By Lisa Iannucci, Green Building CorrespondentLos Angeles–When environmentally conscious property managers or owners choose carpets over other flooring options in lobbies or common areas, they need to not only consider what the carpets are made of, but also how they are made. A Los Angeles-based commercial carpet manufacturer, Bentley Prince Street, has created a product that can help. Bentley’s new carpet tile backing line uses next-generation thermoplastic technology, which reduces the two-step operation to one, and eliminates the need for any latex and polycarbite laminate. The technology has been in development for three years and has cost $5.2 million. The…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorBaltimore–The Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS) has recently started its annual awards process to honor the nation’s top condominium, apartment complex, or planned community grounds management programs with its Green Star Awards.The Green Star Awards program brings national recognition to grounds maintained with a high degree of excellence. The program complements other national landscape award programs that recognize outstanding landscape design and construction by saluting the grounds’ superintendent and staff responsible for maintaining a well-manicured landscape around the year.The society is inviting candidates to apply before Aug. 1. The cost is $150 for PGMS members…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–In the Logan Circle neighborhood in Washington, D.C., where condo conversions have become increasingly common, the 2006 average median sales price for a home exceeded $570,000. But this neighborhood is also home to the historic R Street Apartments, a nearly century-old affordable housing complex, which was last renovated in the mid-1980s. If not for the National Housing Trust-Enterprise Preservation Corp. (NHT-Enterprise) and Hampstead Development Group’s renovation plans, this complex could have become another one of the neighborhood’s condo conversions.“Due to high demand in the neighborhood owing to the building’s proximity to public transportation, restaurants…

By Katelyn McWatters, Editorial InternLos Angeles–Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. recently arranged a $32.98 million financing for Harrison Tower Apartments in downtown Portland, Ore. The loan is a three-year, adjustable rate loan with a private west coast-based bridge lender. The 185-unit multifamily community is located at 222 Southwest Harrison in close proximity to Northwest 23rd District, Pearl District and South Waterfront. The 100 percent vacant property features 24 stories with 176-newly renovated units. JMB plans to remodel the tower further by renovating the nine attached townhouse units as well as constructing a new fitness center.

Irvine, Calif.–Bank repossessions more than doubled and U.S. foreclosure filings increased by 57 percent in March compared to 2007, Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac Inc. said Tuesday.Influenced by increasing adjustable-rate mortgages and an increasing number of owners walking away from their troubled mortgages, foreclosure filings grew 5 percent from February, according to Bloomberg. Nevada, California and Florida had the highest foreclosure rates. Nevada had the highest U.S. foreclosure rate in March; California came in second, and Florida was third.One in every 538 U.S. households were in some foreclosure phase. Compared to last year, bank confiscations swelled by 129 percent, RealtyTrac said. More…

New York–As the subprime fallout causes more buildings to go into foreclosure, more renters–especially in New York–are at risk of losing their home, the New York Times reports.Renters facing foreclosure can experience a steady decline in services, such as loss of heat, or–even worse–face eviction. Lucky renters may get a small amount of money from the new owner to pay moving costs, a practice called “cash for keys.”New Yorkers are particularly at risk, according to the Times. Rental units comprised roughly 65.6 percent of New York City housing in 2006, compared with 32.7 percent nationally.During New York’s last heavy foreclosure…

London–Housing market confidence in England and Wales sunk to its lowest level in more than 30 years last month, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said Tuesday.New homebuyer inquiries dropped for the 16th month in a row and at the quickest pace since 2003, RICS said. More surveyors reported declining rather than rising prices, according to The Wall Street Journal.Home sales for the quarter up until March decreased 20.1 percent compared to a year ago; housing inventory declined 1.3 percent from the month before but was still 50 percent higher than last year.Since December, the Bank of England has dropped…

Walnut Creek, Calif.–California’s Inland Empire, Las Vegas and Miami ranked as some of the highest-risk areas for further price declines in the quarterly risk index released Tuesday by Walnut Creek, Calif.-based PMI Mortgage Insurance, the country’s second-largest mortgage insurance company.Fourteen of the risky areas were in California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona, the San Jose Mercury News reports.Some areas–such as San Joaquin and Solano counties in California–may be nearing the end of their home price decline cycle and could soon stabilize. Other areas, including San Francisco and San Mateo counties, may see further price drops because their value declines began later…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorLos Angeles–Oakwood Worldwide, a company that provides temporary housing, recently donated nearly 700 used uniforms in excellent condition to local and national charities in seven U.S. cities.Hundreds of skirts, pants, shirts, jackets and ties will benefit local return-to-work programs in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sunnyvale, Calif., San Jose, Calif., Chicago and Seattle.“During our nearly 50 years in business, Oakwood has always given back to the local communities we serve,” says Chris Ahearn, Oakwood’s senior vice president, sales and marketing. “This is another example of our ongoing commitment to being a good corporate citizen,…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorNew York–LifeAt, a New York-based online networking service for residential real estate developments, has named Matthew Goldstein CEO.Formerly COO of the company, Goldstein helped to establish the Web site, LifeAt.com. In his new position, Goldstein will now oversee the daily growth and management of the company and handle its media and marketing demands.LifeAt, launched in January 2007 and currently available in over 450 apartment buildings and suburban communities, provides a social network for residents by creating customized websites for properties. It is a modern, all-in-one version of the more traditional building bulletin board, neighborhood gossip and…