By Teresa O’Dea Hein, Managing EditorChicago—Distressed property sales are a growth industry in this economy. While brokerage firms have already been selling more and more distressed assets this year, three national brokerage firms have recently created or expanded teams to streamline the handling of distressed deals.Apartment Realty Advisors (ARA) has formed a Distressed Assets Solutions Group (DASG), under the direction of Chicago-based ARA principal, Debbie Corson (pictured). Sperry Van Ness International has launched the Sperry Van Ness Asset Recovery Team (SVNART), led by David Gilmore, current managing director of Sperry Van Ness Accelerated Marketing Co. Inc., and Jerry Anderson, CCIM,…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorAtlanta—Jamestown Partners, a real estate investment and management company, recently announced its acquisition of Green Street Properties, an eco-conscious consulting and development company best known for its master-planned, mixed-use urban communities.“We believe that the future of real estate is closely linked with green initiatives. The acquisition helps us to be at the forefront of this movement,” explains Matt Bronfman, managing director at Jamestown. “We see Green Street as able to bring some unique new opportunities to Jamestown. We also see them providing insights into our existing portfolio, such as ‘greening,’ as well as adding value in…

By Keat Foong, Executive Editor Washington, D.C.—Delinquency rates for multifamily and commercial real estate in the third quarter remain historically low, less than 1 percent, although they have ticked up, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The third quarter Commercial/Multifamily Delinquency Report from MBA shows that between the second and third quarters, the 30-plus-day delinquency rate on loans held in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) rose 0.10 percentage points to 0.63 percent.  The 60-plus-day delinquency rate on multifamily loans held or insured by Fannie Mae rose 0.05 percentage points to 0.16 percent. The 60-plus-day delinquency rate on multifamily loans held…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorMonrovia, Calif.—Urban Housing Group, a subsidiary of the Marcus & Millichap Company, has broken ground on The Courtyards at Old Town, a mixed-use community that will include 163 luxury apartments and 6,000 sq. ft. of commercial space.The city of Monrovia features many examples of turn-of-the-century architecture, says Jirair Garabedian, AIA, LEED AP, studio director at KTGY Group, the architecture firm that worked on the project. “We approached the design of the project to be sensitive to that, to compliment Old Town, whether with the massing or the choice of materials.”Monrovia, a town of approximately 50,000 people,…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorParsippany, N.J.—NorthMarq Capital Inc. recently arranged a $26 million construction facility for a 73-acre, 156-unit adult community.“The successful outcome illustrates there is still financing available for well-conceived, for-sale development projects that have a viable exit strategy,” says Martin Klebanoff, senior vice president and co-manging director of NorthMarq.NorthMarq secured a revolving, interest-only construction facility from a regional bank for the age-restricted community, which offers 96 condominiums and 60 detached single-family homes. PNC ARCS Arranges $4.1M for 49-Unit Calif. PropertyHawthorne, Calif.—PNC ARCS has arranged a $4.162 million loan for Eucalyptus Villas Apartments, a 49-unit apartment community in Hawthorne,…

By Teresa O’Dea Hein, Managing EditorLos Angeles–In true Hollywood fashion, the recent well-choreographed topping out ceremony for the W Hollywood Hotel & Residences included a dramatic performance by aerial acrobats unfurling celebratory banners from the rooftop. The $600 million Hollywood & Vine mixed-use development includes 143 W Residences, an adjacent 305-room W Hotel, Legacy Partners’ 1600 Vine apartment homes, approximately 50,000 square feet of retail space, and transit plaza improvements at the Hollywood/Vine Red Line Metro Station in Hollywood. The whole project is slated for completion in Fall 2009.The W Residences are condos that are hotel branded, not condo-hotel rooms,…

By Keat Foong, Executive Editor Austin, Texas–Rental affordability is likely to continue to be an issue despite the recession, suggests a research report from Mission Residential LLC, an apartment development and investment company. Analyzing data from the American Housing Survey, Richard Moody, chief economist and director of research at Mission Residential wrote that “renter households continue to face imposing housing cost burdens, an issue that will only be compounded by what looks to be a deep and prolonged recession in the U.S. economy.” Mission Residential’s December 2008 research report entitled “Affordability Remains an Issue in Rental Housing Market” said that…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate Editor Cambridge, Mass.—KeyBank Real Estate Capital has closed $51.8 million in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans for four multifamily properties in Mass. and N.Y.Two of the four borrowers used Fannie Mae funding for properties in Mass. Forest City 91 Sidney Street LLC borrowed $25 million in Fannie Mae DMBS funding to refinance its 135-unit, 10-story mid-rise property in Cambridge, which is part of the 27-acre master-planned development at University Park at MIT. Spring Meadows Associates LLC borrowed $2.9 million in Fannie Mae acquisition funding for a 22-unit building in Danvers, Mass.In N.Y., KeyBank Real Estate…