R. Donahue Peebles

Roy Donahue "Don" Peebles (born March 2, 1960) is an American millionaire,[2] real estate entrepreneur, author, national media commentator and political leader. Peebles is the founder, Chairman/CEO of The Peebles Corporation (TPC), a privately held real estate investment and development company he established in 1983.

Don Peebles
Born
Roy Donahue Peebles

(1960-03-02) March 2, 1960
Washington, D.C., U.S.
EducationRutgers University, New Brunswick (dropped out Freshman year)[1]
TitleFounder, Chairman and CEO of the Peebles Corporation
WebsiteOfficial website

According to Forbes, Peebles is one of the most successful African American CEOs,[3] whose majority projects are executed through public-private partnerships.[4]

In May 2009, Forbes listed Peebles in the top ten of the wealthiest black Americans,[5] and in January 2015 it estimated his net worth to be over $700 million.[6] In April 2015, Black Enterprise named Peebles as one of the "Business Trailblazers and Titans of Black America: 40 most powerful African Americans in business".[7]

Background

Peebles was born in Washington, D.C. to Ruth Yvonne Willoughby and Roy Donahue Peebles Sr.[8] Peebles and his mother, a real estate professional, relocated to Detroit, MI when he was eight years old. At the age of 13, Peebles and his mother returned to DC where he completed high school at The Congressional Page High School while serving as a congressional page in the House of Representatives on Capitol Hill. During this time, he was an intern for two members of Congress and also worked as a staff aide for another Congressional member.[9] He attended Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey where he studied pre-medicine.[4]

His grandfather was a doorman at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel[10] in Washington D.C. Peebles has said that assisting his father as a car mechanic while still a child contributed to his strong work ethic.[11]

Career

He became a real estate sales agent and appraiser in Washington, D.C. On January 9, 1983, at the age of 23, he established RDP Corporation, a residential and commercial real estate appraisal firm. Later that year, he was appointed to Washington's Board of Equalization and Review by Marion Barry, the real estate tax appeals board currently known as the Board of Real Property Assessments and Appeals. One year later, when Peebles was 24, Washington's Mayor Marion Barry appointed him Chairperson of the Board[12] where he served until 1988. In 1986, a Peebles-led partnership acquired the site for his first real estate development project: a 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m2) Class-A office building at 2100 Martin Luther King Ave. SE.[13][14] In 1990, Peebles founded RDP Assessment Appeals Services, a Washington-based commercial tax assessment appeals firm. Peebles continued to acquire commercial buildings and development sites in Washington, D.C. throughout the 1990s, including 10 G Street NE, and the Convention Center Courtyard by Marriott.[15] In 1996, Peebles redeveloped the 1930s Royal Palm hotel in Miami Beach.[16] The Royal Palm Resort became the nation's first major hotel developed and owned by an African American.[17] Other Miami projects include The Residences at The Bath Club, a luxury residential tower. Peebles also co-developed The Lincoln, a mixed-use development featuring Class A office space in South Beach. In the early 2000s Peebles expanded into San Francisco, Las Vegas and New York.

Peebles had been a member of the Real Estate Board of New York's Board of Governors,[18] the former Chairman of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau,[19] an invitee to then-President-elect Clinton's 1992 Economic Summit in Arkansas, and in 2013 was named to Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez's Mayoral Business Roundtable. [20]

Developments

Peebles developed properties in Miami; Miami Beach; Washington, D.C.; and has pending developments in process in Boston, MA (Back Bay, Viola), Charlotte, N.C. (Brooklyn Village), and Los Angeles, CA (Angel's Landing).

