TODAY’S DEALS: Guardian Purchases Rental Property for $30M, and Other Transactions
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorBeaverton, Ore.–Guardian Management LLC recently purchased the 279-unit Waterhouse Place Apartments (pictured) in Beaverton, Ore., a suburb of Portland, for $30 million. USB Realty Investors LLC will serve as the equity partner. Guardian plans to invest an additional $3 million—approximately $7,000 per unit—for exterior and interior renovations of the complex.“The property fits perfectly into our value-add acquisition strategy,” says Tom Brenneke, president of Guardian.Built in 1989, Guardian will rehabilitate the 14.5-acre community with exterior upgrades, including updated landscaping, a resurfaced spa, new patio doors and parking and clubhouse upgrades. Guardian also plans an extensive interior…
Siegel-Gallagher Awarded Management Assignment for Wisconsin Tower
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorMilwaukee–Siegel-Gallagher Management Co., a division of Siegel-Gallagher ONCO International, a Milwaukee-based full-service commercial real estate firm, has landed the management assignment for Wisconsin Tower, a 74-unit, 22-story condo tower.“I think the Board of Directors selected us because we mostly do high-rise management and we are associated with two other really high-end condos–Kilbourn Tower and University Club Tower,” says Kris Ruka, property manager for Wisconsin Tower.Wisconsin Tower is an adaptive reuse of the Mariner Tower, which was used as commercial and medical space, until it was sold in 1971. Originally designed by Chicago-based Weary and Alford, the…
PropertyBridge Announces Rental Payment Integration with Yardi Systems
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorOakland, Calif.–PropertyBridge Inc.’s payments platform is now fully integrated with Yardi Systems for the purposes of integrating its electronic payment services with Yardi’s property management system. PropertyBridge is the first electronic payments provider to integrate with Yardi using the MITS (Multifamily Information and Transactions Standards) Residential Transactions 2.0 Standard, as part of Yardi’s MITS-based Standard Interfaces Program.By merging data between management and accounting systems and the PropertyBridge Payments Platform, property management firms streamline core administrative practices, and significantly reduce the time required to process resident payments. The full integration makes it possible for property managers…
ARA’s Mid-Year Multifamily Transaction Volume Increases 11%
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorAtlanta–In the midst of the housing crisis, Apartment Realty Advisors (ARA) has revealed that its mid-year national multi-housing transaction volume has increased 11 percent over the same period last year, equaling $2.6 billion.In a recently released report by Real Estate Alert, ARA was ranked number two nationally for multifamily production, right behind CBRE. The gap in production value for the two companies was $186 million as compared to last year’s mid-year figures when CBRE’s multifamily volume totaled $6 billion as compared to ARA’s volume of $1.9 billion. ARA attributes the increased transaction volume to several…
EDITOR’S NOTE: Bowling, Anyone?
By Teresa O’Dea HeinMHN Managing EditorIn the last two hours of a recent workday, my colleagues and I were scheduled to attend a group meeting, but one with a twist. We were all going bowling. Yes, bowling. Attendance was mandatory, which was an important factor because packing boxes for an office move (to a different floor in the same building) and deadlines for the September print issue were looming over us. In Manhattan, where real estate costs are notoriously high, bowling alleys are few and far between. However, one is located near the office of Multi-Housing News and our sister…
Tile Redi’s Barrier-Free Shower Pans
Tile Redi’s new line of barrier-free products is expected to make entering the shower easier, as well as minimize potential accidents.“It’s tough enough for anyone to step over a bathtub wall when getting into the shower,” says Farrell Gerber, Tile Redi executive vice president, sales. “Imagine how difficult it is for a disabled person to do that? And, accidents can even happen with people walking into a non-bathtub shower, and tripping over the raised entryway lip, which is positioned to keep water from leaving the shower’s base and flowing over onto the bathroom floor.”Tile Redi’s barrier-free shower pans ensure that…
Asheville Recognized for Addressing City’s Need for Affordable Housing
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorAsheville, N.C.–The National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the U.S. Conference of Mayors have named Asheville, N.C. an Ambassador city for expanding affordable housing. Asheville is receiving the designation in recognition of the Mayor’s Affordable Housing Task Force, aimed at addressing the city’s growing need for affordable housing. The city, Asheville Board of Realtors (ABR) and more than a dozen other groups joined forces to help create the city’s first affordable housing plan.”Realtors build communities and care about the lack of affordable housing in many of our towns and cities,” says Pat V. Combs, NAR’s…
Beijing Olympic Villages Earns LEED Gold Certification in Pilot Program
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorBeijing, China–The Olympic Village in Beijing has earned LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council under the Neighborhood Development program. It is the first Olympic Village to receive LEED certification.A project of Guo Ao Development Company, the Olympic Village is one of only eight communities–and the first international one–to earn certification under this pilot program. The LEED for Neighborhood Development program incorporates principles of smart growth, New Urbanism and green building, and certifies neighborhoods based on their design and performance in the categories of smart location and linkage,…
33-Acre Mixed-Use Project in Dallas Slated to Open by End of Summer
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorDallas–Park Lane Place, a 33-acre mixed-use development in downtown Dallas featuring two million square feet of retail, apartments, condos, hotel space and offices, is expected to be complete by the end of summer. Park Lane Place will consist of a total of 625 residences, which will feature views of downtown Dallas, state-of-the-art amenities and have access to more than 50 shops and restaurants. In addition, Park Lane Place will feature a 210-room Valencia hotel, a 65,000-sq.-ft. sports club/LA health club and spa, a Whole Foods Market that is expected to be the largest in the…
Government-Insured Share of Mortgage Applications Triples
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–The government-insured share of mortgage applications tripled in the past year, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly mortgage applications survey. Of all mortgage applications accepted during the month of July 2008, 29.1 percent were for government-insured loans (consisting mostly of Federal Housing Administration loans (FHA)), compared to 8.4 percent in July 2007. The government-insured share has been increasing since February 2007 but only since the beginning of this year has the share exhibited significant increases, up from 9.4 percent in January. Since the MBA survey’s inception in January 1990, the lowest…