ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 4, 2025--
EYA LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based leader in urban infill residential development, today announced that Robin Bettarel has joined the company as Head of Multifamily. Bettarel’s hiring follows EYA’s efforts over the past few years to augment its successful urban townhome business by building a robust market-rate and mixed-income multifamily rental pipeline totaling more than 2,000 units in the DMV. Her appointment is a key step in advancing this strategy and strengthening EYA’s position as one of the region’s premier large-scale residential and mixed-use developers.
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With over two decades of experience in multifamily and urban infill development, Bettarel brings a proven record of leading complex mixed-use projects throughout the greater D.C. region and expertise spanning site acquisition, entitlements, financing, and construction management.
At EYA, Bettarel will lead the development and expansion of the company’s multifamily pipeline, with current projects including Reston Station at the Wiehle Metro, Crystal House in Arlington, VA, and the final multifamily building of Westside at Shady Grove at the Shady Grove Metro. She will also cultivate new strategic partnerships while strengthening existing relationships with land and building owners across the region, identifying opportunities to unlock additional value in existing assets. Her role supports EYA’s continued growth in delivering residential communities in transit-connected, high-demand submarkets across the D.C. region.
“Robin brings a deep understanding of multifamily development and the expertise needed to deliver complex, mixed-use projects,” said McLean Quinn, President and CEO of EYA. “Her leadership will prove instrumental as we continue to expand our multifamily platform and deliver high-quality communities across the region. With her extensive knowledge of the DMV market and experience across every stage of the development lifecycle, Robin will help EYA continue to raise the bar for quality, sustainability, and design.”
“Robin’s operational insight and track record of execution make her an exceptional addition to our leadership team,” said Rafael Muñiz, EYA’s Chief Operating Officer. “Her ability to balance strategy with vision will be invaluable as we continue to grow our multifamily presence and deliver communities that meet the needs of our residents and partners.”
“EYA has long been known for creating neighborhoods that bring people together through thoughtful design and a genuine sense of community,” said Bettarel. “I’m thrilled to join a team that shares my passion for building vibrant, connected places and to help EYA grow its multifamily platform in ways that reflect the evolving needs of how people want to live today.”
Robin Bettarel most recently served as Managing Director of Development at Middleburg Communities, where she led the planning, entitlement, and execution of multifamily development across the Mid-Atlantic. Her leadership portfolio included multiple multifamily and build-to-rent developments across the Richmond, VA market—including The Brook Apartments in Glen Allen, Hamlet Falling Creek in Midlothian, and Hamlet Watkins Centre—as well as a broader pipeline spanning the Mid-Atlantic region. Prior to Middleburg, she was Senior Vice President at Hoffman & Associates, where she led development of major urban projects, including West Falls, a 9.5-acre mixed-use redevelopment in Falls Church, Virginia, and Phase II of The Wharf in Southwest D.C.
This appointment underscores EYA’s continued commitment to expanding its multifamily platform while leveraging its 30-year track record of award-winning residential development. As the region’s demand for thoughtfully designed, transit-accessible housing continues to rise, EYA is well positioned to meet it – now with a multifamily platform that complements its townhome legacy and further cements its role as one of the region’s leading large-scale residential and mixed-use developers.
ABOUT EYA, LLC
For over 30 years, EYA has been a market leader in the development of large-scale, urban infill residential projects. With expertise in the entitlement, development, and construction of for-sale, multi-family, and mixed-income housing, EYA has created over 50 exceptional neighborhoods that are home to more than 10,000 residents across Washington, DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia. EYA is a privately held company that has completed over $2 billion of projects that have introduced “life within walking distance” throughout the greater DC region. For additional information about EYA, visit www.eyadevelopment.com.
Robin Bettarel joins EYA as Head of Multifamily Development
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Police in Rhode Island said early Sunday that they had a person of interest in custody after a shooting that rocked the Brown University campus during final exams, leaving two people dead and nine others wounded.
Col. Oscar Perez, chief of the Providence police, confirmed at a news conference that the detained person was in their 30s and that authorities are not currently searching for anyone else. He declined to say where the person was arrested and whether the person was connected to the university.
The shooting erupted Saturday afternoon in the engineering building of the Ivy League school in Providence, Rhode Island, during final exams. Hundreds of police officers had scoured the Brown University campus along with nearby neighborhoods and pored over video in pursuit of a shooter who opened fire in a classroom.
Armed with a handgun, the shooter fired more than 40 9mm rounds, according to a law enforcement official. Authorities as of Sunday morning hadn’t recovered a gun but did recover two loaded 30-round magazines, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation.
