Weekend Interview: Comstock Chairman And CEO Chris Clemente

This series gets into the heads of the decision-makers of CRE, the people shaping the industry by setting investment strategy, workplace design, diversity initiatives and more.

Chris Clemente, chairman and CEO of Comstock, has transformed a for-sale homebuilder in Northern Virginia into one of the region's most prominent transit-oriented developers.

Clemente has said Comstock is the only developer to own redevelopment plays on both sides of the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station in Reston, and his firm stands to benefit now that the second phase of the Silver Line is finally complete.

Clemente said he believes that the increased demand suburban developers saw during the pandemic is here to stay, but he is also betting that the work-from-anywhere trend may be on its way out — his own firm returned to its newly developed office at Reston Station early in the pandemic.

Today, Comstock is moving forward with plans to develop more Metro-adjacent properties at Ashburn's Loudoun Station and has expanded its footprint at its Reston Station project. Clemente said he believes his properties are well-positioned to embrace the flight to quality that has become a trope across commercial real estate in the post-lockdown environment.

The following is lightly edited for style and clarity.

Bisnow: Baron Rothschild once said the “time to buy is when there’s blood in the streets.” Where is the blood today?

Clemente: Having survived multiple cycles, including two major downturns, when I think of "blood in the streets," I think of the early 1990s when the Resolution Trust Corp. was established by Congress to manage the vast amount of real estate on the balance sheets of failed banks and S&Ls. When the RTC became the largest property owner in America during that downturn, they sold thousands of CRE assets for pennies on the dollar, costing taxpayers billions and causing the worst real estate downturn in my 35-plus-year career. Today the rising cost of capital and credit availability disruptions, coupled with challenging market conditions created in part by the pandemic, is creating market risk and potential opportunities, though nothing like we saw in the early '90s. 

Bisnow: What is your most controversial CRE opinion and why are you right about it? 

Clemente: I firmly believe the prevalence of the “work from anywhere” model is temporary. While the pandemic’s impact on the way people work and the places people want to work may linger, it is unrealistic to think such drastic changes to the way society and the economy function are permanent. However, the oft-mentioned “flight to quality” is real, as many companies have rethought their office utilization plans and realized that they can operate with less square footage than pre-pandemic. Reston Station in the Dulles Corridor is a perfect example of this continuing trend.

Bisnow: If you weren’t in real estate, what path would your career have taken?

Clemente: Architecture or urban planning.

Bisnow: If you could make one change to the industry, what would it be?

Clemente: Streamline urban planning and permitting processes to encourage forward-thinking architecture while also incentivizing development of affordable housing within employment centers. 

Bisnow: What is one thing you would do differently from early in your career?

Clemente: I would have held for investment many of the thousands of units we built as for-sale units. 

Bisnow: As a leader, how do you decide who is worth mentoring and who is simply not a good fit?

Clemente: I look for people skilled at problem-solving with good business instincts.

Bisnow: What are your thoughts on the metaverse? Does it have any relevance for CRE?

Clemente: The metaverse reminds me of the early video game Pong, and like that early video game, the metaverse is little more than a curiosity. What we are doing at Comstock is the opposite of creating a virtual world where isolated people interact virtually with other isolated people. Comstock creates places that attract people that appreciate the social benefits of in-person human interaction.

Bisnow: What do you see as the lasting impacts of the pandemic on CRE? 

Clemente: The pandemic changed people's attitudes regarding where they wanted to live and altered many companies' office utilization plans. The primary beneficiary of these attitude adjustments has been suburban-located mixed-use and transit-oriented properties like Reston Station and Loudoun Station. 

Bisnow: As you know, there is a massive conversation underway regarding advancing more people of color and women into the C-suite. What are you doing to address those voices and that movement within your own organization?

Clemente: We are working with our recruitment process to diversify our talent pipeline across our teams to best reflect our communities across our portfolio. 

Bisnow: This is the weekend interview. What’s your typical weekend routine?

Clemente: With eight kids and two grandchildren, I spend as much time as possible focused on them while also visiting portfolio properties and dining at the newest restaurants. Have you tried Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse at Reston Station yet?