R. Donahue Peebles

Peebles was born in Washington, D.C. to Ruth Yvonne Willoughby and Roy Donahue Peebles Sr.[5] His grandfather was a doorman at the Marriott Wardman Park hotel [6] in Washington D.C. Peebles has said that assisting his father as car mechanic while still a child contributed to his strong work ethic.[7] At the age of eight, Peebles moved to Detroit, where he spent five years until returning to Washington D.C.[8] at 13 and completed high school while serving as a Congressional Page.[9]

In 1979, after his freshman year as a student at Rutgers University Peebles dropped out[1] and became a real estate sales agent and appraiser in Washington, D.C. On January 9, 1983, at the age of 23, he established RDP Corporation, a residential and commercial real estate appraisal firm. Later that year, he was appointed to Washington's Board of Equalization and Review by Marion Barry, the real estate tax appeals board currently known as the Board of Real Property Assessments and Appeals. One year later, when Peebles was 24, Washington's Mayor Marion Barry appointed him Chairperson of the Board[10] where he served until 1988.[1]

In 1986, a Peebles-led partnership acquired the site for his first real estate development project: a 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m²) Class-A office building at 2100 Martin Luther King Ave. SE.[11][12] In 1990, Peebles founded RDP Assessment Appeals Services, a Washington-based commercial tax assessment appeals firm. Peebles continued to acquire commercial buildings and development sites in Washington, D.C. throughout the 1990s, including 10 G Street NE, and the Convention Center Courtyard by Marriott.[13]

In 1996, Peebles redeveloped the 1930s Royal Palm hotel in Miami Beach.[14] The Royal Palm Resort became the nation's first major hotel developed and owned by an African American.[15] Other Miami projects include The Residences at The Bath Club, a luxury residential tower.[1] Peebles also co-developed The Lincoln, a mixed-use development featuring Class A office space in South Beach. In the early 2000s Peebles expanded into San Francisco, Las Vegas and New York.

In November 2010, D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles sued Peebles’ company for alleged overbilling; Peebles maintained the charges were politically motivated due to his opposition to then Mayor Adrian Fenty failed re-election bid earlier that year. A D.C. Superior Court dismissed most of the claims against Peebles.[16] The suit was settled in November 2012 by Nickles’ successor, D.C. Attorney General Irvin Nathan for $120,000, a fraction of the initial claim.[17] The court accepted the settlement, and dismissed as moot the over-billing claims.[18]

Peebles had been a member of the Real Estate Board of New York's Board of Governors,[19] the former Chairman of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau,[20] an invitee to then-President-elect Clinton's 1992 Economic Summit in Arkansas, and in 2013 was named to Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez's Mayoral Business Roundtable. [21]

Peebles developed properties in Miami; Miami Beach; Washington, D.C.; and has pending developments in process in Boston, New York City, Washington, D.C., Charlotte, N.C., and Los Angeles.

His present development projects include: 108 Leonard Street (a.k.a. 346 Broadway), a luxury hotel and condominiums in Manhattan's landmarked “Clocktower Building;” in a joint venture with El-Ad Group.,[22], Angel's Landing, in Los Angeles, and Brooklyn Village, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Only 108 Leonard has begun construction.

Peebles's contract at 1801 Vine Street, a luxury boutique hotel in Philadelphia's historic Family Court Building was cancelled in November 2020 by the City of Philadelphia; Peebles said he was "puzzled" by Philadelphia's decision to cancel the agreement, despite years of delays, a lack of construction, and ballooning costs.[23][24] Similarly, Peebles "walked away" from his proposed development of the SLS Hotel and Residences, a luxury hotel and condominiums in Washington, D.C.’s Mount Vernon Triangle;[25] a large scale hotel, retail and residential mixed use development called Viola in Boston's Back Bay,[26][27] and a 17-acre development consisting of 12 buildings with a mixture of uses including two hotels, office, apartment and residential condominium buildings in Charlotte, N.C. Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. The project has been named Brooklyn Village.[28] A Peebles JV team was awarded the exclusive rights by the Los Angeles Community Development Agency to develop the tallest building in the western United States in downtown Los Angeles. The project, Angles Landing is expected to cost $1.2 billion to build.

