Silver Star REIT Announces Change in Legal, Compliance Leadership

Silver Star Properties REIT Inc., a publicly registered non-traded real estate investment trust formerly known as Hartman Short Term Income Properties XX Inc., announced that Adrienne Collins will resign from her position as senior vice president of administration, corporate secretary, general counsel, and chief compliance officer, effective May 23, 2025. Collins is departing the company to return to private law practice.

According to the REIT, Collins’ resignation is not due to any disagreements with Silver Star or its board of directors regarding the Company’s operations, policies, or practices. Collins reportedly remains supportive of the REIT’s long-term strategic objectives and stated that her departure does not reflect a lack of belief in the company or its pivot strategy towards self-storage.

“The company does not require a full time general counsel at this time and Ms. Collins may now focus solely on a private type of position like commercial real estate,” said Gerald Haddock, chief executive officer and executive chairman of Silver Star Properties REIT.

He added that this transition is beneficial for Collins and is expected to contribute to Silver Star’s working capital by allowing it to potentially outsource these functions more efficiently from a cost perspective as part of a broader effort to reduce salaries. Haddock also acknowledged Collins’ contributions, stating, “Ms. Collins has been valuable in engineering the pivot to self-storage and the sale and acquisition of properties. We wish her well at her new legal position.”

In conjunction with Collins’ departure, Silver Star has named Chester W. Grudzinski Jr. as interim deputy general counsel and compliance officer. Grudzinski will serve in this capacity on a part-time basis and currently acts as special counsel for the REIT.

Grudzinski brings over four decades of legal experience, with a practice primarily focused on federal, state, and other tax matters for businesses and entities. His expertise includes partnerships, limited liability companies, S corporations, and trusts involved in various sectors such as investments, real estate, oil and gas, and other active businesses. He also has experience in the formation, operation and liquidation of business entities, including mergers and acquisitions and handling tax controversies.

Grudzinski’s career includes time at KPMG and serving as the chair of the tax section at Kelly, Hart & Hallman LLP. In addition to his legal background, Grudzinski is a certified public accountant.

In March 2025, the Silver Star REIT said it would be implementing workforce reductions and payroll cuts as part of a “comprehensive strategic turnaround plan.” The company said its actions, which include an anticipated shift in its investment focus to self-storage facilities, are aimed at strengthening Silver Star’s long-term value creation strategy. By restructuring its operations and eliminating nearly 90% of its workforce, Silver Star said at the time, it expects to realize over $15 million in annual cost savings and enhance its financial stability going forward.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Silver Star said it is pivoting away from its legacy holdings in office, retail, and light industrial properties, and redeploying resources into the growing self-storage sector which has shown resilient demand and stable cash flows. Silver Star’s leadership said the shift offers stronger growth prospects and better long-term returns for investors. The company also emphasized Silver Star’s “commitment to a sustainable, forward-looking business model centered on high-demand real estate segments.”

In what has now been a years-long dispute between Silver Star Properties REIT and its former chief executive officer, Allen R. Hartman, the Circuit Court for Baltimore, Md., recently issued a mixed ruling ordering Silver Star Properties to hold an annual shareholder meeting and addressing several other key points of contention between the two parties.

Click here to visit the AltsWire directory page.