Long & Foster’s New Urban Pace

It’s a match made in heaven: Urban Pace, a company that provides marketing, sales and other services to real estate developers, has joined up with the Long & Foster Companies. While it is now part of the L&F team, Urban Pace will continue to do business from its 14th Street NW location and under its existing brand and leadership.

Urban Pace CEO Lynn Hackney pointed out that many firms have been successful with Urban Pace’s business model of working directly with real estate developers, naming as examples Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group, Douglas Elliman and Halstead Property.

Founded in 2001, D.C.-based Urban Pace has worked on more than five million square feet of property and thousands of units. Long & Foster, based in Chantilly, Virginia, has conquered the D.C. metropolitan area in overall residential real estate sales, topping out at $14.62 billion in 2013, according to the Washington Business Journal.

Those familiar with Long & Foster but not with Urban Pace should know that they have the largest portfolio of new construction — both actively selling and in the pipeline — in D.C., said Matt Dewey, who has stepped up as Urban Pace’s president. Jennifer Harper will stay on as senior director, working with Dewey’s managerial team.

“If you are interested in new construction, urbanpace.com should be your first stop when you begin your search,” Dewey said. “We have properties in every price point and in every neighborhood and we provide a turnkey approach to home sales.”

Dewey has been with the company for more than 10 years. His advice for those still searching for their best-fitting job is to “look for a company that is going to help you grow and utilize your skill set above and beyond your specific position.

“I began my career at Urban Pace working in sales, but had an aptitude and passion for marketing,” Dewey said. “Lynn took notice of that and integrated me into the marketing department, which has been invaluable to my rise in the company.”

Hackney, the first woman to serve as president of the D.C. Building Industry Association, was formerly Urban Pace’s president. As CEO, she plans to focus on the firm’s strategic direction and vision. She is most excited about Urban Pace and Long & Foster’s exclusive affiliation with Christie’s International and its Chinese buyer marketing initiatives, which Christie’s is currently ramping up.

That will be “a huge benefit to us and our developers next year,” Hackney said. “It’s already shown results for our luxury properties and we are going into other urban markets like Philadelphia, for example. So it’s an exciting time.”

To Hackney, the Long & Foster-Urban Pace pairing is a perfect union. “They are a billion-dollar company with an unbelievable marketing platform and amazing resources,” she said. “Urban Pace gets to keep doing what it does best, but with the power of L&F behind us.”