Elgert Rejoins NEF
Monika Elgert has been named vice president in the project management group at National Equity Fund (NEF), a leading low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) syndicator. She is based in Portland, Ore.
Elgert is responsible for the comprehensive management, underwriting and lower-tier closings for project investments throughout the country.
Having originally joined NEF in 2013 as vice president in its originations group, she left after more than four years for a position at Northwest Housing Alternatives, a nonprofit that provides affordable housing options for families, seniors, and people with special needs across Oregon.
Elgert’s experience includes serving as vice president of originations with Enterprise Community Investment as well as vice president with Bank of America Community Development as a construction lender for LIHTC projects.
A Chicago-based nonprofit, NEF is an affiliate of the Local Initiatives Support Corp. NEF has played an integral role in creating affordable housing options, revitalizing communities, and strengthening local economies for more than 30 years. Through its partnerships with developers and investors, it has invested $14 billion in 2,600 LIHTC developments, creating approximately 166,632 affordable homes for low-income families and individuals as well as 203,291 jobs nationwide.
Jones Walker Adds Housing Boutique Firm
The Jones Walker law firm has expanded its housing industry team with the addition of all the members of the boutique law firm Liles & Rushin. Effective Nov. 19, two new partners, Kelly Rushin Lewis and Brandon Hughey, along with their team of housing professionals, will join Jones Walker’s new Birmingham office.
Lewis will be the leader of the firm’s national housing industry team and will be a partner in the Real Estate Practice Group.
The Liles & Rushin firm is known throughout the housing industry, representing investors and lenders in LIHTC matters around the country.
Lewis focuses on all aspects of the representation of lenders and investors in affordable housing transactions, including the use of traditional construction and permanent financing, federal and state tax credits, tax-exempt bonds, tax-exempt loans, and other programs. She has also represented lenders and borrowers in secured and unsecured transactions, structured financing transactions, and multi-state transactions. She has represented various real estate clients through all phases of development, including acquisition, financing, leasing, and disposition in connection with hotel, retail, office, industrial, market-rate housing, and affordable housing projects.
Lewis is chair-elect for the Governing Committee of the American Bar Association’s Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development. She will serve as chair beginning in fall 2019. She co-founded the Liles & Rushin law firm, and earlier in her career practiced with Maynard, Cooper & Gale. She earned her law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law.
Hughey is a partner in the Tax Practice Group and a member of the Housing Industry Team. While he has advised clients in many aspects of federal and state taxation, his practice focuses on partnership taxation and the representation of lenders and investors in connection with affordable housing transactions using federal and state housing and historic tax credits, tax-exempt bonds, tax-exempt loans, and other financing sources.
Hughey earned a master of laws degree in taxation with honors from Northwestern School of Law and a law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law.
ULI Terwilliger Center for Housing Announces Executive Director
Christopher Ptomey has joined the Urban Land Institute (ULI) staff as the executive director of ULI’s Terwilliger Center for Housing.
Ptomey will lead the overall strategic direction of the Terwilliger Center by implementing the center’s program of work and connecting it to other mission-driven activities of ULI, which include advancing policies to increase the supply of housing, especially for lower- and moderate-income households. He will also work with other senior ULI staff on industry initiatives that intersect with housing, such as resilience, infrastructure, capital markets, public policy, and leadership. In addition to those duties, Ptomey will focus on building and maintaining relationships between ULI and private- and public-sector leaders and the organizations that serve them.
“I am very pleased to have Christopher on board to guide the center’s program of work,” said J. Ronald Terwilliger, center founder and chairman. “A major focus of the center is to foster more development of mixed-income housing in communities across the nation. The substantial experience Christopher has in housing and community development gives me high hopes for what the center will continue to accomplish.”
Prior to joining the staff of ULI, Ptomey served as the lead of the U.S. government relations and advocacy team at Habitat for Humanity International. During his time there, he focused on improving federal, state, and local housing policies and systems. Prior to his service at Habitat for Humanity International, he served as the federal liaison for the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, and he served five years as a senior legislative aide to former U.S. Rep. Michael “Mac” Collins of Georgia.
WinnResidential Names Executive Vice President
Thuong “Terri” Benskin has been appointed executive vice president at WinnResidential, the property management arm of multifamily property developer and manager WinnCompanies.
