People on the Move 6.9.20

Housing Trust Group Appoints COO

Michael S. Sheitelman has been named COO at the Housing Trust Group (HTG), one of the nation’s largest affordable housing developers. In his new role, Sheitelman will oversee all of the Florida-based company’s real estate functions, including the acquisition, entitlement, development, construction, legal, development finance, and property management teams.

Prior to joining HTG, Sheitelman served as general counsel for Crescent Heights, an urban real estate development firm with offices across the country. Prior to that, he was a shareholder in the Fort Lauderdale office of GrayRobinson, where he represented clients in all legal aspects involved in the acquisition, financing, development, construction, leasing, and sale of various classes of real estate. He has also led his own law practice.

HTG is a full-service developer of multifamily residential communities with over 7,000 affordable and market-rate units throughout Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and Texas and more than 2,000 apartments in the pipeline.

National Church Residences Names VP of Property Management, Salutes Departing Pam Monroe

National Church Residences has promoted Sonya Brown to vice president of property management. She takes over the post from retiring Pam Monroe, who served in the role after joining the organization in 2014.

Brown joined the nonprofit in 2004 and has served as a property manager and in three regional leadership positions. Since 2010, she served as a regional vice president. That role included leading a team of six executives who reported to her plus a field staff of more than 220 employees across 11 states. In her new role, Brown will lead a team of four regional vice presidents, covering about 310 affordable housing communities in 25 states.

During her career at National Church Residences, Monroe had many accomplishments, including implementing a nonsmoking policy at roughly 300 affordable housing communities across the nation. She also led and planned the implementation of a maintenance tracking system for work orders and she directed the property management team to its best operational performances.

Headquartered in Ohio, National Church Residences serves more than 42,000 seniors through its array of housing and health care services.

Simpson Launches Housing Firm

Bob Simpson, who recently served as vice president and head of the multifamily green and affordable housing business at Fannie Mae, has founded Simpson Impact Strategies.

After completing 20 years at Fannie Mae, Simpson decided to begin his own consulting business. He plans to work with property owners, lenders, investors, and other private companies to develop and implement housing investment initiatives that build stronger and healthier communities and align with environmental and social impact investment standards. He will also consult on public policy issues.

At Fannie Mae, Simpson oversaw the government-sponsored enterprise’s (GSE’s) affordable debt and equity business and was responsible for creating its green financing platform. He held a variety of senior leadership positions in the conventional, structured finance, small loans, and seniors housing businesses. He also spearheaded the company’s investment efforts in rural and Native American markets as well as Gulf Coast communities impacted by Hurricane Katrina.

Zwick to Leave Housing Trust Silicon Valley

Kevin Zwick is stepping down as CEO of Housing Trust Silicon Valley on June 26 to become CEO of United Way Bay Area.

He joined Housing Trust, a nonprofit community loan fund, in fall 2008, just as the recession was taking shape, and led the organization through the foreclosure crisis and the subsequent loss of California’s redevelopment agencies. As the economy recovered he pivoted Housing Trust to help developers acquire land, help Bay Area residents realize their dream of homeownership through downpayment assistance loans, and bring the homeless into homes.
Zwick led Housing Trust into a stronger policy environment for affordable housing by helping lead efforts to pass local impact fees, Measure A in the County of Santa Clara, Propositions 1 and 2 in California, and Measure E in San Jose, said Craig Robinson, the organization’s board chair.

Zwick also engaged the area’s large employers to help finance affordable housing through different initiatives, including the TECH Fund.

His efforts have grown the organization from a staff of three with just over $27 million in total assets to a staff of 29 and growing with over $210 million in total assets, all to create over 20,000 homes.

CFO Julie Mahowald, who helped lead Housing Trust’s most recent successes, will assume the role of interim CEO. The board has formed a search committee to find a successor CEO.

Middleburg Communities Hires Director of Acquisitions

Middleburg Communities, a Vienna, Va.-based real estate investment, development, and property management firm, has named Kyle Chase as director of acquisitions. He will source middle-market Class A and targeted workforce housing multifamily acquisitions throughout the Southeast and Texas, working out of the company’s Charlotte, N.C., office.

Prior to joining Middleburg, Chase was a director at Cushman & Wakefield, focusing on selling institutional assets in the Carolinas. Prior to that position, he worked as an investment sales broker at The Kirkland Co., where he opened the firm’s Charlotte office. Chase has sold over $1 billion in multifamily assets during his tenure as a multifamily investment sales professional.

Middleburg Communities is a fully integrated multifamily development, investment, construction, and management company operating in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. Since 2004, it has acquired and developed more than 19,000 apartment units, executing approximately $2.5 billion in transactions.

