rental rates below current market rates, below the rental rates we currently charge our tenants, in better locations within our markets, in higher quality assets or offer better services, we may lose existing and potential tenants, and we may be pressured to reduce our rental rates below those we currently charge to retain tenants when our tenants' leases expire.
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Segment Data
We operate in the following business segments: multifamily, commercial and third-party asset management and real estate services. Financial information related to these business segments for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2024 is set forth in Note 20 to the consolidated financial statements.
Tax Status
We have elected to be taxed as a REIT under Sections 856-860 of the Code. Under those sections, a REIT which distributes at least 90% of its REIT taxable income as dividends to its shareholders each year and which meets certain other conditions will not be taxed on that portion of its taxable income which is distributed to its shareholders. We currently adhere and intend to continue to adhere to these requirements and to maintain our REIT status in future periods.
Future distributions will be declared and paid at the discretion of our Board of Trustees and will depend upon cash generated by operating activities, our financial condition, capital requirements, annual dividend requirements under the REIT provisions of the Code and such other factors as our Board of Trustees deems relevant.
We also participate in the activities conducted by our subsidiary entities that have elected to be treated as TRSs under the Code. As such, we are subject to federal, state, and local taxes on the income from these activities. For additional information regarding our REIT status, see Item 9B "Other Information."
Significant Tenants
Only commercial leases with the U.S. federal government accounted for 10% or more of our total revenue as follows:
Year Ended December 31,
2024
2023
2022
(Dollars in thousands)
Rental revenue from the U.S. federal government
$
64,958
$
64,439
$
75,516
Percentage of total revenue
11.9
%
10.7
%
12.5
%
For a further discussion of the risks related to the federal government as tenant, including the timing of potential lease renewals or terminations, see Item 1A “Risk Factors” - Risks Related to Our Business and Operations - We derive a significant portion of our revenue from U.S. federal government tenants, and we may face additional risks and costs associated with directly managing assets occupied by government tenants.
Sustainability
Our business values integrate environmental sustainability, social responsibility and strong governance practices throughout our organization. We believe that by understanding the social and environmental impacts of our business, we are better able to protect asset value, reduce risk, and advance initiatives that result in positive outcomes creating shared value. Our business model prioritizes maximizing long-term NAV per share. By investing in urban infill and transit-oriented development and strategically mixing high-quality multifamily and commercial buildings with public areas, retail spaces, and walkable streets, we are working to define neighborhoods that deliver benefits to the environment and our community, as well as long-term value to our shareholders.
We remain committed to transparent reporting of sustainability financial and non-financial indicators. We intend to continue publishing an annual sustainability report with key performance indicators that are aligned with the Global Reporting Initiative reporting framework, United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Sustainability Accounting Standards Board Standards, and recommendations set forth by the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures. In 2024, we maintained a carbon neutral operating portfolio for Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. Carbon neutrality was accomplished first through energy and water efficiency, then the purchase of verified carbon offsets for Scope 1 emissions produced by onsite natural gas consumption and fugitive refrigerant emissions, and the purchase of Green-e RECs for Scope 2 emissions produced by consuming onsite electricity procured by us. (We own three company vehicles with
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emissions that are less than 0.01% of our carbon footprint and, therefore, are not included in our calculations of carbon neutrality.) Our detailed sustainability information, including our strategy, key performance targets and indicators, annual absolute comparisons, achievements and historical sustainability reports are available on our website at https://www.JBGSMITH.com/About/Sustainability . All energy, water, waste and greenhouse gas emissions data in our sustainability report are third-party, limited assurance verified following ISO 14064-3. Our website and the information contained therein or connected thereto are not intended to be incorporated into this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
We focus on operating efficiency, responding to evolving environmental and societal trends, and delivering on the needs of our tenants and communities. We have demonstrated the results of this focus by:
● Achieving a 5-star ranking in the GRESB Assessment for both diversified operating assets and future development, and being recognized as a 2024 Global and Regional Sector Leader – Existing Portfolio and Regional Sector Leader - Development - Residential Sector.
● Being named 2024 Nareit Diversified Leader in the Light award winner for sustained sustainability excellence.
● Being named a Nareit Sustainability At Scale award winner.
● Maintaining a Sustainability Committee and oversight of environmental and social matters by the Board of Trustees' Corporate Governance & Nominating Committee.
● Surpassing $114 million in investor commitments to the JBG SMITH-managed WHI Impact Pool, which raises funds from third parties and, through 2024, has closed $78.0 million in financing related to the purchase of residential communities containing 3,018 workforce housing units. We launched the WHI in 2018 in partnership with the Federal City Council to preserve or build between 2,000 and 3,000 units of workforce housing in the Washington, D.C. region.
