Foundation Development Adds Partner
Jessica Zuniga has been named a partner at Foundation Development Group. Headquartered in Annapolis, Md., the firm develops affordable, market-rate, and mixed-income multifamily communities, senior-living communities, and single-family and townhome developments.
Zuniga brings more than 15 years of experience in real estate development and affordable housing. Prior to joining Foundation Development, she had been vice president of development for Rochester, N.Y.–based Conifer Realty. Zuniga also served as development director for Delaware Valley Development Co.
Jamboree Housing Names Senior Project Manager
Tish Kelly has joined Jamboree Housing Corp. as a senior project manager to help oversee the company’s growing pipeline of affordable housing projects throughout California. Her responsibilities include seeking and managing opportunities for future affordable housing projects from site selection and acquisition through predevelopment and construction completion.
A leading nonprofit community development organization, Irvine-headquartered Jamboree is one of California’s largest developers of affordable housing with $320 million in its development pipeline and a $1.1 billion asset portfolio that includes the development of more than 8,200 homes in 88 California communities.
Prior to Jamboree, Kelly had been vice president of acquisitions with Alliant Capital, a real estate finance and investment firm specializing in the syndication of low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs). From 2009 to 2015, Kelly had been a project manager with Los Angeles-based Meta Housing Corp.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch Promotes Spivak
Sindy Spivak has been named senior vice president, West region market executive, in the community development banking division at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Based in Los Angeles, she manages a team of community development experts who provide financial solutions for affordable and mixed-income housing projects. Spivak previously managed the bank’s credit products team responsible for community development loan originations and portfolio management. She joined the bank in 1997 as a relationship manager responsible for creating and managing debt relationships nationally with LIHTC syndicators. From 2003 to 2010, Spivak managed the bank’s tax credit equity investments group responsible for working with national syndicators in the identification and origination of low-income, historic, and New Markets tax credit equity investments.
SunTrust Names Head of Commercial Real Estate
SunTrust Banks has announced that Kathy Farrell will be appointed head of the commercial real estate (CRE) line of business, effective Aug. 1. She succeeds Walt Mercer, who is retiring after nearly 10 years with the bank and more than 40 years in real estate banking and advisory.
Farrell will be responsible for delivering banking and capital markets solutions to commercial real estate developers and investors in the SunTrust commercial real estate lines of business, including affordable housing.
She has over 25 years of real estate finance and banking experience throughout the country, including origination, underwriting, capital markets, workout strategies, and risk management. She has been with SunTrust since 2013, most recently serving as the executive risk officer for CRE.
National Church Residences Selects Construction VP
George F. Tabit has been named vice president of construction and development services at National Church Residences. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, the nonprofit is a leading affordable housing developer and owner with 340 communities in 28 states and Puerto Rico.
Tabit brings with him 15 years of experience in the full spectrum of real estate development, including site selection and acquisition, capital structuring, finance, and construction. In his previous role as vice president of real estate development at Homeport, Tabit led a team that developed a 2,500-unit portfolio of apartments.
Fort Worth Housing Solutions Announces VP
Matthew Corcoran has become vice president of development and asset management at Fort Worth Housing Solutions (FWHS) in Texas.
He brings extensive experience building property portfolios while developing growth plans that have significantly driven increasing gross revenues for various companies.
FWHS owns 1,001 public housing units, 2,777 affordable housing units, and 665 market-rate units; administers over 5,000 housing choice vouchers; and operates a homeownership program.
Cocoran’s experience includes investment analysis; financial administration; asset management for large-scale property assets; office, retail, and multifamily property acquisitions; and new construction developments.
Ballard Spahr Announces New Partner
Amy M. Glassman has been named a partner at the Ballard Spahr law firm.
Based in the Washington, D.C., office, she advises public housing authorities, developers, nonprofits, and other recipients of Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds in regulatory, administrative, and transactional matters. She helps HUD funding recipients comply with federal program guidelines, particularly related to Sec. 8 (both housing choice vouchers and project-based rental assistance) and public housing.
Glassman focuses on fair housing and accessibility matters, including accessible design issues, tenant complaints, and fair housing policy development, investigations, and compliance. She also advises on HUD enforcement and investigation matters. On the transactional side, she assists on deals involving HUD funding, including mixed-finance public housing redevelopments and conversions of public housing to Sec. 8, particularly those involving the Rental Assistance Demonstration program.
CREA Establishes Human Resources Department
Katy McShane has become senior vice president of human resources at CREA (City Real Estate Advisors). With the addition of McShane, CREA, a longtime LIHTC syndicator, gains a dedicated human resources department for the first time since its inception in 2001.
McShane brings with her 15 years of experience as a human resources professional. In her role, she will lead the design, implementation, and administration of all corporate HR programs, practices, and processes, including benefits, talent acquisition, compensation, performance management, and workforce planning. McShane will work out of CREA’s Indianapolis headquarters.
Wolverine Building Announces Leadership Changes
Wolverine Building Group, a leading general contractor in West Michigan, announced plans for a leadership transition that will take place over the next 18 months. Management team members Curt Mulder and Aaron Jonker have been named co-presidents of the 77-year-old construction company. Company owners Mike Kelly and Dick VanderZyden, who were presidents, will serve as co-chairmen and remain active with the company through the end of 2017.
Wolverine also announced that as part of the transition, Kelly and VanderZyden will sell their ownership in the company to Mulder and Jonker effective January 2018. Kelly plans to retire at that time, while VanderZyden will remain with the company for two additional years in the role of chairman to support the leadership team. The transition has been planned for several years and reflects the continuity of leadership at Wolverine that will now span five generations of owners.
Jonker joined Wolverine in 2007 and specializes in ground-up multi-unit construction as well as complex historic renovations involving both state and federal historic tax credit compliance as well as LIHTC funding. He is actively involved in the LIHTC industry and has overseen some of Wolverine’s most complex historic renovation projects.
Mulder has been with Wolverine Building Group since 1998. He leads a broad range of project teams and client relationships. He is an expert in construction and renovations and has overseen numerous large multifamily housing developments, both locally and nationally, as well as health-care, manufacturing, and industrial facilities.
Wolverine Building Group is a diverse construction company, consisting of several specialized teams serving markets, including multi-unit residential, health-care, retail, office, and others.
