The 198-member St. John Properties workforce landed an early holiday gift on Saturday: A company bonus pool worth $10 million.
The gifts — akin to an Oprah Winfrey Show surprise giveaway — were tucked into a red envelope each worker was given during the company's holiday party at The Grand in Mount Vernon. The envelopes held bonus checks averaging $50,000 given to everyone from the maintenance staff and receptionists to brokers and executives. Some bonuses could top six figures, depending on tenure. It was the latest act of spreading the wealth for Chairman Edward St. John, whose giving and philanthropy over the past decade has included a $10 million gift to the University of Maryland for a new teaching and learning center at the College Park campus in 2011. In total, the private Edward St. John Foundation has awarded more than $60 million in grants to formal education programs since 1998. The latest windfalls were designed to be in-house. St. John said the bonuses were awarded after the company hit its goal of developing 20 million square feet of office, flex/R&D, retail and warehouse space in eight states this year.