Gormley Joins Tidwell Group
Quinn Gormley has become a partner at Tidwell Group, joining the accounting and consulting firm’s team in its Austin, Texas, office.
He brings a quarter century of experience in commercial real estate development, which has been principally focused on affordable housing, tax-oriented investments, and economic development. He has extensive practice in structured financing, including conventional and tax-exempt revenue bond transactions.
Prior to his new position, Gormley was the director of real estate consulting with one of the largest accounting firms in the country. He previously supervised all multifamily housing efforts of one of the top construction firms in the nation. In addition, Gormley served as vice president of real estate for one of the nation’s largest community development banks, originated low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) investments for two syndication firms, and served as the rental programs manager for the state of Arizona.
Cohen-Esrey Names Development Director
Jay Johnson has joined the Cohen-Esrey Development Group (CEDG) as a development director.
Johnson has spent the past nine years at The NRP Group, where he was involved in affordable housing development and public/private partnership projects in the state of Texas. During his time with NRP, he assisted with the development of 2,000 affordable housing units in the Dallas/Fort Worth metro.
Based in San Antonio, Johnson will help extend the CEDG development initiative throughout Texas.
Monarch Private Capital Appoints LIHTC Development Director
Steve LeClere has been named director of LIHTC development at Monarch Private Capital (MPC), a national tax credit investment provider.
He will assist in the strategy and management for Monarch’s investments in affordable housing development and advise on financial structures and execution.
Prior to joining MPC, LeClere was a consulting principal at Tidwell Group, where he specialized in advising developers on strategies for optimizing debt and equity structures, resolving compliance and disposition issues, valuing partnership interests, and navigating the impacts of state and federal legislation on affordable housing developments. Earlier in his career, LeClere worked with a nonprofit affordable housing developer and spent over seven years in the acquisitions department of a national LIHTC syndication firm, where he was responsible for sourcing, evaluating, structuring, and closing LIHTC investments. During his tenure, he was directly involved in the closing of over $500 million of LIHTC investments.
LHP Capital Promotes Lockwood
Cristy Lockwood has been promoted to COO at LHP Capital, a national leader in affordable housing. She will retain her current position as president of LHP Capital and take on additional responsibilities as COO.
Lockwood will have oversight of day-to-day operations of LHP’s asset management, finance, human resources, IT, and other support functions throughout the company.
LHP Capital is a developer and manager of multifamily housing properties with a primary emphasis on affordable housing. Since the 1990s, the Knoxville, Tenn.-based company formerly known as Lawler Wood Housing and rebranded LHP in 2015, has developed more than 11,750 apartment units in 85 properties.
BGC Advantage Names Assistant Vice President
Nathan McMullin has been appointed assistant vice president of development and assets at BGC Advantage.
He joins the firm with over nine years of business, finance, real estate, and affordable housing experience. He will leverage his experience in underwriting, acquisitions, development, and finance to assist BGC with business development, acquisition, and project development.
McMullin has acquired and developed affordable, conventional, mixed-income, and value-add assets in over six states. Additionally, he has used a wide range of loan products, including conventional, Federal Housing Administration, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and tax-exempt financing.
In his previous work experience as a senior development officer, his team developed over $100 million in real estate in three years.
CDT Announces CFO, Promotions
Grace Cheng has been appointed CFO at The Community Development Trust (CDT), which provides long-term debt and equity capital for the creation and preservation of affordable housing
Before joining CDT, she spent eight years as the CFO at Cain International and GTIS Partners, both real estate private equity firms with a focus on investments in U.S., London, and Brazil markets. She replaces former CFO John Divers, who is retiring after serving CDT for almost 20 years.
Cheng also previously worked at Morgan Stanley for eight years in the investment management practice, overseeing the global accounting, reporting, and operations of its flagship Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds.
CDT also announced the promotion of six senior managers.
Brian Dowling has been promoted to chief investment officer. During his 13 years at CDT, he has worked in various roles at the company, most recently managing its equity business as its senior vice president of community investments. During his tenure, Dowling has led and supported over $500 million in property acquisitions, which have preserved over 6,000 units of affordable housing throughout the country, and successfully invested over $120 million in CDT equity. In his new role, Dowling will also be responsible for managing CDT’s ongoing affordable housing and charter school lending activity.
Joan Berkowitz has been promoted to chief portfolio officer. In her role, Berkowitz oversees the asset management of CDT’s debt and equity portfolio, the underwriting of CDT’s debt investments, and CDT’s loan administration group. Since joining CDT in 2003, the portfolio has grown from $140 million to $1.1 billion, and her responsibilities encompassed the oversight of debt refinancings, property rehabilitations, and workouts. Additionally, Berkowitz has developed policies and procedures that ensure CDT is managing its portfolio effectively with a focus on proactively managing areas of potential risk.
Michael Lear has been promoted to senior vice president—community investments. He is responsible for helping guide the strategy of CDT’s equity group as it identifies and executes long-term investments that preserve and create affordable housing across the country. Lear managed CDT’s investment in nearly $250 million worth of acquisitions across 2,200 units of affordable housing in his prior role as vice president.
Desiree Fisher has been promoted to senior vice president—underwriting. In 2017, she formally assumed the role of head of the underwriting department and in the last year managed the approval process for all debt transactions (forwards, conversions, immediates, and portfolios) totaling approximately $95 million. Since joining CDT in 2012, Fisher has served as the primary underwriter on approximately 30 debt transactions totaling $100 million.
Patricia Tagarello has been promoted to senior vice president—operations. She has taken on increasing responsibilities in information systems and technology and will be in charge of CDT’s marketing efforts. She coordinates CDT’s CDFI grant applications and works with finance in the oversight of CDT’s corporate governance procedures. Tagarello continues to be responsible for CDT’s human resource management policies and will increase her leadership responsibilities in the operations of CDT going forward.
Kevin Schmidt has been promoted to vice president—asset management. He has taken on increased leadership responsibilities within the asset management department and will continue to be responsible for assisting in the management of CDT’s debt and equity portfolios with a total value of over $1.2 billion. Additionally, Schmidt has been instrumental in streamlining various processes within the department and in preparing crucial analyses of CDT’s portfolios.
Hunt Mortgage Names Vice President
Anthony Valenzuela has joined Hunt Mortgage Group as a vice president. He will work out of the firm’s Phoenix office.
He was previously a member of a top-producing debt team at CBRE and will focus on sourcing, evaluating, and closing loans for clients across the country.
Valenzuela focuses on the origination of permanent, bridge, and proprietary lending products for multifamily and commercial assets. He has significant Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac experience and has successfully placed more than $2 billion of debt and equity across a wide range of capital sources throughout his career.
