About Saint Mary's
History
The organization was originally founded in 1970 by Monsignor Joseph Wingler, former pastor of Saint Mary's Catholic Church in Alexandria, Virginia, as a non-profit tax-exempt 501(c)(4) corporation called Saint Mary's Housing Corporation. In 1978, Saint Mary's Housing Corporation developed, constructed, and still owns Evergreen House, a 246-unit HUD Section 8 community in Annandale, Virginia. The following year, another 501(c)(4) non-profit was formed to develop Marywood Apartments, a 129-unit HUD Section 202/Section 8 property in Manassas, Virginia. Both properties serve independent, low-income seniors, 62 years of age and older.
The success of Evergreen and Marywood led to development of three additional communities for low- and moderate-income seniors in the late 1990s, financed in part with Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs):
- Madonna House at Belmont, 130 units in Fredericksburg, opened in 1998
- Wingler House I, 132 units in Ashburn, opened in 1999
- Wingler House II, 132 units adjacent to Wingler House I, opened in 2003
However, as the organization had no true parent entity in charge of all five of these properties, a new 501(c)(3) non-profit was created in 2023 to serve in that capacity as well as to develop new and/or acquire existing communities for low- and moderate-income seniors in the region in the future. In sum to date, SMCI and its affiliates have developed and currently operate five communities totaling 769 units.
Leadership
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
| Kevin White, President Managing Director of Real Estate National Housing Trust Ed Delaney Senior Director Capital One
| Michael Font, Vice President Principal New Harbor Development Father Richard Guest Pastor St. Luke Catholic Church, McLean Scott Kline Principal Stratis |
Rosa Estrada, Executive Director
As Executive Director of SMCI, Ms. Estrada leads the organization's development of new affordable housing projects and asset management of existing communities. Ms. Estrada's extensive background includes serving most recently as Regional Vice President of Development for the Mid-Atlantic Region and Puerto Rico for The Michaels Organization (TMO), where her areas of expertise included real estate finance and development, complex large multi-phase mixed-use developments, transit-oriented development, and partnership development.
Prior to TMO, she spent five years with local non-profit Wesley Housing, serving as Director of Real Estate Development, overseeing the development and closing of 350 units worth $133 million. As a private developer and consultant, Ms. Estrada has underwritten, financed, and/or developed properties in diverse geographic areas including Pennsylvania, Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, and Puerto Rico. She is known for her proficiency in using transformative tools like RAD, HOPE VI, NSP, Choice Neighborhoods, Mixed-Finance, LIHTC, NMTC, and AHP.
Her public service experience includes her role as the former Assistant Commissioner for Development for Baltimore Housing and as the former Special Assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Public Housing Investments, where she was part of the groundbreaking team of professionals for HUD's HOPE VI program. Ms. Estrada graduated Magna Cum Laude from DePaul University and holds a Master's of Public Administration from the University of Pittsburgh.
