Peter J. Wood
Since 1990, Peter has been a Connecticut-based development professional focused on the development and financing of mixed-income residential communities throughout the east coast.
As the founding Executive Director of Stamford-based Mutual Housing Association of Southwestern Connecticut, Peter served this not-for-profit development organization for eight years in which five communities were developed accessing both public and private financing. These developments included both new construction and substantial rehabilitations in Stamford, Bridgeport and Trumbull, CT, securing more than 200 units of much-needed affordable housing in these communities. These developments included two historic school building conversions in Bridgeport and a HUD 221(d)3 renovation in Stamford.
Between 1998 and 2006, Peter served as Vice President of Development for Beacon Communities, responsible for the planning, entitlements, financing and development of Southwood Square in Stamford, CT. This 330-unit development included 3 rental phases and a homeownership phase that was developed in conjunction with the Stamford Housing Authority under the HOPE VI program of HUD. This master-planned community built on 26 acres adjacent to interstate 95 secured significant financing awards from the CT Department of Housing, the City of Stamford, Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, in addition to private debt and equity in each phase of development.
Peter subsequently served as Vice President of Development with the Michaels Development Company, responsible for another large, multi-phased development in New Haven, CT. Responsible for oversight of all design, development and construction of this 433-unit community, West Rock is a master-planned development including 395 rental and 18 homeownership units financed and developed using many of the same financing sources as the Southwood development, along with a few other sources including the Federal Home Loan Bank’s Affordable Housing Program. Among other developments for which Peter was responsible at Michaels were projects in Montgomery, Alabama, Dover, Delaware, and Meriden, Connecticut. While at Michaels, Peter was retained by and worked with the Springfield, MA Housing Authority to explore sites and financing for the replacement of a development in South Springfield. The Meriden development is another mixed-income community using a variety of public and private financing sources and is being developed in conjunction with the City of Meriden, which purchased the former site of the Record-Journal newspaper building in downtown Meriden. Peter was responsible for the development team selected by the City of Meriden for the redevelopment of this prime downtown property and negotiated a Master Development Agreement allowing for the company to purchase the property and develop a new 81-unit development including both townhouses and apartment units.
Established in 2006, Collaborative Development, LLC began serving both private and non-profit developers, by providing assistance in the development of affordable and mixed-income communities in Connecticut. Peter serves as its principal. His clients include a variety of national and local developers of mixed-income communities including projects in Denver, North Carolina, Virginia, and a variety of developments in Connecticut. Having a base of nearly 30 years of experience working with local community leaders, lenders, and public financing organizations, Peter’s experience is highly valued due to the high degree of success in landing competitive financing awards from the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority and the CT Department of Housing. Over multiple years, his projects have received the largest awards of financing conferred by these organizations and agencies, which constitute the most essential gap funding available to these developments, be they in small towns or Connecticut’s largest cities.
Peter partnered with Ms. Ava Goldman in 2017 to form Sylva Developers, LLC as another vehicle to provide development expertise to public and private clients. As one of the most respected developers in the country, Ms. Goldman previously served as President of Michaels Development Company in NJ, and subsequently as Chief Operating Officer of Gardner Capital Development based in St. Louis. Sylva provides more than 60 years of development experience between its two partners.