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WANTED: Public Employees Who Live Where They Work

SCG Newsletter / July 9, 2019

Local governments are offering employees home loans and even housing if they reside among the people they serve.
BY KATHERINE BARRETT & RICHARD GREENE | JULY 8, 2019 AT 4:00 AM

Between 2011 and 2016, fewer than half of the people hired to work for the city of Little Rock actually lived in the Arkansas capital. This is a reality across the country, especially in places with high costs of living.

Local governments generally want their employees to live within city limits. Some require it. But the ones that don’t — like Little Rock — are becoming more proactive to achieve the same goal.

“Instead of making employees live within the city, why don’t we make them want to live within the city?” says Stacey Witherell, Little Rock’s human resources director. “Why don’t we try a carrot rather than a stick approach?”

The carrot in this case is a one-time payment of $5,000 to help municipal workers purchase a home in the city, or $2,500 to help them rent there.

Little Rock isn’t alone.

Cities, counties and school districts are starting to offer housing incentives to attract — rather than force — their employees to live where they work. These new benefits are particularly prevalent in expensive areas where lower- and middle-income employees are being priced out of the housing market.

Employee Housing

There are multiple reasons for a government to want employees to live within its borders: improved employee engagement, better community relations, lower transportation costs, retention. According to a 2017 study by consulting firm Robert Half, nearly a quarter of the workers it surveyed across 28 large U.S. cities had quit a job because of a difficult commute.

Commuting isn’t a problem anymore for some municipal employees in Virginia’s Fairfax County. The Washington, D.C., suburb opened a 270-unit apartment building in 2016 next to offices that house the county’s major departments.

The Residences at Government Center, as it’s called, was built on previously vacant county-owned land and is open to low- to moderate-income county and private-sector employees. The new residence, which was developed through a public-private partnership, supplements existing county housing for teachers, police and public health employees.

Wyoming’s Teton County is taking a similar approach.

The area has struggled to hire both homegrown and outside employees because the cost of living is 159 percent higher than the state’s average. Exacerbating that problem is the rugged terrain and difficult winters that can make it impossible for employees to get to work when winter storms, avalanches and mudslides hit.

Currently about 45 percent of Teton County employees live outside the county lines. Teton hopes to raise that number by buying cottages and condos to offer to employees at affordable prices.


These cabins are reserved for county employees. (Teton County)

Employee Loans

San Antonio, meanwhile, is using these incentives “as a way of coupling our recruitment and retention benefit with our redevelopment strategy,” says Lori Houston, the Texas city’s assistant manager.

Since 2012, the city has offered $10,000 zero-interest loans to full-time employees who are first-time homebuyers and want to live in the downtown area, and $5,000 for homes purchased in other inner-city locations. A similar program for first responders was started in 2017. The loans are forgiven after five years of city employment.

The incentive serves a triple purpose. It makes city jobs more attractive, encourages more employees to live in the city and helps revitalize the downtown area.

Limitations

Although these housing incentives draw more public employees to live where they work, the gains are limited by what the municipalities can afford.

In Fairfax County, the Residences has a more than 200-person waiting list.

Teton County budgeted $1.3 million last year to buy two additional units for directors and for transitional housing for interim employees. That brought the total number of units to just 18. This year, $1 million more was budgeted for two more condos.

Still, “there are definitely more employees who are interested in county-provided housing than there is county-provided housing available,” says Alyssa Watkins, administrator for the Board of County Commissioners.

Original Article: https://www.governing.com/topics/mgmt/gov-government-employee-housing-loans-residency-requirement.html

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Charles N. Margolis

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Mr. Margolis joined SCG Development in 2019 and is primarily responsible for assisting in the analysis and underwriting of affordable housing developments. Prior to joining Stratford, he worked at the DC-based affordable housing consultancy Audubon Enterprises. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Entrepreneurial Management from Tulane University.


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Ms. Severt is responsible for the accounting, finance, information technology and marketing for the Company. Gail works closely with the team to develop efficient business process, ensuring proper controls are in place to minimize risk to the company.

She has over 22 years of accounting and information infrastructure experience. Prior to joining SCG Development, she was a Manager, Business Process Outsourcing at McGladrey, LLP, where she was responsible for accounting, system implementation, and management consulting for a variety of small to mid-size businesses. Her real estate experience extends from the 8 years working as a partnership controller for the Equity Group Investment Limited Partnership Syndication portfolio. She was involved with the initial public offerings of Equity Lifestyle Properties (fka Manufactured Home Communities, Inc. (“MHC”)) and Equity Residential Properties, and subsequently served as Corporate Controller for MHC. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from St. Joseph’s College and her CPA designation in Indiana and Illinois.


STEPHANIE MARCUS

Vice-President
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Stephanie Marcus has 15 years of experience in the multi-family industry and is responsible for the acquisition and development of affordable housing investments for SCG Development. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Marcus worked for various multi-family and single-family home developers and oversaw the acquisition, entitlement, development and construction of over 2,000 residential units valued at over $300 million in the Mid-Atlantic region. Ms. Marcus received a Bachelor’s Degree in Urban and Public Policy Studies from the State University of New York at Buffalo.


Brett Ruby

Assistant Vice President

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Brett Ruby joined SCG Development in 2019 and is primarily responsible for assisting in the analysis and underwriting of affordable housing developments as well as the closing of acquisition and disposition transactions. Prior to joining Stratford he worked for a national title insurance company in their commercial transactions group. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland, a J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law, and is pursuing a Master’s degree in Real Estate Development from Johns Hopkins University.


JONATHAN S. MILTON

Vice-President
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Mr. Milton is a member of the asset management department. He has over 14 years of experience working in the affordable housing industry. Prior to joining Stratford, he was an asset manager at Freddie Mac, where he was responsible for overseeing a portfolio of multifamily loans in excess of $11 billion. Prior to Freddie Mac, he was an associate at Franklin Capital Group, where he was responsible for the analysis of affordable housing investments. He received a Bachelor’s degree from Bucknell University, a Master’s degree in Philosophy from Temple University and an MBA from American University.


JASON B. DUGUAY

Vice-President
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Mr. Duguay joined Stratford in 2010 and is primarily responsible for the acquisition and development of affordable housing investments for SCG Development. Prior to joining Stratford, he worked for a Massachusetts-based real estate brokerage firm where he was involved with the analysis and brokerage of commercial and residential real estate. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Economics from Bentley University.


PAUL BOBB

Accounting Manager

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Paul Bobb joined SCG Development in 2018 as Accounting Manager and is responsible for conducting accounting and finance functions for the company. Prior to joining the company, he worked for a Washington, DC based real estate investment firm and has over 10 years of experience in the multi-family housing industry. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the Catholic University of America.


ROBERT M. BARNARD

Assistant Vice President
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Mr. Barnard is primarily responsible for assisting in the analysis and underwriting of affordable housing developments. Prior to joining Stratford he worked for a Northern Virginia based real estate appraisal company. Before that, Mr. Barnard interned with Vornado Realty Trust in their Acquisitions department. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Political Science from the University of Rochester and a Master’s degree in Real Estate from Georgetown University.


NICHOLAS C. BRACCO

Vice-President
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Mr. Bracco is primarily responsible for the acquisition and development of affordable housing. He has over 10 years of experience in the real estate development industry. Prior to joining Stratford, Mr. Bracco worked for AHC Inc., leading non-profit developer of affordable housing, where he managed the development activities for a substantial portfolio of real estate assets. Prior to joining AHC Inc., he was a Development Director at Miller & Smith, a boutique real estate development firm, where he assisted in the development of a 5 million square foot mixed-use town center project. He holds a BS in Finance from George Mason University and an MS in Real Estate Development and Finance from the Carey Business School at Johns Hopkins University.


KEITH J. MCDONALD

Vice President
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Mr. McDonald joined Stratford Capital Group in 2010 and serves as a Vice President overseeing the development process from site selection to stabilized operations. He has over 15 years of experience working in the affordable housing business in the areas of syndication, acquisition, consulting, and property development. Prior to joining Stratford Capital, he served as Vice President at Focustar Capital, a boutique capital market firm responsible for originating and placing debt and equity on multiple real estate and energy market product types. Prior to joining Focustar Capital, he was a Senior Analyst at Carpenter & Company, Inc, assisting development and acquisitions activities. Prior to Carpenter & Co., he was employed at the Reznick Group as a senior analyst where he assisted in structuring historic, new market, and low income housing tax credit transactions. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the Boston College.