Our sustainability team works directly with our business units to integrate our sustainability principles throughout our operations and investment processes. Our sustainability team is responsible for leading annual reporting efforts, maintaining building certifications, energy, water and waste benchmarking, sustainability strategy development, and implementation and coordination with industry and community partners.
To ensure that our sustainability principles are fully integrated into our business practices, our sustainability, human resources, legal, accounting and social impact investing teams, as well as members of our management team, provide top-down support for the implementation of our initiatives. Our Sustainability Committee is responsible for improvement initiatives and provides our Board of Trustees' Corporate Governance & Nominating and Audit Committees with periodic updates on sustainability strategy. Accomplishments of this group in 2024 include an update to climate-related risks inclusive of physical and transition risks and the potential financial impacts of those risks, and the creation and adoption of a supply chain code of conduct and a social value statement.
Energy and Water Efficiency and Management
We believe that the efficient use of natural resources will result in sustainable long-term value and mitigate climate-related risks. By 2030, we have committed to reduce: energy consumption 25%, predicted energy consumption 25%, water consumption 20% and greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and 2) 25%. Further, by 2030, we have committed to increase waste diversion to 60% and verify all assets using green building and health and well-being certifications across our Operating Portfolio and development pipeline. We achieve this improvement through real time energy use monitoring and capital investments in energy and water saving projects. We report progress on these commitments annually in our sustainability report.
Our long-term strategy to reduce energy and water consumption includes operational and capital improvements that align with our business plan and contribute to attaining our performance targets. Asset teams review historical performance annually, conduct energy audits and regularly assess opportunities to achieve efficiency targets. Capital investment planning considers the useful life of equipment, energy and water efficiency, occupant health impacts and maintenance requirements.
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Our development strategy focuses on reducing predicted energy and water consumption and embodied carbon, contributing to attaining our performance targets. Development teams use energy, water, and embodied carbon modeling to inform design decisions that best fit each individual building program, adapt to identified climate change conditions for our region, and promote healthy buildings. Since the establishment of performance targets for our development projects, we are tracking an aggregate 25% reduction in predicted energy consumption, 35% reduction in predicted water use and 20% reduction in embodied carbon as of December 31, 2024.
We use green building and health and well-being certifications as a verification tool across our portfolio. These certifications demonstrate our commitment to green, smart, and healthy buildings and verify predicted operational performance. We seek to benchmark 100% of our assets to help inform capital improvement projects. As of December 31, 2024:
● 93% of all operating assets, based on square footage, have earned at least one green building or health and well-being certification:
o 3.9 million square feet of LEED Certified Multifamily Space (70%)
o 2.2 million square feet of LEED Certified Commercial Space (35%)
o 2.8 million square feet of ENERGY STAR Certified Multifamily Space (50%)
o 3.7 million square feet of ENERGY STAR Certified Commercial Space (59%)
o 6.2 million square feet of BOMA 360 Certified Commercial Space (99%)
o 4.6 million square feet of Fitwel Full Building Certified Commercial and Multifamily Space (38%)
o 6.2 million square feet of Fitwel Viral Response Module Certified Commercial Space (99%)
● 99.6% of our operating assets' energy and water use are benchmarked
Tenant Sustainability Impacts
Customer service is an integral component of real estate management. Our mission includes creating a unique experience at all our properties where our tenants' needs are our highest priority. We believe in sustainability as a service — by integrating efficiency and conservation into standard operating practices, we engage on topics that are most impactful to our tenants and residents. We are committed to providing a healthy living and working environment for building occupants. We accomplish this goal through monitoring and improving indoor air quality, eliminating toxic chemicals, providing access to nature, daylight, fresh foods, fitness amenities, composting and waste reduction programs.
We are a Green Lease Leader established by the Institute for Market Transformation and the U.S. Department of Energy's Better Buildings Alliance. Green Lease Leaders recognizes companies who use the leasing process to achieve better collaboration between landlords and tenants with the goal of reducing building energy consumption and operating costs. Our standard lease contains a cost recovery clause for resource efficiency-related capital improvements and requires tenants to provide data for measuring, managing, and reporting sustainability performance. This language is included in 100% of our new office and retail leases and renewals.
Nearly all our commercial tenants are metered at the whole building level for their grid electricity and water usage. Many of our retail tenants in multifamily buildings are billed directly for electricity and water. As such, the percentage of our directly sub-metered tenants is very low. In most cases, we receive a bill at the whole building level for grid electricity and water usage, and bill tenants based on the percentage of the building's square footage that they occupy. These tenants are not considered to be separately metered or sub-metered.
