News

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorNew York–AvalonBay Communities has received the first NYC Big Apple Brownfield Economic Development Award for its Bowery-area developments.At a ceremony held at the Museum of the City of New York, Fred Harris, senior vice president of development, AvalonBay Communities, accepted the award. The event was the inaugural ceremony of the Brownfield Awards, which recognizes various organizations working to redevelop contaminated sites in New York City. The award ceremony celebrates New York City’s most successful Brownfield clean-up and redevelopment projects.“New York City is the first municipality in the country seeking to develop a local brownfield program,” Harris…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced this week that New York will try to pass legislation mandating environmental changes that could reduce the city’s total carbon output by 5 percent.The proposed legislation is aimed at getting significant-sized buildings to meet tougher energy requirements any time they renovate, to conduct an energy audit every 10 years, and to make energy improvements that will pay for themselves within five years. According to the city, the energy improvements could save property owners $750 million a year—assuming they upgrade everything from their lighting systems to boilers.Mayor Bloomberg’s latest initiative is…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorDallas–Humphreys & Partners Architects launched a landscape architecture firm (HPLA) on the occasion of Earth Day, which was celebrated earlier this week.Humphreys LEED APs (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professionals) specialize in planning and design of sustainable outdoor spaces that are functional, cost-effective, visually pleasing and environmentally friendly. “The landscape design of a multifamily project is vital to its success, and research indicates that the quality of the landscaping represents a key factor in attracting and retaining clients,” Dan Erlandson, who runs the landscape architecture department at Humphreys & Partners, tells MHN. “If…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSanger, Calif.–NorthMarq Capital’s Los Angeles office recently arranged a $4 million first mortgage for Tangerine Hill Apartments, a 126-unit multifamily complex located in Sanger, Calif. Financing was based on a seven-year term and a 30-year amortization schedule and was arranged for the borrower by NorthMarq through its seller-servicer relationship with Freddie Mac. This transaction has a 4.77 percent start rate with a 7.10 percent lifetime cap and a flexible prepayment schedule.Arbor Closes $638,600 Fannie Mae DUS Small LoanSleepy Hollow–Arbor Commercial Funding recently completed a $638,600 loan under the Fannie Mae DUS small loan product line…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorSeattle—Opus Northwest LLC’s Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue, a 38-story, 143-unit luxury condominium development in Seattle, has averaged one new sale per week since the beginning of the year and the building’s official grand opening. And it has closed more than half of the scheduled closings.“We worked very hard to identify and make sure that we weren’t selling our homes to speculators,” Tom Parsons, senior vice president and general manager of Opus Northwest, tells MHN. “Most of the people who signed up to buy three years ago always intended to live in the building,” he adds.Parsons expects…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorDallas–Alexan Fitzhugh, a Trammell Crow Residential project, recently won the “Best Garden Apartment Community” (four stories and under) category in the 2009 Pillars of the Industry Awards from the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB). The honored Alexan Fitzhugh “team” includes architecture firm Beeler Guest Owens, interior design by the Faulkner Design Group and JBI Partners landscape architecture.  Located in a transitional neighborhood of Dallas at the corner of Fitzhugh Avenue and Homer Street, the Alexan Fitzhugh is a three-story, 452-unit community that sits on a 10-acre site. The site, which was previously occupied by aging,…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–Existing-home sales (including single-family, condos and townhomes) eased in March but first-time buyers are responding to low mortgage interest rates and tax credits, according to the National Association of Realtors. Existing condominium and co-op sales fell 4.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 470,000 units in March from 490,000 in February, and are 17.8 percent below the 572,000-unit pace a year ago. The median existing condo price was $177,600 in March, down 18.7 percent from March 2008. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says the market appears to be stabilizing with modest monthly…

The Bozzuto Group recently hired Jamie Gorski (pictured) as senior vice president of corporate marketing, where she will run the marketing department and provide strategic marketing direction for each of Bozzuto’s six integrated companies. Gorski previously worked as senior vice president and chief marketing officer for KETTLER and as vice president of marketing for Archstone-Smith and for Charles E. Smith Residential. Gorski has won numerous marketing awards, including 30 Pillars of the Industry Awards from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).She talks to MHN Online News Editor Anuradha Kher about how marketing can be useful in surviving a recession,…