Group 41 Accepts Commission to Create Proposal for Multifamily Community from Shipping Containers

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate Editor Salt Lake City—San Francisco-based architecture firm Group 41 is breaking new ground with a shipping container design for multifamily development. The proposal is for a 200-unit, market-rate transit-oriented community in Salt Lake City.“For years, we put out a formal offer of discounted design services for anyone who was serious about…

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According to First Quarter Market Report, Manhattan Apartment Prices and Transactions Down Considerably

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–The average Manhattan apartment price (including condos, co-ops and cond-ops) of $1,502,339 was up slightly from last quarter, but down 11 percent from the previous year, according to the first quarter market report released today by Brown Harris Stevens. The total number of closings decreased by 58 percent compared…

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Property Showcase: Hanover Company Caters to Charlotte’s Upscale Renters-By-Choice

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorIn Charlotte, N.C., single-family living tends to dominate, notes Bo Buchanan, development partner at The Hanover Company. But at The Residence at SouthPark, a luxury, mixed-use development adjacent to the open-air SouthPark Mall, renters-by-choice can find the same high standard of living found in single family homes, Buchanan asserts. “We’re not…

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Will GSEs Curtail Financing?

Looking to refinance your property in 2010 and beyond? With Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac supplying the lion’s share of permanent financing for multifamily, the consequences could be serious if money from the two entities for the sector should be substantially curtailed in the next few years under the Obama Administration. Yet a reduction in…

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Lone Star State

The last few months of 2008 saw a rapid evaporation of the momentum gathered earlier in the year. The overall Texas occupancy average ended the year at 88.5 percent, down 160 basis points from year-end 2007. For individual markets, the Dallas market fared best in occupancy and ended the year at 89.1 percent, falling 180…

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Facing the Affordable Housing Challenge

d-party developersMacFarlane Costa Housing Partners, Gardena, Calif.Regions: 33 states and Puerto RicoDollars in development: $40 to $50 million currently under constructionMichael A. Costa, president MacFarlane Costa Housing Partners is a developer, builder, financier, owner and operator of affordable housing. Asked to identify his favorite among his company’s affordable housing ventures, Costa replies that he’d be…

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Greening Your Laundry Rooms

By Keat Foong, Executive EditorEnergy and water efficiency in equipment used in common laundry areas is increasingly important to apartment owners and managers, whether the machines are leased or owned. “When it comes to community laundry areas in multi-housing, the prevailing trend is improved efficiency. Developers and owners, like all of us, are seeking to…

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TODAY’S DEALS: Meridian Capital Group Arranges $6.3M Permanent Financing for 66-Unit Property, and Other Transactions

By Anuradha Kher, Online News Reseda, Calif.–Meridian Capital Group has arranged permanent financing for Los Angeles-based Capital Foresight LP in the amount of $6.3 million for Terra Vista Apartments (pictured), a 66-unit multifamily building located on Saticoy Street in Reseda, Calif. Meridian successfully negotiated the non-recourse, 5.64 percent fixed interest rate for 10-years.  Love Funding…

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Q&A with Scott Ziegler: Suburban Projects are Going to Do Badly In Future

R. Scott Ziegler (pictured), AIA, is one of the founding principals of Ziegler Cooper Architects. Ziegler is involved in all phases of work on every project. With a strong belief in modern architecture Ziegler endeavors to explore a building’s limits. Ziegler’s management experience encompasses high-rise condominiums, high- and low-rise office buildings, retail facilities, educational institutions…

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April ’09 Table of Contents

In this Month’s Print IssueDEPARTMENTFrom the EditorExecutive InsightOperations: Green Laundry RoomsTechnology: BIMKitchen & Bath: Tile InstallationPerspective: Doug Bibby, NMHCFEATURESFinance: Fannie Mae & Freddie MacWill the GSEs reduce their financing volumns?Market Forecast: TexasThe Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex may be the best place to ride out the recessionProfile: Affordable DevelopersDespite the economic meltdown and financing challenges, they’re discovering…

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