Senior Housing Influencers

Senior living has been making steady progress after surviving the body blow that the pan-demic delivered in its early days. Occupancy rates, as we note in our feature on page 28, have increased throughout 2022, with rents notching their most rapid increase in more than a decade. And like the larger category of healthcare real estate, investors are eager to buy these well-positioned, recession-resistant assets. And, again, like the larger category of healthcare real estate, this space also comes with challenges that can only be met by the most skilled men and women. On the following pages you will read about some of these professionals, as well as teams and companies that fit this requirement.

BRAD COMPETTY Brad Competty was instrumental during the merger of Lancaster Pollard, RED Capital Group and Hunt Real Estate Capital and the subse-quent formation of Lument, where he is now managing director. Based in Columbus, OH, Competty helps lead the firm’s origination efforts for senior housing and healthcare clients throughout the Midwest. Since joining the firm, Competty has worked on almost $1 billion in trans-actions across the entire capital platform. Prior to his current role, he was focused on the analysis of senior housing, long-term care and acute-care organizations. He provided support on a wide range of bond transactions and mortgage loans for rehabilitation, new construction and refinance projects. His deep understanding of financing structures includes conventional bond financing, HUD-FHA, Fannie Mae and USDA programs, and he recently added bridge and bridge-to-HUD financing to his tool chest. Last year, Competty closed 16 transactions with a total loan amount of more than $188 million and he continued strong production to start this year with an $87 million facility via the HUD/FHA Section 223(f) program to refinance nine skilled nursing facilities with a total of 691 beds located in Ohio, Michigan and Wiscon-sin in collaboration with Atrium Centers. He is involved in several civic and nonprofit organizations related to seniors and community health that strive to make a difference in the community.

R.J. DEBEE, III R.J. DeBee has been active in the real estate and healthcare industries for more than a decade, while primarily focusing on providing ap-praisal services for the senior housing market. He recently joined BBG as managing director, where he is responsible for building out and growing the firm’s newly-launched senior housing practice group nationwide. The team provides valuation and consulting services to clients across the county including national lenders, REITs, operators and developers. Prior to joining BBG, DeBee was a top producer at CBRE where he managed the Eastern US division, including all states along the eastern seaboard. During the height of the pandemic, his team tracked market data and market participant discussions which provided a valuable resource for others in the industry. DeBee is an advisory committee member of the American Seniors Housing Association, the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care and ULI, as well as a candidate for designation for the Appraisal Institute. Outside his work responsibilities, DeBee works closely with the community as a volunteer with Canine Companions for Independence, which provides service dogs to adults, children and veterans with disabilities and facility dogs to professionals working in healthcare, criminal justice and educational settings.

KEVIN S. KINIGSTEIN While working on his first senior housing deal, Kevin Kinigstein quickly realized it was a sophisticated asset class with many considerations, including purchase and sale documents, joint venture agreements, property management agreements and loan documents. Despite the unique aspects of senior housing, Kinigstein observed that very few CRE attorneys specialize in the complex niche sector and he saw an opportunity to differentiate himself from industry peers. During the past 13 years, Kinigstein has assembled a team at Cox, Castle & Nichol-son that specifically focuses on senior housing transactions and he has built its senior housing practices from a single client to representing 12 leading senior housing owners, developers, operators and institutional investors nationwide. Kinigstein is a partner and transactional real estate attorney in the Los Angeles office at Cox, Castle & Nicholson. As the senior housing practice team leader, Kinigstein is the direct liaison to the firm’s senior housing clients. Beyond handling a wide variety of complex transactions on behalf of clients, he also is responsi-ble for assigning transactions to other attorneys on the team and across firm practice areas. He works on all types of senior housing transac-tions, including acquisitions and dispositions, joint ventures, financings, property management agreements, development management agreements and master leases. He has experience working with all types of assets within the sector, including independent living, assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing. Kinigstein is a member of ULI’s senior housing council.

JAMES KNAPP Since joining Marcus & Millichap 25 years ago, Jim Knapp has focused on senior housing investment advisory and sales. Knapp is senior managing director of investments based in Detroit, MI, where he has worked since the office opened in 1998. His experience and ability to mentor his fellow agents has been an invaluable asset to the Detroit office, as well as the firm. According to Knapp, the senior housing team’s main goal is to provide clarity to clients given the properties, residents and staff involved. The sector has faced many hardships in the wake of the pandemic, and he believes it is his team’s responsibility to ensure clients are fully equipped with the knowledge they need to make investments. Knapp and his team focus exclusively on the sale and disposition of senior housing and long-term care real estate. Knapp recently teamed up with another leading senior housing team within the firm, creating the Knapp-Stahler group. This alignment strengthened its ability to provide resources and knowledge to current and prospective clients. For many years, Knapp has been involved with Reach the Forgotten Jail Ministry, a local Michigan organization that provides guidance and teachings to jail inmates who are looking for second chances and redemption. 

