News
MARKET SNAPSHOT: Oversupply and Rising Unemployment are Major Impacts to Sacramento, Calif.’s Apartment Market
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate Editor Sacramento, Calif.—Apartment construction in Sacramento is expected to come to a near standstill this year, according to Marcus & Millichap’s 2009 National Apartment Report.Only 100 new units are slated for delivery this year, and the planning pipeline consists of fewer than 2,000 apartments.The main challenges for the Sacramento metro area include job losses, supply constraint and the land’s geography, which Ryan DeMar, associate vice president-investments in Marcus & Millichap’s Roseville, Calif. office, notes, “continues to generate an oversupply of market-rate and affordable apartments and single-family homes.” He adds that the metro has a low barrier…
Pre-Construction Reservations Start for What Could be the World’s Greenest Building
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorIndependence, Ore.–Touted as the world’s greenest building, and seeking the highest LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating ever awarded, Independence Station will feature green concepts such as radiant floor heating and cooling, solar water heating and daylighting design. “This is a Thomas Edison meets Bill Gates project,” says Steven Ribeiro, principal and developer at Aldeia LLC, the developer of Independence Station.The mixed-use development, which opens in 2010, is now accepting priority pre-reservations for its 15 condominiums. It features one- and two-bedroom units ranging in size from 600 to 1,660 square feet. They are…
Apartment Properties Are Still Decent Investment Prospects, Says ULI
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew Brunswick–At a time when uncertainty about the economy and the housing market, along with the state of the credit markets, has stalled new project development, the Northern New Jersey District Council of the Urban Land Institute (ULI-NNJ) is projecting optimism about the recovery of the housing sector. “This crisis is an opportunity to redefine fundamentals,” ULI-NNJ Chair Lawrence F. Jacobs of the law firm of Wilentz, Goldman and Spitzer said at the Emerging Trends in Real Estate conference held in New Jersey recently. “ULI believes that the market will take a critical approach to…
In Chicago, Buyers Can Get Up To $18,000 Off When Purchasing Units in Certain Communities
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorChicago–Since the housing woes began last year, the city of Chicago along with The Partnership for New Communities, has been offering $10,000 as a gift for buyers of units located in six developments that are part of Chicago’s Plan for Transformation. The Plan for Transformation includes replacement of high-rise public housing with new mixed-income communities featuring contemporary town homes and low-rise buildings, where public housing residents will live in the same neighborhood as people who purchase market rate and affordable homes. Generally, these developments will consist of one-third public housing, one-third affordable housing and one-third…
Editor’s Note: A Change Could Do You Good
By Diana Mosher, Editor-in-ChiefYesterday President Barack Obama unveiled a plan to help the small business sector deal with the current credit crisis. Small businesses generate about 70 percent of new job growth every year, but even enterprises with good credit histories are having trouble obtaining capital to expand or meet costs. Acknowledging the critical role that small businesses will play in the economic recovery, President Obama announced that the Treasury Department will spend up to $15 billion to boost lending to small businesses. For full details click here.Credit worries aside, small businesses are sometimes envied for their ability to be…
Community to House Formerly Homeless Vets Celebrates Grand Opening
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorBronx, N.Y.—Inner City Development, the Community Preservation Corporation (CPC), ENPHRONT Veteran Services, and city and state housing officials recently celebrated the grand opening of the $5.8 million Jackson Avenue Veteran Complex, seven three-family row homes that were built to house formerly homeless veterans. CPC provided $4 million in permanent financing, which will be sold to New York City pension funds, including The New York City Employees’ Retirement System, The New York City Police Pension Fund, and The Teachers’ Retirement System of the City of New York. The State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA) has provided…
TODAY’S DEALS: Alliant Arranges $7.9M Refi Loan for Affordable Housing Project, and Other Transactions
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorTucson, Ariz.–Alliant Capital LLC has arranged a $7,928,800 loan to refinance La Jolla de Tucson on behalf of Holualoa Arizona Inc. La Jolla de Tucson, a 223-unit affordable housing community, was the final property to close as part of a three-property Tucson purchase transaction. The loan has a nine-year term and a 30-year amortization. Stonybrook and Quail Ridge were the two other properties included in the transaction. La Jolla de Tucson offers one- and two-bedroom floor plans. Meridian Arranges $5M Financing for Four CommunitiesChicago–Meridian Capital Group recently arranged financing in the amount of $5,085,000 for four…
President Obama Appoints BRIDGE President and CEO to Position at HUD
San Francisco–President Barack Obama has appointed Carol Galante, president and CEO of BRIDGE Housing, as deputy assistant secretary for Multifamily Housing Programs at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). As deputy assistant secretary, Galante will be responsible for HUD’s financing support for the development and preservation of privately-owned rental housing (a current portfolio of over $58 billion) and will be integral to several new initiatives that promote sustainable development.“Having previously served in the position Galante will step into, I am extremely confident that her proven track record in multifamily housing is exactly what HUD needs to move…
Housing Starts Surge in February is an Aberration, Bottom Still Not Reached, Say MF Industry Leaders
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–Overall housing starts in February surged 22 percent from January, mainly due to a nearly 80 percent increase in multifamily starts during the same period. The total number of multifamily starts in February rose to 212,000 as compared to 118,000 in January, while the overall starts totaled 583,000. Even so, on a year-on-year basis, multifamily starts are down 40 percent while overall starts are down 47 percent.“Housing starts figures are so anemic right now that a small recovery is showing up as a big percentage,” Nick Ingle, director of capital markets at Hendricks and…
The Benefits of Building Information Modeling
By David Demarest, Architecture DemarestFor several years, architectural firms and construction companies have been experimenting with building information modeling (BIM). In the course of experimentation, they have discovered that the application can decrease both design and construction costs. Implementation of BIM technology has passed the experimental phase as designers and builders familiar with the application have begun to promote BIM’s design, construction and economic benefits to owners.In turn, these owners are beginning to experiment with BIM, which also provides cost-saving benefits related to building maintenance, future expansion and renovation throughout a building’s lifetime. In fact, all of BIM’s cost benefits—whether…