• The Cherrytree Group continues to expand its influence — both in the Northeast as well as nationwide, helping developers and investors secure and monetize tax incentives for commercial real estate.

The Cherrytree Group continues to expand its influence — both in the Northeast as well as nationwide.

Led by our founder and sage, Warren Kirshenbaum, The Cherrytree Group successfully ended its 13th year: increasing our fund capabilities and welcoming a range of new clients and projects. Here’s a quick recap:

Our renewable energy portfolio has continued to grow. Cherrytree’s P&R Solar Fund is now our largest fund to date and has created a strong presence for Cherrytree in the renewable energy tax credit sector — especially now that most Inflation Reduction Act projects are in full swing.

Several of our more interesting solar endeavors during this past year were conducted on the island of Puerto Rico. We really enjoyed working to assist the people of this U.S. territory move toward a stable power source. Puerto Rico’s location — with such a high number of sunny days year-round — makes it a perfect location for solar power generation. The shared mission by Puerto Rico’s residents and government agencies to create environmental sustainability through projects such as solar was heartening for our staff to witness. When one of our clients reported that a homeowner was able to save his insulin during a power outage because of the stability of the solar power system on his home, it filled us with a deep sense of fulfillment and purpose.

Another area of sustainability — tax credits from conscientious redevelopment of Brownfield lands — has always been a key focus of the Cherrytree team — and 2023 turned out to be our most successful Brownfield year yet. We are thankful and proud to say we received multiple “100% approvals” and had success complying with the Expedited Review Process for Massachusetts Brownfields Tax Credit, receiving many within 30 days.

Media recognition of Cherrytree’s achievements in 2023:

  • Our president, Melina Ambrosino, was featured in an article about the new leadership team at the industry advocacy organization Brownfield Coalition of the Northeast.
  • We expanded our Brownfields Tax Credit Business to Florida, New York, and New Jersey.
  • In August, Cherrytree CEO Warren Kirshenbaum was featured in an article in Inside Public Accounting explaining the “Highest and Best Use” practices for tax credit acquisition and syndication.
  • And Cherrytree’s Melina Ambrosino participated in a Digital Journal article examining 2023’s Northeast Sustainable Communities Workshop — which focused on the latest practices in Brownfield redevelopment.

And internally, this was a big, big year for the team at Cherrytree:

  • Melina Ambrosino, who was named Cherrytree president in 2022, was honored this year by the influential Boston Business Journal as a winner of their 40 Under 40 Award.
  • Additionally, as president of the non-profit organization Brownfield Coalition of the Northeast, Melina led the Cherrytree team as presenting sponsors of the 2023 Northeast Sustainable Communities conference.
  • Melina also was invited to speak at multiple conferences and seminars throughout the nation, teaching others about the good we do in the tax credit field  for our communities. She continues to lead Cherrytree inside and out of the office.
  • Our (newly married!) vice president, Jake Vezga, also was a force behind the Northeast Sustainable Communities event. A key member of the planning committee — with a schedule of seminars and talks which attracted over 200 industry professionals — Jake himself moderated several discussion panels during the conference.
  • Our staff increased in size once again. Jackie Edwards joined Cherrytree as controller. Bridgewater State University student Nick Cappiello, who worked part-time for us in 2023, has officially accepted a full-time position to begin in January 2024.

All of this growth within the walls of our Newton, Massachusetts office has been made possible by the vision — and much hard work as well as eternal patience — of our founder and CEO, Warren Kirshenbaum. Warren holds great trust in his employees, instills a mission for teamwork, a culture of respect, and a shared sense of mutual accomplishment. He is the guiding light which shows the way for all of us.

In this past year, the Cherrytree team was able to able to deploy much-needed tax credit equity to dozens of projects that:

  • provided affordable rental apartments to low-income families
  • generated solar energy
  • restored historic buildings
  • remediated contaminated properties.

We are proud of the work that Cherrytree did in 2023, of the benefits which were bestowed on so many communities, and of the positive impact to both private and public sectors — from the savings that our client taxpayers earn to the increased economic output and residual revenue generation enjoyed by participating local, state, and federal governments. We look forward to an exciting 2024!