Lighten-Gale Group (LGG) was established in 1999 to provide quality financial consulting services to affordable housing developers and commercial developers who need government funding and/or tax credits to complete their projects. LGG’s principals are Larry Pusateri and Virginia Pace, who have more than 25 combined years of providing quality consulting services as well as 10 combined years additional experience working for non-profit and for-profit developers. Our philosophy is to work hand-in-hand with our clients to understand their needs and goals for each project and complete a financing strategy and execution that matches those needs and goals.
We have completed dozens of projects for non-profit developers, for-profit developers, public housing authorities and other governmental agencies. Completed projects range from small rural scattered site developments to large urban tax-exempt bond financed housing to small commercial and large retail projects.
Ms. Pace oversees consulting projects at LGG. Her specialties include deals that are technically difficult, such as tax-exempt bonds, tax increment financing, and Supportive Living Facilities. Ms. Pace has worked in the field of affordable housing since 1993. Prior to establishing LGG in 1999, Ms. Pace was the Vice President of Development at Holsten Development where she coordinated the financing for over 500 units of affordable housing. Prior to Holsten Development, Ms. Pace was the Single Family Home Administrator for Affordable Housing for Nashville (AHN) where she administered the home counseling program and sold AHN-owned affordable homes to qualified purchasers.
Ms. Pace is currently on PNC's Chicago CDC Advisory Council, is a licensed Illinois real estate broker, and is an active member of the Illinois Housing Council. Ms. Pace received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Urban Relations at Vanderbilt University and a Masters of Urban Planning and Policy degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Mr. Pusateri oversees client relations at LGG and manages consulting projects, with an emphasis on supportive housing. Mr. Pusateri has worked in the field of affordable housing development since 1987. Originally, he served successively as the first housing director of three of Illinois’ most prominent affordable housing agencies; the Statewide Housing Action Coalition, Lakefront SRO and Century Place Development (now Heartland Housing). Mr. Pusateri is also currently a principal at Daveri Development Group, LLC, which is a developer and owner of affordable housing rental developments.
Mr. Pusateri operated Pusateri Development Associates, Inc. (PDA) as an affordable housing development consulting firm from 1995 through 2008. PDA assisted non-profit and for-profit developers in the creation of over 500 affordable housing units at a value exceeding $70 million. Some of those projects have been recognized by the Federal Home Loan Bank at the national level, as the Chicago Non-Profit Development of the Year by the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), National Fannie Mae Maxwell Finalists and received Good Neighbor Awards from the Chicago Board of Realtors.
Mr. Pusateri has been a presenter at affordable housing seminars sponsored by HUD, the Illinois Housing Development Authority, Chicago Department of Housing, the first National HIV/AIDS Housing Conference, the Chicago Rehab Network, Neighborhood Reinvestment Corp., the Chicago Community Loan Fund and the 1998 National Rural Housing Conference, among others. Mr. Pusateri also served as an affordable housing development finance instructor for the University of Illinois’ Urban Developer's Program in 1998 and 1999.
Ms. Tinucci joined Lighten-Gale Group in March 2007 and has successfully closed 10 projects through 2011. Projects include family, senior, and special needs housing. Ms. Tinucci coordinated the tax-exempt bonds with 4% LIHTCs, 9% LIHTCs, Tax Increment Financing, Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), HOME, and a myriad of other financing sources to bring these projects to a successful closing. Projects have been located in the City of Chicago, Chicago suburbs, downstate Illinois and Iowa. Ms. Tinucci currently manages projects in Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri.
Ms. Tinucci's experience before joining Lighten-Gale Group includes serving as a Product Manager for McDougal Littell, a publishing company. Ms. Tinucci also interned in the Planning and Advocacy Department of the Greater North Michigan Avenue Association, where she researched best practices and policy objectives for issues facing the Avenue. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies with a minor in Journalism, Ethics and Democracy from the University of Notre Dame and has a Masters of Urban Planning and Policy from the University of Illinois-Chicago.
Mr. Romito joined Lighten-Gale Group in December of 2010. Mr. Romito coordinates a variety of projects in Illinois and Missouri. Mr. Romito previously operated an insurance brokerage which concentrated on property & casualty products along with commercial lines. He served as an Associate Equity Analyst for Cantor Fitzgerald where he specialized in Real Estate Investment Trusts. Dan received a B.A. in Law, Letters & Society from the University of Chicago and his M.B.A. in Finance from DePaul University.
Mr. Ratner joined Lighten-Gale Group in November of 2011. Mr. Ratner was previously a Finance Manager for Owner Services at the Chicago Housing Authority managing and overseeing owner payments for the Housing Choice Voucher Program. Prior to the CHA, Mr. Ratner was based in NYC at Common Ground, a leading homeless services housing provider. Mr. Ratner began as a Case Manager at the Prince Transitional Residence, then worked as a Rent Administrator and was lastly the Assistant Director of Programs at The Prince George where he supervised all tenant-specific programs for the 416 unit building.
Mr. Ratner received a B.A. in Sociology and a B.A. in Urban Studies from Loyola Marymount University and a Master of Science in City and Regional Planning from Pratt Institute.
Mr. Wells has overseen software development since 2000 and oversees the development of all software products utilized by LGG. Projects include the Lighten-Gale® Software program, the Lawndale Restoration HUD Up-Front Grant Requisition program, and the Project Opportunity online property approval website. Mr. Wells oversees the development of enterprise systems using Visual Basic (VB.Net), Active Server Pages (ASP.Net), and SQL Server.
Prior to Lighten-Gale Group/ Gale Finance, Mr. Wells was President of Mercury Data LLC from 1997 - 2000. At Mercury Data he oversaw the creation of software for security and event management planning firms. Before Mercury Data, Mr. Wells worked at Premier International, programming proprietary actuarial software. Mr. Wells received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Linguistics from Harvard University.