People on the Move 5.10.23

Chelsea Investment Corp. Announces Leadership Changes

Chelsea Investment Corp., an affordable housing developer and owner based in Carlsbad, California, has made a series of executive leadership moves.

After nearly 40 years at the helm, founder Jim Schmid has retired as CEO but will continue as chairman of the board. As owner of the company, he will remain active in major strategic decisions, execution, and promotion of the business.

Charles Schmid will transition from chief operating officer (COO) to CEO, taking over the post from his father. He will be responsible for more than 100 employees and a development portfolio of $2.5 billion. Charles has been with Chelsea since 1986 and also serves as president of Chelsea’s affiliated general contractor, Emmerson Construction. As a licensed general contractor, Charles has supervised the construction of more than 8,500 apartments in California and Arizona.

Cheri Hoffman will continue in her position as president and has also been appointed to serve as chief investment officer. She has been with the company since 1994 and has participated in the development of more than 125 affordable apartment communities.

Jimmy Ayala has joined the firm as COO, bringing with him 25 years of experience. He previously served as division president of Tri Pointe Homes and was a senior member of the management team at Pardee Homes. Ayala is a board member of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Board of Directors, Los Angeles Branch, and the San Diego County Water Authority.

Since 1984, Chelsea has invested over $3 billion to develop over 15,000 units of affordable housing for populations including low-income seniors and families, farmworkers, individuals at risk for homelessness, and homeless veterans.

NASLEF Appoints First Executive Director

Michelle Foster has been named the first full-time executive director of the National Association of State and Local Equity Funds (NASLEF).

She joins the organization from Cinnaire, a Community Development Financial Institution headquartered in Lansing, Michigan, and a founding NASLEF member, where she analyzed over $2.3 billion in affordable housing equity investments to evaluate fund placement.

With 16 years of experience in analysis and engagement, Foster will elevate the network by leveraging her expertise to amplify the voice of NASLEF members through community development advocacy and build new opportunities for members.

She serves as board president for the Michigan Rural Development Council, a powerful voice advocating on behalf of the affordable housing industry. She also serves as chair of the city of Ferndale Planning Commission and board director for Community and Home Supports, a Detroit nonprofit organization.

Formed in 1994 to promote the efficient management of state and local mission-based funders of affordable housing, NASLEF has grown in capacity and impact, broadening its focus to include community development resources while also prioritizing the professional development of its member organizations. NASLEF member funds have raised over $18.7 billion in equity capital for rental housing development throughout the country, creating or rehabilitating more than 213,392 units of affordable housing in 4,458 developments. In the wake of the pandemic and aggression of aggregators in the market, NASLEF members committed to growing stronger together.

Madigan Becomes Interim Head of Enterprise Community Development

Christine Madigan has been named interim president of Enterprise Community Development, the property management and development division of national nonprofit Enterprise Community Partners.

Madigan, executive vice president and chief business officer, takes on the new role from Brian McLaughlin, who departs after more than three years at the firm.

As interim president, she will oversee Enterprise’s fully integrated $1.3 billion portfolio, which serves 23,000 residents across 113 communities in the Mid-Atlantic.

Since joining Enterprise in 2001, Madigan has led the division’s development, asset management, acquisition, and design and construction operations and served in a number of roles related to community planning, financing, resident engagement, and more. She has led multistate transactions, including the acquisition and financing of The Shelter Group’s affordable housing portfolio of over 4,100 homes across 43 developments. She also serves as president of the Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition.

RDOOR Names EVP of Development

Ian Colgan has been appointed executive vice president of development at RDOOR Housing Corp., formerly Merchants Affordable Housing Corp., in Indianapolis.

Colgan brings nearly a decade of experience in housing development and urban planning to RDOOR’s team. Prior to joining the nonprofit, he served as an assistant executive director of the Oklahoma City Housing Authority, where he spearheaded affordable housing initiatives, portfolio recapitalization, and real estate development. Before this, he was the assistant planning director for the city of Oklahoma City and a principal at Development Concepts in Indianapolis.

RDOOR and its affiliates own more than 3,000 units throughout Marion County and Indiana and are actively looking to begin development outside the state.

MHIC Appoints Senior Leaders

Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp. (MHIC), a nonprofit financier in affordable housing and community development in New England, has appointed two executives to its senior leadership team.

