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John McIlwain
Senior Resident Fellow, ULI/J. Ronald Terwilliger Chair for Housing
Phone: 202-624-7071
E-mail: jmcilwain@uli.org

Read Urban Land articles by McIlwain.









John K. McIlwain is the Senior Resident Fellow/J. Ronald Terwilliger Chair for Housing at the Urban Land Institute (ULI) in Washington, D.C. An author, speaker and former lawyer, McIlwain brings more than 35 years of experience in the fields of housing, housing investment and the development of sustainable housing.

As the Senior Resident Fellow for Housing, McIlwain’s responsibilities include leading ULI’s research efforts to seek and promote affordable housing solutions in the U.S. and other nations, including development and housing patterns designed to create sustainable future environments for urban areas. McIlwain is also the Chairman of the Center for Housing Policy and a past president of its affiliate the National Housing Conference, an umbrella organization in Washington for low-income and affordable housing issues. He is also a past president of the National Housing and Rehabilitation Association. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Community Preservation and Development Corporation, the Advisory Board of the Capmark Community Development Fund, as well as servings on the International Housing Coalition Board of Directors.

Prior to joining the ULI staff, McIlwain founded and served as Senior Managing Director of the American Communities Fund for Fannie Mae in Washington. The American Communities Fund is a venture fund founded by Fannie Mae dedicated to investing in hard-to-finance affordable housing. In this capacity, he was responsible for structuring, underwriting and closing equity investments in more than $700 million of residential and neighborhood retail developments in lower-income communities around the country. He also structured, negotiated and closed more than $100 million in historic tax credit and inner-city equity investments funds with Lend Lease, AEW Capital Management, and the Community Development Trust. Before taking that position, he was president and chief executive officer of the Fannie Mae Foundation.

Prior to joining Fannie Mae, McIlwain was the managing partner of the Washington law offices of Powell, Goldstein, Frazer and Murphy, where he represented a broad range of clients in the single-family and multifamily housing areas.

McIlwain also served as executive assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Housing/Federal Housing Commissioner at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He began his career in housing as Assistant Director for Finance and Administration, and Deputy Director of the Maine State Housing Authority.

McIlwain is a past president of the National Housing Conference, an umbrella organization in Washington for low-income and affordable housing issues. He is also a past president of the National Housing and Rehabilitation Association. He currently is Secretary of the Center for Housing Policy and serves on the Board of Directors of the Community Preservation and Development Corporation, the Advisory Board of the Paramount Community Development Fund, and is a member of Mayor’s Comprehensive Housing Strategy Task Force for the District of Columbia.

McIlwain received a law degree from New York University where he worked for the NYU Law Review and was a John Norton Pomeroy Scholar. He received a bachelor of arts degree, cum laude, from Princeton University.

 Learn more about the Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing 
Research & Publications
Where Will The Millenials Call Home?—
Professional Builder online magazine

Housing in America presentation—2010

Housing in America: The Next Decade—2010

Housing and the Tides of Urban Regeneration—2008

Housing Challenges in an Urban World—2008

Workforce Housing and Climate Change—2008

Ten Principles for Developing Affordable Housing—2007


February 16, 2011 - Census data are confirming the Washington region is booming, with the suburbs becoming more urban and the city luring residents who once fled the metropolis. John K. McIlwain spoke on The Kojo Nnamdi Show to explore the trends behind the data and how we should be responding to maintain a high quality of life in both the city and the suburbs. Listen »

Gen Y and Housing Trends
According to John McIlwain, at a recent forum hosted by the ULI Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing, development of housing in the post-recession economy will be influenced by two population groups at opposite ends of the age spectrum: Gen Y and senior citizens. Listen to McIlwain discuss what Gen Yers will want in housing.



Seniors and the New Senior Housing 
John McIlwain discusses development of housing in the post-recession economy will be influenced by two population groups at opposite ends of the age spectrum: Gen Y and senior citizens. Listen to McIlwain discuss what he describes as three distinct groups of seniors will want in housing.



Housing in America: The Next Decade
John McIlwain describes the U.S. housing market, and how it will be affected by demographic trends.