Marshall Rose, Adam Flatto and Joe Rose

The Georgetown Company is an exceptional institution in the real estate world that has developed large-scale public and private projects all over the country. Even more impressive is its consistent and extensive philanthropic work. The commitment of Georgetown partners Marshall Rose, Adam Flatto and Joe Rose exemplifies how corporations can add value to a philanthropic enterprise.

In 2008, Georgetown's most exciting feat of philanthropy will begin to rise on the border between Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant—a high school for 1,600 students educated by two premier charter management organizations, Achievement First and Uncommon Schools. It is the first of a pair of high schools that were made possible by the generosity of Robin Hood's donors at our 2006 benefit and a matching grant from the Department of Education. Lehman Brothers provided invaluable help in securing sizable new market tax credits for this public-private partnership.

Simultaneously, Georgetown is closing in on a site for the second high school. This location will serve 800 KIPP middle school graduates. Beyond providing an intensive and character-driven secondary education, the schools will fill a glaring need in New York: currently, there is no charter high school in the city for these promising scholars, and not nearly enough scholarships to get them into private schools that will challenge them and prepare them for a college education.

Georgetown's partnership in building the high schools has encompassed a range of professional services. For example, they commissioned two world-renowned architectural firms—Robert A. M. Stern Architects and Gensler—and persuaded both to participate at a deep discount.