Robert Schwarz

Robert B. Schwarz graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with an M.S. in Real Estate Investment Analysis in 1989. He also holds a B.A. in Urban Studies from SUNY, College at Purchase, awarded in 1981.

In May 2005, Mr. Schwarz founded Nakoma Development LLC with Robert A. Gake. The company has developed three multifamily properties, fifty units of mixed-income for families in 2007 in Middleton, a 47-unit assisted living building for older adults in 2012 in Kenosha and a 74-unit luxury rental in 2015 in Middleton. In 2004 he began RBS, Inc., a real estate consulting business, where he performs market analysis for a multifamily institutional investor.

Mr. Schwarz has twenty years of experience in mixed-income housing. He was Vice President of Development at C-CAP, Inc. of Waukesha, from May 2000 to April 2005. In this position, he was responsible for site acquisition, entitlements and infrastructure construction of five single-family subdivisions. In addition, he developed a 48-unit mixed-income tax credit development for older adults in Elkhorn, Wisconsin.

From September 1996 to April 2000, he was Program Director in Milwaukee for Local Initiatives Support Corporation, a national nonprofit financing intermediary for CDCs. He was responsible for program development, local partnerships, publicity, fundraising, and managing a board of directors. While at LISC, Mr. Schwarz financed loans for $12 million in residential and commercial properties, secured equity investment of $7.0 million for two multifamily developments and initiated the MANDI awards for Milwaukee's community development industry.

From December 1992 to June 1996, he was Director of Acquisitions, at Heartland Properties, Inc. He led an acquisitions team in underwriting properties, negotiating and closing debt and equity of properties throughout the northern Midwest. This team financed over $200 million in rental housing developments from 1993 to 1996.

From May 1989 to December 1992, he was Senior Housing Officer at Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA). He focused on multifamily lending and the federal housing tax credit program. He also created a new loan program, coordinated approval of WHEDA as a Fannie Mae Seller/Servicer, and led WHEDA's first sale of a multifamily mortgage pool to Fannie Mae.

Prior to beginning his graduate education at UW-Madison in 1985, Mr. Schwarz held positions in the public and private sector in New York City. From 1988 to 1996, he served on the board of directors of Project Home, Inc. (President, 1993-95). He served on the board of the Rodney Scheel House (President, 2012 to 2015), an affordable rental property for persons with AIDS in Madison, Wisconsin, from 2009 to 2015.

Practitioner-Oriented Publications

Schwarz, R. Housing Credits: A Leading Financial Tool. Urban Land, 37-42.

Presentations

A Home For Everyone Conference ( 2009 ) Housing Development 101

State Wide Housing Conference ( 1998 ) Six Critical Steps in Establishing Feasibility

National Housing Conference ( 1996 ) Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Tax Credits

Multi-Housing World Annual Conference ( 1995 ) Developing Multifamily Tax Credit Projects

Guest Lecturer, Housing Development Course ( 1994 ) The Section 42 Tax Credit and Precrusors in Federal Housing Policy