Affordable Housing Finance

THE BUZZ

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AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE • November 2008

Lott Leaves Dallas Agency

Ann Lott has resigned as president and CEO of the Dallas Housing Authority. Lott had held the top post since September 2000.

The board appointed Troy Broussard, chief of staff, as interim president and CEO while it conducts a national search for Lott’s replacement. Lott, who had risen up the ranks from a management clerk, had faced increased scrutiny recently following critical federal and local audits of the agency.

San Diego Housing Names New Leader

Rick Gentry has been selected as the new president and CEO of the San Diego Housing Commission, a public agency responsible for providing affordable housing opportunities to more than 80,000 low-income individuals each year.

Gentry replaces Elizabeth C. Morris, who retired at the beginning of the year after a 29-year tenure at the agency.

Gentry has most recently served as senior vice president of asset management for National Equity Fund, Inc., in Chicago. He has also served as vice president for public housing initiatives at the Local Initiatives Support Corp. in Washington, D.C., and worked for several years at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Gentry has also held executive leadership posts at housing authorities in Richmond, Va.; Austin, Texas; and Greensboro, N.C.

Red Expands to Denver

Red Capital Group has opened a Denver office, with Mark C. Williams joining Red Mortgage Capital, Inc., as a director.

Williams will help the company expand its reach in the Rocky Mountain markets by focusing on the origination of financing opportunities for multifamily, seniors, and health care mortgage loans, with an emphasis on agency lending, including Fannie Mae and Federal Housing Administration programs. Williams will also help provide construction loans and low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) equity.

Prior to joining Red, he was a vice president with Capmark Finance, Inc., and was a director at LJ Melody & Co., as well as president of Medallion Brokerage.

Grandbridge Announces New Team Member

Grandbridge Real Estate Capital, LLC, has hired Vice President Cynthia Hannon to join the company’s affordable housing team.

Based in the firm’s Atlanta office, Hannon will work with all of Grandbridge’s offices on affordable transactions and assist in new product development.

Hannon has more than 20 years of real estate lending experience.

Prior to joining Grandbridge, she worked with Fannie Mae for six years as a national account manager in the Multifamily Affordable Housing Group, where she managed several affordable housing Delegated Underwriting and Servicing lender relationships. She helped structure and review more than $3 billion in tax-exempt and taxable loans.

Prior to joining Fannie Mae, Hannon had served as a commercial mortgagebacked securities account manager with Wachovia Securities in Charlotte, N.C.

OCC Names Community Development Director

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced that Beth Castro will serve as director of community development. She will be responsible for the community affairs department’s research and publications as well as the management of the agency’s district community affairs officers.

Previously, Castro was first vice president at Washington Mutual, managing Community Reinvestment Act programs and initiatives.

Dominium Names Vice President

Peggy Rehfus Walker has been named vice president of property management at Dominium, one of the Midwest’s largest apartment firms.

She will be responsible for managing newly closed development transactions in California and Texas. Walker, who has expertise in LIHTC compliance, will later take on managing the company’s portfolio of properties in Ohio. Walker previously served as the director of operations with NRPManagement in Ohio.

Vermont Hires Financial Analyst

Michelle Packard has joined the Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) as a financial analyst. She had been working in the agency’s homeownership department on a temporary basis for two months. Prior to that, Packard spent nearly two decades as treasurer for Summit Financial Center, a mortgage company in Burlington, Vt.

Since its creation in 1974, VHFA has helped about 26,000 Vermont households with affordable mortgages and financed the development of about 7,400 affordable rental units.