Affordable Housing Finance

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AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE • January/February 2010

BY AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE STAFF

Copeman Joins Reznick Group

Fred H. Copeman has joined the Reznick Group. He will lead the firm’s new Tax Credit Investor Services practice, which will focus on providing due diligence and other advisory services to institutional investors.

Copeman was with Ernst & Young for 23 years, becoming a partner in 1995. He provided tax credit advisory services to more than 200 Fortune 1000 companies and 20 of the top 25 commercial banks in the nation. Many in the industry know Copeman as one of the authors of a series of studies, including The Low Income Housing Tax Credit: The First Decade commissioned by the National Council of State Housing Agencies and Understanding the Dynamics: A Comprehensive Look at Affordable Housing Tax Credit Properties.

Reznick Group is a national accounting and business advisory firm.

Husser Joins Richman Group

Bernie Husser has joined The Richman Group Affordable Housing Corp. and will manage the firm’s new Boston office.

He recently joined the company after 17 years at Boston Financial/MMA Financial and their predecessor companies, where he was responsible for more than $1 billion of low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) equity invested.

As head of the Boston office, Husser is responsible for identifying LIHTC transactions for The Richman Group’s corporate investors, coordinating due diligence, and structuring and closing equity investments.

MHEG Appoints EVP

Midwest Housing Equity Group, Inc. (MHEG), has named Andrea Frymire as executive vice president for its Oklahoma office.

She will be responsible for all the activities of the Oklahoma funds, including identifying potential investors, marketing funds to investors, and assisting in the development of projects throughout the development phase. Frymire joins MHEG with more than 10 years of experience in the real estate and mortgage industry.

MHEG is a nonprofit LIHTC syndicator that invests in affordable housing in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma.

Michaels Adds to Team

The Michaels Development Co., a national affordable housing developer and owner, has added three new staff members.

John Page is vice president of construction. A 25-year veteran of the construction industry, he has been involved in all types of commercial and residential building, including shopping centers, churches, and apartments. He is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified in green construction practices. Page will work primarily on developments in New Haven, Conn.

New Vice President Bryan Oos joins Michaels after working several years at a publicly traded real estate company. His experience includes mixed-income multifamily development and the adaptive reuse of historic properties. He will work in Newark, N.J., where Michaels has several mixedincome developments under way.

Jennifer Humes has been named a development officer. She will work on the redevelopment of Lincoln Towers in Wilmington, Del., and other communities. She brings more than 15 years of experience to the post, including serving as a development officer for another large affordable housing owner and an acquisition compliance supervisor for a large LIHTC investor.

BRIDGE Housing Names CEO

Cynthia A. Parker, a regional president for Mercy Housing, has been selected as president and CEO of BRIDGE Housing, one of the largest affordable housing developers and owners in California. She will take over the top post in February.

Parker brings more than 30 years of experience to the San Francisco-based nonprofit. She has been president of Intercommunity Mercy Housing, which has been active in building affordable housing throughout Washington state.

Prior to joining Mercy Housing, Parker served as a senior vice president at Seattle-Northwest Securities. She has also worked for the city of Seattle, where she established the new Office of Housing.

Parker fills the vacancy left by Carol Galante, who left BRIDGE Housing last April after being appointed deputy assistant secretary for multifamily housing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.