She joins the firm from LEDIC Realty Co., where she recently served as COO.
In her new role, Benskin will be responsible for a diverse portfolio of owned and fee-managed properties located in the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast.
Benskin brings more than 23 years of property management experience to the executive vice president position. In her role as COO at LEDIC Realty for eight years, she was responsible for all property management operations for a portfolio of 300 owned and fee-managed properties featuring 38,000 market-rate and affordable units in 18 states.
Benskin, who served for six years in the U.S. Navy Reserve, began her career in the multifamily industry with a five-year stint as district property manager for CAMCO, a community management company in Chicago.
WinnCompanies acquires, develops, and manages affordable, senior, mixed-income, market-rate, military, and mixed-use properties. Founded in 1971 and operating in 22 states and the District of Columbia, it is one of the nation’s leading multifamily housing managers with 100,000 units under management.
Dominium Adds to Team
Nicholas Burrill has been hired as a corporate project coordinator at Dominium, a Minneapolis-based leading apartment owner, developer, and manager.
Burrill will coordinate and facilitate the execution of various corporate projects. He will mainly be responsible for gathering, organizing, and the dissemination of data to the vice president of property management and group of regional managers. In addition, Burrill will assist in developing and implementing systems for tracking and accountability of company operations.
Burrill’s previous positions include working in a leasing consultant role with Dominium. Originally from Biloxi, Miss., he currently resides in Diberville, Miss.
Amy Keenum has been named a regional manager. She will be working with the property management team and will mainly be responsible for meeting financial goals for properties and developing strategic initiatives for ensuring growth of net operating income. In addition, Keenum will be recruiting, training, and working on the development of site staff.
Keenum has been in the property management industry for 17 years. Previously, she was a regional manager with UAH Property Management. She is a board member of the Tyler Apartment Association and a member of the Texas Apartment Association Affordable Housing Committee. Keenum is originally from Baytown, Texas, and currently resides in Lindale, Texas.
Dominium has more than 25,000 owned and/or managed units at over 200 sites in 23 states. As of 2017, the company was ranked second-largest owner of affordable housing by Affordable Housing Finance and 42nd in the NMHC 50 Largest Apartment Owners rankings.
Love Funding Names Senior Director of Originations
Eric Forguson has joined Love Funding as a senior director of originations. He will join the firm’s team in St. Louis.
Forguson brings more than 25 years of banking experience and expertise in historic tax credit and LIHTC transactions. He previously worked at Love Funding’s parent company, Midland States Bank, as associate director of commercial banking. There, he was critical to the Midland States Bank—Love Funding bridge loan program and assisted with several tax credit equity bridge loan executions. Before joining Midland States Bank, Forguson served as a vice president at Associated Bank and as a commercial relationship manager at U.S. Bank.
Love Funding is a leading Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) lender, serving clients across the country from its headquarters in Washington, D.C., and offices nationwide. The company offers acquisition, refinance, construction, rehabilitation, and bridge financing programs for market-rate multifamily and affordable housing, healthcare facilities, and hospitals.
CPC Becomes Fannie Mae Affordable Lender
Fannie Mae has approved the Community Preservation Corp. (CPC), a leading nonprofit affordable housing and community revitalization finance company, as a multifamily special affordable lender to originate Multifamily Affordable Housing (MAH) and Small Mortgage Loans. “Fannie Mae’s MAH and Small Mortgage Loans products give us new tools to help preserve affordable housing and meet the needs of small buildings, which are a critical piece of the housing stock in communities large and small,” said Rafael E. Cestero, president and CEO of CPC.
CPC is now able to utilize products to preserve the affordability of subsidized rental housing through long-term financing. CPC can offer flexible loan terms and competitive pricing, fixed- or variable-rate financing options, and certainty and speed of execution. Eligible projects include various affordable housing modalities such as expiring LIHTC deals, refinancing of tax-exempt bonds, Rental Assistance Demonstration-eligible properties, HUD Sec. 8 Housing Assistance Payment contract properties, developments with existing Rural Housing Services Sec. 515 loans, and those with loans insured under Secs. 202 or 236 of the National Housing Act.