Climate Change Resilience
We take climate change and the associated risks seriously, and we are committed to managing and avoiding the impacts of climate change using science to inform action. We stand with our communities, tenants and shareholders in supporting meaningful solutions that address this global challenge. To develop a more informed view of future climate conditions and further our understanding of the direct climate-related risks to our properties, we have conducted a new climate-related
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risk assessment (both acute and chronic risks across our operating assets and development pipeline) which addresses both physical and transition climate risk factors, and estimates the financial implications of those modeled risks at the asset level.
Climate Change Risk Management Strategy
We have aligned our climate-related disclosures with the recommendations of the TCFD. As defined by the TCFD framework, physical risks associated with climate change include acute risks (extreme weather-related events) and chronic risks (such as extreme heat and coastal flooding), and transition risks associated with climate change include policy and legal risks, market and reputation-related risks and decarbonization technology risks.
Our 2024 assessment of climate change risk relied on S&P Global Inc.'s Climanomics modeling tool. The Climanomics methodology projects portfolio level risk exposure as well as individual asset risk exposure over four reference scenarios, or representative concentration pathways, established by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and across a range of time horizons through 2100. Climanomics’ primary output is a risk exposure metric called MAAL. This value is presented as both absolute MAAL ($ in millions) and relative MAAL (% of total asset or portfolio value). We intend to conduct periodic climate-related risk assessments as the composition of our portfolio changes.
The assessment included all in-service assets, and our development pipeline and landholdings, and included climate events such as hurricane, wildfire, temperature extremes, water stress, drought, and pluvial, fluvial and coastal flooding. The assessment of our portfolio identified pluvial (urban flooding) and coastal flooding and temperature extremes (heat stress) as top hazards. We currently have no properties in a Federal Emergency Management Agency hazard designated area.
Asset-Level Risk Management
We are managing transition risks by benchmarking energy and water consumption, carbon emissions and waste performance at the asset level and review this information with asset management and operations teams quarterly. As a leader in green building, we will continue to make capital investments that enhance building performance and tenant comfort, energy and water efficiency, on-site renewable energy and other decarbonization strategies. We work with our insurance team to benchmark resilience features and develop adaptations for short-term horizons. We aim to develop risk mitigation and physical resilience plans for all assets taking into account the outputs from the Climanomics tool.
Carbon-Neutral Operations Strategy
Our strategy to maintain carbon-neutral operations includes the following steps:
● First and foremost, plan for and deploy energy and water efficiency at all assets.
● Plan for and deploy energy, water, and embodied carbon reductions in the design of our buildings.
● Deploy on-site renewable energy where most impactful.
● Develop and deploy off-site renewable procurement strategies.
● To the extent necessary, offset any remaining emissions by purchasing verified renewable energy credits and carbon offsets.
Social Responsibility
We believe the economic strength of our region is central to sustaining the long-term value of our portfolio. We are committed to the economic development of the Washington D.C. metropolitan area through continued investment in our projects and local communities. We recognize, however, that new development can foster challenging growth dynamics. We strive to work alongside community members, leaders, and local and federal governments to appropriately respond to these challenges. In 2024, we combined our impact investing activities, including management of the WHI Impact Pool under the newly formed LEO Impact Capital, our impact investment management platform.
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The WHI is a scalable, market-driven model funded by a unique relationship between philanthropy and private investment. As of December 31, 2024, we have invested $8.3 million of our $11.2 million commitment in the WHI Impact Pool. The WHI Impact Pool completed fundraising in 2020 with capital commitments totaling $114.4 million, and has closed $78.0 million in financing related to the purchase of residential communities containing 3,018 units through December 31, 2024.
To learn more about our sustainability initiatives and performance, please visit https://www.JBGSMITH.com/About/Sustainability and download our Sustainability Report. Our website and the information contained therein or connected thereto are not intended to be incorporated into this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Equal Employment Opportunity
We are committed to a merit-based human capital management strategy that is aimed at attracting, retaining and developing the best talent in the industry. See "Human Capital" below for further discussion.
