The firm has also ramped up its tax-exempt bond transactions. Conifer has typically done two to four bond deals a year, but it has seven in the works this year, both new construction and preservation, in three states. The increase comes as states establish new soft-financing programs that work with tax-exempt bonds, says Andrew Crossed.
Branching out
Company executives have recently taken several steps to position Conifer for the future. These include tapping a 32-year Conifer property management pro to become director of administration. His team will oversee all property management administrative functions, such as multistate and agency rental leases, LIHTC compliance, and rental assistance contracts.
“We created the position to provide consistency,” Fournier says. “It’s part of capacity building for us to handle not only the [more than 13,000 units] in 200-plus properties we have today but prepare us [as well] for growth opportunities through possible acquisitions of affordable housing portfolios.”
Conifer also brought in a director of learning to lead education and training efforts. The initial focus has been the training of the maintenance staff to boost safety and consistency and the implementation of a learning management system.
In another move, Conifer has unveiled a refreshed brand and marketing tools. It had been about seven years since the company’s logo and materials had been updated and its website redesigned, and the firm needed to make improvements to meet current digital media standards. The tools needed to better market the company, and its properties needed to be more high-tech.
“Our goal was to update our current brand identity with a modern and fresh design that would coincide with who we are today and the direction we are going in the future,” says Sandy Gorie, vice president of marketing and communications, who joined the firm in 2007 from Equity Residential, one of the largest REITs in the country.
As a result, Conifer’s colors have been updated to blue and gold, and the firm’s long-standing tree logo has been reimagined as an arrow pointing to the future, to symbolize that Conifer is in motion, according to Gorie.
The new branding comes as the firm looks to expand beyond its five-state territory. Conifer is exploring moving south into Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. It’s also considering opportunities in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and other neighbor states to where it currently is doing business.
Conifer continues to be a big player on its home turf, too: The company has proposed a 28-unit development in Chappaqua, N.Y., an affluent community that’s home to Bill and Hillary Clinton. The small but high-profile project has been met with dogged opposition from some local residents and officials. In response, Conifer has filed a housing discrimination complaint that is being investigated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The firm still hopes to build Chappaqua Station and recently received minor building code variances for the project from the Hudson Valley Review Board and will be submitting updated construction drawings to the town.
Meanwhile, Conifer has its opening of Wincoram Commons to look forward to.
“It’s more than just an affordable housing development,” says CDCLI’s Garvin. For Coram, it’s a new heart to the hamlet. For Conifer, it’s a showcase property, the latest development in a long history of building affordable housing.
Overall, the company expects to start construction on 11 new-construction developments with nearly 800 affordable units this year.
