Arthur J. Momjian is chair of the firm's Affordable Housing, Community Development, and Syndication Practice Group and focuses his practice in affordable housing and community development, syndication, finance and loan documentation. Mr. Momjian represents developers, investors, nonprofit organizations and syndicators nationally in affordable housing projects that utilize federal low-income housing tax credits, federal historic rehabilitation tax credits and state low-income housing tax credits.

Mr. Momjian also represents investors, community development entities, and developers nationally in projects developed with the Federal New Markets Tax Credit Program. Mr. Momjian has represented investors, and their community development entities, which have made New Markets Tax Credit loans for: the development of a mixed use project at an urban university; a commercial retail center in West Philadelphia; and an auto center in Texas. He has also represented investors which have made qualified equity investments in community development entities which have funded New Markets Tax Credit loans for: a retail and office complex in Harlem, New York; a medical facility in Boston; and a hotel complex in Boston. Mr. Momjian has represented an investor in New Markets Tax Credits which used a leveraged loan structure consisting of tax-exempt bond proceeds. He also represents regional and national banks in the construction and permanent financing of residential, commercial and industrial projects.

Mr. Momjian has represented developers, lenders, syndicators and investors in connection with the development of senior, assisted living and special needs projects in several states, which utilize federal low-income housing tax credits and state and federal subsidy programs.

Admitted to practice in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, he is a member of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law and the Corporation, Banking and Business Law sections of the American Bar Association. He is a member of the ABA Forum on Affordable Housing and has been a part of the faculty of its annual forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law. He has spoken at the annual conference of the National Council of State Housing Agencies, the New Jersey Governor's Conference on Housing and Community Development, the Affordable Housing Conference of the Pennsylvania Housing and Finance Agency, the Conference of the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, the Conference of the New Jersey Chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, and the Novogradac Tax Credit Developers Conference. He also is a member of the New Jersey State, New York State and Pennsylvania bar associations. Mr. Momjian is a member of the Board of Directors of the People's Emergency Center Community Development Corporation. In 2006, Mr. Momjian was named to serve on a steering committee formed by the Community Affairs Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania to develop recommendations to expand single and multifamily rental properties in Pennsylvania that serve low- and moderate-income markets.

Mr. Momjian is a 1982 graduate of Temple University School of Law (LL.M., taxation), a 1978 graduate of Rutgers School of Law - Newark, and a graduate of Columbia University.

Areas Of Practice

Real Estate Development
Real Estate Finance
Loan Documentation
Affordable Housing

Representative Matters

Represented letter of credit providers in $9.6 million variable rate demand bond issuance (tax-exempt and taxable) for start-up assisted living facility, backed by FHLBNH letter of credit.
Affordable Assisted Living. Represented the first developer in the State of New Jersey structure and affordable assisted living facility which combines federal low-income housing tax credits with the New Jersey Medicaid waiver program. Mortgage Finance Agency that a licensed assisted living project in the State of New Jersey. In addition, developed documentation which separated rent payments and supportive services payments made by tenants of the Project so that the rent payable by tenants qualified under the Federal low-income housing tax credit program.
236 Decouplings. Represented a financial institution in its investment in federal low-income housing tax credits generated by a limited partnership rehabilitating a low-income housing project in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The developer was awarded an allocation of 9% federal low-income housing tax credits by the Massachusetts Housing and Finance Agency. The developer repaid an existing Section 236 HUD loan, with new taxable debt, but retained, or decoupled, the Section 236 interest rate reduction payments.
Public Housing. Represented a large public housing agency development subsidiary in connection with rehabilitation of a public housing facility through the use of ACC funds, federal low-income housing tax credits, and federal historic tax credits.
As counsel for the development limited partnership controlled by the public housing authority, worked with the State Housing and Finance Agency in connection with allocation issues with respect to federal low-income housing tax credits.
Also represented our client in connection with the closing of the tax credit equity with the limited partnership's tax credit investor and rendered the legal opinions required by the limited partnership's tax credit investor.

Professional Activities

American Bar Association
- Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section
- Business Law Section
- Forum on Affordable Housing
New Jersey State Bar Association
Pennsylvania Bar Association

Admissions

New York
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
Supreme Court of New Jersey
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
United States Tax Court

Education

Temple University School of Law, LL.M., 1982
Rutgers School of Law - Newark, J.D., 1978

Experience

Duane Morris LLP
- Partner, 1998-present
Mesirov, Gelman, Jaffe, Cramer & Jamieson, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Partner, 1988-1998
- Associate, 1984-1987
Cooper, Perskie, April, Neidelman & Waghenheim, Atlantic City, New Jersey
- Partner, 1982-1984
- Associate, 1978-1981

Civic and Charitable Activities

Community Affairs Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania
- Steering Committee, 2006-present

Selected Publications

"Architects, Developers, Planners Must Confront Waterfront Development Issues," Tri-State Real Estate Journal, June 5, 1987.
"A New Trend in Golf Course Development," Tri-State Real Estate Journal, April 13, 1990.
"Local Attorney Explains How Condominium Hotels Are Run," Tri-State Real Estate Journal.

Selected Speaking Engagements

Panelist, "Ask the Legal and Accounting Experts," National Council of State Housing Agencies 2006 Credit Opportunities Workshop, Washington, D.C., January 9, 2006
Panelist, "Advanced Legal Issues in Multi-Family Housing," Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency 2004 Commonwealth Housing Forum, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, December 15, 2004
Panelist, "Development, New Financing, and Investment Structures," National Council of State Housing Agencies Annual Housing Credit Conference, Los Angeles, California, June 15-16, 2004
Panelist, "Preservation Programs," National Council of State Housing Agencies 2006 Credit Opportunities Workshop, Washington, D.C., January 9, 2006
Panelist, "Tax Credit Topics," National Council of State Housing Agencies Annual Housing Credit Conference, Los Angeles, California, June 15-16, 2004
Panelist, "When Subsidies Collide," National Council of State Housing Agencies Workshop, Washington, D.C., January 13, 2004
Panelist, "Can We Talk? Negotiating Partnership Agreements," 10th Annual Tax Credit Developers Conference: "Laying a Course for a Changeable Market," Miami, January 7-9, 2004
Panelist, "Hot Housing Credit Issues," Annual Conference of the National Council of State Housing Agencies, Seattle, Washington, October 27, 2003
Panelist, "Ask the Experts: Tax Credits - National Overview," 2003 New Jersey Governor's Conference on Housing, Atlantic City, New Jersey, September 23-24, 2003
"Tax Issues in Preservation Transactions," National Council of State Housing Agencies, January Credit Workshop, January 13, 2003
"Financing Assisted Living with Housing Credits," National Council of State Housing Agencies, 2001 National Conference
"Developing Assisted Living Projects for Public Housing Authorities," New Jersey Chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, 2001 Annual Conference