By Erin Brereton, Content ManagerLeeds, U.K.–Starting this spring, homebuilder Bellway and the Leeds City Council will begin delivering new affordable rental and for-purchase homes to replace poor-quality housing in east and south Leeds. Newcastle-based Bellway is building a variety of more than 700 new homes –including flats, villas and townhomes–for first-time, low-income and seasoned homebuyers. The homes will be priced below the average area home price, according to Judith Atkinson, Regional Director for Bellway City Solutions. The first phase of development involves the construction of 742 new homes, marking the start of a 20-year renewal program across EASEL (East and…

Washington, D.C.–Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Thursday in a speech at the Washington, D.C.-based National Press Club that new policy maker recommendations for reform include changes for mortgage brokers, regulators and Wall Street firms, The Wall Street Journal reports. The President’s Working Group on Financial Markets suggestions involve strengthening state and federal oversight of mortgage lenders and brokers and starting “strong nationwide licensing standards” for mortgage brokers,” which would most likely involve legislation.The panel also recommended pushing issuers of mortgage-backed securities to be more transparent about “the level and scope of due diligence” and be clear about whether or not…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorMcLean, Va.–Freddie Mac, along with NorthMarq Capital, recently closed two deals worth $139 million representing 14 properties in Texas, for borrower Birchmont Capital.“In the midst of the current capital crisis, Freddie Mac has shown how it not only provides stability, liquidity and affordability to the market, but how it is opening up opportunities to new borrowers,” says Rich Martinez, Freddie Mac Central Region managing director. “Freddie Mac’s central region personnel worked very hard to deliver the loans as quoted during a time when credit market conditions were deteriorating rapidly,” says NorthMarq Senior Vice President, Greg…

Houston–Wells Fargo & Company is further expanding its multifamily financing services with its latest office in Houston and the hiring of Tony Talamas, a mortgage originator there. Wells Fargo now has 10 multifamily offices, including the newest one, across the U.S.”The opening of a new Texas office in Houston reflects a positive outlook for the Houston market and Texas as a whole. With the CMBS market and other lending sources either unwilling or unable to lend at competitive terms, if at all, my group continues to offer attractive rates, terms and flexible financing solutions,” Talamas tells MHN.Talamas has joined Wells…

Darcy Garneau Returns to EDI as Managing PrincipalHouston–Darcy Garneau, AIA, has recently been appointed as managing principal and board member of EDI Architecture Inc., an architecture, interior design and planning firm based in Houston.Garneau will be responsible for overall management, growth and business development of EDI Architecture.He joined the firm in 1998 as director of corporate services, and in 2003 took on the role of managing principal. After working for almost two years with a residential development company, Garneau has recently returned to EDI in the same capacity.Steven M. Spall Becomes JPI East’s First SVP of Finance and Asset Mgmt….

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorCosta Mesa, Calif.–The Irvine Co. recently opened 16 units for move-ins at The Enclave at South Coast, an “off-ranch” apartment community built on a 40-acre site in Costa Mesa, Calif. The 890-unit community, expected to be complete by the end of 2008, will contain 46 three-story buildings.The Irvine Co., which will also manage the property, already has about 30 lease agreements and 16 people are moving into the community this month.The design theme of the community incorporates elements of traditional California architecture with landscaped courtyards and boulevard streets. It is located at 400 Enclave Circle,…

Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–The New York City Council Land Use Committee voted this week to approve a proposal for the former Con Edison municipal utility site bordering the East River between 38th and 41st streets in midtown Manhattn that paves the way for the creation of an East Side Waterfront Park. The $4 billion redevelopment plan for the Con Ed site includes building seven towers on nine acres along First Avenue.Last summer, the Municipal Art Society of New York held a design charrette to create a vision for what the East Side Waterfront Park could look like.The developer…

By Erin Brereton, Content ManagerAtlanta–Campus Apartments, Inc. recently joined with Emory University to develop a $27 million graduate student housing complex on university-owned land in Atlanta.The 398-bed, 201-unit building will give Emory’s graduate and professional students a much-needed venue for graduate housing.”Graduate housing is a difficult property type to develop,” says Daniel Bernstein, senior vice president and chief investment officer of Campus Apartments. “It’s lower density, comparatively speaking, to undergraduate housing. Grad students look toward more privacy–efficiencies, one- and two-bedrooms. Trying to keep affordability in check is more difficult.”Emory approached Campus Apartments about the project because of Campus’ reputation for…

Boston–Foreclosures of multifamily residential buildings located in towns northwest of Boston escalated in 2007, the Boston Globe reported Thursday.Last year, lenders foreclosed on more than five times as many two- and three-family homes as in 2006, according to real estate data provider Warren Group. Local officials are preparing for an even worse year in 2008.The number of mortgages in foreclosure across the state last year–many of which included condominiums and two- and three-family homes–more than doubled from the year before. Lowell and Lawrence, Mass. together had more than 440 home foreclosures in 2007. The displacement of homeowners and tenants–along with…