Currall Becomes CFO at NRP Group
George Currall has been named chief financial officer (CFO) at The NRP Group, a leading developer and manager of multifamily housing. The move follows the retirement of Andy Tanner, a 23-year veteran of the company and the firm’s longtime CFO.
Currall joined NRP in 2008 and brings a wealth of financial expertise and leadership experience to his new role, where he will lead the capital markets, asset management, and tax and accounting teams. He became a principal in 2016 and is a member of the executive committee and the governing board of NRP. As the former chief investment officer, he managed both the capital markets and asset management divisions, leading his team to more than 300 closings representing over $10 billion in total capitalization.
Tanner joined Cleveland-based NRP in 2000 and played a significant role in developing best-in-class systems, processes, and tools that enabled NRP to deliver top-tier investment returns and outstanding long-term performance. During his more than two decades as CFO, NRP developed over 50,000 units valued at $8.8 billion in development cost with market-rate dispositions representing nearly $3 billion. Tanner will remain a member of NRP’s advisory board.
Greystone Adds to New LIHTC Platform
Sarah Laubinger, chief operating officer, and Todd Jones, chief investment officer, have joined Greystone’s new low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) syndication platform. They will focus on growing Greystone Real Estate Capital, which will deploy capital for the preservation and new construction of affordable housing communities across the United States.
Laubinger spent over 25 years at Boston Financial, an ORIX company, and offers almost three decades of affordable housing production experience to the team, having raised capital from investors, cultivated developer relationships, and structured, underwrote, and closed LIHTC investments. Under her leadership, Boston Financial's annual LIHTC production market share expanded from under $300 million to over $1.3 billion annually and successfully deployed $200 million in affordable housing preservation equity (non-LIHTC). Laubinger also led Boston Financial’s Community Development Financial Institution initiative.
Jones joins Greystone with over 19 years of affordable housing experience and a track record of being involved in raising over $11 billion of institutional capital for tax-advantaged investment funds. He most recently served as the head of tax credit equity production at Boston Financial, where he was both a member of its executive committee and investment committee. He was responsible for leading the day-to-day strategic direction of the company’s tax credit syndication business, including national originations, asset selection, pricing, structuring, and marketing of its tax credit equity funds, as well as all investor sales and relations activities of the firm. Prior to joining Boston Financial in 2012, Jones was vice president and manager of institutional sales at PNC Financial Services Group, where he led the sales and marketing efforts of its national LIHTC investment funds.
Earlier, Greg Voyentzie, who was also recently with Boston Financial, was named CEO of Greystone Real Estate Capital.
NYC Housing Partnership Appoints VP
Debbra McAllister has been named a vice president of the nonprofit NYC Housing Partnership Development Corp. She joins the organization from the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (NYCDCAS), where she served as director of acquisitions.
During 18 years at NYCDCAS, McAllister completed over $200 million in real property acquisitions transactions and negotiated 500,000 square feet of commercial leases on behalf of city agencies. She previously worked at the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) from 1987 through 2005, including serving as director of special incentive programs.
For over four decades, the Housing Partnership has led relationships among private-sector developers and financial institutions and city, state, and federal agencies that have created and preserved more than 72,000 low- and moderate-income housing units in the five boroughs.
Raymond James Affordable Housing Investments Names VP
Ted Holman has joined Raymond James Affordable Housing Investments as vice president of institutional sales for the Western region. Based in San Francisco, Holman will raise investment capital for affordable multifamily developments qualifying for LIHTCs and for the preservation of affordable housing.
For the past decade, he led the development of First Republic Bank’s LIHTC program, managing a portfolio of approximately $3 billion, which included 150,000 units of affordable housing located throughout the United States. Earlier, Holman was a relationship manager at Union Bank and Centerline Capital. In these roles, he was responsible for originating, structuring, and closing equity and debt transactions with affordable housing developers.
Denver Housing Authority Names CEO
Joaquín Cintrón Vega has been selected to serve as CEO of the Denver Housing Authority (DHA), starting April 1.
Cintrón Vega has served as the president and CEO at Lucas Metropolitan Housing in Toledo, Ohio, since 2020. Prior to this, he served as the director of the public housing division in Miami-Dade County in Florida.
DHA is a quasi-municipal corporation with a portfolio of over 13,000 units and housing choice vouchers, providing affordable housing to more than 27,000 very low-, low-, and middle-income individuals.
EAH Housing Strengthens Leadership Team
Anna Gwyn Simpson has been named vice president of resident services, and Clarice Veloso-Lugo has been promoted to vice president of communications at EAH Housing.
Simpson joins the nonprofit with over two decades of expertise and hands-on experience overseeing social service programs for diverse communities. Most recently, she served as vice president of resident services at Eden Housing.
Veloso-Lugo takes on her new role with over 19 years of experience in fundraising and nonprofit communications. She will also serve as the dedicated steward for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives.
In 2024, EAH Housing is reinforcing its commitment to build thriving, equitable communities as it gears up to initiate construction and deliver affordable housing units in over 31 communities throughout California and Hawaii in the upcoming years.
Community Investment Strategies Names Director of Nonprofit
Phyllis Salowe-Kaye has been appointed executive director of the Communities First Initiative, a women-led, majority-minority nonprofit focused on serving and empowering low- and moderate-income individuals and families through housing and social services.
Communities First is the nonprofit partner of New Jersey-based Community Investment Strategies (CIS), an affordable housing development, management, and construction company.
