People
Andrea Kretchmer - Principal
Andrea Kretchmer is a developer of affordable housing and mixed-use projects in New York and Connecticut. Andrea is a founding principal at Xenolith Partners LLC, a woman-owned affordable housing development company. At Xenolith, Andrea focuses on new construction of mixed-use developments. Her interests include cultivating for-profit and non-profit partnerships; government, community and industry relations; and the pursuit of municipally-owned development sites.
Prior to starting Xenolith, Andrea was also a founding principal of The Kretchmer Companies LLC, a woman-owned affordable housing development firm based in New York City and spent several years with a mixed-use developer based in Westchester County. With those firms, Andrea completed the development of Coney Island Commons and Stanley Commons, both 200,000+ sf mixed-use projects with large community facility spaces including a 43,000 sf YMCA. Andrea’s Connecticut experience includes the adaptive re-use of a historic mill in Stonington, CT and an award-winning 80-unit mixed-income Passive House development in New Britain, CT,
Prior to her career in affordable housing, Andrea was a practicing geologist. She has extensive experience in the investigation and remediation of contaminated sites throughout the New York metropolitan area. Her experience includes a wide scope of soil, surface water, ground water and ecological investigations. Andrea brings the unique combination of brownfield and real estate development to her projects.
Andrea received her Bachelor’s Degree from Colgate University and her Master’s Degree in Geology from UCLA. Andrea is the Membership Chair and a Board Member at the New York State Association for Affordable Housing (NYSAFAH) and at Congregation Rodeph Sholom. Andrea is also a Fellow at the Urban Design Forum. Her past board services includes Citizens Housing and Planning Council, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, the Bronx Real Estate Summit and the New York City Brownfield Partnership.
Terri Belkas-Mitchell - Principal
Terri Belkas-Mitchell is a developer of affordable housing and mixed-use projects in New York and Connecticut. Terri is a founding principal at Xenolith Partners LLC, a woman-owned affordable housing development firm.
With an educational and professional background in finance and urban policy, Terri has helped secure over $300 million in construction financing for over 750 mixed-income rental units across eight different projects featuring historic adaptive reuse, preservation of affordable housing, Brownfield remediation, and new construction.
Prior to launching Xenolith Partners LLC, Terri acted as a project manager for a Westchester-based real estate development firm and as a financial and real estate analyst for First Sterling Financial, Inc., a low-income housing tax credit syndicator, where she modeled and evaluated investments in affordable housing developments across the country. Terri started her career in finance as a currency strategist at the foreign exchange brokerage, Forex Capital Markets, LLC.
Terri received her BBA in Finance from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst Isenberg School of Management and earned a MS in Urban Policy from The New School. Crain's New York Business named Terri one of the 2020 Rising Stars in Real Estate.
Chris Lebron - Director of Design and Construction
Chris Lebron is an accomplished real estate development, redevelopment, and economic development professional with over 15 years of experience in the private, public, and non-profit sectors. Prior to joining Xenolith Partners as an associate developer, Chris was a development manager for a boutique residential developer and construction firm based in TriBeCa. She successfully managed a variety of ground-up residential projects from conception to lease up or sale.
In her previous role as a project manager for the City of Oakland Redevelopment Agency, Chris managed and implemented numerous capital improvement projects and neighborhood revitalization strategies. These included mixed-use residential, commercial rehab, public facilities, and infrastructure projects; as well as citywide façade/tenant improvement and neighborhood capital grant programs. During her time in Oakland, she worked closely with community advisory boards to identify neighborhood priorities and projects.
Chris has also worked as an independent consultant, and she began her career at a non-profit CDC implementing the Main Street program in partnership with LISC and government partners. Chris earned a BS in Cultural Anthropology with a minor in City and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley and earned an MS in Real Estate Development at Columbia University. She is dedicated to creating sustainable, thriving, healthy, and equitable neighborhoods and cities, and to improving the built environment.