Carlisle Development, Carrfour Supportive Housing Complete $18.5M Renovation of Historic Hotel
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorMiami–Carlisle Development Group and Carrfour Supportive Housing have completed the $18.5 million renovation of Royalton, a historic Miami hotel that will now serve as affordable housing for formerly homeless individuals.Located at 131 S.E. 1st St. in downtown Miami, the seven-story development, which was designed in the classic revivalist style and built in 1923, features 100 furnished apartment units and offices for supportive services providers. “In the current economy, we now have many more individuals facing homelessness,” Jose Chavarria, assistant program director for the Royalton, Carrfour Supportive Housing, tells MHN. “Our project fills that the gap…
Case Study: Iconic Dallas Building the Centerpiece of Forest City’s Mercantile Block Redevelopment
Jim Truitt, vice president, Forest City Residential Group, and Gary Pitts, AIA, design studio partner, BGO Architects, discuss the Mercantile Building (“The Merc”), the first phase of Dallas’ four-building, 1.1 million-sq.-ft. Mercantile Block redevelopment. Once the tallest building west of the Mississippi River and the only skyscraper to be completed during World War II, the Mercantile Building—home to the Mercantile National Bank—t the new site will also include retail space, a parking garage and a new 16-story residential tower, called The Element.Truitt and Pitts talk to MHN Associate Editor Erika Schnitzer about the aesthetic objectives, how the design sets the…
CampusMBA, Insurance Advisors Partner to Provide Online Workshops for M-F Loan Insurance Issues
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–CampusMBA is partnering with Stamford, Conn.-based Insurance Advisors LLC to offer a series of live online workshops addressing insurance issues for commercial/multifamily real estate loans.CampusMBA is the education division of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).“These workshops will focus on insurance principles and practices applicable for both the origination and servicing of commercial/multifamily real estate loans,” says Jan Sternin, MBA’s senior vice president of commercial/multifamily and industry technology.Each workshop will address both broad issues as well a specific topics that industry professionals deal with on a daily basis. The workshops will appeal to a range…
Bailout Will Take Time to Have Impact
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–Days after the $700 billion financial bailout package was signed into law, the stock market continued to tumble. In the longest losing streak since January, U.S. stocks fell for a fifth day today.Meanwhile, the Fed is now considering new actions to do some more damage control in the financial system. The Fed said in a statement this morning that it would begin to buy large amounts of short-term debt in an effort to stimulate the frozen credit markets. In addition, Chairman Ben Bernanke today hinted strongly that the Fed’s Board of Governors would probably…
GPX Realty Partners Implements Green Initiatives
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorHaverford, Penn.–GPX Realty Partners LP recently launched a green initiative to help its multifamily and commercial investors earn higher returns. “The real estate industry is at a critical stage, where we’re trying to balance profitability with ecological sustainability,” says Christopher Canale, vice president of operations, GPX Realty Partners (pictured). “We’re approaching a tipping point, where best practices for green development will become standard protocols.” According to a recent study by the University of California, Berkeley, green-certified buildings generate 8.5 percent higher rents on average.GPX’s new initiatives will include incorporating occupancy sensors for lighting, white thermoplastic olefin…
Case Study: Silent Knight Fire Protection
In June 2007, Holly Lane Apartments in Cedonia, Md., a 170-unit community comprised of one- and two-bedroom units, began renovation to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines. Holly Lane Apartments enlisted Hamel Builders, a mid-Atlantic general contractor with experience in new construction, renovation and adaptive-reuse, to transform 15 of the apartments into ADA-compliant units. In order to meet the ADA guidelines, a full interior demolition was necessary. The ADA units required wider hallways, special bathroom fixtures and modified public sidewalks that facilitated wheelchair access into the apartments, the parking lots and the community room. Following the completion…
TODAY’S DEALS: KeyBank Closes $86M in Fannie and Freddie Loans for Seven West Coast Properties, and Other Transactions
By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor Seatlle, Lynwood and Renton Wash., Freso, Rocklin and Isla Vista, Calif.–KeyBank Real Estate Capital recently closed $86 million for seven multifamily properties in California and Washington, funded by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The largest loan was a $23.4 million Fannie Mae floating rate credit facility for The Kennedy Building (pictured), a 125-unit mid-rise apartment complex in Seattle. United Dominion Realty LP is the borrower. KeyBank Real Estate Capital also closed loans for two other properties outside Seattle: Newberry Square Apartments and Chianti Apartments. A division of Sundquist Homes received $11.8 million from Fannie Mae through…
Freddie Mac Makes Major Changes in Management after Conservatorship
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorMcLean, Va.–Freddie Mac has made changes in its senior management and organization that it hopes will enable the company to stabilize the housing finance system and position it to take advantage of business opportunities in the market over the longer term. The changes are effective immediately.The company’s three business lines – Single-Family Credit Guarantee, headed by senior Vice President Donald J. Bisenius; Multifamily Sourcing, headed by Senior Vice President Michael C. May; and Investments and Capital Markets, headed by Senior Vice President Gary D. Kain – will report directly to Freddie Mac CEO David M….
Boston Residential Group, Conroy Development JV to Lease and Market Navy Yard 33
By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor Charlestown, Mass.–Leasing has started for Boston Residential Group’s new luxury apartment community, located in the historic Charlestown Navy Yard in Massachusetts. Move-ins will begin on Nov. 1.Navy Yard 33 is located at 33 Navy Yard, close to the USS Constitution. The project is a joint venture between Conroy Development Co., the owner and developer of the property, and Boston Residential Group. Conroy purchased the historic four-story, 47,600-sq.-ft. building in the early 1990’s. The building was recently converted from an office building into a residential property featuring 47 rental units, including six affordable units. The building,…
Rehabbed Affordable Housing Project to Open this Week in Atlanta Suburb
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorNorcross, Ga–The grand opening of Progressive Redevelopment Inc. (PRI) and The IMPACT! Group’s Bradford Gwinnett Apartments, a rehabilitated 194-unit affordable housing community, will take place this week.“It was originally constructed in the 1980s and, unfortunately, had gone into a little bit of disrepair and become a center of criminal activity,” Richelle (Shelly) Patton, president of development for PRI, says of the property. The rehabilitation of Bradford Gwinnett was completed early this year and the area crime has decreased, she explains.The development, which is targeted mostly for those earning 60 percent of the area median income, offers…