Melton to Lead Bellwether Enterprise Group
Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Group has established a group dedicated to working with affordable housing clients.
The new group will be led by Philip Melton, who was recently hired as executive vice president. The affordable housing veteran joins the firm from Hunt Mortgage Group/Centerline Capital Group, where he served as senior managing director and was responsible for overseeing the company’s affordable housing debt and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) lending platforms. Previously, Melton was senior vice president at Grandbridge Real Estate Capital.
Over the course of his career, he has been responsible for more than $2.5 billion in total direct loan originations with total production of more than $3.7 billion, primarily in affordable housing and FHA lending.
Bellwether Enterprise is the commercial and multifamily mortgage banking subsidiary of Enterprise Community Investment. Melton will work out of the company’s Dallas office.
Jamboree Announces Executive Appointments
Jose Sanchez has joined Jamboree Housing Corp. as vice president of asset management. In this newly created position, he will oversee operation and management of the company’s $1 billion portfolio of properties throughout California.
The Irvine, Calif.–based nonprofit has developed more than 7,500 affordable housing units in 75 communities and has $233 million in affordable housing projects in the pipeline.
Prior to joining Jamboree, Sanchez was CFO of Eagle Real Estate Group. Earlier in his career, he served as director of strategic planning for the Irvine Co.’s Office Properties Division
In another move, Mary Jo Goelzer has been named vice president of marketing and communications, another new post.
Goelzer has been a part of Jamboree’s executive management team since 2001, most recently serving as COO. In conjunction with Goelzer’s new assignment, Caitlyn Murphy has been promoted from administrative assistant to marketing and communications coordinator to help establish the new department.
First Community Housing Names Executive Director
Geoffrey Morgan has been appointed executive director of First Community Housing, a San Jose, Calif.–based nonprofit affordable housing developer.
He joins the firm after serving almost six years as vice president of real estate development for CCH, an Oakland, Calif.–based nonprofit developer of affordable seniors housing. During his tenure, Morgan was responsible for the development of nearly 2,000 units.
He replaces Jeff Oberdorfer, who recently left the organization.
Trehubenko Join CBRE Capital Markets
Todd Trehubenko has joined CBRE Capital Market’s Debt & Structured Finance team as senior vice president. Based in Boston, he will originate multifamily loans with a focus on FHA-insured debt.
Trehubenko brings more than 25 years of real estate experience in financing and structuring complex apartment transactions, with a strong emphasis on affordable housing and mixed-income transactions.
He joins CBRE from Walker & Dunlop, where he closed nearly $80 million in FHA financing in 2014. Previously, he served as CEO of Recap Real Estate Advisors. During his tenure at Recap, he arranged more than 180 transactions representing nearly $3 billion in real estate value, including the refinancing and restructuring of Starrett City in Brooklyn, N.Y.
CDT Announces Promotion
Michael Lear has been promoted to vice president of community investments at the Community Development Trust (CDT).
Lear has been with CDT since 2011 and has experience in both the asset management and community investment departments. The 32-year-old has spent his career working in affordable housing policy, development, and finance.
Prior to joining CDT, he was deputy director of housing policy research at the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. He is an assistant adjunct professor at NYU Wagner, where he teaches real estate finance.
CDT is a national investor in affordable housing. Working with local, regional, and national partners, the private real estate investment trust makes long-term equity investments and originates and acquires long-term mortgages.
HUD Public Housing Official Takes Office
Lourdes Castro Ramirez has been appointed principal deputy assistant secretary of the Office of Public and Indian Housing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD Secretary Julián Castro made the appointment.
Castro Ramirez was recently president and CEO of the San Antonio Housing Authority. She was nominated to be HUD assistant secretary for public and Indian housing last year, but her nomination stalled in the Senate. The new position does not require Senate confirmation.
In November, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said he planned to object to the nomination because of the agency’s apparent rush to negotiate contracts with local housing authorities participating in the Moving to Work program and the lack of transparency surrounding the contract negotiations.
Woda Group Names VP of Finance
Garrett LeDonne has joined The Woda Group as vice president of finance.
He is responsible for underwriting low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) and market-rate investments. LeDonne also secures financing and reviews LIHTC applications. After a project is awarded financing, he helps in the coordination of the closing process, ensuring adherence to budgets and tax credit compliance.
Prior to joining Woda, he worked as a senior analyst at Caesars Entertainment.
Connect with Donna Kimura, deputy editor of Affordable Housing Finance, on Twitter @DKimura_AHF.
