With so many moving parts, adaptive reuse projects frequently take longer to get off the ground and they involve unforeseen challenges—but the results can be more interesting than those found in new construction. “We [also] think that redeveloping historic buildings is an inherently green strategy,” says Bruce Becker,AIA, AICP, President of Becker + Becker, whose Fairfield, Ct-based firm developed, designed and planned The Octagon, a high-profile adaptive reuse project in New York.

What could a Japanese pagoda, a Swiss chalet, a Dutch windmill and an Italian villa possibly have in common? They, along with eight other architecturally distinct homes share a 32-acre campus with 116 multifamily residences in Forest Glen, Md.

Washington, D.C.—Community Preservation and Development Corp. (CPDC) and Crawford Edgewood Managers Inc. (CEMI) recently celebrated the grand opening of The Overlook at Oxon Run, a seven-acre, 316-unit inter-generational housing development for low-income seniors and moderate-income workers.

Rosemont, Ill.–McShane Development Co. has hired Andrea A. Bills as vice president in the firm’s corporate headquarters in Rosemont, Ill.

A new program could provide a sizable jolt to the already-popular practice of retrofitting existing commercial properties to increase environmental sustainability. The Community Preservation Corp., a non-profit affordable housing lender, has unveiled a new public-private partnership that aims to provide $1 billion in funding for energy efficient upgrades and green retrofits to multifamily properties.