People on the Move 5.28.20

Krinsky Moves Up at Citi Community Capital

Barry Krinsky has been promoted to head of project finance debt origination at Citi Community Capital. He steps into the role held by industry veteran Mark Dean, who is retiring.

Krinsky has been the director for the Southern region of Citi Community Capital and has more than 25 years of experience in real estate lending, mortgage bank, and investment banking services to developers, owners, and operators of real estate. He specializes in affordable housing that utilizes low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) with tax-exempt of taxable construction and permanent loans.

Prior to joining Citi Community Capital, he was a vice president of Capmark Finance, previously known as GMAC Commercial Mortgage.

Dean joined Citi Community Capital, formerly Newman & Associates, in 1998, opening a Seattle office. He has more than 27 years of experience providing investment and mortgage banking services to developers and corporate sponsors. He has specialized in financing multifamily housing using private-activity bonds.

TWG Announces Development Director

MJ Gravel has joined TWG Development as development director to lead the Indiana-based firm in developing affordable communities throughout Ohio and Pennsylvania. The company has developed over 9,000 units across the U.S.

Prior to joining TWG, Gravel was the principal of her own consulting business, providing support to California and Ohio nonprofits. She was previously executive director at the Ohio Housing Council, where she advocated for meaningful affordable housing policies and programs for the state.

Her experience in the multifamily housing arena includes in-house positions with Volunteers of America National Services, National Affordable Housing Trust, Ohio Housing Finance Agency, Ohio Department of Development (now Ohio Development Services Agency), and the Iowa Coalition for Housing and the Homeless.

Executives Join CommonBond Communities

CommonBond Communities, a leading affordable housing nonprofit based in St. Paul, Minn., has added to its executive team.

Karen Law has become the organization’s inaugural executive vice president of talent, equity, and culture. She has more than 25 years of experience in nonprofit management, including leadership in transformative diversity and inclusion efforts, human resources, organizational management, and also major gifts fundraising and donor cultivation. She has a varied set of professional experiences in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, having previously served as director of human resources and organizational culture at Nexus, executive director of the nonprofit Our Justice, an entrepreneur, and in various roles at Project for Pride in Living.

Law has a deep knowledge of systemic and structural inequalities and a desire to combat and end systems of oppression.

Thomas Adams is the new executive vice president of housing and services. In this role, he oversees all aspects of property management and advantage services.

Most recently he was the CEO of Better Futures, an organization that seeks to change systems that lock men—primarily Black men—experiencing homelessness, incarceration, and behavior health issues into long-term dependency. He has also worked with African American Family Services and the Association of Minority Health Professions Schools, Summit Academy OIC, Pillsbury Neighborhood Services, and The Bridge for Runaway Youth.

Adams brings a mix of nonprofit business management, mission-driven continuous improvement and strategy, and a commitment to racial equity to this role at CommonBond.

Fairstead Adds to Asset Management Team

Fairstead, a fully integrated real estate firm committed to affordable housing, has appointed Kevin Day as vice president of asset management for its affordable properties and Robert Dunn as vice president of asset management overseeing mixed-income.

Both are experienced asset management professionals and represent the latest step in the firm’s expansion strategy and commitment to drawing top talent within the industry to its growing team. They will be based out of Fairstead’s New York headquarters.

In his new role, Day oversees a team designed to maximize operations and ensure compliance of the Fairstead portfolio, as well as to assess and execute potential capital transactions. He has over 15 years of experience in real estate finance and management, with a focus on affordable multifamily housing.

Prior to Fairstead, Day founded evopolis, Inc., a real estate investment and consulting firm that developed projects and helped owners and investors achieve their goals. Before that, he led the affordable housing portfolio management team in AIG’s Global Real Estate group, where he evaluated and developed strategies for a 900-property LIHTC portfolio, and led a team to execute over 300 sales, recapitalizations, and market conversions.

During his career, Day has also worked for Harvard University, the National Equity Fund, and the New York City Housing Authority.

Dunn is focused on managing and expanding the firm’s mixed-income housing portfolio. Prior to joining Fairstead, Dunn spent seven years at HUBBNYC Properties, a New York-based, vertically integrated owner/operator focused on the acquisition and management of value-add investment properties. In his most recent role, he was responsible for directing the asset management group, overseeing property management, and assisting with capital transactions.

Previous to that, Dunn worked in asset management at Long Wharf Capital, a value-add investment fund focused on multifamily, retail, office, industrial, and hospitality assets across the domestic United States.

Florida Housing Coalition Names Communications Director

Lisa Djahed has been appointed communications director at the Florida Housing Coalition, a nonprofit providing assistance in all areas of affordable housing planning, finance, development, and ending homelessness.

The coalition is a statewide membership organization, whose mission is to bring together housing advocates and resources so that all Floridians have a quality affordable home and suitable living environment.

Djahed received a master’s certificate in digital strategy from The Big Thinkers Society in 2017, a West Coast-based agency that delivers inspired digital experiences for companies such as Amazon, Avanade, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Palo Alto Housing Becomes Alta Housing

Palo Alto Housing, a nonprofit developer and manager of affordable housing, has changed its name to Alta Housing as it celebrates its 50^th anniversary.

Officials say the move reflects the organization’s evolution as a nonprofit serving diverse communities across San Mateo and Santa Clara counties in Northern California, and its plans to create more affordable housing beyond Palo Alto, the city of its original name. The organization’s headquarters will continue to be located in Palo Alto.

Alta Housing owns and operates more than 20 residential communities that house over 2,000 residents and has more than 300 units in various stages of development or construction in the cities of Mountain View, Palo Alto, and Redwood City.

“Today, more than ever, we are happy to be building high-quality affordable housing where individuals and families can thrive,” said Randy Tsuda, president and CEO of Alta Housing. “Our residential communities serve health care workers, seniors, veterans, teachers, small-business owners, and workers in transportation, office, retail, food service, hospitality, and other industries. They all are critical to the fabric of our communities.”

Alta Housing is under construction on 67 residential units in San Mateo County. The new, 100% affordable housing community will provide independent living for a mix of low-income families, including veterans. The new community is slated to be completed in October.

The organization also is working on two 100% affordable housing developments, which will be inclusive for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities, Wilton Court in Palo Alto and 950 W. El Camino Real in Mountain View. Both communities are expected to break ground this year.