KAYLA MEEK When Kayla Meek arrived at American House Senior Living Communities a year ago, she inherited policies and procedures, which she quickly set out to change in effort to allow the company to operate more efficiently and to improve the experience of both residents and staff. As VP of resident care, Meek supports operations and clinical services for residents living in Michigan, Florida, Tennessee, Ohio, New Hampshire and Illinois. She has redone and rolled out every clinical policy to increase consistency and safety. She started her policy rollout by updating the COVID-19 policy and has since significantly improved onboarding practices. She took what she learned from the pandemic to plan for future risks through training, education and prevention of communicable diseases in American House communities. Since then, her team has noticed decreased numbers of other cases such as the flu, shingles and norovirus. Meek also transferred American House to a single electronic health record system, shifting from multiple systems and handwritten notes on resident records to a cleaner, more organized electronic system that improves accuracy, consistency and safety. She updated electronic medication administration record practices, ensur-ing all medications are in a centralized location to reduce risk and improve quality of care, and she standardized resident care assessments across all properties, allowing staffing needs to be addressed. Meek pays attention to the unique needs of residents. For example, she im-plemented a new incontinence supply program that supplies residents with washcloths, briefs and more to protect residents’ skin and sup-port wound prevention for those who are less mobile.

DEBORAH SMITH Deborah Smith didn’t take the usual path to a financial career. She grew up on a dairy farm in Australia and was the first person in her family to pursue higher education. With no ties to the financial industry, Smith’s determination and passion for seeking solutions paved the way for a successful career. Smith co-founded and now serves as the CEO of the CenterCap Group, a woman-owned boutique investment bank focused exclusively on the real estate industry. The firm raises capital for projects in the senior housing sector and often consults on start-up businesses looking to take advantage of the sector’s growth. Smith is responsible for the strategy and growth of the firm and oversees all business lines, including consulting, capital raising and corporate M&A across the real estate industry. She has been involved in more than $100 billion of transactions during her 24-year career. Smith has built an active following on LinkedIn, and through social media and a large pool of relationships, she has become an industry thought-leader, especially in the institutional investment market. Due to her voice within the industry, Smith has drawn attention to the emerging Active Adult Living niche within the senior housing space and is often at the center of conversations about how the product will evolve, whether as multifamily or as senior living. She is on the board of Apartment and Invest-ment Management Company and is also involved in Women Executives in Real Estate’s mentoring program for aspiring female real estate professionals.

GREGORY SMITH With a strong commitment to innovating the senior living space, Gregory Smith continues to educate himself on the newest demands in senior living, in addition to improving the current senior living model. In 2004, Smith created Maplewood Senior Living with a vision to rede-fine expectations for the later years of life with senior living communities that allow residents to flourish and have confidence in care. As president and CEO, Smith oversees the development, construction, finance and management of Maplewood Senior Living’s portfolio of senior living communities. Ten years ago, Smith and his team noticed a new need in the senior housing market pace—luxury senior living in an urban environment. The result was InspI¯r, which was driven by retiring baby boomers who wanted living options that would allow them to age in their city while receiving quality healthcare services, fine dining and access to social and cultural activities. The new concept came to fruition with the debut of InspI¯r Carnegie Hill, the first community to be launched under the brand on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The community is one of the first buildings in New York state within the assisted living sector, and the largest in the city to achieve the WELL Health-Safety Rating. Its second location, InspI¯r Embassy Row in Washington D.C., will also pursue the WELL Health-Safety Rating and LEED certification. Smith has earned a reputation as a thought-leader and change-maker. He sits on the board of directors of the Alzheimer’s Association New York City chapter.

