About Banyan Development Group
Banyan Development Group (“BDG”) is a developer of affordable rental housing communities, providing comprehensive real estate development services to non-profit and for-profit entities. Its principals have experience in a vast array of federal, state and local affordable housing financing programs, including:
- Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), 9% and 4%
- Tax-Exempt Bonds
- State Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL) funds
- State Housing Initiative Partnerships (SHIP) funds
- HOME Investment Partnerships
- Community Development Block Grant
- Predevelopment Loan Program
- HOPE VI (Choice Neighborhoods) grant
- Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) Affordable Housing Program (AHP)
- National Housing Trust Funds (NHTF)
- New Market Tax Credits (NMTC)
- Rehabilitation Tax Credit (RTC)
BDG is committed to building a product it can be proud of – that is as attractive and durable as it is functional and efficient – including green practices that minimize our impact on the natural environment and create healthy surroundings for residents and employees. We are attuned to the concerns of potential partners and remain focused on creating successful investment opportunities in all of our ventures.
The group’s strength stems from the diversified skills and experience of its four founding principals, who together create a broadly capable development team.
Jeff and Alex bring over 45 years of collective expertise in the affordable housing development realm – from Jeff’s time serving as Deputy Director of Florida Housing Finance Agency, to helping developers secure competitive funding for affordable projects, and ultimately to procuring and managing new joint venture development opportunities.
Scott and Lou bring a seasoned enterprising savvy to the mix, having closed over $1 billion in affordable multifamily real estate transactions over the past 40 years. They are the sole principals of A Green Property Manager (AGPM) – www.apgmonline.com – managing over 13,000 units throughout the southeastern United States.
The BDG team looks forward to bringing new housing choices to the residents of Florida and beyond, and will continue to put in the hard work needed to accomplish their goals.
Our Team
Alexander Kiss
Manager/Member, Banyan Development Group, LLC
Alexander Kiss is a co-founding and managing partner of BDG. Prior to forming BDG, he served as Vice President of Kiss & Company, Inc. In this capacity, Mr. Kiss provided consulting services to developers by procuring, structuring and managing new affordable housing development opportunities, including securing sites and entitlements, comprehensive financial modeling, coordinating with design, engineering, construction, legal, and banking professionals, interfacing with local authorities and constituents, and drafting and reviewing documentation used in responses to competitive funding and procurement processes.
As a consultant with Kiss & Company, he assisted in securing financing for over 2000 low-income units with 10 different developer teams since 2012. Mr. Kiss maintains a detailed understanding of pertinent laws, regulations, and industry economics. He has an MBA from the University of Central Florida and a BS in Interdisciplinary Physics from Florida State University.
Scott Zimmerman
Manager/Member, Banyan Development Group, LLC
Scott Zimmerman is a co-founder of BDG. He brings a collective 30+ years of experience in real estate, banking, investment banking, and multifamily property management and development. His multifamily affordable property ownership and management company, AGPM, LLC currently manages over 13,000 units throughout the Southeastern US.
Scott developed the 186-unit Lake Point Apartments in Tampa, FL in 1996; co-developed several market-rate properties in the mid-to-late 1990s including the 500-unit Idlewylde Apartments in Duluth, GA (now known as Chelsea 88 Apartments), the 440-unit Windsor Kirkman in Orlando, FL, the 300-unit Windsor Pembroke Pines in Pembroke Pines, FL, the 300-unit Windsor Hollywood in Hollywood, FL, and the 200-unit Courtney Chase in Kissimmee, FL. Scott also recently completed gut rehabs of two of AGPM’s Orlando properties, the 156-unit Bella Lago and the 30- unit Villas del Sol, including significant energy and water conservation renovations.
Jeffrey Kiss
Member, Banyan Development Group, LLC
Prior to co-founding BDG Jeffrey Kiss conducted business primarily as the President of Kiss & Company, Inc. In this role, he assisted clients in all areas of affordable housing with an emphasis on financial advisory and real estate development services for rental properties.
Clients included investment banking and public finance advisory firms, public housing authorities, local and state housing finance agencies as well as not-for-profit and for-profit developers of affordable housing. Since BDG’s formation, Mr. Kiss has wound down Kiss & Company operations to focus on the new venture. Previously, Mr. Kiss was a Principal of PackerKiss Securities, Inc. that offered re-investment advice to issuers of tax-exempt debt from 2001 to 2011.
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Over the last two decades, Mr. Kiss has provided affordable housing development consulting expertise and comprehensive project advisory services for over 50 successful housing credit developments throughout Florida. He provided feasibility guidance related to site suitability, unit mix, market demand, construction costs, and federal and state program rules compliance.
Lou Vogt
Member, Banyan Development Group, LLC
Lou Vogt is a co-founder of BDG. He brings 35+ years of experience in real estate, banking, investment banking, and multifamily property management and development. His multifamily affordable property ownership and management company, AGPM, LLC currently manages over 13,000 units throughout the Southeastern US.
Lou co-developed several market-rate properties in the mid-to-late 1990s including the 500-unit Idlewylde Apartments in Duluth, GA (now known as Chelsea 88 Apartments), the 440-unit Windsor Kirkman in Orlando, FL, the 300-unit Windsor Pembroke Pines in Pembroke Pines, FL, the 300-unit Windsor Hollywood in Hollywood, FL, and the 200- unit Courtney Chase in Kissimmee, FL. Lou also recently completed gut rehabs of two of AGPM’s Orlando properties, the 156-unit Bella Lago and the 30-unit Villas del Sol, including significant energy and water conservation renovations.
Patricia Hart
Accounting Manager, Banyan Development Group
Patricia graduated from Webster University with a Masters in Finance in 2009 and a BS Degree in Accounting from the University of Central Florida in 1999. She has over 16 years of experience in accounting in the affordable housing industry. Prior to joining Banyan Development Group, Patricia worked from 2003-2018 with Concord Management Ltd. There she started as a Property Accountant and advanced to the Senior Accounting Manager position. Patricia works jointly with Banyan Development Group and AGPM, where she oversees accounting functions for existing and new construction projects.
