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Joseph R. Bender has over 40 years of experience in the disciplines of real estate market economics, urban and small area planning, project planning, economic development, real estate development and finance, transit-oriented development, innovative regulatory and incentive programming, structuring public-private transactions, entitlement representation, and project implementation. He serves as Re/Met’s senior real estate advisor and directs commercial projects.
As founding principal of Stanmore Associates, Mr. Bender also continues to serve both public and private clients. Stanmore provides consulting services in the fields of urban planning, transit-oriented development, site/project planning, feasibility assessment, regulatory programming, and entitlement representation.
In addition to his practice with Stanmore Associates, Mr. Bender is President of Potomac Land Associates, Inc., a privately held real estate company operating in the Washington, D.C. area involved in land development, construction, renovation of residential and commercial properties for investment and sale, and related property management.
As an official with the Government of the District of Columbia, Mr. Bender’s career spanned positions in planning, land-use regulation, economic development, and development finance. He had a lead responsibility for preparation of plans and implementation programs for Downtown Washington, D.C. and several of the city’s neighborhoods. He was also responsible for formulating regulatory, tax incentive, and public finance programs to induce investment in preferred retail, residential, hospitality, industrial, arts, and cultural uses, as well as to ensure high design and preservation standards. As the city’s senior real estate expert, he had direct responsibility for preparation, offering, and negotiating property dispositions, resulting in proceeds of over $200 million and leveraging private investments approaching $1 billion. Furthermore, he was responsible for operating the revenue bond, business, and development finance programs, including a combined portfolio in excess of $1 billion.
Mr. Bender earned a Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where he specialized in real estate market and development feasibility assessment. He is a graduate of Moravian College.
Mr. Bender is involved in several professional and civic organizations. He is a former Vice Chairman and Trustee of the prestigious Committee of 100 on the Federal City. He has served on the boards of the Washington Jesuit Academy and the Georgetown Visitation School, and remains active in educational, professional, and civic institutions in the Washington, D.C. region.
