Mercedes Marquez Confirmed as Assistant Secretary of HUD

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–Mercedes Marquez has been confirmed as an assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. As the former general manager of the City of Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD), Marquez will lead HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development, which administers nearly $8 billion in programs…

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SPECIAL REPORT: Multi-Housing Needs to Focus on “Working Smart” While Waiting for Market to Turn

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorLas Vegas—Every industry, including multifamily, is tethered to what happens in Washington, noted Jim VandeHei, co-founder and executive editor of Politico and moderator of the general session, “Knowledge is Power: How to Survive These Times,” at last week’s National Apartment Association Conference and Exposition.The panel featured Ric Campo, chairman and CEO…

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NAAEI Recognizes Excellent Performance at PARAGON Awards Ceremony

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorLas Vegas–The National Apartment Association Education Institute (NAAEI) has announced the winners of several awards including the National Apartment Leasing Award, National Apartment Management Award and the Apartment Career and Education award. All the winners were recognized at the 2009 PARAGON Awards Ceremony this weekend at the Mandalay Resort and…

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Sustainable Cities Research Center to Be Built in Middle East

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorAbu Dhabi, UAE–Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s multi-faceted renewable energy initiative, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mubadala Development Co. (Mubadala), has partnered with one of the world’s leading applied research organizations, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, to develop a Sustainable Cities Research Center in Masdar City. Masdar City, currently under construction, will be the world’s first…

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Foong on Finance: Initial Look at Financial Regulatory Reform

Last week, President Obama put forward his proposals to make changes to the regulatory oversight of the financial system. Among the proposals, the “ Financial Regulatory Reform Plan” would give the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. additional controls over financial institutions. It would require hedge funds and private equity funds to be…

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MHN Extends Deadline Until July 31 for Design Excellence Awards

The deadline for Design Excellence Awards presented by Multi-Housing News has now been extended until July 31.The awards recognize outstanding multi-housing and mixed-use projects. Entries are judged based on a combination of criteria including aesthetics and functionality of exterior and interior architecture, design solution, overall cohesiveness of composition, and (when applicable) landscaping and curb-appeal. Entries…

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SPECIAL REPORT: First Signs that Market is Beginning to Turn Are Appearing

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorLas Vegas—The first signs have appeared that suggest things are starting to get better for the apartment industry, said Greg Willett, vice president of research and analysis for MPF Research, in a National Apartment Association (NAA) Conference and Exposition session entitled “U.S. Apartment Market Outlook.”As Willett noted, the supply picture is…

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MULTI-HOUSING EXECUTIVES UPDATE: Gables Hires Lynette Hegeman as VP of Marketing, and Other Transactions

Atlanta–Gables Residential recently hired Lynette Hegeman (pictured) as its new vice president of marketing. Hegeman comes to Gables with 17 years of experience in marketing, sales management and development primarily for the hospitality and real estate industries. Most recently she ran her own marketing company focused on helping developers of residential communities in resort locations…

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TODAY’S DEALS: Hendricks & Partners Arranges Sale of 17-Unit Community for Over $2M, and Other Transactions

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorOakland, Calif.–Hendricks & Partners recently arranged the sale of 6116 Telegraph Ave. in Oakland, Calif., for $2,375,000. The 17-unit apartment community was sold to Alameda Apartments LP of San Rafael, Calif. Arbor Closes $935,000 Fannie Mae DUS Small LoanCarmichael, Calif.–Arbor Commercial Funding LLC recently completed funding of a $935,000 loan…

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Reduce the Cost of Property Management

By David Demarest, Architecture Demarest (Click here for Part 1, The Benefits of Building Information Modeling)More than a new design tool, BIM (Building Information Modeling) is a technology that can revolutionize the way multifamily owners manage properties, maintenance, expansions, renovations and brands.  Once the project is commissioned, the BIM model becomes an as-built model quite different from…

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