Loza to Retire from HAC
Moises Loza, who has led the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) for nearly three decades, has announced his retirement.
Loza worked at HAC from 1973 to 1978 and then rejoined the nonprofit in 1981. Since becoming HAC’s executive director in March 1989, he has served as one of the nation’s strongest voices on behalf of affordable housing in rural America. HAC has been helping local organizations in rural America build affordable housing since 1971.
HAC’s board of directors has established a search committee to fine Loza's replacement.
Bellwether Housing Names CEO
Susan Boyd has been named CEO of Bellwether Housing in Seattle after a nationwide search.
She brings 28 years of experience in direct social service, policy analysis, advocacy, and law to Bellwether and is a respected voice on regional housing issues. For the last four years, Boyd has served as Bellwether’s director of real estate development, leading housing development strategy and tripling the number of units the firm has in production. In that time, she has also built relationships with for-profit developers, nonprofits, and governments, served as the agency's spokesperson, and helped guide the vision of the organization.
Prior to coming to Bellwether, Boyd was a partner at the law firm Kantor Taylor Nelson Boyd & Evatt, representing tax-exempt nonprofits, for-profits, and public agencies throughout the West Coast in all aspects of the development and financing of affordable housing and community facilities.
With an annual budget of $20 million, Bellwether has developed 1,900 units of affordable housing that it manages at 30 different locations throughout Seattle. Bellwether has two projects under construction, Anchor Flats and Arbora Court, which are slated to open in 2018.
Homeport Announces Promotions
Craig Murphy has been promoted to chief strategy officer at central Ohio affordable housing developer Homeport. Murphy is responsible for developing strategic partnerships, directing business plan development and fee-generating opportunities, and insuring alignment between projects, products, and services and the organization’s strategic plan.
Leah Evans has been promoted to vice president of neighborhood strategies at Homeport. Evans’ responsibilities include business development for real estate projects and leading planning and execution of high-level strategies to increase investment impact in neighborhoods. Her job also entails enhancing Homeport’s relationships with community development corporations and community organizations, overseeing housing sales, and maintaining industry contacts and best practices.
Dominium Announces Promotions
Dominium, a leading apartment development and management company, announced several personnel moves in recent weeks.
Ron Mehl and Owen Metz have been promoted to vice president and project partner at the firm’s Plymouth, Minn., headquarters. Each will be responsible for originating and overseeing new project development, financing and acquisitions.
Previously, Mehl was a senior developer. Metz was also a developer at the firm. They were responsible for performing similar roles in addition to determining project feasibility, overseeing design and construction, partnership restructuring, and negotiations with lenders, investors and third-party vendors.
Joel Otto has been hired as the company’s in-house architect. In this newly created position, Otto will be responsible for managing Dominium’s outside design teams to ensure designs adhere to its standards. In addition, he will be in charge of quality control of all construction documents and for maintaining Dominium’s design standards.
Prior to joining Dominium, Otto most recently worked in a construction administration position at BKV Group where he was responsible for managing the construction processes.
Russell Condas has been promoted to senior development associate. In his new role, he will be responsible for new project development, acquisition, and financing. In addition, he will have day-to-day involvement with financial modeling, legal document negotiation, and the sourcing of equity and debt. Previously, Condas was a development associate.
William Boulay, Michael Hudson, Eric Omdahl, Jordan Richter, and Ryan Williams have all been promoted to development associates. They will be responsible for overseeing design and construction, securing financing, and placing equity for investments in new and existing apartment communities throughout the United States. Previously, they were staff associates.
Mary Ann Dodge has been hired as a financial reporting accountant. Dodge’s new role is primarily project focused. Prior to joining Dominium, she was the senior accountant with Centra Homes and has worked at the Minnesota Department of Revenue.
WHEDA Promotes Gerondale
Sherry Gerondale has been promoted to CFO at the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA).
A veteran staff member, Gerondale will be responsible for helping WHEDA further its strategic planning initiatives by assisting with the acquisition of new sources of capital, driving revenue growth, and partnering with business units on new product opportunities.
“Sherry brings to the job 28 years of WHEDA experience in her various roles within our finance department,” said WHEDA Executive Director Wyman Winston. “Her vast industry expertise includes directing the issuance of tax-exempt and taxable bonds, the management and oversight of WHEDA’s credit rating, maintaining our investment portfolio, and new product development. Sherry’s comprehensive finance and Treasury background will be a tremendous asset to WHEDA in her new position.”
WHEDA is an independent state authority that administers low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) and works with lenders to provide low-cost financing for housing and small business development in Wisconsin.
Industry Veteran Joins Greystone’s FHA Team
Scott Thurman has joined Greystone, a real estate lending, investment, and advisory firm, as senior managing director and chief underwriter within the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) lending team.
