Affordable Housing Finance

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Hud's Cabrera Joins Nonprofit Developer

AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE • June 2008

Orlando J. Cabrera, former assistant secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), has been named CEO of National Community Renaissance (CORE), one of the nation’s largest nonprofit affordable housing developers.

Cabrera served as HUD’s assistant secretary for public and Indian housing from November 2005 until January. Before that, he served as executive director of the Florida Housing Finance Corp.

Based in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., National CORE operates 9,500 affordable housing units with a total asset value of nearly $1 billion in six states.

Ron LaFollette has left as the longtime manager of the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) tax credit allocation team to join the Monroe Group, a real estate development firm.

In his new post, LaFollette will serve as acquisitions manager and will help the firm expand into consulting services for tax credit applications. He will assist in the analysis of prospective affordable housing projects around the country and will oversee the closing of affordable housing transactions.

“At CHFA, I had the opportunity to interact with the various parties involved in affordable housing transactions,” LaFollette said. “I wanted to stay in the affordable housing field while expanding my base of knowledge on the developer side of the equation.”

The Denver-based Monroe Group specializes in affordable multifamily and seniors and disabled housing. The firm manages an extensive multifamily portfolio with properties in Colorado, Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, and Indiana.

Michael Haynes has joined First Sterling Financial, Inc., as vice president of acquisitions. He will head the mid-Atlantic office.

Haynes will work with developers, providing low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) equity and debt for affordable housing transactions.

He previously was in-house counsel and vice president of acquisitions at RBC Apollo, where he originated, underwrote, and closed LIHTC transactions.

Kevin D. Grinwis has been appointed project manager at Omni Housing Development Co., LLC., in Albany, N.Y.

He will oversee construction of low- to moderate-income multifamily and seniors housing developments, starting with the $22 million Albany South End project.

Grinwis was previously a financial analyst in asset management for Equity Residential.

Omni Development Co., with its affiliates, Omni Management Group and Omni Housing Development, is a fullservice real estate firm.

Novogradac Announces New Partner

Novogradac & Co., LLP, announced that J. Paul Charron has become a partner in the San Francisco office.

Charron specializes in accounting and auditing in the real estate and renewable energy industries. His experience includes accounting and auditing affordable housing projects and real estate partnerships.

Novogradac is a certified public accounting and consulting firm.

Enterprise Elects Four Officers

Enterprise Community Investment, Inc., a real estate investment services firm based in Columbia, Md., announced the appointments of four new officers in its capital markets, structured finance, and tax credit syndication business lines.

On the capital market side, Kari R. Fitzpatrick was named vice president of investment management. Bill Ostrye was selected vice president of fund analysis. Tom Eastman was appointed vice president of tax credit syndication, and John Ducey was elected vice president of structured finance.