Salowe-Kaye will provide CIS residents with direct services such as food security, financial literacy, and health care enrollment to residents in the 4,000 CIS-owned units statewide. She will develop educational presentations and disperse information about opportunities for residents' community involvement.
She previously service as executive director of New Jersey Citizen Action, a statewide coalition and grassroots organization that fights for social, racial, and economic justice.
WinnCompanies Promotes Three
WinnCompanies has advanced Michael Milko, Christina McPike, and Ramie Schneider to vice president positions in its property management, sustainability, and development functions.
Milko, who oversees the management operations of more than 40 properties with nearly 5,000 residential units in a half-dozen Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states, was promoted from senior vice president to executive vice president for WinnResidential. Milko joined the company in 1995 and held positions of senior property manager, executive property manager, regional vice president, and divisional vice president before earning the title of senior vice president in December 2017.
McPike, who has implemented more than $60 million worth of energy-efficiency and decarbonization upgrades across the company’s portfolio, has been promoted from director to vice president of energy and sustainability. Working on new construction, historic adaptive reuse, and deep energy retrofit projects, McPike has led numerous innovative federal and state-funded initiatives transforming communities into high performance, environmentally responsible housing while addressing climate change and energy equity issues.
Schneider, who leads a variety of mixed-income new construction projects in New England, has been promoted from senior project director to associate vice president for WinnDevelopment. Schneider joined the company in 2021 with a decade of experience overseeing substantial ground-up construction and redevelopment projects and has achieved notable success in navigating entitlement and community engagement efforts for the company. In 2023, she led efforts to advance plans for mixed-income communities in Hyannis, Salem, and Danvers, Massachusetts, as well as closing a 93-unit mixed-income development in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts.
Headquartered in Boston, WinnCompanies is an award-winning owner, developer, and manager of high-impact, quality apartment homes, supported by 4,000 team members in 24 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Nixon Peabody Elevates Attorneys
The Nixon Peabody law firm has announced its 2024 partner and counsel class.
The partner class includes three attorneys involved in affordable housing and community development:
Ruben Ravago focuses his practice on representing a range of clients in the real estate financing and development space, including developers, property owners, investors, nonprofits, and government agencies. Based in New York City, he also represents lenders providing financing for development projects and stabilized properties in various asset classes throughout the United States, and owners and operators of seniors housing, assisted living, and memory-care facilities. With extensive experience in cooperative and condominium practice, he also assists developers establishing or investing in projects and is well-positioned to provide strategic structuring advice and negotiate sophisticated joint-venture arrangements and other investment vehicles. Ravago also works with nonprofits to create leasehold condominiums.
Sumeet Sharma has over 20 years of experience working with a wide range of clients to devise financing structures for affordable housing tax credit and other community development projects. Based in Washington, D.C., he represents investors, syndicators, developers, lenders, and nonprofit organizations on tax, real estate, finance, and regulatory issues affecting affordable housing, community development, historic preservation, renewable energy, commercial real estate, and general business transactions. Sharma’s work often involves federal and state LIHTCs and New Markets Tax Credits.
Dana Stanton co-leads Nixon Peabody’s environmental team and represents clients across industries in environmental regulatory, enforcement, and transactional matters. Based in Albany, New York, she also counsels developers and lenders in brownfield redevelopment, advising on federal and state programs to obtain liability relief. Her education and experience in chemical engineering allow her to evaluate a project from all sides and anticipate and address issues and challenges before they arise. In addition, Stanton leads the firm’s cross-functional, cross-practice Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Working Group.
The counsel class includes four attorneys working in affordable housing and community development:
Kelly Behr works with clients across the country on all aspects of affordable housing transactions with a particular focus on obtaining regulatory approvals from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and other federal, state, and local agencies. Based in Washington, D.C., she counsels clients on multifamily affordable housing acquisition, construction, ownership, development, financing, rehabilitation, and preservation. In addition to her affordable housing practice, Behr regularly provides pro bono representation to unaccompanied immigrant minors seeking legal status.
Nicole Hixon helps equity investors, syndicators, and lenders leverage tax credits to finance housing and community development projects throughout the United States. Based in Boston, she works with clients to structure transactions that qualify for federal LIHTCs and other tax credits and benefits. These transactions typically involve multiple layers of public and private financing, including tax-exempt bonds. Hixon is adept at helping clients resolve issues that may arise during the tax credit compliance period.
Ninteretse Jean Pierre focuses his practice on all aspects of commercial real estate transactions, representing borrowers and lenders, real estate developers and companies, and property owners. Based in Rochester, New York, he assists clients in structuring and negotiating a variety of commercial real estate transactions, which can include acquisitions and dispositions, leasing, title and survey review, and negotiation of other real estate instruments. Recently, he has negotiated and drafted design and construction agreements for multi-use buildings, hospitals, restaurants, and office buildings.
Emily Schwebke focuses her practice on counseling and representing clients across a wide spectrum of commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, and leasing, as well as developing, managing, and financing commercial real estate assets across the country. These transactions involve a broad range of industries including seniors and multifamily housing, urban retail and restaurant spaces, power centers, office buildings, warehouse and industrial properties, and mixed-use properties. Based in Chicago, Schwebke also has significant experience in advising tax equity investors in solar leasing and renewable energy transactions as well as experience in assisting with the representation of institutional tax equity investors in affordable housing transactions. She is active in pro bono work, providing legal services to Chicago Youth Centers.
