Mansion on Peachtree Receives GreenGuard Building Construction Certification
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorAtlanta—The Mansion on Peachtree Hotel and Residences, a 42-story condo/hotel tower, has received GreenGuard Building Construction Certification, the first multifamily project in the state to achieve this award. The Certification is based on the requirements of the pending ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standard for newly constructed buildings to prevent mold and moisture.“It’s a voluntary program—a commitment made by the general contractor and owner to focus on quality and construction,” Taylor Gonsoulin, PE, CIAQP, LEED AP, general manager of Air Quality Sciences, a national building consulting organization and the third-party consultant for The Mansion on Peachtree,…
TODAY’S DEALS: HFF Secures $22.1M Refinancing with Freddie Mac for 236-Unit Rental Community, and Other Transactions
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorRancho Cucamonga, Calif.–HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P.) recently secured a $22.1 million refinancing with Freddie Mac for Fairway Palms Apartments (pictured), a 236-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 Corp. (Freddie Mac). Loan proceeds are paying off a maturing loan that the borrower had with a portfolio lender. HFF has closed more than $100 million in financing through Freddie Mac in 2009.Fairway…
MULTI-HOUSING EXECUTIVES UPDATE: Enterprise Community Partners Appoints Alazne Solis as New SVP, and Other Moves
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorColumbia, Md.–Enterprise Community Partners Inc. has appointed Alazne (Ali) Solis (pictured) as its new senior vice president. Solis was also recently named policy and corporate affairs executive, which expanded her focus to include the areas of communications, marketing, online services and resource development in addition to public policy. Solis’ complete title is now senior vice president and policy and corporate affairs executive and she will split her time between the organization’s Columbia, Md., and Washington, D.C., offices. Solis joined Enterprise in February 2000. In the summer of 2008, she led the Save America’s Neighborhoods Campaign,…
AIMCO Slips to No. 3 Spot on Largest Apartment Owners Ranking
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–The apartment industry was buffeted by crosswinds in 2008, according to the National Multi Housing Council’s (NMHC) ranking of the 50 largest apartment owners and the 50 largest apartment managers. This is the 20th year since NMHC started the ranking.”The apartment sector is better positioned than most to produce a robust recovery, however,” says NMHC President Doug Bibby. “It is not overbuilt, like the single-family sector, and demographic trends, changing lifestyles and our desire to grow more sustainably all point to strong long-term demand for apartments.” “All in all, there were fewer changes in…
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 wanting me to design a single-family home [from shipping containers]. I talked to hundreds of people, but not a single one turned into a real project,” says Joel Karr, founder and principal, Group 41. “People are intrigued by the idea but are resistant to trying…
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 to the same period a year ago.“This reflects what most people thought would happen, and it’s not a big surprise,” Greg Heym, chief economist for Terra Holdings, which is the parent company of Brown Harris Stevens, tells MHN. “The fourth quarter is always slow and…
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 putting in apartment finishes. If someone sells his house but doesn’t want to buy another one, he’s going to feel at home [at The Residence at SouthPark],” adds Buchanan. “We’re not catering to roommates.”With 1,025 to 3,057-sq.-ft. residences that feature walk-in closets, separate showers and…
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 financing from Fannie and Freddie is a distinct possibility. When the government assumed control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in September 2008, placing them into conservatorship run by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the U.S. Treasury committed to up to $100 billion in…
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 basis points from 90.9 percent in December 2007. Houston held steady for 2008, losing only 10 basis points of occupancy, falling from 88.3 percent to 88.2 percent. The largest drop occurred in Austin, where 2007 ended at 93.7 percent and 2008 wrapped up at 89.0…
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 lower water and utility costs,” agrees Dick Casey, director of multi-housing sales at Alliance Laundry Systems (ALS), a commercial laundry equipment specialist that manufactures Speed Queen. Laundry route operators are getting more questions from apartment owners about the green aspects of their machines, according to…