News

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNewark, East Orange, Irvington, Rahway, Plainfield and Union City, N.J.–Gebroe-Hammer Associates recently arranged the sale of six multifamily properties exceeding $26.8 million, and totaling 422 units in Newark, East Orange, Irvington, Rahway, Plainfield and Union City, N.J.The deals include the $14 million sale of a Newark multifamily portfolio, involving eight buildings and 256 units located on Martin Luther King Blvd.; the $8.1 million sale of Netherwood (pictured), a 108-unit complex located at 825 E. Front St. in Plainfield; the $1.712 million sale of 132-134 Elm St., a 16-unit property in Rahway; the $1.05 million sale…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSan Francisco–Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services has named Dean Sandquist (pictured top) as the first vice president of investments. The achievement of first vice president investment status is one of the highest levels of recognition Marcus & Millichap awards its sales agents. “It represents excellence in client relationships, investment real estate expertise and sales volume,” says Jeffrey Mishkin, regional manager in the firm’s San Francisco office.Sandquist joined Marcus & Millichap in 1981 and specializes in multifamily investment sales.Navy Banyard Receives Award for 2008 Distinguished AlumnusLos Angeles–Navy Banvard (pictured second from top), AIA, founding…

By Keat Foong, Executive EditorChicago— Most economists do not believe a financial meltdown is in the works, said Alice Rivlin, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, in her opening plenary address to the 18th Annual National Investment Conference (NIC) held here this week. Rivlin said that a financial crash can be avoided in the U.S. And she said reasons for optimism that the U.S. will emerge from the housing and financial crises in good shape  include a resilient economy, as well as the rapid and aggressive federal responses to the problems. Rivlin said the government measures taken so far, including…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual are sure to going down the path that IndyMac did, according to T.J. Wojtas, founder of the Buyers Equity Fund. “What you see happening is a consolidation of power among institutions that are not failing and faltering. What is going on now is similar to what happened in 1907 when JP Morgan Chase made a run on the banks,” Wojtas tells MHN.Wojtas predicts that 400 institutions will fail during 2009. “Small community banks will follow the big banks down this path. The situation was getting too much out of…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–GFI Capital Resources Group recently formed a partnership between GFI and The Carlyle Group, which will provide GFI with $1.2 billion in buying power ($300 million worth of equity), to invest in real estate assets throughout the country. This will allow GFI to more than double the size of its existing 20,000-unit real estate portfolio.    “We have already purchased a few properties as part of this venture and we’ve only just begun,” says Michael Weiser, executive vice president of acquisitions and dispositions at GFI. “Unlike many other companies in today’s market, we have capital…

Jeffrey Day (pictured) is managing director and co-head of Deutsche Bank Berkshire Mortgage (DBBM). DBBM is a Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage lender. It originates in excess of $6 billion per year in multifamily loans, and has a servicing portfolio of over $23 billion.As a part of the Deutsche Bank Global Commercial Real Estate Group (GCRE), DBBM also offers Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities (CMBS), conduit, mezzanine and bridge financing, as well as real estate investment banking services. Day is jointly responsible for the overall operation of the 200-person firm, including origination, underwriting, closing, servicing, asset…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorHouston, Plano, Alden Bridge, Texas–Houston-based Meeks Partners has designed three luxury independent senior living facilities in Houston, Plano and Alden Bridge, Texas that hope to set a new bar in the independent senior housing category. Conservatory Senior Living will manage all three projects, which feature one- and two-bedroom units ranging from 561 sq. ft. to 1,237 sq. ft. with rents from $2,400 to $4,000 that include one meal. Units in all three communities have been occupied since early this year and the leasing process is still in progress.“Texas is a strong market for the seniors…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorDenver–RedPeak Properties has broken ground on a 148-unit luxury apartment project as part of an expansion of its existing 439-unit Seasons of Cherry Creek, located at 3498 Ellsworth Dr. in Denver.When the 13-story building is complete in 2010, The Seasons of Cherry Creek will total 587 units across three high-rise towers. Rents for the two-and three-bedroom apartments range from $2,600 to $4000.“The rental market in Denver is doing very well compared with other cities of our size,” Mark Windhager, COO of RedPeak, tells MHN. “For high-end projects in Denver, this is all the more true….

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorAnn Arbor, Mich.–Avalon Housing Inc., a developer and manager of affordable housing, will launch a series of events, under a program entitled “Celebrating the Sustainable Community,” to raise funds to help eliminate homelessness in Ann Arbor.The series, to be held November 6-10, is designed to educate attendees on sustainability and community building. The event will feature two visionaries and activists: Fritz Haeg, a Los Angeles architect and landscaper, and Judy Wicks, a well-known Philadelphia restaurateur. At an Edible Landscaping class, Haeg will discuss transforming front yards into gardens. Wicks, who recently received the International Association of…