Aventine is a premier national provider of real estate investment financing solutions to the regulated adult use and medical use cannabis industry.
About
Aventine is a privately-held real estate investment trust (REIT) with a strong balance sheet, seasoned REIT management team, and access to institutional capital. We provide non-dilutive, 100% LTV real estate capital solutions, ranging from $1 million to $30 million via long-term, triple-net leases. We offer competitive terms, flexible structures, and nimble execution on the acquisition of existing cannabis properties or the ground-up development of retail dispensaries, cultivation, and manufacturing and processing facilities. We partner with successful licensed operators at the local, regional, and national levels.
Our broad expertise encompassing institutional real estate, capital markets, and cannabis gives us a comprehensive understanding of this unique and nuanced marketplace, and enables us to tailor our deal structures to meet almost any real estate financing need.
Aventine is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
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Executive Team
Raymond Lewis
President & Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Lewis has served as the President & Chief Executive Officer of Aventine, and on its Board of Directors, since the company’s spin-off from Treehouse Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. (“Treehouse”) in January 2021. Mr. Lewis held the same roles at Treehouse from September 2019 to December 2020. Mr. Lewis previously served as the President & Chief Executive Officer of Care Capital Properties, Inc., a NYSE-listed healthcare REIT, from August 2015 to August 2017, when the company was acquired by Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBRA).
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Prior to Care Capital Properties, Mr. Lewis was at Ventas, Inc. (NYSE: VTR), a leading healthcare REIT, where he served as President from 2010 to 2015 and Chief Investment Officer from 2002 to 2010. Prior to joining Ventas, Mr. Lewis was Managing Director of Business Development for GE Capital Healthcare Financial Services, a division of General Electric Capital Corporation from 2001 to 2002, and Executive Vice President of Healthcare Finance for Heller Financial, Inc. from 1996 until 2001.
Mr. Lewis currently serves as Chairman Emeritus of the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry. He is a former member of Sabra Health Care REIT (Nasdaq: SBRA), a former member of the Advisory Board of Governors of NAREIT and former Vice Chairman of the American Seniors Housing Association. Mr. Lewis received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance and Marketing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Lori Wittman
Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
Ms. Wittman has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Aventine since April 2023. Ms. Wittman previously served as the Interim Chief Financial Officer for NetStreit Corp. from November 2022 to April 2023. From February 2020 until its business combination in May 2021, Ms. Wittman was a senior advisor to Big Rock Partners Acquisition Corp. ("Big Rock Partners") and from November 2017 until February 2020, was the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Big Rock Partners. Ms. Wittman prioviously served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Care Capital Properties, Inc, a NYSE-listed healthcare REIT from August 2015 through August 2017 when the company was acquired by Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBRA). Prior to Care Capital Properties, Mrs. Wittman served as the Senior Vice President of Capital Markets and Investor Relations for Ventas.
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Ms. Wittman previously served on the boards of Green Realty Trust, Inc., IMH Financial, and Freehold Properties. She is curently on the board of Netstreit Corp. (NYSE: NTST) and Global Medical Properties Trust (NYSE: GMRE). Ms. Wittman is a member of the Board of Trustees of Clark University and a board member of the Young Center for Immigrant Childrens Rights.
Ms. Wittman received her MBA with a concentration in Finance and Accounting from the University of Chicago, her Masters in City Planning in Housing and Real Estate Finance from the University of Pennsylvania and her B.A. in Geography and Sociology from Clark University.
R.C. Douglas
Senior Vice President & Chief Investment Officer
Mr. Douglas currently serves as the Senior Vice President & Chief Investment Officer of Aventine Property Group. Mr. Douglas previously served as the Vice President of Investments at Aventine since the company’s spin-off from Treehouse in January 2021. Mr. Douglas held the same role at Treehouse from September 2019 through December 2020. Prior to Treehouse, Mr. Douglas held various asset management, acquisitions, and corporate finance positions at Ventas (NYSE: VTR) from 2008 to 2016, the last of which was Director of Financial Planning & Analysis.
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From 2016 to 2019, Mr. Douglas served as the founder & CEO of TenderLife Infant Care, a postpartum and neonatal services start-up. Mr. Douglas received a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and Economics, with honors, from Boston College, and a Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Emily Miller
Senior Vice President & Chief Accounting Officer
Ms. Miller currently serves as the Senior Vice President & Chief Accounting Officer of Aventine Property Group. Ms. Miller previously served as the Vice President & Controller of Aventine since the company’s spin-off from Treehouse in January 2021. Ms. Miller held the same position at Treehouse from October 2019 through December 2020. Prior to Treehouse, Ms. Miller served in Controller roles at several real estate firms, Epic Real Estate Partners from September 2018 to October 2019, and Birchwood Healthcare Partners from July 2016 to September 2018.