Providence leaders warned that residents will notice a heavier police presence on Sunday. Many local businesses announced they would remain closed and expressed shock and heartbreak as the community continued to process the news of the shooting.
“Everybody’s reeling, and we have a lot of recovery ahead of us,” Brown University President Christina Paxson said at the news conference. “Our community’s strong and we’ll get through it, but it’s devastating."
Surveillance video released by police showed a suspect, dressed in black, calmly walking away from the scene.
Earlier, Paxson said she was told 10 people who were shot were students. Another person was injured by fragments from the shooting but it was not clear if the victim was a student, she said.
The search for the shooter paralyzed the campus, the nearby neighborhoods filled with stately brick homes and the downtown in Rhode Island's capital city until a shelter-in-place order was lifted early Sunday. Streets normally bustling with activity on weekends were eerily quiet. Officers in tactical gear led students out of some campus buildings and into a fitness center where they waited. Others arrived at the shelter on buses without jackets or any belongings.
Investigators were not immediately sure how the shooter got inside the first-floor classroom. Outer doors of the building were unlocked but rooms being used for final exams required badge access, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said.
Smiley was emotional as he discussed the city's efforts to prepare for a mass shooting.
“We all, intellectually, knew it could happen anywhere, including here, but that’s not the same as it happening in our community, and so this is an incredibly upsetting and emotional time for Providence, for Brown, for all of us," he said. “It's not something that we should have to train for, but we have.”
Nine people with gunshot wounds were taken to Rhode Island Hospital, where one was in critical condition. Six required intensive care but were not getting worse and two were stable, hospital spokesperson Kelly Brennan said.
Engineering design exams were underway when the shooting occurred in the Barus & Holley building, a seven-story complex that houses the School of Engineering and physics department. The building includes more than 100 laboratories, dozens of classrooms and offices, according to the university’s website.
Emma Ferraro, a chemical engineering student, was in the building’s lobby working on a final project when she heard loud pops coming from the east side. Once she realized they were gunshots, she darted for the door and ran to a nearby building where she sheltered for several hours.
Eva Erickson, a doctoral candidate who was the runner-up earlier this year on the CBS reality competition show “Survivor,” said she left her lab in the engineering building 15 minutes before shots rang out.
The engineering and thermal science student shared candid moments on “Survivor” as the show’s first openly autistic contestant. She was locked down in the campus gym following the shooting and shared on social media that the only other member of her lab who was present was safely evacuated.
Brown senior biochemistry student Alex Bruce was working on a final research project in his dorm directly across the street from the building when he heard sirens outside.
“I’m just in here shaking,” he said, watching through the window as armed officers surrounded his dorm.
Students in a nearby lab turned off the lights and hid under desks after receiving an alert about the shooting, said Chiangheng Chien, a doctoral student in engineering who was about a block away from the scene.
Mari Camara, 20, a junior from New York City, was coming out of the library and rushed inside a taqueria to seek shelter. She spent more than three hours there, texting friends while police searched the campus.
“Everyone is the same as me, shocked and terrified that something like this happened,” she said.
Brown, the seventh oldest higher education institution in the U.S., is one of the nation’s most prestigious colleges with roughly 7,300 undergraduates and more than 3,000 graduate students. Tuition, housing and other fees run to nearly $100,000 per year, according to the university.
Associated Press journalists Alanna Durkin Richer, Mike Balsamo and Seung Min Kim in Washington, Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City, Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota, Martha Bellisle in Seattle and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.
Police vehicles rest in intersections in a neighborhood near Brown University, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Providence, R.I., following a shooting at the university Saturday, Dec. 13. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
A police vehicle rests at an intersection near crime scene tape at Brown University, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Providence, R.I., following a Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025 shooting at the university. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Mayor Brett Smiley speaks to reporters during a Brown University news conference, in Providence, R. I., Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Kimberlee Kruesi)
Law enforcement officials carry rifles while walking on a street in a neighborhood near Brown University in Providence, R.I., on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025 during the investigation of a shooting. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Brown University President Christina H. Paxson attends a news conference addressing the investigation following a shooting on Brown University's campus Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (Lily Speredelozzi/The Sun Chronicle via AP)
Students are escorted by law enforcement officers to a building at Brown University after a shooting, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Providence, R.I.. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Law enforcement officials carrying weapons gather near Brown University in Providence, R.I., on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, during the investigation of a shooting. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
A law enforcement official walks past articles of clothing on a sidewalk near an entrance to Brown University, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Providence, R.I., during the investigation of a shooting. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
