By Anuradha Kher, Online  News Editor Irvine, Calif.–Guardian Management LLC, through a  newly formed corporation will acquire the southern  California and Arizona offices of Sperry Van Ness. With this acquisition,  Guardian will hold the development and franchise rights for Sperry Van Ness in  Southern California, Arizona and Oregon. Guardian’s president, Tom Brenneke,  will become a member of the Sperry Van Ness board of advisors.   “This move diversifies us geographically and with product types  and will improve our deal flow,” Tom Brenneke, president of Guardian  Management LLC, tells MHN. “While we do some brokerage as a company, this will  really formalize it.”…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor Riverside, Calif.–GMH Capital Partners recently arranged the sale of the GrandMarc at University Village, a 212-unit, Class A apartment complex in Riverside, Calif., for $45 million.Kayne Anderson, a Los Angeles-based investment company, purchased GrandMarc at University Village. The property consists of eight four-story apartment buildings and one single story leasing office/clubhouse. It includes 212 units with 760 beds, totaling 277,724 sq. ft. of net rentable area. GrandMarc at University Village was completed in 2001 to house students at The University of California, Riverside. The community features one-bedroom/one-bathroom, two-bedroom/two-bathroom, three-bedroom/three-bathroom and four-bedroom/four-bathroom apartments with an average…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorLebanon, N.J.–In an effort to enhance the company’s sustainable building practices, Kullman has recently became a member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).“Offsite construction and the green movement are natural partners,” says Avi Telyas, CEO of Kullman, a Lebanon, N.J.-based offsite builder of permanent steel and concrete multi-story buildings. “Together they offer an efficient path to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification without compromising on design. Given this, we believe it’s our responsibility to be stewards in the green movement by educating the industry on the benefits of offsite construction and promoting…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorDallas–JPI recently broke ground on Jefferson, a 228-unit luxury rental community in the Arts District in downtown Dallas.Located at the northeast corner of Ross Avenue and Routh Street in Dallas, Jefferson at the Arts District will be a part of the city’s 68-acre urban cultural district featuring the Dallas Museum of Art, the Nasher Sculpture Center, the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House (currently under construction), and the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre (also currently under construction).The community is situated five blocks from the city’s planned Woodall Rodgers Park,…

Online News EditorSparks, Nev.–The Orange County office of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) recently arranged a $29.5 million construction loan and $9.5 million joint venture equity for the development of Pioneer Meadows, a 300-unit Class A multifamily development to be built in Sparks, Nev. HFF Director Mark Erland worked on behalf of Fore Property Co. to arrange the three-year construction loan.

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSan Diego–Sperry Van Ness has recently completed the sale of Balboa Palms Apartments, a 28-unit apartment community in San Diego, for $2.47 million.The property is located at 2855 – 2865 A St. near downtown San Diego.   San Diego-based Cyprias Enterprises LLC Series 19 bought the two-building property that was built in 1959.Balboa Palms is situated on 0.32 acres of land and was 100 percent occupied at the close of escrow. The unit mix consists of 20 studio units and eight one-bedroom units with monthly rents ranging from $750 to $825.The property features a gated entry…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–The U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) said it will speed federal disaster assistance to dozens of storm-ravaged counties in Iowa, Indiana and Wisconsin and provide support to homeowners and low-income renters forced out of their homes after severe storms, tornadoes and flooding have left this region devastated.HUD will provide foreclosure relief to families whose homes are insured through Federal Housing Administration (FHA).“These storms, and the flooding they produced, are tearing people’s lives apart and we must offer substantive relief to these families,” says HUD Secretary, Steven Preston. “To speed this recovery, we’re calling…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWood-Ridge, N.J.–AvalonBay Communities has joined the development team at Wesmont Station, a 70-acre mixed-use, transit-oriented development currently underway in Wood-Ridge, N.J.Wesmont Station is the only project in northern New Jersey that has been selected as a pilot project in the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) neighborhood development initiative. The project features close to 800 residential units, retail and office space, as well as a new train station that will connect with the Bergen Line commuter rail to Manhattan, New York.“This pilot will help develop LEED standards for neighborhood development…

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,” Michael Costa (pictured), president and CEO of MCHP, tells MHN. “The only change will be that we will now focus on our own development processes instead of third party syndication.” Earlier this year, SHS was ranked by Affordable Housing Finance magazine as the fifth-largest owner of…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorAlliance Residential Names Adam Paul as City Partner, Mountain DivisionSalt Lake City–Alliance Residential Co., has recently appointed Adam Paul as city partner for the company’s mountain division.  Paul will be responsible for identifying development opportunities and working through entitlement, design, and construction and lease-up of new Alliance Residential communities in the Salt Lake City region.“Alliance Residential is one of the few multifamily developers still expanding in our softer economy,” says Paul. “It seemed the perfect opportunity for me to assist Alliance in realizing its vision of providing luxurious, affordable and convenient housing options to the…