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Comings & Goings
Urban Pace sold; Shotwell promoted
The ‘Comings & Goings’ column chronicles important life changes of Blade readers.
The Comings and Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
Lynn Hackney
Congratulations to Lynn Hackney who sold her firm Urban Pace to Long and Foster. Hackney is a well-known entrepreneur and innovator in the Washington, D.C. multifamily real estate industry. According to its website, “Urban Pace, is the leading condominium sales and marketing firm in the nation’s capital (also serving urban Maryland and Virginia).” Since Hackney founded Urban Pace in 2001, the company has orchestrated the disposition of more than $1.8 billion of real estate assets comprising more than 6,000 condominiums and townhomes. According to the Washington Business Journal, Hackney said, “Urban Pace will continue to operate at the same location with the same staff but teaming up with a larger real estate company made sense since many players in the condo marketing space have done so over the years.”
Hackney is also a partner in Allyson Capital, a New York- and D.C.-based firm specializing in equity and debt for residential and commercial real estate transactions. Complementing Urban Pace’s full range of services to developers, Allyson Capital provides specialized financing for projects with an average valuation of $30 million each.
In 2015, Hackney was the winner of Smart CEO’s Brava Award, placing her among Washington’s most distinguished women business leaders. She serves as vice president on the executive committee of the District of Columbia Building Industry Association and was a founding member of the Washington ULI Women’s Leadership Initiative and board member of Capital Bank.
In addition Hackney, along with her wife Kimberly Hoover, has been a major fundraiser and volunteer in several national presidential election campaigns. She is a longtime resident of D.C. and earned a master’s degree in business administration from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree in economics and finance from Virginia Commonwealth University.
David Shotwell
Congratulations are also due to David Shotwell who was recently named one of Compass’ newest vice presidents. Compass is a New York-based real estate brokerage with a large presence in D.C. and other top markets in the country. This recognition was based on client satisfaction, brand ambassadorship, brokerage and industry engagement and sales production.
Shotwell’s clients include first-time buyers and sellers to seasoned investors, with a special focus on livable neighborhoods and empty nesters. Before he began his career in real estate, Shotwell worked at AARP for 13 years, where he led national efforts to promote livable communities, including walkable neighborhoods, accessible housing, access to transportation options, smart growth and mixed-use development. He is a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS), an Accredited New Urbanist from the School of Architecture at the University of Miami and a member of The Congress for New Urbanism (CNU).
Shotwell takes his love of the city and its surrounding neighborhoods beyond buying and selling — since moving to D.C. in 1998, he has lived in Shaw, Logan Circle, U Street, Woodley Park, Old Town, Alexandria and Del Ray. He and his partner currently own a home in D.C.’s Bloomingdale neighborhood. Shotwell is hooked on HGTV and real estate blogs, but he isn’t always thinking about home. An avid traveler, he has visited every continent except Antarctica.
Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth Summer Kickoff Party set for May 15 with Ashley Biden
The Washington Blade’s 19th annual Summer Kickoff Party is scheduled for Friday, May 15 in Rehoboth Beach, Del.
Ashley Biden, daughter of President Joe Biden, has joined the list of speakers, the Blade announced. She will accept an award on behalf of her brother Beau Biden for his LGBTQ advocacy work as Delaware attorney general. (Her appearance was rescheduled from last year.)
The event, to be held this year at Diego’s (37298 Rehoboth Ave. Ext.) from 5-7 p.m., is a fundraiser for the Blade Foundation’s Steve Elkins Memorial Fellowship in Journalism, which funds a summer position reporting on LGBTQ news in Delaware. This year’s recipient will be introduced at the event.
The event will also feature remarks from state Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall. New CAMP Rehoboth Executive Director Dr. Robin Brennan and Blade editor Kevin Naff will also speak. The event is generously sponsored by Realtor Justin Noble, The Avenue Inn & Spa, and Diego’s.
A suggested donation of $25 is partially tax deductible and includes a drink ticket and light appetizers. Tickets are available in advance at bladefoundation.org/rehoboth or at the door.
District of Columbia
Curve magazine honors Washington Blade publisher
Lynne Brown named to 2026 Power List
Washington Blade Publisher Lynne Brown has been named to the 2026 Curve Power List celebrating LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary individuals in North America who are blazing trails in their chosen fields.
“From sports and entertainment icons to corporate leaders and lawmakers, these individuals are breaking barriers, challenging norms, and shaping the future,” Curve Foundation/Curve magazine said in announcing this year’s list, which includes ABC newscaster Robin Roberts, comedian/actress Hannah Einbinder, and singer/actress Renee Rapp, among others.
Brown has worked for the Washington Blade for nearly 40 years. She was named publisher in 2007 before becoming a co-owner in 2010.
“I am honored to be recognized by Curve magazine during Lesbian Visibility Week,” Brown said. “Receiving this Curve honor is twofold. I was an early subscriber to Curve. I enjoy the product and know its history. Its journalism, layout and humorous features have inspired me.
“As an owner/publisher, receiving recognition from a similar source acknowledges my work and efforts, with a sincerity I truly appreciate. Franco Stevens, the publisher of Curve, is a business person of duration, experience, and purpose. The fact that they are in the media business, and honoring me and my publication makes it a tiny bit sweeter.”
Nominations for the Curve Power List come from the community: peers, mentors, fans, and employers.
Curve explained the significance of the list in its announcement: “An annual, publicly nominated list of impactful LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary changemakers is crucial in current times to counter discrimination, legislative rollbacks, hostility, and the invisibility of queer women within mainstream and marginal spaces and endeavors. Such a list also fosters encouragement and solidarity, and elevates voices and achievements—from high-profile roles to under appreciated areas of life.”
Rehoboth Beach
Auction of Rehoboth’s Blue Moon canceled
Details on sale of iconic bar, restaurant not disclosed
The Blue Moon in Rehoboth Beach, Del., has been an iconic presence in the local LGBTQ community for four decades but its status remains murky after a sheriff’s auction of the property was abruptly called off on Tuesday.
The property was listed for sale in December. At that time, owner Tim Ragan told the Blade that he is committed to preserving its legacy as a gay-friendly space.
“We had no idea the interest this would create,” Ragan said in December. “I guess I was a little naive about that.”
Ragan explained that he and longtime partner Randy Haney were separating the real estate from the business. The two buildings associated with the sale were listed by Carrie Lingo at 35 Baltimore Ave., and include an apartment, the front restaurant (6,600 square feet with three floors and a basement), and a secondary building (roughly 1,800 square feet on two floors). They were listed for $4.5 million.
The bar and restaurant business is being sold separately; the price was not publicly disclosed.
But then, earlier this year, the Blue Moon real estate listing turned up on the Sussex County Sheriff’s Office auction site. The auction was slated for Tuesday, April 21 but hours before the sale, the listing changed to “active under contract” indicating that a buyer has been found but the sale is not yet final. As of Wednesday morning, the listing has been removed from the sheriff’s auction site.
Ragan didn’t respond to Blade inquiries about the auction. Back in December, he told the Blade, “It’s time to look for the next people who can continue the history of the Moon and cultivate the next chapter,” noting that he turns 70 this year. “We’re not panicked; we separated the building from the business. Some buyers can’t afford both.”
The identity of the buyer was not disclosed, nor was the sale price.
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