Elizabeth Ronayne has been named chief capital development officer, and K. Beth O’Donnell has joined the organization as director of community investment. Both bring robust experience in affordable housing and real estate investment, with a focus on racial equity. They will be instrumental in pushing forward MHIC’s mission to revitalize neighborhoods by investing in whole communities.

Ronayne will be instrumental in identifying and securing institutional capital for the company’s multi-investor and proprietary fund offerings and managing all aspects of investor relations. She has over 30 years of banking and finance experience, including 20 years in affordable housing, where she successfully raised capital through tax credit syndication investment partnerships. She has held senior positions at organizations including Alliant Capital, Meridian Investments, and Stratford Capital Group.

O’Donnell will manage MHIC’s development department and oversee the equity investment and lending businesses. She brings over 20 years of experience executing complex real estate strategies in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. She has gained strong industry expertise working with Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corp. since 2012 as associate director and then director of real estate. She also held the roles of director of real estate for Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corp. and acquisitions manager for Preservation of Affordable Housing.

MHIC has invested more than $3.4 billion in 682 developments, representing more than 26,500 homes and 7.2 million square feet of commercial space.

CDT Promotes Cheng to COO and CFO

Grace W. Cheng has been elevated to COO, chief financial officer (CFO), and corporate secretary at Community Development Trust (CDT).

Prior to her promotion, as CFO and corporate secretary, Cheng’s primary responsibilities have included finance, accounting, tax, human resources, technology, compliance, investor relations, and capital management. In her expanded role as COO and CFO, she will now oversee capital expansion efforts, strategic initiatives, and overall risk and portfolio management.

Since joining CDT five years ago, Cheng has been an integral member of the company’s executive management team, providing leadership in the development and execution of the organization’s strategic initiatives, while balancing its mission and profit objectives. She has partnered with colleagues across CDT’s lines of business to meet corporate objectives consistent with its strategic plan. With the continued growth in CDT’s equity business, Cheng has developed integrated accounting and reporting policies across its joint-venture investments that have contributed to the organization’s ability to improve shareholder reporting. In addition, she provided leadership in tax and compliance planning in its REIT structure for both existing and new investments.

Cheng is a member of CDT’s internal credit and investment committee and leads its companywide Enterprise Risk Management initiative, which includes more formal and expanded processes in the identification, mitigation, and monitoring of key risks critical to the organization.

NewPoint Expands Affordable Housing Team

Charlie Crowe has joined NewPoint Real Estate Capital as director, originations. Based in the firm’s Irvine, California, office, he will focus on providing affordable housing owners and developers with the full range of NewPoint’s proprietary, agency, and Department of Housing and Urban Development/Federal Housing Administration financing solutions.

Prior to joining NewPoint, Crowe was director of finance at nonprofit affordable housing developer Burbank Housing, where he led the firm’s overall capital strategy, oversaw enterprise-level capital raising, and managed project-level debt and equity initiatives for a 3,200-unit portfolio. Before that, he spent six years with Freddie Mac Multifamily, most recently on the Targeted Affordable Housing Structured Production Team, working to originate, structure, and securitize unique products like Q-Deals, M-Deals, and SMART Deals. Crowe also played an integral role in developing Freddie Mac’s Single-Family Rental (SFR) Pilot program and structured, underwrote, and executed both the first SFR pilot loan and the first SFR loan supporting housing for the intellectually and developmentally disabled.

NewPoint is a commercial real estate finance company delivering lending solutions to investors of multifamily, affordable housing, seniors housing, health care, and manufactured housing properties nationwide.

Rodney Joins Turner Impact Capital

Gary Rodney has been named managing director for housing initiatives at Turner Impact Capital, one of the largest real estate investment firms dedicated to social impact. He will help lead the firm’s multifamily strategy to acquire, preserve, develop, and enrich affordable workforce housing throughout the country.

Rodney brings to the newly created position 24 years of government, nonprofit, and private-sector leadership in developing and financing housing for low- and moderate-income families. He previously served as chairman of CREA, a national syndicator of low-income housing tax credits. During his four-year tenure, the company raised $3.7 billion in equity that created or preserved more than 20,000 affordable housing units in 30 states. In addition, Rodney served as president of the New York City Housing Development Corp. from 2014 to 2016.

Most recently, he was managing director at Tishman Speyer, where he launched the firm’s affordable housing platform.

Since its founding in 2014, Turner Impact Capital has raised over $1.65 billion in capital, putting it on course to surpass $5 billion in investment to tackle housing and two other interrelated societal challenges—public education and community-based health care.