In 1892, Washington, D.C. was a small Southern community of less than 30,000 people. Although it played host to the Federal government, Congress was in session only four or five months a year. When it adjourned, the city virtually shut down.

On December 1, 1892, B. Francis Saul opened the doors of the Saul Company. He was 19 years old. His father, John Saul, who had died a few years earlier, was a native of County Cork, Ireland, and a distinguished horticulturist. At the request of Andrew Jackson Downing, the renowned Capital landscape architect, John Saul had left Ireland for Washington in May of 1851 to take over the planning and development of the Mall and other public areas in the emerging capital city. In 1854, John Saul became the first Chairman of Washington’s Parks commission, the forerunner of the Park and Planning Commission for the city.

For many years, John Saul maintained two botanical nurseries in Washington, D.C. By 1892, a young growing Washington, D.C. had reached the borders of these nurseries, and B. F. Saul founded his real estate business to facilitate their sale. Disposition of the land on a retail lot basis would bring higher prices than could otherwise be realized. To expedite the sales of lots, he took back notes from the buyers. His success in reselling these notes to the public was the beginning and, indeed, the foundation for the growth of the B. F. Saul Company as a mortgage bank and developer. This practice continued, with the buying of land for the company and its clients and the subsequent sale to builders for development. B. F. Saul Company financed each stage of the transaction, in the process that was to be repeated many times over.

A mortgage banker at the turn of the century would often syndicate a $10,000 home mortgage by selling individual notes, ranging in value from $100 to $1,000 to the public. It was also the mortgage banker’s responsibility to make a secondary market in the notes he issued. The same technique was used for office and apartment financing, and numerous mortgage banks based on this principle sprang up in the city. The demand for credit was coupled with the plain fact that most commercial banks paid little or no interest on deposits in those days. In this dual role as fiduciary and lender, the mortgage banker fulfilled an important need.

After the B. F. Saul Company became well established in the community, B. F. Saul, at the age of 27, founded the Home Savings Bank, which rapidly became the leading retail bank in the City. In 1919, he merged it with the American Security and Trust Company. In 1969 B. F. Saul II founded Chevy Chase Bank. Today, Chevy Chase Bank has assets of 14 billion and is the area’s largest bank.

Today the B. F. Saul Company concentrates on the ownership, development and construction of commercial real estate. It also has large property management, leasing and insurance departments.

Those mortgage bankers who were sound and well-capitalized flourished during the early decades of the 20th century. Many of them, like B. F. Saul Company, developed expertise in property management, leasing, development, insurance and related activities. The Crash of 1929 and the ensuing Depression took a heavy toll on both commercial banks and mortgage bankers, and many did not survive. During this turmoil, B. F. Saul was not only in a sound financial position but was by far the largest company of its kind in Washington.

Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal brought vast changes in the method of real estate financing and investment. Government support for the market took the form of Federal

In 1993 Saul Centers, a New York Stock Exchange listed Real Estate Investment Trust, was founded. Saul Centers invests primarily in shopping centers and commercial buildings. It is considered one of the most successful REITs of its kind in the country, managing over 47 shopping centers with 7.9 million square feet.

The B. F. Saul Company has a large hotel division, which owns and manages 18 business class hotels with 3,267 rooms located in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. region, Michigan and Florida. The Saul Company owns and manages a portfolio of 17 buildings, comprising over 3 million square feet of office and flex space. The majority of the properties are located in the Washington, D.C. area and Atlanta, Georgia. The B. F. Saul Company is also the owner and developer of apartments. The company owns land designated for the development of approximately 2500 apartment homes in the future.

The B. F. Saul Company continues today with the third and fourth generations of the family involved in leading the company; using the same fundamental values of its founder, concentrating on conservative business practices, the highest ethical standards and forward looking management. Today the B. F. Saul Company has an outstanding management team which ensures the future of this 100 plus year old company.

Housing Administration (FHA) and Veterans Administration (VA) financing. Federal savings and loans flourished, and large insurance companies began to dominate the marketplace. Over the last half century, the complexity of real estate as a business and as an investment opportunity has continued to increase.