Ava Goldman has been named president of The Michaels Development Co., one of the nation’s top developers and owners of affordable housing.
Goldman succeeds Robert J. Greer, who has retired after 35 years with the New Jersey-based firm. She becomes only the third person in the company’s 40-year history to hold the title of president.
“Ava Goldman is absolutely the best at what she does, and she has always been one of our hardest working and most prolific developers, and we are thrilled to name her to this important position within our organization,” said John J. O’Donnell, president and COO of The Michaels Organization.
Michaels Development, which has developed more than 50,000 units since 1973, is the No. 1 private-sector affordable housing owner in the nation, with more than 340 properties across 33 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It leads Affordable Housing Finance’s Top 50 list of affordable housing owners and has been one of the Top 50 developers as well.
The company, which has a staff of more than 60, has 45 developments in its pipeline.
Goldman joined the firm in 1993 and has served as senior vice president since 2000. She and her team have developed more than 3,000 residential units valued at nearly $600 million over the past six years, including the largest single development in the company’s portfolio, the revitalization of the Kuhio Park Terrace public housing community in Honolulu.
In partnership with local public housing authorities, Goldman has overseen HOPE VI and other mixed-income developments in cities as diverse as Kansas City, Mo.; Camden, Newark, and Jersey City, N.J.; New Haven, Conn.; and Meridian, Miss. She is also a specialist in housing preservation and has overseen an extensive list of acquisition and rehabilitation developments for Michaels.
Prior to joining Michaels, Goldman was department head of the Atlantic County Department of Regional Planning and Development in Atlantic City, N.J. She holds a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Arizona and a bachelor’s degree from Temple University.
