Robert K. Jenkins Jr. Awarded the Inaugural Robert E. Ibanez Award for Outstanding Achievement in Community Development

“I am honored,” said Jenkins of receiving this award. “It’s a double honor for me as Bob [Ibanez] and I were colleagues at NeighborWorks of America. It was called Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation back in those days. I was the mid-Atlantic district director and Bob was risk analysis director,”

REP, an economic development advisory and fund management firm, has three legs: No. 1 lending and investing: Renaissance New Markets Fund (RNMF), REP’s community development entity (CDE), has partnered with CDEs affiliated with Valley National Bank and Wells Fargo to deploy new markets tax credits (NMTCs) to several projects, including a health cate facility in south central Los Angeles and a historically

 

Black college and university (HBCU) in North Carolina. RNMF expects to soon apply for its own NMTC allocation to enhance its lending capacity. No. 2 portfolio management: REP provides portfolio management services to CDEs and other community development lenders, including assisting a local municipal community development agency manage a $1 billion portfolio of Community Development Block Grant-funded home ownership loans. No. 3 providing predevelopment technical assistance: primarily to nonprofit community development corporations and minority developers.

 

“The third arm is where | am most directly involved,” said Jenkins. “We work with project sponsors from brainstorming through fruition. For example, we are presently assisting a minority developer launch development of a $20 million mixed-use project on a site directly across the street from two HBCU’s, We are also assisting a faith based nonprofit community development corporation to Memphis to redevelop s long vacant but historically significant  church building  into a health care facility and construct 44 affordable housing units on an adjacent parcel.”

 

About the Award, Admiration from Peers

 

The Robert E. Ibanez Award for Outstanding Achievement in Community Development reflects the recipient's vision, leadership, Innovation and impact in advancing the mission of community development. The award ia named after the late Robert “Hob* thane, who passed away in April goa. Ibanez pent five years with Novogradac us a senior manager in the company’ public policy group. Before Novogradac, Ibanez spent 13 years with the CDF1 Fund, including his final six as program manager of the NMTC and Bank Enterprise Award programs. Prior to that, Ibanez had a private consulting practice and also worked in the financial and community development industries, including as an associate director at Neighborhood Reinvestment.

Jenkins’ colleagues see that same passion for community development in Jenkins that Ibanez exuded.

 

“Mr. Jenkins, a humble giant in the new markets tax credit field, has dedicated his life's work to the betterment of the underserved, the disenfranchised and communities which have been consistently left behind,” said James 1). Howard Jr., president of Dudley Ventures. “Creative, bright, persistent and always with modesty and a sense of humor, Mr. Jenkins has undertaken the most difficult projects in the most challenging areas to achieve results which far surpass expectations, His long-term impressive work with historically Black colleges and universities, communities of color and advocacy efforts to broaden the CDFI Funds awards to CDEs of color, has set him apart from his peers and epitomizes the spirit of Bob Thanez” “I met Bob Jenkins tn 2007, when he led Hampton Roads Ventures, a CDE. We ‘in he athe cs wore an investor in his allocation

of NMTCs,” said Laura Vowell, managing director of community finance solutions at U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance. “We worked with Bob as he tried to support the most underserved communities with NMTCs. For years, he’s been bringing the most unique projects to the market. ”One development that stood out to Vowell that she and Jenkins worked on together was the redevelopment of the Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C. “It was a labor of love for the district and something that changed the community it is located in,” said Vowell. In addition to his passion for community development, Vowell praised Jenkins’ work ethic. “Bob is very persistent,” said Vowell. “We need people to be more like that in order to see tough transactions through to the finish line. He has such a strong commitment to those difficult projects.”