JONATHAN STELZER Jonathan Stelzer joined Plaza Cos. in 2007 following more than two successful decades in project management and the construction indus-try. As SVP of design and construction at the firm, Stelzer’s primary responsibilities include overseeing the development, design and con-struction of medical, office, healthcare and senior living facilities. Stelzer has guided the design and construction of some of the most recog-nized senior living projects in the southwest US, including Splendido at Rancho Vistoso, an award-winning senior living community outside of Tucson, AZ. The community had been built with 270 independent homes—including 42 skilled nursing beds and 48 assisted living and memory care beds. Once the facility approached capacity, the ownership team wanted to plan for its future growth through a $50 million renovation and the addition of 47 new villa homes on site. Construction began on the renovation in 2018 and was completed in 2020. As a result of the project team’s approach, Splendido at Rancho Vistoso is nearly sold out and residents now enjoy the new villas as well as en-hanced dining areas, a newly remodeled public living room area and many other enhanced features. Stelzer also oversaw the design and construction of Vi at Silverstone, a $242 million, 735,651-square-foot luxury senior living community in north Scottsdale, AZ. Key features include a four-story main lodge with apartment homes, four dining venues, an indoor and outdoor pool, numerous villa single-family homes and a 60-bed health care center. The site plan approach became critical to the maintenance of acceptable grades and cross slopes neces-sary for a senior population.

ASHLEY WILKENS One of the youngest people to be tri-certified in hospital, multifamily (MAP) and senior housing (LEAN), Ashley Wilkens brings more than 10 years of experience specializing in mergers and acquisitions, strategic advisory, capital formation and financing engagements for senior living and long-term care providers including FHA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, municipal advisory services and bridge loan transactions. Wilkens is director and deputy chief underwriter at Hudson Realty Capital, a New York City-based, minority-owned commercial real estate investment management firm. Hired in 2021 to help scale Hudson Realty Capital’s launch into the FHA space, Wilkens has already made a big impact at the firm—forging long-term relationships and assisting in the completion of healthcare loans. After only a year, the bridge lending platform now has the capacity to lend $400 million. Wilkens also has become a key player in launching and scaling Hudson Realty Capital’s healthcare division by securing its FHA/HUD LEAN license. In 2021, the firm closed its first senior housing transaction involving a $37.8 million bridge loan for two senior housing and memory care communities. During the height of the pandemic, Wilkens spearheaded an initiative to provide relief to senior housing facilities that were facing substantial challenges and financial loss, as well as stricter re-quirements than its multifamily FHA counterparts. She successfully had four out of five proposals approved by legislation on behalf of the industry, including suspension/flexibility with reserve for replacement funds, extensions for completion of non-critical repairs, uses of debt service reserve funds, and creation of the Section 232/223(d) and 242/223(d) operating loss loan program in response to the COVID-19 pan-demic. This allowed flexibility for owner/operators in the industry with FHA/HUD loans to relieve some of the financial loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

TEAMS

BELLWETHER ENTERPRISE’S SENIOR HOUSING AND CARE Bellwether Enterprise’s senior housing and care team has more than 35 years of combined experience and more than $10 billion of transac-tions experience, including $3 billion in the senior housing and care real estate sector within the past three years. The team members, in-cluding national director Ryan Stoll, SVPs Taylor Mokris and Kim Huffstutler, and VP Lundat Kassa, have experience in leadership roles at some of the industry’s leading construction, bridge, acquisition and permanent lenders. Since joining together at BWE 10 months ago, the team’s transaction activity has totaled more than $500 million across nine different traditional, alternative and permanent lenders. The team arranges debt and equity for owners of all senior housing and care asset types. It is a Fannie Mae DUS lender, Freddie Mac Optigo lender, and FHA/HUD LEAN lender, and it provides proprietary construction, acquisition and bridge balance sheet capital for all senior housing and care asset types through a national bank with a minority ownership interest in BWE. The team also provides debt and equity advisory ser-vices. Deal sizes for single assets typically range from $20 million to $150 million, while portfolio deal sizes can stretch well into the hun-dreds of millions. BWE has partnered with nonprofit organization Enterprise Partners Inc. to support its mission of creating and preserving affordable housing in thriving communities and the firm has contributed more than $100 million, a large percentage of its profits, to the af-fordable housing mission.

CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD’S VALUATION & ADVISORY SENIOR HOUSING/HEALTHCARE PRACTICE GROUP The senior housing/healthcare practice group at Cushman & Wakefield, founded in 2001, provides expertise in appraisal review, real proper-ty valuation, property tax consulting, litigation support, and market and feasibility studies. Led by executive managing director Gerald “Jarry” Rasmussen, the 16-member team has completed more than 3,300 healthcare-related valuation assignments during the past three years. The team provides expertise in all facets of senior housing and healthcare real estate and provides a combination of industry experience, local market insight, national coverage and responsive service, as well as the ability to draw upon the diverse disciplines available from other Cushman & Wakefield core services. Property types include adult daycares, age-restricted apartments, Alzheimer’s care/dementia, assisted living, continuing care retirement communities, hospice and more. Team members use an integrated technical appraisal service line plat-form to maximize communication with clients and to produce logical and supported analyses on complex assignments. During the height of the pandemic, the team created new measures to continue conducting interior inspections by implementing new personal health and safety protocols. The group’s work as thought-leaders includes market presentations, expert witness testimony and speaking engagements. 

JPMORGAN CHASE’S COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BANKING JPMorgan Chase’s community development banking team focuses on increasing the supply of traditional affordable housing as well as fi-nancing housing accessible for seniors. The team was formed in 2004 and is led by head of community development banking and GSE agency lending Vince Toye, along with managing directors Kevin Goldsmith, David Walsh, Cecile Chalifour and En Jung Kim. The Chase CDB team’s senior housing activity includes lending to CDFIs, financing affordable housing and investing in New Markets Tax Credits. In the heart of Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, an area with a strong LGBT+ community, work is underway on Pride Place, a 118-unit LGBT+ affirming affordable housing development for seniors. The CDB team purchased $23.4 million of tax-exempt bonds and provided $2.8 million in taxable loan proceeds as construction financing to Pride Place developer Community Roots Housing. In the same neighbor-hood, Agrihood Senior Apartments comprises the new construction of 163 affordable units for low-income seniors. Not only will it house seniors, but Agrihood will promote physical and mental longevity through outdoor activities, therapeutic gardening at Agrihood’s urban farm, and accessible healthy, organic food and produce. Another notable recent project for the team was a New Markets Tax Credit financing to Meals on Wheels San Antonio to construct a new facility to meet the needs of a growing senior population in the region. The new facility includes an expanded commercial kitchen to increase meal production and a larger Alzheimer’s activity center, along with more program-ming and administrative space. The CDB team also provided $45 million to finance the substantial rehabilitation and redevelopment of Robert King High, a proposed 315-unit affordable rental development for elderly residents in Florida.

PERKINS EASTMAN’S SENIOR LIVING DIVISION Helping people get the care and amenities that they deserve for their next chapter of life is at the heart of Perkins Eastman’s approach. The firm’s senior living division, which was established in 1981, creates flexible and technologically-advanced new spaces and upgrades exist-ing buildings in phases that don’t disrupt care services. An example of its work is the award-winning Maravilla at The Domain in Austin, TX—a site-specific design built with native materials and landscaping that is more like a resort than a life-plan community. The development includes bespoke lighting fixtures, elegant furnishings and dining options that range from casual to gourmet, as well as supportive elements such as on-site physical therapy, a holistic wellness program and 34 memory support residences. Perkins Eastman was one of the first ar-chitecture firms to use the “small house” model in its work. In the model, 10-14 residents live together in private rooms in autonomous households and are cared for by a small and dedicated number of caregivers. Notably, the Veterans Administration and numerous not-for-profit organizations use the small house model as the standard for their nursing home construction and often employ Perkins Eastman in their planning and design. In tandem with its built work, Perkins Eastman conducts original research that has helped open doors to new clients and drive change throughout the industry.

ORGANIZATIONS

AFFIRMED HOUSING Recognizing that many seniors live on a fixed income and regularly have to choose between rent, food and medication, Affirmed Housing has made it its mission to develop inclusive, safe and sustainable communities for the California senior market. The firm was founded in 1992 and is led by president and CEO Jim Silverwood. Affirmed Housing’s “Housing First” methods incorporate ADA-compliant residential living spaces coupled with specialized on-site supportive services to meet the unique needs of senior occupants and include health and wellness, life-long learning, financial literacy, art and creativity, and community building. One example of Affirmed Housing’s model is Tizon, an affordable housing development that is currently under construction and dedicated to low-income seniors in San Diego’s Rancho Bernardo neighborhood. For the project, Affirmed Housing is transforming an existing Radisson Hotel into affordable studio apartments for seniors aged 62 and older earning 40–60% of area median income. Once complete, Tizon will deliver 175 studios and three manager units, as well as shared laundry facilities, a community building with shared amenities, fitness center, restaurant, a pool and jacuzzi, a covered patio area and a community garden. Converting an existing hotel allows the firm to deliver the project on an accelerated timeline of nine months versus the typical 12–18 months that it takes to build a new construction project. In 2018, Affirmed Housing opened a new office in the heart of Silicon Valley, expanding its footprint and reach to Northern California. The firm completed Oakland’s first entirely affordable housing development, NOVA, and another supportive housing project in Oakland, Aurora, which US HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge touted as a great example of how multiple stakeholders can successfully work together to house people experiencing homelessness.

