Baltimore, Md., Orange County, Calif.–Cubellis, a national architecture, interior design and engineering services firm, has opened offices in Baltimore, Md. and Newport Beach, Calif. This brings the total number of the company’s offices to 14.The establishment of the Baltimore office, located on the inner harbor at 500 East Pratt St., and area additions to the team further strengthen and enhance the Cubellis presence in the Mid-Atlantic region and add senior leadership and depth to the Retail Practice Group nationally, according to the company.“The Baltimore office strengthens our presence in the Maryland-Washington, D.C. area with a very strong and experienced on-the-ground…

Summerville, S.C.–GE Real Estate has purchased $7.3 million in tax-exempt bonds and has provided a $3 million taxable tail to refinance the Martin’s Creek apartment complex in Summerville, S.C., 26 miles northwest of Charleston.The tax-exempt bonds are part of a standard 80/20 program, which makes 20 percent of the units available only to qualified, low-income tenants. GE’s five-year, interest-only loan on the bonds and taxable tail reduces the cost of capital. The garden-style Martin’s Creek apartments were built in 1985 and renovated in 2000. The 15 two-story buildings feature 48 one-bedroom units, 128 two-bedroom units and 24 three-bedroom units.“GE Real…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWyomissing, Pa.–The Bozzuto Group has broken ground at Wyomissing Square, a mixed-use development that includes the redevelopment of a former industrial warehouse into a mixed-use community with apartments, retail, office space and a hotel.Located in Wyomissing, five miles from the Reading Regional Airport, the community will be located within walking distance from cafés, restaurants and shops situated along the Penn Avenue Corridor.The 13.3-acre development features a 248-unit four-story apartment complex; 32,000 sq. ft. of retail and restaurant space, and a 135-room Marriott Courtyard Hotel. Construction is expected to complete by early 2010.The apartment complex, an…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorAtlanta–The Troy-Peerless building, a former city laundry site, has completed its transition to loft condominiums. The building, located in Atlanta’s Poncey-Highland neighborhood across from City Hall East on Glen Iris Drive, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1999.Architect Isaac Moscowitz designed the Troy-Peerless building in 1929. The building operated as a laundry until the late 1960s when Sears purchased it to use as a millwork facility. After Sears discontinued operations, it sat empty until 1996 when Miller Gallman purchased the property and converted it into loft apartments.Now available for sale,…

Washington, D.C.–Tens of thousands of affordable housing residents are at risk of losing their housing unless Congress acts to make changes at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), according to the recent testimony provided by National Multi Housing Council (NMHC), National Apartment Association (NAA) and the National Leased Housing Association (NLHA) at the Senate Banking Committee.Testifying on behalf of NMHC/NAA and NLHA, Hector Pinero, senior vice president of New York-based Related Management, praised the Section 8 project-based assistance program as “the most effective housing subsidy ever devised by Congress,” but warned lawmakers that the program is experiencing…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorChicago–Redwood Capital Partners recently acquired the 384-unit Lakes at Fountain Square apartment complex, located in the Chicago suburb of Waukegan, Ill., for $30.6 million.The property, which has an occupancy rate of 93 percent, was acquired as part of Redwood’s value-add portfolio and it plans to retain Lakes as a rental property.The Lakes at Fountain Square totals 303,195 sq. ft. and is comprised of one, two-, and three-bedroom units, with rents ranging from $855 to $1,260. “We’re enthusiastic about our investment in the Lakes at Fountain Square,” says Redwood Principal David Carlson. “The suburban Chicago economy…

Palm Beach, Fla.–Moody’s Corp.–the world’s second-largest credit-ratings provider–said this week that the credit crisis will continue longer than originally thought and also reduced its 2008 forecast, Bloomberg reports.”Credit concerns are recycling, and this is rekindling more recycled stresses in areas that have already been hit,’” Moody’s CEO Raymond McDaniel said at a conference hosted by Bear Stearns Cos. in Palm Beach, Fla. “There’s more uncertainty about the pace of recovery in 2008.”Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s are experiencing a drop in demand, reportedly influenced by their eagerness to assign AAA credit ratings to subprime mortgage securities that later fell in…

McLean, Va.–Freddie Mac CEO Richard Syron said Tuesday that housing prices are likely to fall even more.According to Syron, prices have fallen only a third of how low they will eventually go, MarketWatch reports. On a conference call to analysts,  the McLean, Va.-based company forecast a peak-to-trough decline of 15 percent.Freddie Mac reported a $2.5 billion fourth quarter loss on Feb. 28, which is attributed to the housing decline. Shares of Freddie Mac rose 3.5 percent Wednesday in early trading.

Boston–The credit crisis has taken its toll on affordable housing: About 40 percent of the equity in the typically $8 billion market disappeared in the past six months, according to Fred Copeman, national director of Ernst & Young’s tax-credit practice in Boston.Across the country, Copeman says that developers are “twisting on the vine” as a result, The Wall Street Journal reports. Because some of the largest U.S. financial companies–such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Bank of America–have reduced their participation in the federal government’s biggest affordable housing tax-credit program, many affordable housing projects are being canceled. The loss in…

Washington, D.C.–Mortgage application volume dropped 1.9 percent during the week ending March 7, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday. The MBA’s application index declined from 684.9 the previous week to 671.7, CNNMoney.com reported. Refinance volume–which has dropped steadily since January–was down 4.7 percent; purchase volume rose 1.6 percent. Refinance applications comprised 50.6 percent of all applications, according to the MBA weekly application survey, which was released Wednesday.