Victor Smeltzis the Executive Director of Renaissance Neighborhood Development Corporation, a subsidiary of Volunteers of America. Since the inception of RNDC in October 2006, he has focused on formulating and implementing its post-Katrina development strategy to create over 1000 new units of mixed-income workforce housing in Greater New Orleans. Prior to joining the Volunteers of America, he served for over five years as Development Director for the Housing Authority of Portland in Portland, Oregon. Leading a four person development team, he was responsible for the development and acquisition of more than 750 mixed-income rental units financed by low-income housing tax credits, tax-exempt bonds, local tax-increment financing and other state and federal sources, with a focus on the development of mixed-use, mixed-income urban neighborhood housing.
From 1991 through 2000, Mr. Smeltz held various positions at the Oregon Housing and Community Services Department, the Housing Finance Agency for the State of Oregon. For three years, he served as Manager of Housing Finance, during which time he established the FHA Risk Sharing Program in Oregon and financed over 625 mixed-income units with a total loan volume of more than $28 million. He managed the underwriting team responsible for the origination and closing of all other multi-family project loans made by the agency, with an annual volume between $20 and $30 million. Mr. Smeltz also created a special position to initiate the development of a number of downtown mixed-use projects in communities throughout Oregon. In cooperation with local municipalities, he acquired sites, conceptualized projects, assembled financing, and solicited and selected private developers to complete the projects.
Prior to becoming involved in affordable housing, Mr. Smeltz worked in the design and construction of a number of real estate projects in Oregon and California. For three years he served as owner's representative for the Marriott Corporation, managing all professional design consultants, and coordinating with construction personnel for the development a 1500 room high-rise convention hotel in San Francisco. Early in his career, he worked for five years with the office of Skidmore Owings and Merrill in Portland, responsible for the design and construction document production for a variety of commercial, office, medical and market rate housing developments.
Mr. Smeltz is an honor graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Architecture. He has completed extensive coursework as a Certified Commercial Investment Manager (CCIM) Candidate, and is a registered architect in the state of Oregon, as well as with the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB.) Mr. Smeltz has also served on the Boards of a number of non-profit corporations involved with the development of mixed-income housing and resident services.
David Berger is the Construction Manager for Renaissance Neighborhood Development Corporation. Mr. Berger is responsible for all aspects of RNDC's construction projects. An integral part of the management team, Mr. Berger coordinates the selection of architects, engineers and contractors. Mr. Berger works closely with our Finance Program Director to assist in the preparation and review of tax credit applications, grant compliance and monitoring. Mr. Berger is also responsible for bidding of jobs in accordance with funding regulations, construction project management, supervision and oversight, contract preparation and management as well as project close-out and commissioning. Mr. Berger is also instrumental in implementing RNDC's transition from construction to leasing and occupancy.
Prior to joining RNDC, Mr. Berger worked in the construction management of various projects in Louisiana and Florida, including the supervision of a multi-million dollar renovation project for Starwood Hotelts & Resorts in New Orleans. Mr. Berger was the President of Comfort Engineered Systems for six years and has been a partner in the real estate development firms of Coliseum Street Partners and Prytania Street Partners since 2005. Mr. Berger received his B.A. in Economics from Rollins College and is a licensed Class A Certified General Contractor and real estate salesperson in the state of Florida.
Allison Holt is the Administrative Project Coordinator for Renaissance Neighborhood Development Corporation. Mrs. Holt assists with compliance issues, as well as the preparation of various funding applications and submissions, prepares draft policies and reports for the Executive Director and provides support for the Development Team.She also assists in implementation and updates to RNDC’s website, prepares, organizes and maintains RNDC’s promotional and communication materials, records and files.
Mrs. Holt also functions as a liaison between RNDC, its management agent and various government agencies, as well as helping to coordinate special events, including ground breaking and grand openings. Mrs. Holt has over 15 years of experience as a Paralegal in the Corporate, Securities and Construction industries.
Justin Padway is the Housing Development VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) for Renaissance Neighborhood Development Corporation. His responsibilites include neighborhood revitalization, community development, grant writing and industry research. Mr. Padway has played a significant role in the revitalization efforts of an area known as the West 30's in Covington, Louisiana. He has worked to obtain grants for home repairs, recruited lawyers to take on pro bono legal work for low-income homeowners and organized various action groups for community initiatives.
Prior to joining RNDC, Mr. Padway worked as a legislative aide to Milwaukee Senator Lena Taylor. Additionally, he worked as a legal assistant for Kravit, Hovel and Krawczyk Law Offices. Mr. Padway graduated in December 2010 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing and a degree in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. He was a four year dean's list recipient, an intramural basketball champion and a Target Case Study Competition winner.
Vanessa Levine is the Development Manager for Renaissance Neighborhood Development Corporation. Ms. Levine is involved in all aspects of project development from pre-development through construction and close out. Ms. Levine works closely with the Executive Director serving as relationship manager for the various projects, in cooperation with all internal and external parties. Ms. Levine works jointly with the construction manager in the ongoing coordination of contractors and architects. In addition, Ms. Levine works with external funders, public officials, community stakeholders and neighborhood associations towards realizing Volunteers of America and RNDC’s mission of creating 1000 new units of mixed-income workforce housing in Greater New Orleans.
Prior to joining RNDC, Ms. Levine worked as an architectural associate at Billes Partners with Audubon Nature Institute on the Louisiana Nature Center in New Orleans East. In Berkeley, California Ms. Levine worked as an architectural intern at McCamant and Durret Architects designing affordable and senior cohousing neighborhoods on the west coast. Early in her career, Ms. Levine interned at San Francisco Housing Action Coalition advocating and working with developers and city regulatory agencies to promote affordable housing in San Francisco. Ms. Levine received her Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Masters of Architecture with a concentration in Urban Design from The Catholic University of America in 2004 and 2006. Ms. Levine was awarded The Henry Adams Certificate of Merit for excellence in the study of architecture and is a member of Tau Sigma Delta, Honor Society in Architecture and Allied Arts. Ms. Levine is currently completing the Architectural Registration Board exams to receive her architectural license from the Louisiana Board of Architectural Examiners. Ms. Levine is from the Carrolton neighborhood of New Orleans and is happy to be back home and working to develop much needed workforce housing in the city.
RNDC Team
