News

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–Christopher Hooke (pictured) has joined The Community Preservation Corp. as director of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae sales.  Hooke is an expert at Freddie Mac loan origination, having spent more than 10 years at Freddie Mac including five years as Northeast regional director. During his tenure, he was responsible for loan production reaching an annual level of $1.5 billion with transactions ranging from $500,000 up to $200 million or more.     “The task of providing financing for affordable housing development has never been more challenging,” says Mr. Hooke. “Ironically, it has also never been…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–Jack Kemp (pictured), former Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary, and congressman, one-time vice-presidential nominee, and self-described “bleeding-heart conservative,” who passed away recently at the age 73, will be remembered by his peers in the housing industry as a leader and man with big ideas no matter the platform he stood on.Kemp died after a lengthy illness, according to spokeswoman Bona Park and Edwin J. Feulner, a longtime friend and former campaign adviser. “Kemp is counted as one of the most distinguished Republican HUD secretaries, but he was a strongly bipartisan person,”…

By Mark Alfieri, chief operating officer of Behringer Harvard Multifamily REIT I, Inc. Most experts agree that 2009 will be challenging for all commercial property types, including the market’s perennial bright-spot, the multifamily market. Although apartments have suffered less than other commercial real estate sectors, apartment vacancy rates are expected to rise an average of 130 basis points this year due to rising unemployment, according to Property and Portfolio Research, Inc. (PPR).In spite of current challenges, the long-term outlook for multifamily housing remains encouraging. Many economic and demographic trends continue to support a positive long-term outlook for apartments beyond 2009……

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorJersey City, N.J.–Franklin Development Group and the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency (JCRA) recently broke ground on Margaret S. Herbermann Manor, a 45-unit mixed-income community located in the Heights neighborhood of Jersey City, N.J. The development is just one component of a larger, ongoing redevelopment effort.The expected $16 million development, which is slated for completion in the spring of 2010, will be financed by a combination of New Jersey Housing & Mortgage Finance Agency’s “CHOICE” program and M & T Bank.  “CHOICE,” conceived to encourage the development of for-sale housing in Smart Growth areas throughout N.J., focuses…

San Francisco—The U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), in conjunction with the American Institute of Architects (AIA), has selected four affordable housing developments as the recipients of the HUD Secretary’s Housing and Community Design Award for excellence in residential housing design.   The awards were presented during the 2009 AIA National Convention and Design Exposition held in San Francisco.The winners were Homeless Assistance Center of Dallas; Project Place-Gatehouse of Boston; Bridgeton Neighborhood Revitalization of Bridgeton, N.J.; and Irvington Terrace of Fremont, Calif.”These housing developments are truly transformational,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “They go beyond both form…

Scott Reithel recently joined Community Housing Partners (CHP), a non-profit community development corporation, as vice president of property management. Reithel is active with the National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA) located in Alexandria, Va., where he is the president-elect and will serve as president in 2010. He also serves as the vice president of the NAHMA Educational Foundation and is a certified member of the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM).Previously, Reithel was involved in the Midwest Affordable Housing Management Association, where he was a three-time past president and Board of Director member. Reithel was also a property management instructor…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor Tucson, Ariz.–Alliant Capital LLC recently arranged $5.5 million refinance of Cottonwood Creek (pictured), a 102-unit townhouse community located one mile from the University of Arizona in Tucson. The transaction closed with a 10-year term with two-year interest only and a 30-year amortization.   “Utilizing our partnership with Fannie Mae’s Choice Refinance program has always been popular with our borrowers,” says Jay Blasberg, senior vice president of the Alliant Capital Tucson office. “The streamlined underwriting process to refinance existing loans at lower rates not only saves us time but delivers a significant savings to our clients.”  Alliant…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSanta Barbara, Calif.–Yardi Systems, developer of property management software, has recently unveiled an upgrade to Yardi Voyager Senior Housing, which includes a redesign of the marketing prospect workflow, inspired by client feedback. This features greater functionality along with a much simpler interface, which have been put in place to maximize lead prospecting and facilitate ease-of-use for staff and new hires. Utilizing a single integrated database, Voyager easily rolls prospect information into the care assessment workflow. The upgrade fortifies Voyager Senior Housing’s advanced clinical assessment functionality, supporting Fixed Charge, Gradient, Tiered, Time Based, and Service Level…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorOmaha, Neb.–Walker & Dunlop provided a $12,100,000 loan for Legacy Crossing Apartments (pictured) located in Omaha, Neb. The loan was structured with a 10-year term with two years interest-only, followed by a 30-year amortization. The loan was underwritten to an 80 percent loan-to-value and a 1.25x debt-service coverage ratio. Legacy Crossing Apartments is a B class, 408-unit garden-style apartment complex featuring an outdoor pool, tennis courts, fitness center, java café and computer stations, children’s playground and clubhouse. The borrower recently completed over $2 million in improvements to the property, which included reconstruction of balconies, new…