Bob Youngentob Honored with Trailblazer Leadership Award by ULI Washington

EYA LLC (EYA) is proud to announce that our Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, Bob Youngentob, was honored by ULI Washington with the Trailblazer Award last night at an event held at the National Portrait Gallery. This award celebrates the professional and philanthropic contributions of a longstanding leader who has made a lasting impact on the Washington area's real estate industry, as well as meaningful contributions to improving and supporting local communities.

EYA Co-Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Terry Eakin said, “I think he has been a trailblazer because Bob has led EYA in ways that frankly no one else has been able to do, yet many have copied. It’s a pleasure to be working with Bob for all these years.”

When accepting the award, Bob said, “I am truly humbled to be recognized by ULI Washington. ULI has always been my favorite real estate organization. Its emphasis on developing future leaders, its focus on education and best practices and its role as a convener of industry experts across the public and private sector has made it number one in real estate thought leadership.” He continued, “I am really accepting this recognition tonight on behalf of everyone at EYA. The “trailblazing” approach to urban residential development would not have existed without their commitment to excellence and their ability to execute at such an incredible level. My hat is off to our entire team at EYA.”

Since 1992, EYA has built more than 45 neighborhoods and transformed the region’s built environment, while positively impacting how thousands of Washington area residents live, and all before the term “smart growth” was coined. While most homebuilders focused on the suburbs and most residential developers built multifamily rental, EYA saw an opportunity to build for-sale higher density homes in close-in urban neighborhoods. This required shifting the thinking of planners, challenging existing expectations of townhome density, and working with established neighborhoods who were resistant to change.

When asked to describe Bob for this award, Aakash Thakkar, Chief Acquisitions Officer at EYA said, “Bob really does have a tremendous legacy. He has created a housing type that has revolutionized compact development in urban areas.”

One aspect of Bob’s career that he is most proud of is EYA’s role in affordable housing.

Over the years, EYA has partnered with Montgomery County’s Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC), DCHA and the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority. This work has led to two ULI National Jack Kemp awards for Affordable Housing and Montgomery County’s Affordable Housing Developer of the year in 2016.

HOC Commissioner Roy Priest said, “The proof is in the pudding of what he has done. He’s been an excellent leader in the development community about how to take on and successfully achieve mixed-income housing. He has managed to bring the power of commitment and vision to make these deals happen.”

From all of us at EYA, congratulations Bob! And as Bob said during his remarks, "the best of EYA and Life Within Walking Distance^® is yet to come."