In a string of cancelled projects, in November 2020, the City of Philadelphia cancelled Peebles contract to acquire the Family Court Building at 1801 Vine Street; the City cited Peebles inability to begin construction after over 7 years of delays, as well as larger economic trends. [29]. Peebles had obtained millions of dollars in government grants over the course of 7 years, and was one of several Peebles contracts cancelled by cities due to delays by Peebles.[30] Peebles also lost a project in Miami's Overtown neighborhood and litigated against the City and the subsequent owners; many of Peebles claims were dismissed in 2020.[31]

In 2016 Peebles told DNAinfo that he had requested a return of a $20,000 contribution his company had made to a PAC formed by NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio represented to support universal Pre-K for NYC children when he discovered the funds were being used to fund political mailers to advance development projects favored by de Blasio.[32]

In 2004, Peebles was elected as chairman of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau and has been recognized by various organizations for his leadership and innovation. Also in 2004, the Peebles Corporation was recognized by Black Enterprise as "Company of the Year."[33]

He was named “Trailblazer of the Year” by the Metropolitan Black Bar Association in 2016[34]

In 2017, the New York City Mission Society honored Peebles with its “Champions for Children” award.[35][36]

Peebles is a Democrat, though he recently supported Republican President Donald J. Trump and did not hold any fundraisers for candidate Hillary Clinton. He and his wife have supported various congressional, mayoral, gubernatorial, and presidential candidates over the years. In the early 1990s, Washington Business Journal wrote an article citing Peebles as one of the “top fundraisers” in the city. In 1992, he hosted presidential hopeful and Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton in his home for a fundraiser.[37] Peebles served as a member of President Barack Obama's National Finance Committee for the President's 2008 election and 2012 reelection campaign.[38][39] in May 2008 Peebles hosted then Senator Obama for a campaign fundraiser at The Bath Club and later hosted President Obama at the home he owned in Washington D.C. for a campaign fundraiser on August 8, 2011.[40]

In 2010, Peebles considered running to become mayor of Washington, but he decided against a run due to his mother-in-law's illness.[10] Peebles' mother-in-law died later that year.

In 2013, Peebles was elected vice chairman of the board of directors of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.[41] In July 2015, he was elevated to chairperson of the CBCF's board of directors and re-elected in February 2016,[42][43][44] a role he held until February 2017 when he reached his term limit on the board. Peebles was the only non-member of Congress to be elected to the position of Chair of the CBCF.

Peebles' advocacy for minority and women owned businesses, a more business friendly environment, and expansion of Charter Schools raised speculation[45] that he was a potential candidate to challenge de Blasio for re-election in the 2017 election cycle for the term beginning January 2018, however, Peebles did not enter the race citing wanting to teach his then 22-year-old son, a recent graduate from Columbia University, the real estate business, and to spend time with his 14-year-old daughter during her last four years at home before college.[46][47][48]

In 2016, Peebles publicly advocated for President Elect Donald J. Trump on several media outlets. On CNN, Peebles said "Trump will help minorities" and "Like him or not, Donald Trump will be good for real estate."[49]

Peebles moved to Miami, Florida, in 1998 then Coral Gables in 2001,[50] has homes in Bridgehampton, Coral Gables and New York City,[51] and lives in Coral Gables and New York City with his wife Katrina, whom he married in 1994[52] She is a former PR executive[53] and model that serves on the Board of Directors of the Peebles Corporation.[37]

His son Donahue is a Columbia University graduate and is currently working as the Senior Associate of Development at The Peebles Corporation, where he is leading the company's Washington, D.C. development efforts,[54][55] His daughter Chloe is an equestrian competitor and two sport student athlete.[56]

• The Peebles Principles: Tales and Tactics from an Entrepreneur's Life of Winning Deals, Succeeding in Business, and Creating a Fortune from Scratch. R. Donahue Peebles with J. P. Faber. John Wiley and Sons (2007). ISBN 0-470-09930-5.
• The Peebles Path to Real Estate Wealth: How to Make Money in Any Market. R. Donahue Peebles with J. P. Faber. John Wiley and Sons (2008). ISBN 0-470-37280-X.

• The Peebles Corporation
• Fried, John (March 1, 2005). "How I Did It: R. Donahue Peebles". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved December 5, 2010.