♦  ABOUT ME

Mr. Smits is a seasoned Real Estate professional with over 30 years of Sr. level Multi-Family property management experience. Mr. Smits areas of expertise are in the operations of large portfolios of assets, underwriting and acquisitions of singles assets and portfolios, the disposition of assets, Asset Management of portfolios, construction services and renovation management.

Mr. Smits has experience in both public and private sectors and is a recognized leader in the industry with a proven track record of exceptional successes. Prior to joining City Gate Property Group Mr. Smits oversaw the management teams responsible for the operations of regional portfolios throughout the country totaling 114 assets consisting of 50,000 units located in 17 states. Mr. Smits has a history of working with some of the nations most recognized and respected organizations such as VMS Reality as a Regional Manager, Equity Residential Property Trust in roles as Director of Due Diligence, Acquisitions, Area Vice President and Regional Vice President, Carmel Partners as the President of Multifamily Operations, and Walden Residential Properties as their President.

Additionally, Patrick’s focus in the private sector has resulted in partnerships which raised private equity to purchase, renovate, reposition and sell assets throughout the DFW Metroplex. Mr. Smits’s unique and diverse experiences allow him vision and competencies not often found at a company the size of City Gate. Mr. Smits has been active in the following industry organizations: Texas Apartment Association, Apartment Association of Greater Dallas, Tarrant County Apartment Association, South Coast Apartment Association (Orange County California), California Apartment Association, and National Multifamily Housing Counsel.

♦  ABOUT ME

With over 20 plus years in the multi-family industry, Dawn’s experience is well-rounded and multi-faceted, built upon her passion for marketing, training, asset management, business development and operation of all asset types. Dawn joined the real estate business at 18, starting as a receptionist for Ferland Corporation in Rhode Island. Shortly after, she was promoted to Executive Assistant to the Vice President of Conventional Operations, broadening her experience in appraisals and acquisitions. Her family’s military duties moved her to Florida where she managed and operated the property management division for a large family-owned firm.

Ms. Waye later joined a development and asset management firm focused on tax credit and multi-use, high-rise new construction. Dawn was hired as an Investment Manager at Pinnacle Properties to oversee the renovation and lease-up of a mixed-use, historical tax credit development in downtown Dallas. After joining Knightvest Management as the Vice President of Operations, she was afforded the opportunity to purchase the third-party business and founded City Gate Property Group. Dawn holds brokers licenses in Texas, Oklahoma, and Rhode Island, as wells as a national CPM Designation. As a leader in her industry, she provides our clients, vendors, and residents a voice at the local, state and national level through legislative advocacy. Dawn has sat on panels representing the industry and her entrepreneurial spirit is embraced by all her colleagues.

♦  ABOUT ME

Clay Klatt has been associated with multifamily property management since 1998 and has held executive positions with major companies since 2001. Through many successful experiences, Clay has developed a clear and concise understanding of the housing market, and he is dedicated to exceeding his owners’ expectations by continuously striving to optimize their assets, thus positively impacting the bottom line.

He has directly and indirectly supervised thousands of multifamily units throughout Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and other surrounding states including major renovation/value-add projects, affordable housing, student properties, senior living, and new construction lease-ups.

Mr. Klatt has a Bachelors of Business Administration degree from Texas Tech University, is a Certified Professional of Occupancy (CPO), and is a current CPM candidate.

♦  ABOUT ME

Michelle joined City Gate in April of 2020 as Controller and brings with her more than 15 years of experience in accounting. Michelle is primarily responsible for working with auditors to provide information for the annual audit, ensuring compliance with local, state and federal government requirements, producing financial reports such as the annual budget and providing financial analysis for capital investments, pricing decisions and contract negotiations. Prior to joining City Gate, Michelle worked as an accounting manager for a property management company in Dallas. She successfully facilitated the accounting software conversion from Timberline to Yardi for 10 properties. Michelle also oversaw the payment/reimbursement processes for 30-40 mortgages, property taxes, management fees and quarterly replacement reserve draws. From 2003 to 2005, Michelle worked as a property accountant for a residential services company. There she performed financial reporting to produce monthly packages and performance analyses for property owners and lender distributions. In addition, she performed research and analysis to address financial inquiries from property owners and managed processes for recoding mortgages, property taxes, owner distributions and bank wires. Michelle has experience in working in Timberline, One-Site, Yardi, MRI and QuickBooks Pro.

♦  ABOUT ME

Erica is responsible for managing policies and procedures covering employment, compensation and benefits, employee relations, retention management and compliance with federal, state and local laws.

She has extensive hands-on experience leading HR initiatives including policy design, compensation, performance management, recruiting, compliance reporting, HRIS implementations, HR workflow development, training and development. Prior to joining City Gate, Ms. Briggs spent 20 plus years overseeing many different facets of Human Resources in the Restaurant and Hospitality Industry.

♦  ABOUT ME

Jennifer joined City Gate in February of 2019 as Director of Finance and brings with her almost 15 years of real estate experience. She began her career as a single-family sales agent in 2005 and was introduced to multifamily investment through a buyer-side client. Intrigued and eager to learn about acquisitions and dispositions in the multifamily sector, she began working as a Broker Assistant with Pinnacle in 2006. Jennifer was promoted to Executive Assistant to the Central Region President in 2009, then to Operations Analyst for the Asset Management division in 2012. As Operations Analyst she honed her skills in underwriting, market research, due diligence, and was appointed the role of national budget lead. She further developed her skills in multifamily investment management when she was again promoted to the role of Associate Asset Manager in 2015. Over the course of three years Jennifer managed over 100 assets totaling just under 30,000 conventional, mixed-use, and affordable multifamily units across eight states for several institutional clients.

♦  ABOUT ME

Erick currently brings over 20 years of experience in the apartment industry to our team here at City Gate. He has previously worked with Pinnacle as the Maintenance Director for tax Credit properties and worked for Mission Residential as the Maintenance Director for over 8000 units. He also previously worked at Alliance Residential.

My goal with City Gate is to Service our owners with Honor as well our residents with respect and integrity.

♦  ABOUT ME

Golden joined City Gate in 2015, beginning her career in multi-family as a Leasing Professional. Shortly thereafter, Golden was promoted to a Community Director position for Pinnacle, working under leadership of Dawn Waye, where she learned the fundamentals of apartment real estate and developed her marketing skillset.

In 2013, Golden continued her multi-family career in Amarillo with BH Management before returning to Dallas. She established herself in the fields of branding, reputation management, and social media marketing. Golden was selected as the Director of Marketing and Training where her responsibilities encompass all facets of marketing, communications and training.

♦  ABOUT ME

Anthony has over 10 years of experience in technology consulting. Anthony is responsible for taking advantage of digital capabilities to create and drive fundamental shifts in the organization. He is constantly challenging his own mindset to ensure City Gate technology remains relevant, vibrant, and valued.