Enterprise Community Partners Names First COO

Drew Warshaw will serve as the first COO for Enterprise Community Partners. He will oversee the implementation of Enterprise’s forthcoming five-year strategic plan and leverage the full range of Enterprise’s capabilities in support of the organization’s mission.

Warshaw joins Enterprise from Clearway Energy Group, among the three largest renewable energy companies in the United States. At Clearway, he built and managed the company’s Community Solar business, which has deployed more than $1 billion in capital and has become the industry leader in developing, financing, and operating such renewable energy projects. Before Clearway, he helped launch the Renewables division of NRG Energy.

Prior to Clearway, Warshaw served in several public-sector roles, first at a policy think tank, then in a gubernatorial administration and, most recently, as chief of staff at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Cinnaire Announces Appointments

Cinnaire has announced the promotion of Ryan Robinson to executive vice president, operations and corporate risk management. In addition, affordable housing industry veteran Mike Witt has joined the company as vice president, asset management.

In his new role, Robinson will guide Cinnaire in the development of a clear focus on execution and accountability, drive organizational efficiency, proactively manage the organizations risk profile, and continue to oversee asset management. He joined Cinnaire in 2011, most recently serving as senior vice president, asset management and risk management.

Witt is responsible for overseeing investments made by Cinnaire in numerous multifamily housing developments across multiple business lines. He recently served as acting chief of housing investment officer at the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. In this position, he was responsible for oversight of all multifamily rental programs and community development divisions.

Cinnaire is a nonprofit financial partner that supports community and economic revitalization initiatives through creative investments, loans and development services. Since 1993, Cinnaire has invested $4.7 billion to develop 811 housing communities in 10 states, providing 49,700 affordable apartment homes for more than 100,000 individuals and families.

Dane Real Estate Hires Head of Business Development

Kristii Farrell has been appointed head of business development at New York-based Dane Real Estate, with a specific responsibility overseeing longstanding client relationships while also opening new avenues of business across all of our practice areas.
She began her career in Ohio at the company Owens Illinois. She then worked in sales for Special Electric, an OEM company, in charge of Midwest sales. Thereafter, she became the CEO of BlueTrail Financial.

Founded in 2008, Dane Real Estate specializes in affordable housing brokerage and consulting. The company focuses on sourcing properties, identifying potential opportunities, and facilitating closings with owners and active purchasers to rehabilitate and create new homes in the affordable housing sector.

Bellwether Enterprise Expands Midwest Presence

Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital, the commercial and multifamily mortgage banking subsidiary of Enterprise Community Investment, announced today the expansion of its Midwest team.

In the Chicago office, Dan Rosenberg has been named a senior vice president and Ryan Morris and Matt Terpstra are new assistant vice presidents. The firm has hired Cathy Bronkema as a senior vice president in Grand Rapids, expanding Bellwether Enterprise’s presence in Michigan.

Both Rosenberg and Bronkema will be responsible for the origination and placement of debt and equity structures for development, acquisition, and permanent financing throughout the Midwest and nationwide. Rosenberg will develop a full-service commercial mortgage banking office for all asset class properties to complement the firm’s existing work in senior housing, also based in the Chicago office. The Grand Rapids office will continue to provide borrowers with multiple lending products offered by Bellwether and expand its role in affordable housing financing via products offered through Enterprise.

Rosenberg has spent more than 15 years in the Chicago commercial real estate finance industry, originating in excess of $4 billion with all capital source types including life company, commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), debt funds, and the GSEs. He joins Bellwether Enterprise from Cohen Financial, having led a team of six professionals and working with clients ranging from middle-market and high net-worth individuals to family offices, real estate investment trusts, and fund sponsors.

Bronkema brings over 25 years of commercial real estate finance experience to Bellwether Enterprise, with a track record securing competitive loan structures for all types of commercial real estate assets, including multifamily, retail, office, industrial, hospitality, seniors housing, and health care. She has originated over $1 billion in deals with a wide range of lenders from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, life insurance companies, CMBS lenders, banks, and finance companies. Prior to joining Bellwether Enterprise, Bronkema served as managing director at Cohen Financial for 17 years.

With more than 10 years of experience underwriting and originating deals, Morris also joins Bellwether Enterprise from Cohen Financial, where he served as vice president in the Chicago office for six and a half years. Earlier, he was an underwriter at AIG.

Terpstra spent the past nine years being responsible for the underwriting, financial analysis of debt and equity transactions nationwide. He joins Bellwether Enterprise from Cohen Financial, where he most recently served as a vice president in the firm’s Chicago office.