RealPage Tackles Major HUD Changes to Data Transmission By Offering Online Training to Multifamily Clients
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorCarrolton, Texas–RealPage Inc. will be offering a comprehensive online training package for its multifamily clients on the changes, impacts and implementation of the upcoming TRACS 2.0.2C and TRACSMail changes mandated by the Department and Housing and Urban Development (HUD). TRACS 2.0.2C, which will replace TRACS 2.0.2B, is a new file format through which HUD properties send monthly data. TRACSMail, a modem-based system previously used to transmit data such as HUD property vouchers, will be being replaced by iMax or Modern Integrated Multifamily Access Exchange, which is a Web-based program.RealPage has 10,000 multifamily clients, all of…
DUMBO’s Tallest Building Wins Award for Design from Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, through its 2008 Building Brooklyn Awards, honored 17 recently completed construction and renovation projects they believe enrich Brooklyn’s neighborhoods and economy. J Condominium, a 33-story mixed-use development located on 100 Jay St. and designed by Gruzen Samton Architects was recognized for its design. J Condominium is currently the tallest building in the Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass (DUMBO) neighborhood, which is located at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge. Developed by Hudson Companies Inc., the 267-unit J Condominium also features five retail spaces and two parking garages.The building…
Developer Sued Over Fair Housing Criteria, Says It’s a Matter of Local Building Code
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorNew York–The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against the owners and developers of Avalon Chrystie Place (pictured), a 361-unit apartment community located at 229 Chrystie St. in New York, alleging that they have failed to provide sufficient access to disabled people.Constructed for first occupancy after March 31, 1991, the development is subject to the updated 1991 Fair Housing Act’s requirements. The DOJ claims that the defendants—AvalonBay Communities, CVP I LLC, Downtown Manhattan Residential LLC, Chrystie Venture Partners LLC and SLCE Architects LLP—-failed to design Avalon Chrystie Place so that its public spaces are…
TODAY’S DEALS: Marcus & Millichap Retains Exclusive Listing of 642-Unit Apartment Community for $48.5M
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWilloughby, Ohio–Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services has retained the exclusive listing for Tamarac Apartments, a 642-unit multifamily community in Willoughby Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. The listing price of $48.5 million represents $75,545 per unit and a 7.6 percent cap rate.“Consistently, stellar occupancy coupled with continued rent increases makes Tamarac Apartments an appealing option for an investor seeking income growth in a cash flow-driven market,” says Dan Burkons, a senior associate and director of the firm’s National Multi-Housing Group in Cleveland.The community was constructed in various phases between 1990 and 2000 and is…
Move-Ins Start at 78-Unit Senior Affordable Housing Project
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorLinden, N.J.–The John T. Gregorio Towers, a seven-story, 78-unit senior affordable housing project in Linden, N.J., designed by Gran Kriegel Associates, has recently been completed. Move-ins into the Section 8 project have already begun.The Housing and Urban Development Authority (HUD) and the Linden Housing Corp. are funding the project, named after former Linden mayor John T. Gregorio. The John T. Gregorio Towers features a multipurpose room, which is served by a commercial kitchen. This communal space accommodates dining and special events, also serving the two adjacent existing buildings, which are part of the Linden senior…
Architecture, Design Firm Wins Best Design Award for Multi-Housing Project
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorCambridge, Mass.–ADD Inc recently received three awards, including the best residential multi-housing project, from The New England chapter of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA NE), at its second annual Interior Design Awards held at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art.IIDA NE’s Interior Design Awards recognize New England firms for outstanding interior design and excellence in teamwork.ADD Inc was one of two firms honored with three interior design awards this year. ADD Inc received the best in multi-housing award for the planning, architecture and interior design on the Archstone Boston Common, a 28-story high-density rental housing…
Multifamily Property Loans Drop 42% in Second Quarter
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–Commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations continued to fall on a year-over-year basis in the second quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations. Overall, second-quarter originations were 63 percent lower than during the same period last year and multifamily property loans saw a 42 percent decrease in the same period.“Since the onset of the credit crunch, we have seen an overall slowdown in multifamily property sales transactions, Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities (CMBS) loans and issuance of mortgages in general,” Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s vice president of Commercial/Multifamily…
Profile: NALP of Year Winner Feldman Says, ‘Leasing Is about People, not Property’
Thomas Feldman is the proud recipient of the 2008 National Apartment Leasing Professional (NALP) of the Year title. He received this prestigious award from the National Apartment Association Education Institute (NAAEI) at the 2008 Paragon Awards ceremony held in Orlando, Fla. Feldman leases apartments at 100 Memorial Drive, a 261-unit building in Cambridge, Mass. Rents at this 12-story high rise range from about $1,440 for a studio to $2,965 for a three-bedroom apartment.Since August 2003, Feldman has been a member of The Dolben Company Inc., a fourth-generation business headquartered in Woburn, Mass. Feldman earned Employee of the Year honors at…
First Solar-Powered Housing Project in India Complete, Sold Out
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorNew Town Kolkata (Calcutta), India–India’s first solar-powered housing project, Rabi Rashmi Abasan, has been completed and sold out.“In India, the climate is well-adapted to solar architecture and PVs (photovoltaic cells), because there is so much sunlight, so it’s conducive to the effective production of solar energy,” notes Manager of Sustainability Ilana Judah, international associate AIA, LEED AP at New York-based FXFOWLE.Conceived, designed and built by West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency (WBREDA) and Bengal DCL Housing Development Co. Ltd., a joint enterprise of West Bengal Housing Board and DC Properties Ltd., the 600,000-Euro housing community is…
Club Car Introduces Street-Legal, Electric Low-Speed Vehicles
Club Car, an Atlanta-based manufacturer of electric- and gasoline-powered utility vehicles, has introduced a new low-speed vehicle (LSV), Carryall LSV, as an alternative means of transportation for facility managers at large communities.Carryall LSVs are powered by batteries and have no internal combustion engines, thereby producing no emissions. Additionally, because they do not require any fossil fuel, the cars have low operating costs when compared to traditional vehicles.The two new models also features an alternating current (AC) electric drive system, which is designed to provide smoother direction changes, quieter operation and greater speed range and control.www.clubcar.com