Case Study: Redeveloping Long Island City with Luxury Condominiums
Kana Kakihara-Oh, ASID, partner of New York-based DeArch LLC, discusses Roe Development’s newest luxury condominium, Star Tower, located in Long Island City, Queens. She explains the project’s aesthetics and challenges, as well as how it fits into the neighborhood’s redevelopment.MHN: What were the client¹s aesthetic and functional design objectives?Kakihara-Oh: We, along with our client, Roe Development Corporation, had a vision of bringing cutting-edge design and creativity to the forefront of Long Island City. We wanted to start a trend–maybe a movement–to show that, given the opportunity, even the less-gentrified neighborhoods can become a thing of beauty.MHN: Describe the client¹s target…
Sandpiper Studios’ Introduces Sustainable ‘Eco Chic’ Wallpaper
Sandpiper Studios recently introduced Eco Chic, a wallpaper collection printed on paper from sustainable forests. Each pattern is printed with water-based, non-toxic inks.In addition to its material, Eco Chic is sustainably designed. Available in 22 patterns in a palette of 97 colorways, the wallpaper features elements drawn from nature, including grass, vines, leaves, trees, branches, wood grains, birds and butterflies.In an array of pastels and tonal hues, the collection is designed to convey a sense of tranquility. However, with the incorporation of darker tones—matte black, espresso, mocha brown, deep greens, teal, burnt orange and earthy reds—the collection reportedly expresses an…
Induction Cooktops from Fagor
Fagor America has recently added three new models to its line of ultra-efficient induction cooktops. The new additions include a 12-in. cooktop with a stainless-steel trim and 30-in. and 36-in. cooktops with a beveled-glass edge (no trim). The 12-in. cooktop features two burners; the 30-in. features four burners, and the 36-in. features five burners. Considered one the most eco-friendly appliances for its efficiency, induction cooktops cook 50 percent faster than gas or electric cooktops, boiling water rapidly. Induction cooktops use 90 percent of the energy produced compared to 50 percent with gas and electric methods. The energy produced by the…
Yoo by Starck Opens Its First Rental
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–Yoo by Starck, which is primarily known for its luxury condominium projects, will soon open its first rental project in New York as well as the world. Located at 95 Wall Street in downtown Manhattan, the 500-unit Dwell 95 will feature one- and two-bedroom apartments with two distinct styles of interiors. A refurbishment of a 1980s office building, Dwell 95 is one of many new residential buildings in Manhattan’s financial district where office buildings still dominate the landscape.“This area of Manhattan is going to change very quickly,” John Hitchcox, yoo’s chairman and founder, tells…
Multi-Housing World Countdown
Leader’s Panel: A View from the Top Back by popular demand, this session brings together some of the industry’s brightest thinkers. In addition to questions from the floor, they’ll tackle today’s most compelling topics such as: the pros and cons of diversification, whether the Fed is at fault for our problems, what are we focusing on now that it’s harder to do deals, how have the markets changed since last year, the newly emerging importance of partnering regionally, and the truth about Denver. Stay ahead of the curve with insights that will affect your business in 2009 and glimpse the…
Editor’s Note: Back to School
By Teresa O’Dea Hein, Managing EditorBack to school is a time of mixed emotions for many. While it means that the endless days and nights of summer are over—remember how long July and August felt when you were a kid?—fall brings an energy and excitement of its own. It’s a time of new school clothes, of stationery and supplies plastered with the latest pop culture icons, and the fresh pages of brand-new notebooks and binders, their blank sheets brimming with promise and potential.Now that kids are settled back in school, what’s on the agenda for you and your staff? Education…
TODAY’S DEALS: Gebroe-Hammer Arranges Sale of Six Multifamily Properties for $26.8M
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNewark, East Orange, Irvington, Rahway, Plainfield and Union City, N.J.–Gebroe-Hammer Associates recently arranged the sale of six multifamily properties exceeding $26.8 million, and totaling 422 units in Newark, East Orange, Irvington, Rahway, Plainfield and Union City, N.J.The deals include the $14 million sale of a Newark multifamily portfolio, involving eight buildings and 256 units located on Martin Luther King Blvd.; the $8.1 million sale of Netherwood (pictured), a 108-unit complex located at 825 E. Front St. in Plainfield; the $1.712 million sale of 132-134 Elm St., a 16-unit property in Rahway; the $1.05 million sale…
Multi-Housing Executives Update: Marcus & Millichap Names Dean Sandquist First VP of Investments, and Other News
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSan Francisco–Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services has named Dean Sandquist (pictured top) as the first vice president of investments. The achievement of first vice president investment status is one of the highest levels of recognition Marcus & Millichap awards its sales agents. “It represents excellence in client relationships, investment real estate expertise and sales volume,” says Jeffrey Mishkin, regional manager in the firm’s San Francisco office.Sandquist joined Marcus & Millichap in 1981 and specializes in multifamily investment sales.Navy Banyard Receives Award for 2008 Distinguished AlumnusLos Angeles–Navy Banvard (pictured second from top), AIA, founding…
SPECIAL REPORT: Financial Meltdown Not in the Works; Capital Seekers Need to be Transparent in Tough Times, Say Speakers at NIC Seniors Housing Conference
By Keat Foong, Executive EditorChicago— Most economists do not believe a financial meltdown is in the works, said Alice Rivlin, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, in her opening plenary address to the 18th Annual National Investment Conference (NIC) held here this week. Rivlin said that a financial crash can be avoided in the U.S. And she said reasons for optimism that the U.S. will emerge from the housing and financial crises in good shape include a resilient economy, as well as the rapid and aggressive federal responses to the problems. Rivlin said the government measures taken so far, including…
Lehman Is One of Many Financial Institutions That Will Fail in 2009, Says Industry Expert
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual are sure to going down the path that IndyMac did, according to T.J. Wojtas, founder of the Buyers Equity Fund. “What you see happening is a consolidation of power among institutions that are not failing and faltering. What is going on now is similar to what happened in 1907 when JP Morgan Chase made a run on the banks,” Wojtas tells MHN.Wojtas predicts that 400 institutions will fail during 2009. “Small community banks will follow the big banks down this path. The situation was getting too much out of…