Governance
We are engaged in addressing sustainability matters, including climate-related matters, at all levels of our organization. Management’s role in overseeing, assessing, and managing climate-related risks, opportunities and initiatives is integrated throughout our business units. We have a dedicated team of sustainability professionals focused on sustainability matters that coordinate and collaborate across business units and with our Board of Trustees and management, and which advises on environmental sustainability matters and develops and implements related initiatives. In 2022, management established a new Sustainability Committee to help inform strategy and more robustly advise the Board of Trustees on climate-related risks and opportunities. The Sustainability Committee is responsible for ensuring compliance with guidelines from the SEC and other regulatory bodies, and assists in establishing our general strategy as it relates to sustainability matters that may affect our business, operation, performance or reputation. The Sustainability Committee reports to the Chief Legal Officer, with oversight provided by the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee. Co-chairs include our Deputy General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Sustainability, with representation by business leaders from various groups across the organization.
Regulatory Matters
Environmental Matters
Under various federal, state and local laws, ordinances and regulations, a current or former owner or operator of real estate may be liable for conducting or paying for the costs of the investigation, removal or remediation of certain hazardous or toxic substances or petroleum products on, under or from that real estate. These laws often impose such liability without regard to whether the owner knew of, or was responsible for, the presence or release of hazardous or toxic substances or petroleum products, and the liability may be joint and several. The costs of investigation, remediation or removal of these substances may be substantial and could exceed the value of the property, and the presence of these substances, or the failure to promptly remediate these substances, may adversely affect the owner's ability to sell, operate, or develop the real estate or to borrow using the real estate as collateral. In connection with the ownership and operation of our current and former assets, we may be potentially liable for these costs. The operations of current and former tenants at our assets have involved, or may have involved, the presence or use of hazardous substances or petroleum products or the generation of hazardous wastes, and indemnities in our lease agreements may not fully protect us from liability, if, for example, a tenant responsible for environmental noncompliance or contamination becomes insolvent. The release of these hazardous substances and wastes and petroleum products could result in us incurring liabilities to investigate or remediate any resulting contamination. The presence of contamination or the failure to remediate contamination at our properties may (i) expose us to third-party liability (e.g., for cleanup costs, natural resource damages, bodily injury or property damage), (ii) subject our properties to liens in favor of the government for damages and costs the government incurs in connection with the contamination, (iii) impose restrictions on the manner in which a property may be used or businesses may be operated, or (iv) materially adversely affect our ability to sell, lease or develop the real estate or to borrow using the real estate as collateral. In addition, our assets are exposed to the risk of contamination originating from other sources. While
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a property owner may not be responsible for remediating contamination that has migrated onsite from an identifiable and viable offsite source, the contaminant's presence can have adverse effects on operations and the redevelopment of our assets. To the extent we arrange for contaminated materials to be sent to other locations for treatment or disposal, we may be liable for the cleanup of those sites if they become contaminated, without regard to whether we complied with environmental laws in doing so.
Most of our assets have been subject, at some point, to environmental assessments that are intended to evaluate the environmental condition of the subject and surrounding assets. These environmental assessments generally have included a historical review, a public records review, a visual inspection of the site and surrounding assets, visual or historical evidence of underground storage tanks and other features, and the preparation and issuance of a written report. Soil, soil vapor and/or groundwater subsurface testing is conducted at our assets, when necessary, to further investigate any conditions identified by the initial assessment that could reasonably be expected to pose a material concern to the property or result in us incurring material environmental liabilities as a result of redevelopment. The tests may not, however, have included extensive sampling or subsurface investigations. In each case where the environmental assessments have identified conditions requiring remedial actions required by law, we have initiated appropriate actions. The environmental assessments have not revealed any material environmental contamination that we believe would have a material adverse effect on our overall business, financial condition or results of operations, or that have not been anticipated and remediated during site redevelopment as required by law. Nevertheless, there can be no assurance that the identification of new areas of contamination, changes in the extent or known scope of contamination, the discovery of additional sites or changes in cleanup requirements would not result in significant cost to us.
Our operations and assets, and the operations of our tenants, are subject to various federal, state and local laws and regulations concerning the protection of the environment including air and water quality, hazardous or toxic substances and health and safety. The cost to comply with such requirements may be significant and if we fail to comply with such requirements, we could be subject to significant fines. Moreover, environmental requirements have and may continue to become increasingly stringent, and our costs or operating restrictions may increase as a result.
Affordable Housing and Tenant Protection Regulations
Certain states and municipalities have adopted laws and regulations imposing restrictions on the timing or amount of rent increases and other tenant protections. As of December 31, 2024, approximately 6% of the multifamily units in our Operating Portfolio were designated as affordable housing. In addition, Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland have laws that require, in certain circumstances, an owner of a multifamily rental property to allow tenant organizations the option to purchase the building at a market price if the owner attempts to sell the property. We expect to continue operating and acquiring assets in areas that either are subject to these types of laws or regulations or where such laws or regulations may be enacted in the future. Such laws and regulations limit our ability to charge market rents, increase rents, evict tenants or recover increases in our operating expenses and could make it more difficult for us to dispose of assets in certain circumstances.
