Philly Workforce Housing Update

While completing his Masters Degree from The American University in Cairo, Egypt, Rushdy began his construction engineering career with a position as a Planning Engineer on the construction of the first-ever cement plant in Sinai, Egypt. He then moved to Kuwait for two years, where he served as the planning and project controls Engineer for the construction of Kuwait’s first Olympic stadium. Rushdy moved to the United States in 2004. He took a position with Toll Brothers and enrolled in the company’s one-year Assistant Project Manager-in-Training program, which typically is followed by a three-year assignment as an Assistant Project Manager. Within just three months of starting the training program, though, Rushdy’s skill set in analyzing and leading teams was recognized. He was pulled out of the training program and given his first assignment: a 128-unit single family development in East Bay, San Francisco. That project was one of 10 jobs in a Master Plan community, and Rushdy used his experience to develop systems and methods to get the development contracted in record time and within budget -- a rarity for a development of that size. Within months of getting his Assistant Project Manager assignment, Rushdy was promoted to Project Manager. In that new role, he was asked to work with Toll Brothers’ Philadelphia Division to lead an effort to build, sell and deliver phase 1 of Naval Square -- one of Toll Brothers’ highest profile new developments in the city at the time. Within less than a year in Philadelphia, Rushdy exceeded closings projections by over 30% and was promoted again to Naval Square’s Senior Project Manager. By age 27, Rushdy was leading a team of 25 people and responsible for a budget of more than $100 million. In early 2007, Rushdy was recruited by a regional developer, Westrum Development Company, as General Manager to launch, contract and hire a team for Philadelphia’s largest active adult community: The Arbors at Eagle Pointe, consisting of approximately 400 homes. Following the financial crash in late 2008, Rushdy also was assigned all of Westrum’s Philadelphia developments and took over the acquisition role for Westrum in 2011. Once the financial crash hit, Rushdy teamed up with Larry McKnight, a colleague from Westrum, to start developing single lot infills in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood. Their investments in the area have contributed to the revival that the city’s river wards neighborhoods -- Fishtown, Northern Liberties, Kensington, Port Richmond, etc. -- are experiencing. Now nearly 10 years later, Rushdy and McKnight are business partners at The Riverwards Group, which employs 12 staffers and 30 contractors. What started as five homes per year in 2012 has grown to 110 homes completed in 2019, and plans to deliver 400 homes over the next three years. In 2018, The Riverwards Group brought in revenues close to $35 million. The Riverwards Group, where Rushdy serves as Managing Partner, has completed more than 60 projects in Philadelphia’s booming riverwards neighborhoods, totaling close to 500 mainly single-family homes delivered over the last eight years. Under Rushdy’s leadership, the company currently is working on the following projects:

Harry Moody joined Pennrose in 2011. As a member of the real estate development team, he is responsible for all phases of the development process, from concept to completion. He has experience structuring complex real estate transactions, particularly those that combine tax credits with state, local, and private financing sources. He has expertise in working with Housing Authorities, public and private sector, and 501(c)(3) non-profit partners including Community Development Groups. Prior to starting at Pennrose, Mr. Moody worked for several years as a Developer for a large affordable housing development company. In addition to his experience in the affordable housing development industry, Mr. Moody has extensive experience in the property management field having worked for one of the largest affordable housing management firms in the country for over 14 years. Additionally, Mr. Moody spent 13 years in the non-profit industry serving as Director of Property Management and Executive Director for a large Community Development Corporation in the Philadelphia area. Mr. Moody has served as the Assistant Director for a community development collaborative that pooled resources from numerous stakeholders in the private market including the area’s largest regional/national banks, corporate partners and charitable institutions and distributed those resources to community development groups whose focus was community improvement from every aspect including residential, commercial and economic development in the Philadelphia area. Mr. Moody has had a long standing commitment to providing decent affordable housing for low- to moderate-income families. This is evidenced by his participation in this industry for over 25 years. His current position allows him to benefit from his past experiences by allowing him to understand the needs of the families that will eventually populate the developments we build, as well as to help integrate good design into the development process, which serves to maximize the efficiency, durability, and livability of our new developments. Mr. Moody holds a BA from Millersville University with a concentration in management.

Annemarie Caruso has more than 15 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry closing national and multi-site transactions for two of the largest title insurance companies. Prior to that, she worked as a transactional paralegal at an international law firm, as well as a paralegal for a national developer. Annemarie received her Limited Practice Officer License from the Washington Bar Association, earned a Bachelors’ Degree from West Chester University and an Associate Degree in Paralegal Studies from Miami Dade College. Annemarie is currently a board member of CREW Philadelphia, a member of NAIOP, the Chester County Commercial Industrial Investment Council and the NFL Alumni Association – Philadelphia Chapter. She was also selected to participate in the 2019 ULI NEXT Flight.