MYLOGO
SB: Combining LIHTC and RAD Transactions
Combining the LIHTC and RAD Transactions - Staying Ahead of the Curvei
Rebecca Arthur
Partner
Novogradac & Company LLP
Rebecca Arthur is a partner with the Government Consulting and Valuation Advisory Services (GoVal) group and manages the metro Kansas City, Mo., office of Novogradac & Company LLP. She has extensive experience in market analysis and appraisal of multifamily developments, including those with low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs), USDA, Section 8, conventional developments and for Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and Federal Housing Administration financing. Additionally, she specializes in consulting for developers and state housing agencies, as well as preparing valuations of general and limited partnership interests and Year 15 valuation issues. Before joining Novogradac & Company LLP, Ms. Arthur was an analyst with the corporate finance group of Deloitte and Touche LLP, specializing in business valuations and acquisitions. She received her bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Ms. Arthur is a designated member of the Appraisal Institute, a member of the Kansas City Commercial Real Estate Women organization, a member of the National Council of Housing Market Analysts, and a certified general real estate appraiser in Arkansas, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, and Texas.
Orlando Cabrera
Of Counsel
Squire Patton Boggs (U.S.) LLP
Orlando Cabrera advises clients including financial institutions, investors, syndicators, developers, public housing authorities, housing finance agencies, community development agencies, cities and counties on successfully navigating complex affordable housing matters. Mr. Cabrera has significant experience with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulatory matters (including Native American housing issues), housing finance agency issues, low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs), private activity bonds, debt financing, non-federal state financing programs, tribal financing programs and general real estate. Mr. Cabrera’s experience includes serving as the president and CEO of a major affordable housing developer that operated in six states. He raised more than $50 million for capital improvements for the company and $100 million in general equity investment for new and rehabilitation construction, restructuring of the company’s finances and successfully developing or rehabbing more than 2,500 units during his four-year tenure as CEO. From his Senate confirmation in late 2005 through early 2008, he served as assistant secretary for Public and Indian Housing at HUD. As assistant secretary, Mr. Cabrera oversaw the administration of a $24 billion program, which included public housing, Section 8 vouchers, moderate rehabilitation (mod rehab) and most federal housing programs for Native American tribes nationwide. He is one of three recipients of the Office of Inspector General’s Golden Eagle Award for Public Integrity. Before his role at HUD, Mr. Cabrera served as executive director and CEO of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, the nation’s fourth-largest housing finance agency, where he developed policies for managing the allocation of the LIHTC, private activity bonds, HOME Investment Partnership Fund, State Housing Trust Fund and Local Government Housing Trust Fund. During his tenure at Florida Housing, he also served on the board of the National Council of State Housing Agencies. Mr. Cabrera also has extensive experience in the area of disaster recovery. Before heading Florida Housing, Mr. Cabrera was the chairman and vice chairman of Florida Housing’s board of directors and a partner in the real estate department of a major Florida-based law firm. He has acted as developer, investor or lender’s counsel for hundreds of real estate transactions throughout his career. Mr. Cabrera has extensive experience in most areas of real estate law, including airport, office, commercial, and single- and multifamily residential development. He has been a frequent speaker and presenter before various committees in the U.S. Congress, the Florida Legislature, many state and local governments, and many affordable housing and real estate industry trade groups. He has served, and still serves, on the board of directors for a variety of industry-related groups. Mr. Cabrera is a member of the American Bar Association, the District of Columbia bar association, the Florida bar, the Illinois state bar association and the state bar of Wisconsin.
