Archive for June 2008

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorKeystone Hires New Community Assn. Manager, Promotes Steve KoernerIrvine, Calif.–Keystone Pacific Property Management Inc. has hired Abraham Oyler (pictured top right) as community association manager in the firm’s headquarters, and has promoted Steve Koerner from escrow specialist to accounts payable supervisor.As a community association manager, Oyler will manage a portfolio…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorCarmel, Ind.–Thompson Thrift Development Inc. has launched a new company called Watermark Residential, which will be based in Carmel, Ind. and will focus on development, management and sales of multifamily developments throughout the Midwest and Southeast. John S. Sebree, who served as the senior investment associate and director of the…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSyracuse, New York–Related Affordable, a division of Related Cos., recently re-opened McCarthy Manor Apartments, a 176-unit affordable senior housing development in Syracuse, New York. Syracuse Mayor Matthew J. Driscoll was present at the opening ceremony.“I am pleased Related has undertaken the rehabilitation of this complex so there will continue to…

Greenwich, Conn.–Billionaire hedge fund manager Edward S. Lampert is purchasing shares of homebuilders, mortgage lenders and Home Depot, implying he believes the U.S. housing market will soon recover, The Wall Street Journal said.Lampert’s ESL Investments Inc.–which has concentrated on retail and bank stocks–has 40 percent of car retailer AutoNation Inc. and half of department-store giant…

Washington, D.C.–Proposed housing legislation may reach the Senate floor this week, according to Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).Democratic leaders–who hope to wrap up the issue before the Fourth of July holiday–currently are trying to finalize Medicaid legislation, but if they can’t, “energy and housing legislation would be the two most likely” bills to come next this…

Alexandria, Va.–Four of the biggest U.S. homebuilders agreed to pay $4.3 million in fines in connection with allegations of stream and lake pollution, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.The builders had been accused of polluting the waterways with construction site dirt mixed with stormwater runoff, which is one of the largest threats to Georgia’s water system.Filed in…

Washington, D.C.–Because energy and food expenses forced some companies to raise prices the economy has stayed “generally weak,” according to the Federal Reserve’s most recent tally of business conditions.Released Wednesday, the Fed’s report highlighted two major issues facing the U.S.–reduced economic activity and costly food and energy. Increased energy and food prices threaten to raise…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorBlackwood, N.J.–The Community Preservation Corp. (CPC) recently closed a $2.3 million loan through its Trenton office to fund the acquisition of the Scenic Falls Apartments, a 1000-unit garden-style apartment complex located in Blackwood, N.J. Scenic Falls was developed in 1996 as a Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) project.CPC, a…