New Solatube Series Provides Daylighting in Residential Applications
Solatube’s Brighten Up series is designed to make daylighting easier and more affordable for most interiors. It features an energy-efficient design that minimizes heat loss and gain between the interior space and outdoor environment.The Raybender 300 Technology lens directs low-angle light down from the tube for enhanced performance during the morning and afternoon. It also deflects sun rays in the middle of the day, providing consistent lighting levels. The LightTracker Reflector works in conjunction with the lens to increase light performance by up to 100 percent.The Energy Star-rated series is available in two models: the Solatube 160 DS Daylighting System,…
Villas of Hillcrest Becomes First Affordable Housing Project to Win McSam Award
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorDallas–The Villas of Hillcrest (pictured first from top), designed by Humphreys & Partners Architects L.P., is the first affordable housing development to win a McSAM Award in the 30-year history of the Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas’ annual competition. The project, located in North Dallas, won the “Best Multifamily Rental Community” category.”Incorporating affordable housing into an established neighborhood is no easy task,” says Jenny Lynn of the Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas. “The Villas of Hillcrest is a prime example of the role that design plays in overcoming the challenges of adding affordable…
Brooklyn Condominium Brought Up to Code, Now Ready for Sale
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorBrooklyn—Scarano Architects PLLC has helped to bring Olive Park, a seven-story, 87-unit luxury condominium development located at 100 Maspeth Ave. in Brooklyn, up to code and ready for sale.Brought in as troubleshooters, Scarano Architects helped developer Aron Deutsch and George Schwartz Architects complete the project without having to start from the beginning, explains Robert M. Scarano, Jr., AIA, FARA, ALA, president and principal architect at Scarano Architects.Under Department of Building zoning laws, the building was required to be set back 15 ft. from the street, based upon its height. The team would have been required to…
Mulifamily Starts Plunge Whopping 74% Y-O-Y to 78K Units; Can They Fall Further?
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–New home construction fell to its lowest pace on record in April, according to the Census Bureau’s latest report. Multi-housing starts for April are down to 78,000 units, a 42 percent drop from last month and a whopping 74 percent drop year-over-year. This dragged down the overall housing starts by 12.8 percent last month from March, to an annual pace of 458,000 units.While some forecasters were disappointed, as they had hoped for a modest increase, others were pleased that the supply is reflecting the demand in the market. “It’s about time the number fell…
Developer of 100 Gold Street Anthony Morena Selected to Judge MHN’s Green Initiative Awards
New York—Anthony Morena, AIA, architect and principal at The REDD Group, a firm that designs, develops and manages properties, has been selected to judge MHN’s second annual Green Initiative Awards. Morena’s eco-friendly residential work includes the 10-unit 100 Gold Street and the eight-unit project at 294 Ainslie Street, both in Brooklyn. At 100 Gold, REDD Group is purchasing renewable energy credits and assisting in funding reforestation projects to offset the building’s carbon emissions for the first year.”We have had a lot of great interest in the building so far, primarily because we are able to provide a well-conceived, quality, ‘green’…
TODAY’S DEALS: HFF Arranges $23.28M Refinancing for 260-Unit Rental Community, and Other Transactions
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorRancho Cucamonga, Calif.–HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) recently arranged a $23.28 million refinancing for Ironwood Apartments (pictured), a 260-unit multifamily community in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.Working on behalf of institutional investors advised by J. P. Morgan Asset Management – Global Real Assets, HFF senior managing director Whit Wilcox placed the seven-year, adjustable-rate loan with the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). Loan proceeds are paying off a maturing loan that the borrower had with a portfolio lender. HFF recently closed on a $22.1 million financing for the adjacent Fairway Palms Apartments. Located at 11100 4th…
Dornbacht Introduces Supernova Line of Bath Accessories
The flash of light from an exploding star—supernova—inspired the development and name of the newest faucet style from Dornbracht. Designed by Sieger Design, Supernova is a suite of fittings for tub, lavatory, bidet and shower as well as a series of matching accessories (pictured: collage of various products in the Supernova line). Supernova fits at home in classic baths as well as in space age settings.The Supernova line features 60 configurations, one of which is a waterfall tub filler. When it’s turned on, a sparkling sheet of water streams from the broad squared tap. Wall-mounted faucets feature cubed handles, and…
HUD Provides $1B for Improvements to Public Housing
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is offering nearly $1 billion to make substantial improvements to thousands of public housing units nationwide. The Public Housing Capital Funds are being provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and are designed to help selected public housing authorities improve the quality of their housing stock, promote energy efficiency and create jobs.In March, HUD allocated nearly $3 billion in Recovery Act funding to more than 3,100 public housing authorities across the U.S. That funding is already being put to work to improve public…
First Southern Neighborhood in the U.S. Receives LEED ND Silver Certification
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate Editor Nashville, Tenn.—The Gulch, developed by MarketStreet Enterprises and planned by Looney Ricks Kiss Architects Inc., is the first neighborhood in the South to receive LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for Neighborhood Development Silver certification. The Gulch is one of the first fourteen neighborhoods internationally to become LEED ND-certified in this pilot program. “The Gulch is representative of a new generation of higher-density multifamily and mixed-use communities, particularly in the South, where it is somewhat of a new phenomenon,” notes Paige Close, principal at Looney Ricks Kiss Architects, adding, “there has traditionally been a…
Despite Downturn Brooklyn Condo Sells Over Half of Units in Five Months
By Anuradha Kher, Online NewsNew York–Despite the economic downturn, NV, a 40-unit condominium project in Brooklyn, N.Y. that opened in February 2009, is now 55 percent sold.Located at 101 North 5th St. at Berry Street, the six-story project features one- and two-bedroom apartments.“The economic downturn that has affected the New York condo market has moved to and has been in the selective area phase,” Developer Michael Morton of The Morton Group, tells MHN. The Morton Group developed the project. “This means there are many projects in locations that for the moment have become less desirable as a target buy. However…