He will focus on multifamily, affordable, and health-care property transactions as well as various strategic initiatives to further streamline the FHA underwriting process for Greystone clients.
A 25-year FHA industry veteran, Thurman most recently served as senior managing director and chief underwriter at ACRE Capital. Prior to ACRE, he was deputy and chief underwriter at CWCapital. Thurman has overseen the underwriting of over $2 billion in FHA-insured loans in those roles.
He began his career at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), where he served as a multifamily housing representative and information specialist.
Wiencek Architects Adds to Team
Architect Scott Matties has joined Wiencek + Associates Architects + Planners as a vice president.
He brings more than 25 years of experience in the design and master planning of award-winning resident, commercial, institutional, and mixed-use projects.
Matties has worked to improve quality of life through design for affordable housing and senior communities in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. He served as the 2014 president of the American Institute of Architects Northern Virginia Chapter.
Impact Community Capital Names CEO
Jeff Brenner has been appointed president and CEO of Impact Community Capital (ICC).
Established in 1998, ICC has provided more than $1 billion in financing for affordable multifamily housing, community health-care facilities, child-care centers, and other community facilities serving families and communities in 38 states plus the District of Columbia. It was founded by a consortium of insurance companies to facilitate their investments in projects that benefit low-income families and communities.
Brenner had been serving as interim president and CEO since the retirement of Daniel Sheehy.
He has built an impressive career in community development finance over the past 23 years. Since joining ICC in 2012, the firm has provided nearly $400 million of financing for affordable multifamily housing and securitized over $300 million of mortgages in two securitizations consisting solely of loans for affordable housing projects.
Capital One Adds to Multifamily Finance Team
Evan Williams has been hired as senior vice president, originations, at Capital One.
Based in the firm’s New York office, he will focus on affordable housing properties, originating Fannie Mae DUS, Freddie Mac Targeted Affordable Housing, and FHA loans nationally.
Williams joins from Prudential Mortgage Capital Co., where he spent seven years, originating multifamily financing through the agency loan programs. He was previously a vice president at Hunt Mortgage Group, formerly Centerline Capital Group.
NDC Promotes Marsh to Top Post
Daniel Marsh III has been named president and CEO of the National Development Council (NDC).
Marsh has been with NDC since 1986 and has been instrumental in growing the organization into the most comprehensive economic and community development nonprofit in the country.
Under his leadership, NDC developed the American Model™, a unique public-private partnership structure, which utilizes tax-exempt bonds to develop social infrastructure.
Looking ahead, Marsh will be working with the NDC office in Washington, D.C., and a coalition of economic and community development experts to educate the incoming administration and members of Congress about the impact of tax policies and other programs to realize challenging redevelopment projects in underserved communities.
Founded in 1969 at the height of urban divestment in America, NDC’s core mission is to bring capital investment to underserved areas, from urban to rural to inner-ring suburbs.
NixonPeabody Welcomes Tax Credit Attorney to Partnership
NixonPeabody announced that Elizabeth Young has been made a partner at the firm.
She provides tax counsel to public and private real estate investors, private equity sponsors, and tax-exempt organizations to finance community development projects across the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., she also advises investors on a range of private equity and venture investments.
Young serves as chair of the Pass-throughs & Real Estate Committee of the D.C. Bar Tax Section.
Conifer Names Regional V.P. of Property Management
Betty Perry has joined Conifer as regional vice president of property management. She will oversee the Long Island, N.Y., region and join the property management leadership team.
Perry comes to Conifer from Related Management Co., where she spent 24 years in various property management positions. Her most recent role was managing a portfolio of 39 properties with 7,200 apartment units.
Headquartered in Rochester, N.Y., Conifer is a full-service real estate company specializing in the development, construction, management, and ownership of affordable housing communities. Since its inception in 1975, Conifer owns and manages over 14,600 multifamily units representing 220-plus apartment communities in Maryland, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.
Enterprise Advisors Expands Services to PHAs
Enterprise Advisors announced that it is expanding the services it offers to public housing agencies (PHAs).
Part of the Enterprise Community Partners family of companies, Enterprise Advisors provides a broad range of services to PHAs, state housing finance agencies, municipalities, nonprofits, and regional bodies.
Enterprise Advisors has recently broadened its work to support HUD’s Moving to Work (MTW) demonstration, which provides PHAs with flexibility to design and test innovative, locally-designed strategies to spend dollars more efficiently, help residents achieve self-sufficiency and increase housing choices for low-income families.
Enterprise Advisors’ services also include guidance to PHAs to identify and prioritize goals and develop strategies for 1) program implementation; 2) real estate development and finance training to help PHAs fully leverage public-private partnerships like the LIHTC; and 3) advice on the Rental Assistance Demonstration program.