Jim Gillespie
Senior Vice President
Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital LLC
Jim Gillespie is senior vice president of Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital LLC, where he focuses on loan origination and management of developer relationships for the firm. Mr. Gillespie has extensive experience in affordable housing and structuring debt and direct equity investments, having worked in these areas for more than 20 years. Before joining Bellwether, Mr. Gillespie was managing director at Hunt Mortgage Group, a national real estate financial services firm. Before Hunt, Mr. Gillespie was founding managing director of Red Stone Partners, where he helped build and manage their proprietary tax-exempt bond funds and before that, senior vice president at Related Companies, a New York-based real estate development firm where he was involved in the financing and acquisition of more than $2 billion in properties nationwide. Preceding his career in commercial real estate, Mr. Gillespie was a city planner for a public development authority in Louisville, Ky. Mr. Gillespie is active on a number of civic, philanthropic and industry organizations and serves on the boards of NYSAFAH, Citizen’s Housing and Planning Council and National Housing & Rehabilitation Association. Mr. Gillespie holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Hanover College, a master’s degree in urban and regional planning and development from the University of Louisville, and a master’s degree in real estate development from Columbia University.
Monica Hilton Sussman
Partner
Nixon Peabody LLP
Monica Sussman is a former U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) executive with nearly 30 years of experience in real estate, Section 8, FHA Multifamily programs and affordable housing law. Her practice focuses on all types of real estate transactions, and housing and community development law. Before joining Nixon Peabody LLP, Ms. Sussman held the position of deputy general counsel at HUD, where she oversaw the Office of Insured Housing, the Office of Legislation and Regulations and the Office of Finance and Regulatory Programs. Before her HUD appointment, Ms. Sussman practiced law with several Washington, D.C., law firms, where worked extensively on transactional real estate and corporate matters, representing numerous lenders, owners and property managers. Ms. Sussman began her career at the New York office of federal affairs, as a legislative counsel with the Governor’s Washington office, where she concentrated on housing issues. Ms. Sussman is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and Virginia. Ms. Sussman earned her bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University and her juris doctor from Hofstra University School of Law.
Jeffrey Weiss
President, Alden Capital Partners
Senior Managing Director, Alden Torch Financial
Jeffrey Weiss is president of Alden Capital Partners and a senior managing director of Alden Torch Financial, Alden Capital Partners’ parent company. Mr. Weiss has specialized in affordable housing for more than 20 years, with a focus on raising equity and structuring project partnership agreements and multiple layers of debt. Mr. Weiss is responsible for all tax credit syndication activities of the company. Previously, Mr. Weiss was a senior vice president with Alliant Capital, responsible for the firm's private label syndications and overseeing acquisition and project management activities. He also served as senior vice president, investor relations for Simpson Housing Solutions (formerly Kaufman and Broad Multi-Housing Group), and as financial development officer for the city of Los Angeles Housing Department, where he was responsible for coordinating the department's new and existing bond issues and performing initial feasibility analyses on proposed projects. From 1996 to 2003, Mr. Weiss served as a guest lecturer at the USC School of Policy, Planning and Development where he instructed graduate students in real estate finance, feasibility analysis and affordable housing. Mr. Weiss is a licensed attorney in the state of California.
Robin Zimbler
Vice President of Development
Related California
As vice president of development for Related California, Ms. Zimbler is responsible for the coordination of all aspects of development and financing for Related’s affordable residential developments. Prior to joining Related, Ms. Zimbler was development director at L+M Development Partners Inc., a full-service development firm known for developing quality affordable, mixed-income and market rate housing, where she oversaw the development of three large-scale, mixed-income residential developments: Faubourg Lafitte in New Orleans, Navy Green in Brooklyn, and Candlestick Heights in San Francisco, along with the ReFresh Project in New Orleans, an adaptive reuse converting a former grocery store into a new Whole Foods Market along with other uses, focused on bringing healthy food to an underserved community. Ms. Zimbler was responsible for the financing of more than 1,070 housing units and over 70,000 square feet of commercial space, totaling more than $350 million. She began her career working in the public sector as director of multifamily initiatives for the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and director of strategic planning, policy and programs for Baltimore Housing, a joint agency of Department of Housing and Community Development and the Housing Authority of Baltimore City. Ms. Zimbler holds a master’s degree in city and regional planning from the University of North Carolina and a bachelor’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis.