Boston developer Lawrence Curtis was elected President of the National Housing & Rehabilitation Association (NH&RA) at our 2009 Annual Meeting in Key Largo, Florida, March 11-15, 2009.

As Managing Partner for WinnDevelopment, Larry leads a full range of real estate development and acquisition activities for WinnCompanies, a Boston-based firm with over 70,000 residential units under management in 20 states across the country. While maintaining a wide range of real estate interests, Larry’s primary focus has been historic redevelopment and the creation of affordable housing.

“NH&RA is and has long been the premier national trade association for all participants in the affordable housing industry. Being named President of NH&RA during a time of turmoil in the national economy and the real estate industry presents enormous challenges and opportunities. My priority and that of our Board is to help channel governmental policy, credits and funding to create and rehabilitate the highest quality affordable housing nationwide. This has been my focus as a Developer and a Managing Partner at WinnCompanies for 21 years and will continue to be as I take on this important additional role.”

“We are excited to welcome Larry as NH&RA’s new President,” said Executive Director Peter Bell. “His broad range of experience as a top developer of affordable housing will continue to strengthen NH&RA’s recognized leadership in helping developers navigate today’s struggling financial markets. We look forward to his guidance as we continue our work to shape policy, improve industry standards and educate our growing membership.”

In addition to Curtis, the new slate of officers of the NH&RA Executive Committee approved at the 2009 Annual Meeting include: Vice-President Deborah Koehler, Sage Partners, LLC, Tampa, FL; Vice-President Bernard Husser, MMA Financial, Boston, MA; Vice-President Jerome Breed, Bryan Cave Powell Goldstein, Washington, DC; Treasurer John Weld Peck, Peck, Shaffer & Williams LLP, Cincinnati, OH; Secretary David Abromowitz, Goulston & Storrs, P.C., Boston, MA.

I received a great deal of positive feedback for the event in Key Largo. I think it was one of best sessions we’ve had since I joined the organization and I wanted to thank everyone who worked with us to make it happen. I will be writing up summaries of some of the key sessions and making available recordings and PowerPoint presentations over the next few days and weeks.

I also wanted to thank Ronne Thielen again for her outstanding leadership as President of NH&RA over the past two years. Her hard work on behalf of the association and the LIHTC community at large can not be understated. It has been a pleasure to work with her as President and we look forward to her continued leadership on the Board.

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns at 202-939-1753 or tamdur@housingonline.com.