Archive for June 2008
DEAL OF THE DAY: Alliant Capital Closes $1.5M Supplemental Loan for 149-Unit Rental Building
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorBaltimore–Alliant Capital recently closed a $1,525,000 second lien loan, collateralized by the Apostolic Towers Apartments located at 201 N. Washington St. in Baltimore.Apostolic Towers Apartments features a 149-unit, 12-story building built in 1979. Alliant provides return of equity to its borrowers through structured subordinate financing behind its own senior debt.
Read MoreFour Steps to a Successful Adaptive Reuse Project
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate Editor When it comes to adaptive reuse projects, developers must take a variety of steps to ensure successful preservation. “I like to think of it as the preservation of our cultural patrimony, the recycling of our built environment,” says David Abramson of Newark, N.J.-based David Abramson & Associates, who specializes in…
Read MoreVixen Hill Offers Customizable Cabanas to Enhance Outdoor Living
Vixen Hill has introduced its cedar cabanas to customize outdoor living. With a modular structure, the cabana is designed for one day assembly.The cabana, constructed with rot- and insect-resistant cedar, offers a choice of design options to suit the architecture of the community. The roof is available in rectangular, octagonal or square shapes and in…
Read MoreCrane Inspector Arrested, but Not in Connection with Recent NYC Crane Collapses
Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–James Delayo, acting chief inspector with the Department of Buildings’ cranes and derricks division, was arraigned and released without bail late last week on charges of receiving bribes, tampering with public records, falsifying business records, filing a false instrument and receiving unlawful gratuities.Delayo has been accused of signing off on…
Read MoreNewly Formed MCHP to Operate Like Simpson Housing Solutions, Says CEO
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorLong Beach, Calif.–Avanath Capital Partners and MacFarlane Costa Housing Partners (MCHP) have acquired Simpson Housing Solutions (SHS) and its portfolio of 273 properties, representing 26,000 affordable rental apartments in 33 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.“We will run MCHP the same way as we did Simpson Housing Solutions,”…
Read MoreSPECIAL REPORT: Lenders Look Favorably on REITs, but Warn of Inability to Rollover Loans if Credit Crisis Continues
By Keat Foong, Executive EditorNew York–Lenders are happy with doing business with REITs. That is the word from a panel of speakers at the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts’ (NAREIT) REIT Week held here at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Joseph Shaw, managing director, John Hancock Financial Services Inc., said that his company views…
Read MoreFocusing on Green Building Means Encouraging Green Living, Too
Last Sunday, I had brunch at my friend’s somewhat-new apartment–she moved in a couple of months ago–and although the building may be older, her unit is cutting-edge green from back to front. I’ve known for years that Michelle preferred locally grown, organic produce; but this place takes that mentality to a whole new level. Although…
Read MoreThree Major Credit Rating Firms Agree to New Business Method
New York–Credit rating firms Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch and New York state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo settled on new practices on Thursday, CNNMoney.com reports.The deal–the result of a probe Cuomo has been handling for over a year–will reconfigure the ratings firms’ incentives for offering services.Previously, although multiple credit raters would weigh in on a residential…
Read MoreBuilders Urge Congress to Offer Buyer Incentive to Spur Home Sales
Horsham, Pa.–When Toll Brothers CEO Robert Toll suggested–during a company earnings report on June 3–that Congress needed to pass a bill granting home buyers tax credits to reinvigorate the real estate market and economy, he wasn’t alone.Toll–along with other builders–believes that if the government just approves billions in Federal Housing Administration loans or rescues homeowners…
Read MoreMultifamily Housing Drives Canada’s Building Permits Up 15 Percent
Ottawa–Canadian building permits grew 15 percent in April, due mostly to apartment and condominium demand–the largest increase in nearly a year, according to Statistics Canada.The value of municipality-issued permits swelled to a six-month high of C$6.4 billion ($6.27 billion), Bloomberg reported Friday.Multifamily housing unit permits reached the highest point since 2005, increasing 40 percent. As…
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