By Keat Foong, Executive EditorValley Glen, Calif.—What do you do when your bank comes back to you with modified terms just as you are about to close? The $5.2 million purchase of 6125 Fulton Apartments demonstrates the financing complications that can arise in today’s markets, and how, despite all, the sale can still be concluded. The purchase contract was signed in the fall during the midst of the September/October 2008 financial crisis. The buyer, Franklin Management, was a strong long-time client of the lender, a bank with which it had more than 10 loans, says Rick Raymundo, vice president of…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorResidents “don’t want to get lost in their apartments. They want to be connected with their neighbors, they want a place to meet people,” says Lesa LaRocca, president of Trillium Residential. And that’s exactly what Trillium offers. Trillium Residential’s boutique hotel-inspired Great Rooms offer a place for residents to relax and to connect. “It’s a place that welcomes renters to really utilize it as an extension of their living room,” says LaRocca. Trillium’s Arizona communities are built according to research showing their renters’—mostly Generation X and Y—hot buttons, LaRocca explains. Additionally, because many of Trillium’s properties…

By Keat Foong, Executive EditorThese are tough times, and they may get even tougher. Executives at several of the most time-tested apartment companies share strategies on a range of topics—from the importance of technology and customer service to finding hidden opportunities created by the downturn. Associated Estates Realty Corp. Jeffrey Friedman/President and CEOAssociated Estates Realty Corp. currently owns and/or manages 13,192 units located in high barrier-to-entry submarkets in nine states. The REIT, which is headquartered in Richmond Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, has been in the apartment development and management business for more than 30 years. Associated Estates’ portfolio…

By Jim Truitt, Forest City Residential GroupFor a slideshow of images go to Mercantile PlaceHistoric preservation can revitalize a community’s economy and renew its downtown core, while preserving the social and cultural character of an area. Although adaptive reuse has its challenges—preserving and restoring artifacts, optimizing apartment space while maintaining the building’s structure and historic character, and reconfiguring the interiors within the building’s structural confines—many local governments and developers are committed to improving and reusing older, architecturally significant buildings that reflect a community’s legacy.Built in 1942, the 31-story Mercantile National Bank Building in downtown Dallas is a perfect example of…

By Lisa Iannucci, Contributing EditorGlobal warming has already directly impacted weather patterns and reduced fresh water resources. Studies show that submetered properties consume less water than those billing water as part of the rent charge. “Submetering, unlike utility rationing, gives the resident both personal control and incentive to save water,” says Scott Bolin, director of meters and networks for Velocity.By tracking actual per unit consumption, submetering helps property owners and investors accurately and fairly assign resident expenses. In addition to reducing overall utility consumption, it has the added benefit of pinpointing usage exceptions. “Prompt investigation and remedying of these exceptions…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorBuildings account for a large percentage of electricity and potable water consumption—72 percent and 14 percent, respectively. Both resources are not only crucial to the environment, but as Lenora Campos, Ph.D., manager of public relations at Toto USA, asserts, “Water is the new oil. It will be something over which the new conflicts will arise.” It is essential, then, to consider not only a building’s envelope but also residential appliance selection. Reports of people living without refrigerators in order to save on energy costs and help the environment have recently come to light. But unless you…

By Christopher Hosford, Contributing EditorThe automobile is like a member of the family. It needs a space of its own so that residents and property owners alike are happy. Luckily there are some nifty technological solutions that, if budget allows or local ordinances require, are likely to maintain that happiness quotient while solving a number of challenges.”When designing residential solutions, the biggest issue isn’t figuring how how to design this many one- or two-bedroom units,” says Chris Texter, principal with architectural and planning firm KTGY Group, in Irvine, CA. “The hard part is figuring out where to put the cars…