LDS Team

Principal

lynn-portrait-narrow copyLynne D. Sweet has over 35 years of experience in the real estate industry and is the founder and principal of LDS Consulting Group, LLC.  Ms. Sweet has played a vital role as consultant to both private and public sector clients by providing a range of services, including planning, market research, feasibility analysis, financial structuring, grant writing, land use and permitting, team building and project management.  The majority of Ms. Sweet’s work currently serves the  affordable, market rate and senior housing industries as well as smart growth, mixed-use developments

Before founding LDS Consulting Group in 2000, Ms. Sweet held senior positions with BRFG Consulting Group, Inc. of Boston, Hartford and Providence, as well as Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. of Boston.  She established the Senior Housing Strategies Group at BRFG Consulting and managed the group for three years while providing project management services, including market research and financial structuring.  At the law firm of Mintz Levin, Ms. Sweet represented real estate developers, owners and lenders as she worked on all phases of real estate acquisitions, financings and workouts for office, medical, multi-family housing and retail properties during her twelve year tenure.  She worked with conventional commercial lenders and public and quasi-public lending agencies on a variety of programs, including those that used historic and low income tax credits, taxable and tax-free bonds and operating subsidies.

Among her many accomplishments, Lynne worked in 2011 on the advisory committee to the “Committee Against Repealing the Housing Law” and in 2003 was an active observer on the Commonwealth’s Chapter 40B Task Force.   Her testimony as an expert witness on a 40B court case led to the Supreme Court of Massachusetts creating a precedent on the definition of” regional need”.

She authored an article published in the National Tax Credit Advisor titled “Study Points to Significant Need Among Veterans for Affordable Housing, Services.”  It was based on an extensive  study LDS performed on the need for housing and services for veterans in the Commonwealth.  She also authored “Expanding Access to Assisted Living in Massachusetts: Five Development Models of Affordability.”

Ms. Sweet is often quoted on her expertise in affordable and senior housing in such publications as the Tax Credit Advisor, Metro West Daily New, Boston Business Journal, Boston Globe,  Brookline Tab.

Ms. Sweet holds a Master of Business Administration from Babson College’s F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business in Wellesley, MA.  She is a licensed real estate broker in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  To further her education, Lynne attends numerous educational opportunities each year in real estate industry as well as reads reports and updates on industry information daily.

Affiliations
In the course of her professional life, Lynne has participated in numerous professional and charitable originations.  Below is a partial list of those affiliates:

  • Certified member of the National Council of Housing Market Analysts:  Member of standards committee
  • Current Member of the Massachusetts Associate of Community Development Corporations
  • Former member of the Newton Housing Partnership
  • Former board committee of CREW Boston (formerly NEWIRE)
  • Past director of the Massachusetts Assisted Living Facilities Association (MASS-ALFA)
  • Past Director of the Rhode Island Assisted Living Facilities Association (RIALA
  • Mass-ALFA Board of Advisors, Affordability Task Force and Quality Committee
  • Member of the Citizens Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA)
  • Member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) – (Participated in a Technical Assistance Panel for the Urban Land Institute Boston for the Milton Village/Central Avenue Revitalization Committee in 2008)
  • Member of the Boston Chapter of the American Planning Association
  • Former Member of the Boston Club
  • Former board member of The Second Step, a not for profit organization for women and children who are survivors of domestic violence.

Team Members

Elizabeth Chaput, Market Analyst/Planner is a 2022 graduate from Tufts University, where she received a MA in Urban and Environmental Planning and a 2020 graduate of College of the Atlantic where she received a BA in Human Ecology.  She worked part time as an intern for LDS since June 2021 and started full time in May 2022. She had internships at CHAPA, the Town of Arlington Department of Planning and Community Development.  She is experienced in ArcGIS, Sketch up and ESRI and works on many of LDS studies and monitoring matters.

Kevin Nesline, Real Estate Analyst/Planner, started at LDS in July 2024. Kevin holds a Master of Science in Urban Planning and Policy from Northeastern University, a Master of Management degree from the University of Michigan, and a BA in International Studies from American University. Originally from Massachusetts, his past work experience includes an urban planning internship and real estate research in the Netherlands and five years of financial analysis and budgeting in the management consulting industry.

Sara Shahbazi, Housing Planning Intern. Sara started at LDS in June 2024 and is a Tufts University candidate for a May 2025 Master of Science in Environmental Planning and Planning.  She has also earning a Master of Arts in Urban Design from Teacher Training University in Tehran, Iran and a Bachelor of Science in Urban Planning at Art University in Tehran, Iran.  Before coming to the United States and starting her master program at Tufts, Sara worked as an urban planner for 8 years at Abadis Sazeh Akam Consulting Firm, Tehran, Iran.

 Off-Site Contract Staff

Elizabeth Fekete is a contract staff member to LDS and performs appraisals with LDS. Elizabeth has over 25 years of experience in real estate valuations, consulting, and sales. She has maintained a Certified General Appraisal license since the inception of licensing in 1992, and a real estate salesperson license since 1982. She was the owner of a successful commercial and residential appraisal firm for many years and managed the Quality Department for a leading national real estate valuation company. Elizabeth has performed speaking engagements on complex properties, taught real estate classes, and was a Massachusetts Board of Real Estate mentor to new members as well as serving on the Membership Committee. She is a member of the board of appraisers for the Town of Framingham, MA.

Xou Sherry Zou is a contract staff member that works full time for the Brockton Redevelopment Authority on their Community Development Block Grant Program. She works part time for LDS primarily providing demographic research. She holds a Master of City Planning from Boston University and Bachelor or Architectural Sciences from Ryerson University. She is proficient in AutoCad, 3D-MAX, Revit.