direct phone: (202) 349 2476 direct fax: (202) 349 2477 email: elevy@renocavanaugh.com	Hometown: New Haven, CT   Education:     Wharton School of Business, M.B.A., Real Estate   University of Pennsylvania Law School, J.D. summa cum laude   Wesleyan University, B.A. in Comparative Religion            Bar Admissions: District of Columbia bar New York bar
Efrem Levy’s practice focuses on affordable housing development and operation, with a concentration on public housing authorities. Efrem represents housing authorities across the country in complex redevelopment projects that combine HOPE VI or public housing Capital Funds with federal low income housing tax credits, tax exempt bonds, state housing tax credits, FHA funds and other public and private sources of development funds, and represents clients in transactions involving the pledge of future appropriations of Capital Funds. Efrem represents housing authorities in transactions in which an affiliate of the housing authority serves as the general partner and self-develops. He also focuses on project-based section 8, particularly in the mixed-finance context, assists housing authorities with audits or investigations by the HUD Office of Inspector General, and represents other non-profit entities related to commercial lease negotiation, tax-exempt issues and other corporate matters.    Selected Recent Transactions Closed a transaction in Chicago consisting of 311 condominium units, including 100 public housing rental/condominium units. Closed a transaction in St. Louis involving tax exempt bond proceeds, project-based Section 8 (for which we received a waiver), an elderly designation for a portion of the units, an affiliated entity for which we obtained CHDO status in order to utilize HOME CHDO funds, HOPE VI funds, and Affordable Housing Trust Funds. Represented a housing authority in the re-financing of a closed phase in which the equity investor was replaced with a substitute equity investor and the existing general partner of the owner entity was replaced with an affiliate of the housing authority. Conducted a comprehensive review of a housing authority’s property management activities, including review of its mixed-finance management documents. Negotiated a commercial lease for a large non-profit organization in Philadelphia. Major Prior Work Experience   Efrem formerly worked as a Program Director at Banana Kelly Community Improvement Association, a non-profit community development corporation in the South Bronx. In that capacity, he supervised city, state and federal grants that dealt with a variety of housing and educational issues. Prior to that time, Efrem was a Teach For America Corps Member, through which he worked as an elementary school teacher in Washington, DC. During law school and business school, Efrem worked as a project consultant at the Center For Applied Research, where he assisted non-profits and a government entity in the development of strategic plans and in the restructuring of organizational governance. Banana Kelly Community Improvement Association, New York NY 1995-1998, Program Director Teach for America, Washington DC 1993-1995, Teacher Speaking Engagements/Publications Project Based Vouchering: Getting the Most Out of HUD's Final Rule, Housing and Development Law Institute, Spring 2006 conference, May 2006 Project Based Vouchers: Regulatory and Practical Perspectives on Section 8, ABA-CLE Teleconference, March 2006 Making Room for the Homeless and the Poorest in Mixed Finance Transactions, American Bar Association Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law, February 2006 Redeveloping Public Housing , American Bar Association Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law, May 2005 Negotiating the Development Agreements, Housing and Development Law Institute, October 2004 Co-author, "Making the System Work in the Baltimore Criminal Justice System: An Evaluation of Early Disposition Court," funded by the Abell Foundation, March 2002 Awards, Community Activities And Professional Activities Wesleyan University Needler Award for Excellence in Religious Studies University of Pennsylvania Law School Order of the Coif, summa cum laude, Peter McCall Prize Member, American Bar Association