Washington, D.C.—November 8, 2022—Standard Communities, a leading national multifamily housing investor and developer, has named Feras Qumseya as Chief Development Officer, a new position created to support one of the three new business lines recently launched by the company. At Standard, he is responsible for the New Construction division, a national platform, focused on leveraging 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) financing to build new dedicated affordable housing units in major metropolitan areas. He is based in Washington, D.C.
The three specialized teams—Acquisition Redevelopment, New Construction, and Essential Housing—will better leverage and align the strengths and diversity of its people to innovate with greater speed and execute more efficiently.
“As Standard continues to grow, we are bringing together focused, specialized teams dedicated to executing unique and diversified business lines. We are empowering leaders, providing them with the resources and autonomy to expand our business and leverage our expertise across the country in new and exciting ways. We are thrilled to have Feras as part of our senior leadership team. He brings an enormous amount of affordable development experience to the team, in addition to his track record of leading and scaling teams,” said Scott Alter, Co-Founder and Principal of Standard Communities.
Mr. Qumseya brings 20 years of experience working on all aspects of affordable housing, economic development, public-private partnerships, large mixed-use projects, and transit-oriented developments. He joins Standard from Foulger-Pratt, a real estate investment and development firm, where as Vice President of Development he was responsible for creating and scaling a platform to develop and preserve affordable housing nationwide.
“Feras brings a truly unique set of skills, insight, and diligence. We are confident that Feras will help make great things happen as he focuses on building out a national 4% LIHTC New Construction platform at Standard. We are really excited to have someone with his character, experience and capabilities join our growing team,” said Jeffrey Jaeger, Co-Founder and Principal of Standard Communities. “He has already committed Standard to several exciting new construction projects in Maryland and Virginia, and we look forward to seeing them come to life, furthering our mission of providing high-quality, affordable housing,” added Jaeger.
Mr. Qumseya served as the Mayor’s Founding Director for the Washington, D.C. Saint Elizabeths East Campus Redevelopment initiative, one of the largest real estate urban redevelopment in the country, on 183 acres. In that capacity, Mr. Qumseya represented the D.C. Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development working with local groups to ensure the revitalization of underserved communities east of the Anacostia River and to achieve President Obama’s Sustainable Communities initiative.
“I’m thrilled to join this group of dynamic innovators and talented professionals to help create communities where people, regardless of their background or economic status, can call home and be able to live and thrive,” said Feras Qumseya, Chief Development Officer of Standard Communities. “Accelerating the expansion of Standard’s LIHTC new construction platform will increase the supply of new, quality, affordable homes across the country. This has never been more important, and I am proud of Standard’s commitment to this purpose,” added Qumseya.
Mr. Qumseya received an MS in Information Systems Technology, Construction Management Systems from The George Washington University School of Business. He holds a BA in Economics and Management and International Relations from Beloit College.
In addition to diversifying its business lines, since the start of 2022 Standard Communities has grown its staff by more than 20%, acquiring eight new communities, and adding nearly 1,200 units. By year-end, Standard expects to acquire controlling interests in over 40 new communities and add more than 5,600 units, bringing its portfolio to nearly 20,000 units across the country.
With headquarters in New York and Los Angeles, Standard has a national portfolio of over 14,600 apartment units and has completed more than $3.8 billion of affordable housing acquisitions and rehabilitations nationwide. Standard Communities strives to cultivate long-term public and private partnerships to produce and preserve high-quality, affordable, and environmentally sustainable housing.
