Hollie is a part of the firm's affordable housing and tax credit practice group. She represents for-profit and nonprofit developers in the development, acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, operation, and sale of affordable multifamily housing for families and seniors throughout the United States and Puerto Rico utilizing a wide range of federal, state and local affordable housing programs. She also represents developers in market rate transactions.

Why affordable housing transactions?

Initially, I didn’t know what I was getting into. Now I’ve been in it almost 16 years. It’s a unique practice in that while we are dealing with sophisticated clients and working with the best law firms across the country, at the end of the day, our output is affordable housing for millions of families, elderly tenants, people with disabilities, and veterans. It feels good to see the groundbreakings and know that people who need affordable housing will have access to it. 

What is one piece of advice you would give to individuals who want to get into this industry?

Stay determined, and really strive to understand the industry. The learning curve is steep. It’s not just about buying property, getting loans, and dealing with investors, there are also a lot of regulatory and tax compliance issues to consider. It can be discouraging in the beginning with so many facets to learn and you often feel like you don’t understand the complete picture, but in three to five years, the lightbulb goes off, and it ultimately comes together.

At this point in your career, what would you say has been your biggest accomplishment?

We served as lead counsel for the development consultant and assisted the consultant and the development team with the structuring, real estate development, and financing of an 18-story tower in Miami containing 578 apartment units serving elderly low-income tenants (including 279 project-based vouchers), over 250,000 square feet of retail/commercial space, and a publicly owned 955 space parking garage. The project is the largest mixed-use development in the area in decades and is valued at approximately $340 million. The complex financing structure of the affordable units imposed the most stringent restrictions on the construction, development, and operation of the building and included tax exempt bonds, a taxable corporate note, low income housing tax credit equity, and a municipal loan. The financing for the remainder of the project includes various equity and grant funds, and the public parking garage was financed by another issuance of tax-exempt bonds. The deal was a first of its kind to layer so many different financing sources and involved complex real estate structuring as well, including vertically subdividing the building and imposing a condominium regime on a portion. It took a team of over 13 law firms and a tremendous effort by a team of more than 17 Nelson Mullins attorneys, paralegals, project assistants, and administrative assistants.

What are key trends that you are noticing? The industry?

There’s a huge push for preservation of affordable housing, and there’s not enough tax credits or government subsidies to go around, so we’ve seen an influx of private equity and REITs in the industry, which is a large part of my practice. The typical model used to be developers doing new construction utilizing low income housing tax credits or solely government subsidies, but now there’s a lot of equity outside the traditional model, and the trend will continue. My transactions are mainly in the northeast and southeast, but in almost every state we have clients with private equity.

What’s one piece of advice that greatly impacted you and your career trajectory?

The worst thing that could happen is for your client to follow up with you. Being responsive is very important as we are in the client service industry first and foremost. Even if you don’t have the answers to your clients questions right away, responding to your clients with a concrete timeline and ensuring you are delivering what they need when they need it is key.