ANTHOLOGY SENIOR LIVING Headquartered in Denver, CO, Anthology Senior Living is a vertically-integrated developer, owner and operator of independent living, as-sisted living and memory care communities. Since its inception in 2013, the firm has established a portfolio of 41 senior housing assets totaling 5,100 units across 17 states—32 of which are self-managed. In 2021, Anthology’s property management team grew net positive occupancy for eight consecutive months despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, while also facilitating the deployment of nearly 80 COVID-19 vaccine clinics across the entire portfolio as part of the Pharmacy First vaccine rollout program, which ensured that resi-dents had immediate access to vaccines. To further enhance its focus on care, Anthology doubled the size of its corporate clinical team and brought its entire culinary department in-house; adding 300 new team members and allowing for more oversight of food quality, menus, inventory and costs. The team also rolled out a new level of care platform across the portfolio to ensure that residents are properly assessed and that Anthology is maximizing its care revenue. Operationally, the Anthology team has driven its management company to be profitable by growing its portfolio, smart expense control and increasing property revenues through occupancy, and it has also enacted processes to streamline its systems and accounting. Although the lagging effects of COVID-19 continue to be a challenge, the team has seen sustained growth in move-ins, revenue and net operating income.

COMMUNITY HOUSINGWORKS Founded in 1988, Community HousingWorks is a nonprofit organization that develops, rehabilitates, preserves and operates affordable apartment communities in San Diego and throughout California. The firm is led by president and CEO Sean Spear, who has spent his two-year tenure at CHW talking with elected officials, local task forces and community organizations to find realistic and long-lasting solu-tions to housing insecurity for residents of all ages. For seniors, CHW works with local organizations and partners to help create communities that ease the financial strain on older generations, who bear the additional burden of a fixed income and increased healthcare costs, while supporting them with adult education programs, easy access to health care, connection to their communities with public transportation and a focus on neighborhood walkability. CHW has developed and managed six senior communities in addition to several intergenerational and age-friendly communities, each with various services and resources to best support residents, like health and well-being programs that en-courage healthy living and independence and reduce isolation. Two of CHW’s most influential senior housing projects are Kimball Tower and Morgan Tower, located in National City, CA. These affordable senior communities were originally built by the Community Development Commission – Housing Authority of the City of National City. CHW and Mercy Housing California were selected to purchase and renovate the towers using tax credits and tax-exempt bond proceeds. Both towers serve seniors with incomes up to 50% area median income and both have project-based Section 8 contracts. Both tower renovations encompassed apartment interiors with new kitchens, bathrooms and du-al-pane windows, new roofs, elevator modernization, new energy-efficient boilers, new fire safety improvements and new and upgraded resident recreation areas.

COMMUNITY PRESERVATION PARTNERS (CPP) Since its founding in 2004, Community Preservation Partners has invested $750 million to rehab and preserve more than 3,500 senior housing units nationwide. The firm, led by president Anand Kannan, works to protect communities that could easily be lost to market-rate investments but are often occupied by seniors living on a fixed-income with limited housing options. Among CPP’s notable senior properties is Golden West Tower Apartments in Torrance, CA, which it acquired in 2020 for $74 million and invested more than $10 million in renova-tions to enhance the quality of life for its senior residents. Built in 1973, the 180-unit, 14-story property was in a state of disrepair, having not received proper maintenance or upgrades since 2005. The entire 14th floor was transformed into a gym with table tennis, cardio equipment, a weight rack and a yoga room with a television for on-demand classes. The bottom floor is now home to Project Access, an on-site provider of health, education, financial and community building services. Norman Towers, a 400-unit senior housing complex in East Orange, NJ, would likely have been acquired by a market-rate developer if CPP and L+M Development Partners had not been able to close the deal to acquire the property. The firms invested $29 million at Norman Towers for improvements that focused on residents’ specific needs and al-lowed them to stay in their homes. Both projects were under construction at the peak of the pandemic, which necessitated residents to be temporarily relocated to a hotel. Teams from the developer, construction crew and property management staff all worked together during the construction process to keep residents safe. CPP also ensured that seniors and community members received hot meals and groceries and that each resident received the services they needed.

