NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Rella Fogliano, President of The MacQuesten Companies based in Pelham, will be named Developer of the Year by the New York Housing Conference (NYHC) and the National Housing Conference (NHC) at their annual awards event to be held on December 10 at the Hilton New York.
This year’s event entitled Reaching New Heights: Leadership, Innovation and Diversity honors industry leaders and highlights the power of constituents to advocate for policy innovations that protect successful affordable housing programs serving people in need. The program will feature symposiums, a networking reception, and an awards program that pays tribute to four industry leaders and the organizations that highlight this principle through their work.
Fogliano is the leading woman developer of affordable housing in the state of New York.
“I am truly honored to receive this prestigious award and to be acknowledged for the housing we’ve developed since 1992 in New York City and Westchester County,” said Fogliano. “I am grateful to the New York Housing Conference and the National Housing Conference for selecting me and my company as its Developer of the Year considering the outstanding honorees who have preceded me.”
“In many ways, The MacQuesten Companies is Rella Fogliano: hardworking, collaborative, detail-oriented, creative, and supportive. Rella’s passion for creating transformative affordable housing and commitment to improving the lives of her residents make The MacQuesten Companies a successful and inspirational developer, and we’re thrilled to recognize Rella and MacQuesten as Private Developer of the Year,” said Rachel Fee, executive director, New York Housing Conference.
In addition to Developer of the Year, the conference will present the Clara Fox Award for Outstanding Achievement to Alfred A. DelliBovi, former President and CEO of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York; the Nonprofit of the Year Award to the Asian Americans for Equality; and the Public Service Award to Darryl C. Towns, Commissioner and CEO of New York State Homes and Community Renewal.
The MacQuesten Companies, which includes MacQuesten Construction Management, LLC and MacQuesten Development, LLC, specializes in financing, designing and construction management of multi-family, affordable housing and commercial properties, which are then privately held by affiliated companies.
The company has developed 11 buildings and 1,500 units of affordable housing in New York City and Westchester County since 1992, most famously Heritage Homes in New Rochelle – a $72 million, three-phase, 228-unit housing project in partnership with the New Rochelle Municipal Housing Authority.
Fogliano, the only child of prominent general contractor Sabino Fogliano, began working part time in the company her father started in 1960 at the age of 17. Upon graduation from Fordham University in 1983, she joined the firm full time. When her father retired in 1988, Fogliano formed MacQuesten General Contracting Inc. and continued to perform work for many of the same clients. In the early 1990s Fogliano set out to develop properties that the company had acquired, especially in the Bronx, where she found that there was a significant shortage of affordable housing. Hughes Avenue Crescent was the first such venture. It was funded through the New York State Housing Trust Fund Corp., the proceeds of tax credits and conventional financing.
Fogliano founded The MacQuesten Companies in 2003. Her Companies have worked with New York City Housing Preservation and Development, the Housing Development Corporation, the New York City Housing Authority, and New York State Homes and Community Renewal to build a portfolio of over $140 million dollars in completed projects. Over the next five years, The MacQuesten Companies will have in excess of $200 million in current projects and developments throughout the five boroughs and Westchester County.