STEPHEN P. WILSON

President – Principal
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A founding member and owner of Stratford Capital Group, Mr. Wilson is primarily involved with the management and oversight of Stratford Capital’s property development activities. Prior to forming Stratford Capital, he was a senior member with the Franklin Capital Group where he was primarily responsible for the supervision of development projects. He has a broad development experience managing numerous types of projects that include new construction, moderate and substantial rehabilitation and adaptive re-use of historic structures. Prior to joining Franklin Capital Group in 1997, he served as president of Dulles Real Estate Corporation, a private Washington, D.C. area firm that specialized in commercial real estate and provided general advisory services to its clients, including project feasibility analysis, financing, budgetary review, marketing, development management and leasing and sales. He is an appointed Board Member of the Loudoun County Housing Advisory Board. He is a graduate of the University of Richmond with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and holds an MBA from The George Washington University.


KYLE F. WOLFF

Executive Vice-President/Principal | Director of Acquisitions
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A founding member and owner of Stratford Capital, Mr. Wolff is Stratford Capital’s Director of Acquisitions and is primarily responsible for managing and overseeing Stratford Capital Group’s effort to acquire affordable apartment properties that benefit from various federal and state tax credits. Day-to-day activities also include project risk management, business development, asset management and general marketing. Other responsibilities include working in tandem with the investor marketing group to facilitate the review, approval and investment by institutions in Stratford Capital’s proprietary and multi-investor funds. Prior to forming Stratford Capital, he was a senior member of the Franklin Capital Group, where he was primarily involved in real estate investment acquisitions and analysis. Prior to joining Franklin Capital Group, he was employed by BankBoston, N.A. as well as Berkshire Mortgage Finance. Mr. Wolff received a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University and holds an MBA from Boston University.


BENJAMIN D. MOTTOLA

President/Principal | Chief Operating Officer
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A founding member and owner of Stratford Capital, Mr. Mottola is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company and his primary responsibilities include strategic planning, business development and the supervision and coordination of Stratford Capital’s various business units. Prior to forming Stratford Capital and since 1996, he was the senior member of the real estate investment acquisitions staff for the Franklin Capital Group where he was primarily involved with its real estate investment and acquisition activities. During that time, he was involved in the acquisition of over 9,000 apartment units with a development value in excess of $600 million. He also oversaw most investment analysis, real estate underwriting and other transactional activities. Prior to joining Franklin Capital Group, Mr. Mottola spent six years with Copley Real Estate Advisors, a Boston, Massachusetts based institutional real estate investment advisory firm where he was responsible for the asset management of over 4,000 multi-family apartment units. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from St. Michael’s College.


JOHN M. (“JERRY”) NELSON, IV

Chairman/Principal
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A founding member and owner of Stratford Capital, Mr. Nelson’s primary responsibilities include strategic planning, business development and supervision of marketing activities. Prior to forming Stratford Capital, from 1995 to 2006, he was Chief Executive Officer of Franklin Capital Group, a real estate investment company specializing in the financing and development of apartment communities nationwide. During his tenure, Franklin Capital Group placed more than $350 million in equity capital in over 115 residential rental properties consisting of more than 13,500 apartment units. From 1987 to 1994, he was Executive Vice President of Sumner Development Company, a real estate company, and president of an affiliated entity, Mount Vernon Financial Corporation, where he arranged debt and equity financing and participated in project acquisition and development. From 1975 to 1987, he was Managing Director of First Winthrop Corporation and subsequently Chief Executive Officer of Winthrop Financial Associates, both Boston, Massachusetts based real estate companies. As one of the founders of Winthrop, he was responsible for the acquisition and syndication to private investors of over $5.5 billion dollars of property, including over 40,000 rental apartment units. From 1967 to 1969, he served as an officer in the United States Navy. He is a graduate of Yale University and holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School.