The Americans with Disabilities Act and other Federal, State and Local Regulations
The ADA generally requires that public buildings, including our assets, meet certain federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. Noncompliance could result in the imposition of fines by the federal government or the award of damages to private litigants and/or legal fees to their counsel. If, under the ADA, we are required to make substantial alterations and capital expenditures in one or more of our assets, including the removal of access barriers, it could have a material adverse effect on us.
Additionally, our assets are subject to various federal, state and local regulatory requirements, such as state and local fire and life safety requirements. If we fail to comply with these requirements, we could incur fines or private damage awards. We do not know whether existing requirements will change or whether compliance with future requirements will require significant unanticipated expenditures that will affect our cash flow and results of operations.
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Regulation Related to Government Tenants
As discussed above, the U.S. federal government is a significant tenant. Lease agreements with federal government agencies contain provisions required by federal law, which require, among other things, that the lessor of the property agree to comply with certain rules and regulations, including rules and regulations related to anti-kickback procedures, examination of records, audits and records, equal opportunity provisions, prohibition against segregated facilities, certain executive orders, subcontractor cost or pricing data, and certain provisions intending to assist small businesses. We directly manage assets with federal government agency tenants, which subjects us to additional risks associated with compliance with applicable federal rules and regulations. In addition, there are requirements relating to the potential application of equal opportunity provisions and related anti-discrimination requirements, including but not limited to, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Randolph-Sheppard Act. We are also prohibited from implementing any programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion that violate any applicable federal anti-discrimination laws. Compliance with these requirements is costly and any increase in regulation could increase our costs, which could have a material adverse effect on us.
Human Capital
Our headquarters is located at 4747 Bethesda Avenue, Suite 200, Bethesda, MD 20814. As of December 31, 2024, we had 645 employees.
We believe that our talent is our competitive advantage. To that end, we focus on talent development and succession planning and pay-for-performance. We utilize talent management practices in the broadest sense to create an engaging workplace experience for our employees, where they feel valued, respected and supported. We are keenly focused on the employee experience and want every person to feel respected for what makes them unique. At the same time, our core values provide a sound structure for finding common ground and working together as a team to deliver the best possible outcomes.
We offer our employees an environment that enables them to be confident in their in-office experience and demonstrate the energy and excitement that comes from being together and collaborating with coworkers to achieve desirable outcomes. In addition, we are proud to have been recognized a "Top Workplace" several times in past years, and are focused on providing a positive employee experience to ensure that we remain an employer of choice.
We continually invest in our employee population, ensuring our employee experience more broadly continues to help us attract and retain the best talent in the industry. The list below is a sampling of offerings that help create a compelling employee experience:
● Streamlined annual performance reviews
● Executive coaching available
● Employee share purchase plan
● Hybrid / flexible work schedules
● Flexible paid time off
● Regular town halls where senior management updates the entire team on recent progress and other important matters
● Mentorship and coaching programs to develop and retain talent
● Employee referral program
● Generous company subsidy on health-related benefits
● Lunches with Leaders
● Volunteer opportunities
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In addition to the above, we have a strong pay-for-performance culture. We want our employees to feel aligned with our company vision and enabled to grow in their careers. To that end, we have a strong track record of promoting from within. Consequently, the opportunities for growth and development also help to keep our population engaged and motivated.
With an ongoing focus on our three strategic pillars – (i) employee development, (ii) engagement and (iii) recruiting – we have made additional progress and have continued to drive cultural and behavioral change. We encourage a wide variety of perspectives, views and ideas in our workforce. We pride ourselves on our strong, collaborative culture, and we strive to create a supportive and healthy work environment for our employees, which helps us continue to attract innovators to our organization. We have maintained our strategic partnerships with external organizations to ensure that we are building a strong pipeline of talent.
Available Information
Copies of our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports are available free of charge through our website ( https://www.JBGSMITH.com ) as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. Also available on our website are copies of our Audit Committee Charter, Compensation Committee Charter, Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee Charter, Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and Corporate Governance Guidelines. In the event of any changes to these charters or the code or guidelines, changed copies will also be made available on our website. Copies of these documents are also available directly from us free of charge. Our website also includes other financial information, including certain financial measures not in compliance with GAAP, none of which is a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Copies of our filings under the Exchange Act are also available free of charge from us, upon request.