William Frank Reed · 2006 Honoree

Frank Reed has been practicing law in Washington, D.C., since 1959 and developing real estate on the Hill since the early eighties. It was Georgetown University Law School that originally drew him, a native of Melrose, Massachusetts and a graduate of Tufts University, to DC; it was his legal work with several real estate developers that got him into the business. “I thought it could be done better,” he says. A handful of awards for excellence––from the American Institute of Architects, from CHAMPS and from the Masonry Institute, among others —for properties built by Stanton Development Corporation, of which Frank is one-third, prove he was right.

Frank is quick to point out that he and his two partners, Kitty Kaupp and Ken Golding, are complementary and contribute equally to their success. The three share a commitment to the patient pursuit of what Frank calls “commanding” locations on the Hill and a desire to create commercial spaces that are unusual, attractive and of high quality. Much of their work is located at or near the corner of Seventh Street and Pennsylvania Avenue where the old Kresge’s store became the elegant Bread & Chocolate with three stories of offices above it. Also developed by Stanton Development are the old Post Office on Seventh Street, where Ben & Jerry’s and Montmartre restaurant are now, and Yes! Organic Market around the corner. The dramatic look these buildings share was created by architect Amy Weinstein with whom Frank and his colleagues have collaborated since the early eighties. Frank has handled all of the complex legal work for these and the five other major projects on the Hill created by Stanton Development.

Frank’s steady influence and his ability both to think long-term and to live in the moment have benefited the community in other ways as well. Having served a year as acting president of CHAMPS (Capitol Hill Association of Merchants and Professionals) followed by two terms as president, he has been part of many efforts to enhance the environment for living and doing business on Capitol Hill, including planting fruit trees on the median strip of Pennsylvania Avenue (and then worrying about how they would get watered). He was on the board of the Ellen Wilson Community Development Corporation for over six years and is now involved in improvements to the Eastern Market Metro Plaza. Frank is a valued member of the Board of the Capitol Hill Community Foundation.

When not working, Frank can sometimes be found cruising on "Reflections," the fifty-three-foot yacht he co-owns with Drew Scallan. He has two children; his son Bill lives in Bethesda and is an electrician, and his daughter Mary Lynn is a lawyer, like her dad.