News
Club Car Introduces Street-Legal, Electric Low-Speed Vehicles
Club Car, an Atlanta-based manufacturer of electric- and gasoline-powered utility vehicles, has introduced a new low-speed vehicle (LSV), Carryall LSV, as an alternative means of transportation for facility managers at large communities.Carryall LSVs are powered by batteries and have no internal combustion engines, thereby producing no emissions. Additionally, because they do not require any fossil fuel, the cars have low operating costs when compared to traditional vehicles.The two new models also features an alternating current (AC) electric drive system, which is designed to provide smoother direction changes, quieter operation and greater speed range and control.www.clubcar.com
TODAY’S DEALS: Guardian Purchases Rental Property for $30M, and Other Transactions
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorBeaverton, Ore.–Guardian Management LLC recently purchased the 279-unit Waterhouse Place Apartments (pictured) in Beaverton, Ore., a suburb of Portland, for $30 million. USB Realty Investors LLC will serve as the equity partner. Guardian plans to invest an additional $3 million—approximately $7,000 per unit—for exterior and interior renovations of the complex.“The property fits perfectly into our value-add acquisition strategy,” says Tom Brenneke, president of Guardian.Built in 1989, Guardian will rehabilitate the 14.5-acre community with exterior upgrades, including updated landscaping, a resurfaced spa, new patio doors and parking and clubhouse upgrades. Guardian also plans an extensive interior…
Siegel-Gallagher Awarded Management Assignment for Wisconsin Tower
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorMilwaukee–Siegel-Gallagher Management Co., a division of Siegel-Gallagher ONCO International, a Milwaukee-based full-service commercial real estate firm, has landed the management assignment for Wisconsin Tower, a 74-unit, 22-story condo tower.“I think the Board of Directors selected us because we mostly do high-rise management and we are associated with two other really high-end condos–Kilbourn Tower and University Club Tower,” says Kris Ruka, property manager for Wisconsin Tower.Wisconsin Tower is an adaptive reuse of the Mariner Tower, which was used as commercial and medical space, until it was sold in 1971. Originally designed by Chicago-based Weary and Alford, the…
PropertyBridge Announces Rental Payment Integration with Yardi Systems
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorOakland, Calif.–PropertyBridge Inc.’s payments platform is now fully integrated with Yardi Systems for the purposes of integrating its electronic payment services with Yardi’s property management system. PropertyBridge is the first electronic payments provider to integrate with Yardi using the MITS (Multifamily Information and Transactions Standards) Residential Transactions 2.0 Standard, as part of Yardi’s MITS-based Standard Interfaces Program.By merging data between management and accounting systems and the PropertyBridge Payments Platform, property management firms streamline core administrative practices, and significantly reduce the time required to process resident payments. The full integration makes it possible for property managers…
ARA’s Mid-Year Multifamily Transaction Volume Increases 11%
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorAtlanta–In the midst of the housing crisis, Apartment Realty Advisors (ARA) has revealed that its mid-year national multi-housing transaction volume has increased 11 percent over the same period last year, equaling $2.6 billion.In a recently released report by Real Estate Alert, ARA was ranked number two nationally for multifamily production, right behind CBRE. The gap in production value for the two companies was $186 million as compared to last year’s mid-year figures when CBRE’s multifamily volume totaled $6 billion as compared to ARA’s volume of $1.9 billion. ARA attributes the increased transaction volume to several…
EDITOR’S NOTE: Bowling, Anyone?
By Teresa O’Dea HeinMHN Managing EditorIn the last two hours of a recent workday, my colleagues and I were scheduled to attend a group meeting, but one with a twist. We were all going bowling. Yes, bowling. Attendance was mandatory, which was an important factor because packing boxes for an office move (to a different floor in the same building) and deadlines for the September print issue were looming over us. In Manhattan, where real estate costs are notoriously high, bowling alleys are few and far between. However, one is located near the office of Multi-Housing News and our sister…
TODAY’S DEALS: Northmarq Arranges Financing, Equity for Three Multifamily Properties Totaling $75.595M, and Other Transactions
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorBryan, Texas; Lawrence, Mass.; Buffalo, Minn.–NorthMarq Capital Inc. recently arranged construction/mini-perm financing of approximately $43.82 million and secured an equity of $11.42 million for Wave’s Z Islander, an 852-bed, 368-unit student housing facility, located in Bryan, Texas.The company also arranged first mortgage bridge financing of $16.195 million for Hampton on Beacon Street Apartments, a 222-unit multifamily property, located in Lawrence, Mass. and first mortgage financing of $4.16 million for Evergreen Square Apartments, a 78-unit multifamily property, located in Buffalo, Minn.The construction/mini-perm financing is based on a term of 42 months with interest-only for the construction…
Tile Redi’s Barrier-Free Shower Pans
Tile Redi’s new line of barrier-free products is expected to make entering the shower easier, as well as minimize potential accidents.“It’s tough enough for anyone to step over a bathtub wall when getting into the shower,” says Farrell Gerber, Tile Redi executive vice president, sales. “Imagine how difficult it is for a disabled person to do that? And, accidents can even happen with people walking into a non-bathtub shower, and tripping over the raised entryway lip, which is positioned to keep water from leaving the shower’s base and flowing over onto the bathroom floor.”Tile Redi’s barrier-free shower pans ensure that…
Asheville Recognized for Addressing City’s Need for Affordable Housing
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorAsheville, N.C.–The National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the U.S. Conference of Mayors have named Asheville, N.C. an Ambassador city for expanding affordable housing. Asheville is receiving the designation in recognition of the Mayor’s Affordable Housing Task Force, aimed at addressing the city’s growing need for affordable housing. The city, Asheville Board of Realtors (ABR) and more than a dozen other groups joined forces to help create the city’s first affordable housing plan.”Realtors build communities and care about the lack of affordable housing in many of our towns and cities,” says Pat V. Combs, NAR’s…
Beijing Olympic Villages Earns LEED Gold Certification in Pilot Program
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorBeijing, China–The Olympic Village in Beijing has earned LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council under the Neighborhood Development program. It is the first Olympic Village to receive LEED certification.A project of Guo Ao Development Company, the Olympic Village is one of only eight communities–and the first international one–to earn certification under this pilot program. The LEED for Neighborhood Development program incorporates principles of smart growth, New Urbanism and green building, and certifies neighborhoods based on their design and performance in the categories of smart location and linkage,…