“In every instance, Zen has impressed me with his quick and insightful analysis, and his facility in working with and managing teams. Zen has a firm grasp on the technical and strategic issues involved with real estate development generally, as well as the particular challenges of affordable housing development.”
— Ben Phillips, Senior Vice President of Real Estate, Beacon Communities
“Zen, your team was well-coordinated, professional, and effective. Our application was submitted with time to spare and far below budget. We thank you and look forward to working with you again!”
— Carolyn Bookhart, Director of Development, Resources for Community Development
“Zen and his team are great communicators, they anticipate obstacles, keep level heads and represent Mercy Housing well with our public and private partners. We are grateful to have the team support our work and mission. ”
— Ed Holder, VP of Real Estate, Mercy Housing California
“I’ve known Zen for 14 years and had the pleasure of working with him closely for about two years evaluating multifamily acquisition prospects. Zen was easy to work with and highly capable and responsive. He built an exceptional financing model from scratch with multiple executions – hold, refinance, syndicate – including waterfalls and investor IRR’s for each. The model got high praise from several senior consultants in the industry who reviewed it. ”
— Cindy Holler, President and Chief Executive Officer of Community Housing Capital (a Neighborworks lender)
“I’ve worked with Zen closely for five years and plan to do so for many more! Zen gets it done. If you want to be successful, he’s the guy you want on your team. Through thick and thin, he has proven himself to be an invaluable asset and a key contributor to my firm’s success as a LIHTC and affordable condo developer in Hawaii. Zen is also about as much of a straight shooter as you can find anywhere…highly dependable with a strong moral compass.”
— Christian O’Connor, Vice President of Development, Coastal Rim Properties Inc.
“Please know that I cannot speak for Larry, but in my estimation, both Alice and Kayla continue pushing to complete required tasks in timely manners. We are also entirely grateful for their attention to details, persistence, congenial and professional working manners.”
— Carol Lies, Executive Director, Homes for Life Foundation
“In our kick off call with the Illinois Housing Development Authority this week, they commented that Preliminary Project Assessment submission was one of the best they have seen. Since when do state agencies drop those kinds of compliments?! Thanks ZDC!”
— Todd Wolcott, Mercy Housing
“Thank you Christina! You managed one of the most insane applications ever very well . . . The team and I really appreciated your calm, organized approach.”
— Stephan Daues, Director of Development, Mercy Housing California
“Things are going very well! Ileah’s focus has been appropriately on the big picture strategic issues, potential pitfalls, and long-lead items we need to be tracking/pushing/paying attention to, and flagging anything that needs to be elevated. At the same time, she’s offered support and guidance to the project managers she’s overseeing. We have some complicated projects right now (aren’t they all, really?), and I appreciate Ileah’s experience and perspective and feel like we’re in very capable hands. Plus, she’s just a lovely person to work with, a 10/10!”
— Kim Piechota, Director of Housing Development, Chinatown Community Development Center
