Liz, a mixed-use project in Washington, D.C., is being developed by Fivesquares Development in partnership with Whitman-Walker Health System.
David Madison Photography Inc.
For many non-profit organizations, the work of sustaining themselves to fulfill their missions is a tricky business. They might begin in an inexpensive and often undesirable location, and when gentrification creeps in and their land values go up, they sell off real estate to channel profits into their missions and begin the process elsewhere.
Thanks to an innovative partnership between Whitman-Walker Health System, a non-profit community health center in the Washington, D.C. metro area, and private developer Fivesquares Development, two historic structures in the heart of 14th Street have been transformed into a block-long mixed-use development called Liz, which not only creates long-term funding for the mission and growth of Whitman-Walker, but has a transformative effect on the entire corridor through the creation of a cultural hub, outdoor gathering spaces, public art and retail amenities.
Leasing is now underway at the development, which will include 78 apartment units across four floors, plus office and retail space. Residents have begun moving in as work continues on 60,000 square feet of office space across two floors, including Whitman-Walker’s administrative offices, research team and community health programming. Goethe-Institut, a non-profit German cultural association, will occupy a separate floor for office and cultural use. The ground floor will consist of 20,000 square feet of retail, restaurants and the Whitman-Walker Cultural Center, which will be a space devoted to the LGBTQ community.
Open concept living room and kitchen at Liz
David Madison Photography Inc.
“We wanted that vibrancy, the kind of 18-hour uses that really contribute to this corridor in a big way,” said Andy Altman, principal and co-founder of Fivesquares Development along with Ron Kaplan.
Altman, former director of the D.C. Office of Planning, lived a block from Whitman-Walker and knows the neighborhood intimately. Fivesquares Development proposed a public wellness plan that involved removing three parking spaces and part of the sidewalk on two major corners of the block to create a larger public space with art and outdoor seating areas that nurture human interaction, where people can mingle, play or just sit on a bench and watch the world go by.
Currently, there is no place on 14th Street where residents can sit if they just want to have a place to hang out, said Altman, adding that: “It’s all part of creating a very dynamic development that is really mission true in a lens that combines for-profit and the mission-related aspects of this.”
The contemporary building is clad in terracotta and glass with materials, colors and design elements that echo the original design of the Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center. Noted architect Annabelle Selldorf’s design integrates modernity with history, celebrating the past and looking forward to the neighborhood’s future.
Architect Annabelle Selldorf’s design blends modernity and history.
David Madison Photography Inc.
The project was named Liz to honor the legacy of the Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center, which was generously funded by actress Elizabeth Taylor, the first globally recognized celebrity HIV and AIDS activist. The medical facility served as a safe space and sanctuary for metro DC’s LGBTQ community for more than 30 years.
Many in the community, including long-time patients, volunteers and employees, used the shorthand “Liz Taylor” to refer to Whitman-Walker’s former medical home. The name “Liz” for the real estate development was chosen as a reminder of the lives saved and lost in that safe space and to mark its place in the history of LGBTQ life in Washington, D.C.
Altman said Whitman-Walker had valuable real estate on a gentrifying corridor, noting that many non-profits find themselves at the center of growth after being on the edge of growth.
“The majority of them that are faced with the challenges that non-profits have of sustaining themselves economically sell their properties or auction them,” said Altman. “They get offered a significant amount of money from private developers and take the money and move their operations. They put money in the bank and hope their endowment will be sufficient to yield whatever they need to sustain themselves. That’s sort of the typical model. And it’s very hard for a non-profit when a developer is going to write you a multimillion-dollar check, and you are in need of financial resources to come up with alternatives.”
As a case study, Liz not only allows for new development in one of D.C.’s popular neighborhoods, but also creates an opportunity for Whitman-Walker to retain majority ownership of the historic property. The financial stability that the development of Liz provides Whitman-Walker Health will allow the organization to expand services, generate social goodwill and provide care to even greater numbers of residents.
Bedroom at Liz overlooks the D.C. community.
David Madison Photography Inc.
Don Blanchon, CEO of Whitman-Walker Health System, believes life is a lot about timing and relationships.
“Andy and Ron came into our circles at the right time, and we were in a place after just having opened a new health center to really want to think more creatively about how we were going to partner with other people,” he said. “Whitman-Walker deserved more people from within the community, so the timing was exquisite.”
Over the years, Whitman-Walker has shown a legacy of stewardship. “We were an all-volunteer organization for the first 10 years of our existence serving gay men and lesbians,” said Blanchon. “And then the AIDS epidemic hit here as well as other major cities in the early to mid-1980s. We became an organization that had to live off of community philanthropy for at least a decade before the federal government put money through with the Ryan White Act. So we have a long-standing history of community philanthropy. Without it we would be nowhere.”
A unique element plays a part in Whitman-Walker’s history. “We had a dozen gay men who died of AIDS-related complications who bequeathed their homes,” Blanchon said. “And then the values of those homes over time were used to build the foundation of Whitman-Walker today.”
He said Whitman-Walker’s reliance on government and third-party funding for health care has not been the most stable funding model.
“We’ve really had to think about how do you become more sustainable financially at a time when there is tumult and discourse and uncertainty with government funding,” explained Blanchon.
Similar to actor Paul Newman’s philanthropy through a sustained business, Whitman-Walker aims to reap the benefits of the rental units and retail space at Liz for years to come, ensuring the success of its mission and allowing the organization to plan and expand its services with certainty for the future.
“We have a strong sense of stewardship,” said Blanchon. “Those 12 men had the foresight to pay it forward and leave us their homes. The economic value of those homes has obviously kept this place not only afloat, but has allowed it to prosper in recent years. From a compelling perspective, the organization literally stands on the shoulders of people who died of AIDS-related complications.”
Altman believes Fivesquares’ innovative approach to aligning interests with a non-profit is “very unique” nationally. He said, “We’ve gotten a lot of foundations who have been interested because they are saying ‘wait a minute, we’re doing mission-related investment, this might be something that we want to look into.’ And I think that’s been really neat, and we love it.”