FAIRSTEAD Through a combination of property renovations, strategic community partnerships and on-site social services, Fairstead ensures seniors can age in place with dignity. Founded in 2014, Fairstead is a vertically-integrated real estate developer specializing in creating sustainable, high-quality housing. The company owns 5,000 units of senior housing across the country, representing 42% of its portfolio. Led by founding partner and CEO Jeffrey Goldberg, Fairstead has become an expert in senior design and goes above and beyond requirements. For exam-ple, at its Goodlette Arms property in Naples, FL, every apartment is being renovated to include a walk-in shower so seniors do not need to worry about stepping into a tub. A special feature at Goodlette is Fairstead’s community bus service, which takes residents to doctor ap-pointments, the supermarket, restaurants and shopping. At its Euclid Beach property in Cleveland, OH, the resident services coordinator curated programming focused on health and wellness, including how to cook healthy meals and health screenings for diabetes, mental health and hearing. Across its portfolio, Fairstead works to connect residents to technology with both broadband options and access to de-vices. At Owls Nest in Cleveland, for example, more than 100 senior residents have received refurbished computers. In July 2022, Fairstead celebrated the completion of a $4.5 million overhaul of Colony Apartments, a 137-unit senior housing complex in Covington, KT. The reno-vations entailed major home upgrades, including energy efficiency measures that will lower monthly utility bills. Also in July, Fairstead closed on the acquisition of the Aurora Apartments in San Antonio, TX, committing to a $15 million overhaul of the 105 apartments that are home to low-income senior residents while preserving the former hotel’s historic character.

JASA (JEWISH ASSOCIATION SERVING THE AGING) Founded more than 50 years ago, the Jewish Association Serving the Aging serves more than 40,000 older adults in New York City each year. Led by CEO Kathryn Haslanger, JASA is the largest nonprofit manager of senior housing in New York City; operating 11 affordable housing properties in Brooklyn and Queens, as well as space in Manhattan’s East Village. These properties house more than 2,200 older adults and disabled individuals. Furthermore, JASA is a licensed home care agency and offers free legal services, health and mental health services, home-delivered meals, social programming at Older Adult Centers, and community training on elder abuse, peer health support, caregiver assistance and more. JASA maintains 17 older adult centers throughout New York City, which provide group activities, company, friendships, trips, special events and meals. Last year, JASA collaborated with Type A Real Estate Advisors, a women-owned business en-terprise developer, to cut the ribbon at 1490 Southern Blvd. in the Bronx. The 100% affordable senior housing development provides 114 units for households making up to 50% area median income, with 30% of units in the development set aside for formerly homeless older adults and one superintendent’s unit. Another recent JASA project is Casa Celina in the Bronx. The 100% affordable project will provide 204 units for seniors and set aside 62 of the units for formerly homeless older adults. JASA has become a partner in some of the most significant senior affordable housing deals in New York City.

PRESERVATION EQUITY FUND ADVISORS (PEF ADVISORS) Preservation Equity Fund Advisors is not interested in treating the symptoms of the affordable housing crisis—rather, it wants to remove fun-damental barriers and solve the root problems. Founded in 2017, the firm is a wholly-owned private subsidiary of WNC, an affordable hous-ing organization with expertise in tax credit syndication, preservation and rehabilitation services and private equity investment funds. PEF Advisors, led by president and chief investment officer Ann Caruana, acquires and preserves existing affordable housing in high-cost markets through private equity funding. Most residents of PEF Advisors’ properties are for seniors who earn 60% or less of area median income. The funds acquire properties that are not being efficiently managed, address deferred maintenance and capital needs and improve operating and management efficiencies. The firm has invested in nine senior housing projects nationally, totaling $115.8 million, allowing institutional investors to help underwrite affordable housing preservation projects. PEF Advisors’ Las Brisas property in California’s San Joaquin Valley has received significant upgrades that have improved the quality of life for residents and lowered their energy costs. The 81 senior residents now count energy from the sun as one of the amenities they receive in the affordable housing community. PEF Advisors worked in partner-ship with GRID Alternatives to secure funding for a solar energy system through the cap and trade-funded Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing program that provides residents and the community with clean, renewable energy and long-term savings. The completed solar sys-tem is expected to save more than $1 million in energy costs over the system’s lifetime, which equates to $40,427 of energy savings annu-ally for the property’s senior residents.