Affordable Housing Finance

SPECIAL FOCUS

The AHF 50

NO. 13: Affordable Housing Developer

Conifer Realty, LLC

AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE • April/May 2010

BY DONNA KIMURA

With a focus on affordable housing, Conifer Realty, LLC, develops, constructs, owns, and manages all of its apartment communities.

That would be 165 affordable housing projects with more than 10,000 affordable units and more on the way.

The Rochester, N.Y.-based company completed seven projects with 697 affordable units last year. It also closed on six Tax Credit Assistance Program projects in 2009.

Looking ahead, Conifer will work on maintaining a development pipeline of about 25 projects and building a pipeline of acquisition projects. It plans to deliver another eight projects with 717 units in 2010 this year.

There will be a keen focus on “doing what we do better,” says Andrew I. Crossed, executive vice president.

During these tough economic times, the firm is being more selective about the projects it pursues and has a concerted effort to mine its portfolio for management efficiencies, he says.

Conifer has also tried to work with local tax credit syndicators.

Key states for the company include Maryland, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

The Conifer staff includes a general counsel, a vice president of syndication, four certified public accountants, an engineer, a risk manager, and three owners with more than 80 years of combined affordable housing experience.