News
TODAY’S DEALS: Meridian Capital Arranges Interest-Only, 5.85% Refi for NYC Rental, and Other Transactions
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–Meridian Capital Group recently arranged a first mortgage loan in the amount of $32 million for the refinance of 222 West 83rd St. on the Upper Westside of Manhattan. The 13-story luxury property features 111 rental units and four commercial units. Avi Weinstock of Meridian’s New York office negotiated a low fixed interest rate of 5.85 percent with five-years of interest-only payments with a local lender.Arbor Closes Three DUS Loans Totaling Over $6M Houston, Albuquerque, N.M. and Phoenix–Arbor Commercial Funding LLC recently funded three loans totaling $6,990,600 under the Fannie Mae DUS product line. These…
Rental Community for Baltimore Teachers Funded by New Markets, Historic Tax Credits
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorBaltimore–Miller’s Court, a 40-unit mixed-use rental community designed especially for Baltimore’s teachers, the organizations that support them and the communities they serve, will be completed by mid-2009. The $21.9 million project will also feature 31,000 sq. ft. of office space and 1,000 sq. ft. of retail space.The project will involve historic rehabilitation of the H.F. Miller and Sons Building, a former tin box manufacturing plant erected at the turn of the 20th century, which has been vacant in Baltimore’s Charles Village neighborhood since the early 1990s. The industrial-style design will feature loft-style apartments with exposed…
International Buyers Make up 25% of Jersey City Condo’s 2008 Sales
By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor Jersey City–77 Hudson, a luxury condominium tower in Jersey City, N.J., developed by K. Hovnanian Homes, is receiving global interest, with international buyers making up over 25 percent of its 2008 sales. In order to build on this success and to further market the project, Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy has been retained to represent the development to the New York and international brokerage community. 77 Hudson, designed by the award-winning New York architecture firm Cetra Ruddy, is 48 stories high. It features a 30,000-sq.-ft. rooftop and 13,000 sq. ft. of indoor spa/fitness and entertainment facilities. Dawn…
Multifamily Housing Starts Fall to Historic Low of 114,000 Units in January
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–Housing starts for multifamily buildings (five units or more) in January 2009 stood at an annualized rate of 114,000 units, according to the latest residential construction statistics released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).“This is a historically low number,” David Crowe, chief economist at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), tells MHN. “We have never seen a number this low and it is caused by the distress in the credit market as well as the macro markets.”Crowe adds, “Access to production credit is extremely difficult…
MARKET SNAPSHOT: Seattle Apartments Could Face 10% Revenue Drop
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorSeattle—The Emerald City’s revenue for 2009 is expected to bring down the national norm, according to M/PF YieldStar, which predicts that Seattle’s near-term investment opportunities are gloomy at best.Occupancy in the city is currently at 93.2 percent, down 3.1 points from 96.3 percent one year ago, reports Greg Willett, vice president of research and analysis for M/PF YieldStar, who notes that 2008 saw approximately 5,000 units in net move-outs.While the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is showing employment growth in Seattle at approximately 1.6 percent, Willett says that this figure is overstated and will need to…
TODAY’S DEALS: Arbor Closes $4.871M Fannie Mae DUS Small Loan, and Other Transactions
By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor Waukegan, Ill.–Arbor Commercial Funding LLC has recently funded $4,871,000 loan under the Fannie Mae DUS Small Loans product line to finance the 120-unit complex known as Hinkston Pond Apartments (pictured) in Waukegan, Ill. The 10-year loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule and carries a note rate of 6.29 percent. NorthMarq Capital Arranges $1.4M Mortgage for 52-Unit MF PropertyBuffalo, N.Y.–NorthMarq Capital has arranged first mortgage financing in the amount of $1.4 million for Park Place Apartments, a 52-unit multifamily property, located in Buffalo, N.Y. Financing was based on a 10-year term and a 25-year amortization schedule and…
Company Matches Property Management, Real Estate Cos. with Software for Their Businesses
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSan Francisco–Software Advice has launched its property management software advice service, a free online resource designed to match property management and real estate companies with the right software for their businesses.With almost 30,000 monthly searches for “property management software” in Google, Yahoo and MSN, Software Advice saves buyers weeks of upfront research by quickly providing the “lay of the land” for property management software. Visitors can research and compare the leading real estate and property management software to narrow down a “short list” of software products that will meet their needs.Moreover, Software Advice provides free,…
INSIDE THE DEAL: Property Demonstrates How Bridge Loans Can Work in this Market
By Keat Foong, Executive EditorHayward, Calif.—It is still possible to obtain bridge financing for value-added deals, at least towards the end of last year. And it helps if the property is located in a high-barrier-to-entry, if suburban, market. Mesa West Capital, Los Angeles, provided a $6 million loan for the acquisition and turnaround of Dorchester House Apartments, originally an undercapitalized property needing capital infusion. The property is located in built-out Hayward, Calif., one of the larger suburbs of the San Francisco Bay Area. Mark Zytko, principal at Mesa West, said that the San Francisco Bay are is a “very strong…
Dranoff’s Project Is Selected as a Top Priority for Newark Revitalization
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNewark, N.J.–Two Center Street, a mixed-use residential and retail project on a 1.2-acre site adjacent to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), has been selected as one of the City of Newark’s top economic development priorities following a rigorous evaluation conducted by a Scorecard committee convened by the Brick City Development Corp. Two Center Street is a partnership between NJPAC and Dranoff Properties Inc. of Philadelphia.“We are pleased to be advancing our partnership with the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. This project will strengthen our downtown, add hundreds of new housing units and create…
Developer Acknowledges Shifting Market, Slashes Condo Unit Prices By 15%
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSan Francisco–Millennium Partners, developer of Millennium Tower, the 60-story, luxury residential tower opening mid-April 2009 in San Francisco at 301 Mission St., recently made a 15 percent price adjustment across the board for new buyers and buyers already in contract.“Everything Millennium does begins and ends with our buyers,” says Richard G. Baumert, managing director for Millennium Partners. “To ensure the continued success of our project and protect the investment of our buyers, we have determined that the appropriate thing to do is to provide the price adjustment both retroactively to our owners who have already…