In November 2010, D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles sued Peebles’ company for alleged overbilling; Peebles maintained the charges were politically motivated due to his opposition to then Mayor Adrian Fenty failed re-election bid earlier that year. A D.C. Superior Court dismissed most of the claims against Peebles.[21] The suit was settled in November 2012 by Nickles’ successor, D.C. Attorney General Irvin Nathan for $120,000, a fraction of the initial claim.[22] The court accepted the settlement, and dismissed as moot the over-billing claims.[23]

Peebles's contract at 1801 Vine Street, a luxury boutique hotel in Philadelphia's historic Family Court Building was cancelled in November 2020 by the City of Philadelphia; Peebles said he was "puzzled" by Philadelphia's decision to cancel the agreement, despite years of delays, a lack of construction, and ballooning costs.[24][25]

Peebles "walked away" from his proposed development of the SLS Hotel and Residences, a luxury hotel and condominiums in Washington, D.C.’s Mount Vernon Triangle.[26]

As of January 2022, Peebles is delayed on a 17-acre development consisting of 12 buildings with a mixture of uses including two hotels, office, apartment and residential condominium buildings in Charlotte, N.C. Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. The project has been named Brooklyn Village.[27]

Peebles is required to break ground and begin construction by March 2023.[28]

Due to Peebles reliance on reselling or flipping interests in government properties, Peebles is subject to frequent cancellations of development projects by government agencies.

After "four years of wrangling", Peebles failed to break ground on a convention center in Broward County.[29] Peebles would eventually sue Broward County for costs, but Peebles claims were denied by a court.[30]

Peebles was one of the failed bidders at the Aqueduct Casino in New York; Peebles was deemed "unknowingly impotent" by the New York State committee formed to evaluate bids.[31] Later, the New York State Office of the Investigator General would say that Peebles attempted to "fix the bid" with illegal campaign contributions. [32]

Peebles bid on the LICH hospital site and failed to come to terms with the RFP proposal submitted; as with many Peebles deals, he alleged the site was environmentally uncertain and SUNY stopped negotiating with Peebles after it was revealed Peebles had engaged in bad faith negotiations.[33]

In a Press Release, SUNY stated:"Unfortunately, several portions of the Peebles proposal have dramatically changed, including the possibility of long delays in the manner and method in which health care will be provided at the site," SUNY spokesman David Doyle said: "Additionally, Peebles is seeking a cost-sharing agreement in which taxpayers would be partially responsible for environmental remediation, which is far outside the scope of the RFP. These deviations from the initial proposal are unacceptable to SUNY from both a health care and business perspective."[34]

One of many in a string of cancelled projects, in November 2020, the City of Philadelphia cancelled Peebles contract to acquire the Family Court Building at 1801 Vine Street; the City cited Peebles inability to begin construction after over 7 years of delays, as well as larger economic trends.[35] Peebles had obtained millions of dollars in government grants over the course of 7 years, and was one of several Peebles contracts cancelled by cities due to delays by Peebles.[24] Peebles also lost a project in Miami's Overtown neighborhood and litigated against the City and the subsequent owners; many of Peebles claims were dismissed in 2020.[36]

Peebles partnership with Barron Channer to redevelop the Overtown Gateway sites in the Overtown neighborhood of Miami was cancelled by the City of Miami due to Peebles' failure to obtain financing.[37] After losing the project, Peebles sued Swerdlow Group, but his claims were dismissed by the Court.[38]

Peebles attempt to build a hotel at the District owned site in Washington D.C. was long delayed and failed when the City demanded Peebles provide affordable housing; Peebles attempt to shift the affordable housing element to a separate, vacant site he already owned. D.C. Mayor Browser publicly criticized Peebles attempt to avoid providing affordable housing at the site.[39][40] Peebles was also sued by his partner on the project: The Walker Group.[41]

Peebles released numerous press releases toting his RFP response to a New York State RFP for "Site K" in New York City.[42] Peebles's proposal was one of many received by the State in response to the RFP, however, Peebles appeared to be the only one of the RFP respondents to leak plans, publicly advocate, and give interviews on the RFP.[43]

Peebles RFP response and interviews apparently did not impress interim-Governor Katie Hochul. In December 2021, the State of New York cancelled Peebles' bid to build a skyscraper at Site K in New York, New York.[44][45] The cancelled project was dubbed "Affirmation Tower" and was set to include the NAACP as a tenant.[46]

