The early impetus for the formation of ARC took place in October 2016 when 40 regional thought leaders were invited to come together in Crystal City, in Arlington, VA, to consider explicitly regional promotional activities. Out of that facilitated session, organized by Jim Schulman, AIA, a ‘Design Team,’ consisting of a dozen individuals met regularly to develop a Needs and Opportunities Assessment for alliance formation and subsequent work. 

ARC incorporated in the District of Columbia in April 2019 after the 4th monthly meeting of its Board of Directors. 

In December 2019 an initial gathering of ARC Advisors took place and 15 individuals accepted the invitation to serve collectively as an Advisory Board.