Christopher Rio Christopher Rio has joined Benchmark Assisted Living as chief operating officer. Prior to joining the Wellesley Hills, Mass.-based company, Rio served as chief operating officer for Southern Assisted Living and directed property operations for 65 senior living communities. “Chris is an excellent addition to Benchmark’s senior management team,” says Thomas H. Grape, Benchmark chairman, CEO, and president. “He is an exceptional operations leader with a track record of results.” Jon Vogel has joined AvalonBay Communities as a development director in New Jersey. He will handle site identification, financial modeling, design oversight, and management of the entitlement process for the development of AvalonBay apartment communities in New Jersey. Previously, he worked for Jonathan Rose Companies, where he developed multifamily housing and non-profit institutional facilities.
Jerry Anderson Sperry Van Ness has promoted Jerry Anderson to president of the national advisor organization. In his new position, Anderson will oversee the team responsible for identifying the key markets and people for growing the company as well as the regional managers responsible for guiding individual Sperry Van Ness advisors. “Since joining Sperry Van Ness, Jerry has played a crucial role in not only creating but implementing the national strategic growth of our company,” says David Frosh, president of Sperry Van Ness. “With his experience and track record in the industry, we are confident in his ability to lead our national advisor organization.”
Western National Realty Advisors, a member of Western National Group, has appointed Joe Andranian as director, land acquisitions, for California’s Inland Empire and San Diego. Prior to joining the Irvine, Calif.-based company, he worked for Burnham Real Estate.
GMH Communities Trust has named Michael E. Cathers vice president and corporate controller. Cathers, who previously worked for Deloitte & Touche, will handle financial statement preparation as well as internal and external reporting and internal controls for GMH, a Newtown Square, Pa.-based company that focuses on the student and military housing markets.
David Brackett has joined StarPoint Properties, a Los Angeles-based real estate company that specializes in the acquisition, development, and repositioning of multifamily and retail projects, as director of operations. He will be based in the L.A. office, where he will oversee the company’s portfolio. Previously, he was a vice president for Oakwood Worldwide, a corporate housing and multifamily property management firm, where he supervised a $1.5 billion portfolio that included residential units and retail space.
Mid-America Apartment Communities has announced several promotions. Drew Taylor, most recently vice president and division director in Mid-America’s property management area, has been named senior vice president and director of asset management. He joined the Memphis-based REIT in 1995. Kevin Perkins, director of capital improvement, has been promoted to senior vice president. He will oversee the preservation of Mid-America’s $2.2 billion asset portfolio, including ongoing maintenance and capital improvement, well as managing more than 500 maintenance personnel. Jackie Melnick, previously an area manager, will now serve as regional vice president for Mid-America’s east region, which includes more than 4,000 units in Virginia, North and South Carolina, and parts of Georgia.
A.F. Evans Co. has named John Rimbach as president of its newly created Evans Senior Communities. He previously headed the retirement division of A. F. Evans Co., which develops everything from upscale suburban apartments, condominiums, and senior housing communities to affordable housing in California, Nevada, and Washington.
Dominium Development & Acquisition has hired Karen Kline as asset manager. She will be responsible for owner oversight of a significant portion of Dominium’s apartment portfolio. Previously, Kline worked as an on-site manager for national real estate companies such as Lincoln Property Co. and Village Green. She also worked for nine years as a regional, multi-site manager for Shelter Corp. and Oakbrook Corp.
Mark Flynn was recently named executive director of Impact Capital, a Seattle/Spokane-based nonprofit organization that runs programs in conjunction with Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), a national nonprofit community development support organization. Flynn brings 25 years of experience in housing, community and economic development, and banking and administration.
Thomas A. Berkenkamp has joined Pinnacle Limited as chief operating officer. Previously, he worked for Credit Lyonnais, where he served as a director and head of real estate syndications. Based in Millburn, N.J., Pinnacle is currently partnering with Toll Brothers on Maxwell Place on the Hudson, a high-profile condo project in Hoboken, N.J.
The Steinberg Group, a California-based architectural firm, has changed its name to Steinberg Architects. “This, in itself, is not a radical reinvention,” says Robert T. Steinberg, president, who is the third generation in his family to practice architecture. “However, even though we’re 50 years old, we must continue to evolve in order to thrive and grow. This name change is a statement of where we are in the history of our firm and reflects the broad scope of who we are today and will be in the future.” The firm has won awards for its multifamily designs and other projects. Coinciding with the name change, the firm’s 10-year-old Los Angeles office will relocate to new offices at 523 W. 6th St. in downtown Los Angeles.
Campus Apartments, a developer, manager, and owner of upscale housing for colleges and universities, has hired Charles Jefferson as vice president of development. He will manage Campus Apartments’ growing portfolio of innovative development projects, which includes more than $150 million of development at Franklin & Marshall College and Moravian College in Pennsylvania and the Seneca Hotel redevelopment in Columbus, Ohio. Previously, he was director of development at Brown-Hill, a real estate development company serving the mid-Atlantic.
JPI has hired Stephen Dominiak as senior vice president and regional managing director for its western region. He will be based in San Diego, where he will oversee investment activities, including acquisition and development of multifamily communities in JPI’s western region. Previously, Dominiak served as division vice president at BRE Properties.