Awards
  • TheGrio Business Icon Award[47]
  • New York City Mission Society “Champion of Children” Award[48][49]
  • CSQ 2019 Visionary of the Year Award[50]
  • "Company of the Year." by Black Enterprise Magazine[51]
  • “Business Trailblazers and Titans of Black America” by Black Enterprise Magazine[52]

Philanthropy & board positions

Peebles is former Chairman of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau.[51]

Politics and affiliations

Peebles has been politically engaged since the 1970s. He served on President Bill Clinton’s national finance committee during the 1992 presidential race,[4] joined his Economic Summit in Arkansas that same year, and has hosted President Clinton at his homes on several occasions. He was as a member of President Barack Obama's National Finance Committee for the President's 2008 election and his 2012 reelection campaign.[53] In May 2008, Peebles hosted then Senator Obama for a campaign fundraiser at The Bath Club in Miami Beach and later hosted President Obama at the Peebles’ home in Washington D.C. for a campaign fundraiser on August 8, 2011.[54]

In 2010, Peebles announced he had considered running to become mayor of Washington,[55] but he decided against it due to his mother-in-law's terminal illness.[56] He had also publicly considered running for Mayor of Miami and of New York City and received encouragement from many political and community leaders.[57]

In 2013, Peebles was elected vice chairman of the board of directors of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.[58] In July 2015, he was elevated to chairperson of the CBCF's board of directors and re-elected in February 2016, a role he held until February 2017. Peebles was the only non-member of Congress to be elected to the position of Chairperson of the CBCF.[59]

Peebles' advocacy for minority and women owned businesses, a more business friendly environment, and expansion of Charter Schools raised speculation[60] that he was a potential candidate to challenge de Blasio for re-election in the 2017 election cycle for the term beginning January 2018, however, Peebles did not enter the race citing wanting to teach his then 22-year-old son, a recent graduate from Columbia University, the real estate business, and to spend time with his 14-year-old daughter during her last four years at home before college.[61][62]

Peebles frequently appears on CNN, Fox News, CNBC and other networks to discuss political, economic and business issues.[63] As an advocate for economic empowerment, Peebles and his wife, Katrina Peebles, have supported both parties, in various congressional, mayoral, gubernatorial, and presidential elections over the years.[64] He supports small business and minority-focused initiatives emerging from The White House with a focus on policy change rather than political affiliation.[65]

In 2014, Mayor DeBlasio contacted Peebles for a $20,000 donation to support the mayor's universal pre-K program, UPKNYC, which is now shut down. Reportedly DeBlasio used the donation for political work and not for charitable work. When Peebles learned that the money was used for DeBlasio’s political campaign, he asked for a return. That same year, a Peebles-led team responded to an RFP to redevelop Long Island Community Hospital. SUNY Downstate Medical Center ended talks with Peebles over an impasse about remediation costs on May 28, 2014 and later made a deal with Fortis Property Group. According to media reports, his Peebles team was ranked higher than the RFP of Fortis. De Blasio was under state and federal investigation for campaign finance scandals.[66][67]

Personal life

Peebles moved to Miami, Florida, in 1998 and then to Coral Gables in 2001. He had homes in Coral Gables and New York City, but sold his Coral Gables house in 2021 for $13 million.[68]

He currently lives in Miami Beach, Florida, Sag Harbor, NY and New York City with his wife Katrina, a former PR executive, whom he married in 1994.[69][70] She is an interior designer and serves on the Board of Directors of The Peebles Corporation.

Peebles' son, Donahue, is a Columbia University graduate and is currently working at The Peebles Corporation, where he is leading the company's national development efforts,[71] His daughter, Chloe, is a Division 1 athlete, university student and a national hunt seat equestrian competitor.[72]

Writing
  • The Peebles Principles: Tales and Tactics from an Entrepreneur's Life of Winning Deals, Succeeding in Business, and Creating a Fortune from Scratch. R. Donahue Peebles with J. P. Faber. John Wiley and Sons (2007). ISBN 0-470-09930-5.
  • The Peebles Path to Real Estate Wealth: How to Make Money in Any Market. R. Donahue Peebles with J. P. Faber. John Wiley and Sons (2008). ISBN 0-470-37280-X.

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