 

of NMTCs,” said Laura Vowell, managing director of community finance solutions at U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance. “We worked with Bob as he tried to support the most underserved communities with NMTCs. For years, he’s been bringing the most unique projects to the market. “One development that stood out to Vowell that she and Jenkins worked on together was the redevelopment of the Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C. “It was a labor of love for the district and something that changed the community it is located in,” said Vowell. In addition to his passion for community development, Vowell praised Jenkins’ work ethic. “Bob is very persistent,” said Vowell. “We need people to be more like that in order to see tough transactions through to the finish line. He has such a strong commitment to those difficult projects.”

 

Jenkins’ Work in Community Development

 

Prior to his time at REP, Jenkins was the founding CEO of Hampton Roads Ventures. Before that, Jenkins served as chief operating officer of the Norfolk Re development and Housing Authority, Virginia’s largest municipal economic development and affordable housing agency. Jenkins also is an experienced real estate finance attorney and has worked with federal low-income housing tax credits as well. Jenkins didn’t only use the NMTC. He is a strong advocate for the program as well. He was on the board of the NMTC Coalition from 2008 through 2012.“I've seen a number of these programs come and go, but I saw the flexibility of the NMTC and felt obligated to ensure the program stays because it works so well,” said Jenkins. “It’s much more effective than other sources of capital. It attracts private sector capital into low-income communities.”

 

has been Jenkins mantra since the start ofreer.challenge is to get capital to where it is needed” said Jenkins. “I am committed to bringing capitalw-income communities, particularly Black andn communities.”ins was drawn to community development fromTl¥ age. He was born and raised in the Edgewoodborhood of Washington, D.C., which Jenkins calledck working-class neighborhood. One memory, incular, sparked his lifelong passion for communityopment.local grocery store, a Safeway, closed,” said Jenkins.community literally cried. Families that didn’t havecouldn't get groceries.” The community then trieda cooperative grocery store put in Safeway’s placeas not successful.othered me. You have entire neighborhoods,vorking people without quality goods and services,”Jenkins. “Turn the clock forward, and I'm donecollege and law school and I’m working as the chiefting officer of the Norfolk Redevelopment anding Authority. I heard about the NMTC program,ve submitted an application. That’s my origin storyNMTCs.”ore recent years, Jenkins has been doing a lot ofwith HBCUs. For undergraduate school, Jenkinsded Howard University, a well-known HBCU inington, D.C. n I was at Howard, there were no sit-downirants, or shopping that you would see aroundschools,” said Jenkins. “What can we do to bring thegoods and services to Black colleges? For HBCUsnpete with other universities, they need quality,and services on and off campus.”

 

Jenkins found NMTCs to be a piece of the puzzle.“How do you make the numbers work in a communitythat doesn’t have a history of attracting equity? NMTCsare the answer,” said Jenkins.Jenkins recalls one such NMTC investment that broughtdormitories, faculty offices and a state-of-the-artgymnasium to the campus of Paul Quinn College, anHBCU in Dallas.“There are a lot of conversations in our world aroundracial equity, ensuring money like NMTCs goes intocommunities of color and that our ecosystems reflectthose in the community,” said Vowell. “Bob is a leaderin this. He was early to the conversation.”“It’s great that the inaugural winner of the RobertE. Ibanez Award for Outstanding Achievement inCommunity Development not only embodies the spiritof Robert Ibanez, but actually worked with Ibanez,like Jenkins did,” said Brad Elphick, CPA, Novogradacpartner and judge of the award. “Ibanez was a colleagueand a friend and it’s great to see others, like Jenkins, inthe community development world committing theirtime and resources to impactful projects that shape ourcommunities.”Jenkins is grateful for the support he has received throughout his career.

 

“I shall be forever appreciative for the support I havereceived over the years from my fellow members of theNMTC community, particularly Jim Howard and histeam at Dudley Ventures,” said Jenkins. “I consider Jimto be my brother from another mother. Who would havethought that an Irishman from the North Bronx anda Black guy from inner city D.C. would band togetherto bring much-needed investment capital into longneglected Black and brown neighborhoods?”