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Prior to Birchwood, Ms. Miller held various accounting and financial reporting roles, including Managing Director, Financial Reporting at Aviv REIT, Inc. (NYSE: AVIV) from February 2009 to August 2015. She began her career as an auditor in the real estate group at Deloitte. Ms. Miller received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from DePaul University.
Sample Properties
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Dispensary in East Lansing, MI
Sunday Goods
Dispensary in Tempe, AZ
Ascend Wellness Holdings
Dispensary in Collinsville, IL
Board of Directors
L. Spencer Wells
Non-Executive Chairman
Mr. Wells is a Partner and co-founder at Drivetrain Advisors, an advisory firm providing fiduciary services to members of the alternative investment community. Prior to Drivetrain, Mr. Wells was at TPG Special Situations Partners, where he served as a Senior Advisor from January 2013 to July 2013, and as a Partner from September 2010 to January 2013.
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Prior to TPG Special Situations Partners, Mr. Wells was a Partner and Portfolio Manager at Silverpoint Capital, L.P. from 2002 to 2009. Mr. Wells received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Wesleyan University, and a Master of Business Administration degree from Columbia Business School.
William Morton
Mr. Morton currently invests in private equity focusing on healthcare and technology both directly and through several fund vehicles where he is either an advisor, director or manager including Shelter Island Ventures, an investment management company focused on early stage healthcare opportunities.
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Until January 2019, Mr. Morton served as executive deputy general manager, managing partner, chief investment officer, investment committee member and head of the investment team at Great Wall WL Ross Fund, a global technology and healthcare private equity fund founded in 2017 by China Great Wall Asset Management and WL Ross, LLC with AUM over $500 million. Prior to that, he was a member of the investment team for WL Ross, Invesco WLR Credit Partners, and HIWLR China Energy Infrastructure Fund which he founded and where he also served on the investment committee. Mr. Morton attended Yale College ('91) and Columbia Law School ('97).
Raymond Lewis
Mr. Lewis serves on our Board of Directors in conjunction with his role as President & Chief Executive Officer.
Kenneth Lombard
Mr. Lombard currently serves as the President and CEO of BRIDGE Housing, a leading nonprofit developer, owner, and manager of affordable housing. He joined BRIDGE Housing in November 2021. Prior to joining BRIDGE Housing, Mr. Lombard served as a Special Advisor to Seritage Growth Properties, a publicly traded REIT specializing in shopping, dining, entertainment, and mixed-use properties. Previously, Mr. Lombard served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Seritage Growth Properties. Prior to joining Seritage’s executive team, Mr. Lombard served on Seritage’s Board of Trustees and was President of MacFarlane Partners where he was responsible for its real estate investment management business and served on the firm’s investment and senior management committees.
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Prior to joining MacFarlane Partners in 2016, Mr. Lombard served as Vice Chairman, Partner, and Head of Investments for Capri Capital Partners, a real estate investment management firm. He also managed the Capri Urban Fund, which invested in more than $1 billion in commercial, residential, and mixed-use development, redevelopment, and repositioning projects in densely populated urban markets of the United States. From 2004 to 2008, Mr. Lombard served as President of Starbucks Entertainment and helped launch Johnson Development Corporation in 1992, where he spent 12 years as the President and Partner. Mr. Lombard received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from the University of Washington.
Jonathan Trauben
Mr. Trauben has been a Partner at Altitude Investment Management, a venture capital fund manager focused on the global cannabis industry, since 2017. Prior to Altitude, Mr. Trauben was a Senior Managing Director and Head of Capital Markets at Hunt Real Estate Capital, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hunt Companies, Inc., from 2015 to 2016.
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Prior to Hunt Real Estate Capital, Mr. Trauben was a Managing Director and Head of Subordinate Debt & Large Loan Originations at Barclays from 2011 to 2015, and he held a similar position at Credit Suisse from 2002 to 2010. Mr. Trauben received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Rutgers University.
Christopher Provost
Mr. Provost is a Managing Principal of Galvan Capital LLC, a special situations advisory and investing firm.
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Mr. Provost began his investment career with Satellite Asset Management, Citigroup Global Markets, and Imperial Capital, transitioning to the investment side after six years as a financial restructuring and insolvency attorney. Mr. Provost received a J.D. from Cornell Law School and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Colorado with a B.A. in Economics.