Redwood Capital Acquires 300-Unit Rental Community for $33.2M
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorAtlanta–Redwood Capital Partners recently acquired the Collier Ridge Apartments, a 300-unit apartment complex located at 100 Noble Creek Drive in Atlanta. Redwood purchased the property in partnership with MetLife from Equity Residential for $33.2 million or $110,667 per unit. The investment, part of Redwood’s value-add portfolio, is the firm’s fifth acquisition in over six months.The company plans to retain Collier Ridge as a rental property and spend approximately $3.6 million, or about $12,000 per unit, on rehabilitation and renovations. “In a market where there is moderate new supply being delivered and continued significant premiums to…
Case Study: Design Strategies to Create Curb Appeal in Multifamily Settings
New York designer Marianne Cusato’s new book, “The Value of Design,” discusses how to achieve curb appeal though simple design. Here, MHN Associate Editor Erika Schnitzer talks to Cusato about applying her principles and universal themes (less is more, use common sense, design matters and everything relates) to multifamily settings.MHN: How can you achieve curb appeal in both urban and suburban multifamily settings?Cusato: It is actually quite easy: keep it simple rather than attempting to achieve diversity at a small scale. Look at multifamily being built now. Each unit has a million things on it. If you design multifamily as…
Trans Ceramica Introduces Mosaic Tiles
Designed to complement its existing GranitiFiandre and TCL products, Trans Ceramica’s new mosaic tiles offer metal, pebble, glass, stone and iridescent elements. The tiles are created to work with Nihon, NewMarmi and NewStone Collections from GranitiFiandre and Earth Naturals, Native Stone and Gallery Collections from TCL.Pottery, stone, glass and marble are the inspiration behind the new collection, which is offered in a wide array of materials and colors. These include copper, grey and black freeform (metal), serenity, tranquility and repose (pebbles), lemongrass, peppercorn, lavender, cinnamon, chicory, ginger, peony, dahlia, hibiscus, yucca, sagebrush and cactus (glass), mandarin sticks, camellia, fern, tulip,…
Rheem’s Water Heating System
Rheem’s solar water heating systems, called Rheem Solaraide, combines a storage tank with one or two collector panels. The system operates without pumps or controllers, relying instead on the natural process of convection – also called indirect thermosiphoning – to circulate the heat-transfer fluid. Rheem Solaraide systems use a specially developed, freeze-proof heat transfer fluid to absorb and deliver heat energy even on cold overcast days. The fluid also circulates in a “closed loop” environment, which further protects against freezing, allowing these systems to be used year-round, even in cold-weather locales.At night or on heavy-overcast days, an optional immersed copper…
Apartment Groups Welcome Passing of Housing Stimulus Bill in Senate
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–Apartment groups, as well as the National Home Builders Association (NAHB) and the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), praised the housing stimulus bill that passed in the Senate on Friday.“Although we feel the best solution to the current housing turmoil is to allow market forces to restore equilibrium to the single-family housing sector, we are pleased to see that lawmakers embraced the principles of our Balanced Housing Policy initiative in crafting this package by balancing homeownership-related provisions with meaningful rental housing incentives,” says Jim Arbury, senior vice president of government affairs at the National Multi…
Boston Capital Closes on $150M Apartment Fund
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorBoston–Boston Capital recently closed its Boston Capital Tax Credit Fund XXX, a nationally diversified portfolio of 27 affordable apartment properties in 15 states with total equity of $150 million. With this closing, Boston Capital has closed $481 million in equity since December 2007.“At a challenging time for the U.S. economy and the credit markets, we are very pleased to close a fund consisting of high-quality assets and strong investor interest in these assets,” says Jack Manning, president and CEO of Boston Capital. “The appetite for these investments is reflective of the high standards inherent in…
‘Hysteria in Markets Regarding Viability of Fannie, Freddie Is Unfounded,’ Says NAHB
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–The Bush administration on Sunday asked Congress to approve a rescue package that would give officials the power to inject billions of federal dollars into the troubled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac through investments and loans.“We continue to hold more than adequate capital reserves and maintain access to liquidity from the capital markets,” Daniel H. Mudd, president and CEO of Fannie Mae said in a statement. “Given the market turmoil, having options to access provisional sources of liquidity if needed will help to strengthen overall confidence in the market. We will continue to do…
DEAL OF THE DAY: JP Morgan Investment Buys Manhattan Rental Property for $150.35M
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–Jones Lang LaSalle’s multifamily capital markets team has completed the sale of The Wimbledon, a 230-unit apartment complex on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, for $150,350,000. JP Morgan Investment Management purchased the building, located at 200 East 82nd St., from P & H Associates.”The credit crunch has taken its toll on the multifamily market in Manhattan over the last year, with very few transactions being completed, but the sale of The Wimbledon at a strong pricing level verifies that there is still a market for prominent buildings with strong fundamentals,” says Jubeen Vaghefi, managing director…
BCArchitects Commissioned for Miami Workforce Apartment Community
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorMiami–Wellington Construction Group Inc. has commissioned Coral Gables, Fla.-based BCArchitects to design a new workforce housing rental community in Miami’s midtown neighborhood.“Considering the type of project and what it’s geared toward, the plans are very efficient,” Adan Fons, a principal for BCArchitects tells MHN. “In conjunction with the owner, who’s also a contractor, all the details have been looked at to simplify construction, make it efficient and create a nice design that’s reasonably priced.”Construction for Midtown Gardens, an 18-unit, three-story development, is expected to begin late this year. The property will offer one- and two-bedroom units,…
Multi-Housing Executives on the Move
Kurt Kehoe To Head Altman Development Corp.’s Central Florida Office Boca Raton, Fla.–Altman Development Corp., based in Boca Raton, Fla. has appointed Kurt Kehoe as head of the company’s central Florida office in Orlando. In his new role, Kehoe will be responsible for creating and managing a business plan to increase Altman’s market presence in the central and northern Florida regions as well as Texas. Kehoe joined Altman Development Corp. of central Florida as senior vice president in 2006.Kehoe formerly served as a senior vice president and vice president with Picerne Development Co., where he directed and managed the development of over…