News
TODAY’S DEALS: Meridian Secures over 8M in Financing for Five MF Properties, and Other Transactions
By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor, MHN and Elena Gontar, Staff Writer, CPNChicago–Meridian Capital Group recently arranged over $8 million in financing for five multifamily properties in Chicago.It provided $5.2 million in financing for a 90-unit multifamily building located at 6954 N. Sheridan Rd (pictured).; $1,840,000 in financing for three multifamily buildings located at 6148 and 6155 S. Sacramento Ave. and 6154 S. Richmond St., and $1,150,000 in financing for a property located at 4630 N. Ashland Ave. On the 5.2 million loan, Meridian’s Illinois office negotiated on behalf of the borrower to secure a 10-year term mortgage with a…
58-Unit Affordable Housing Project Opens in South Bronx
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorBronx, N.Y.–Banana Kelly Place, a newly constructed affordable housing complex located at 830 Fox St. in the Longwood neighborhood of the south Bronx in New York City, is now open. Named after the South Bronx-based community group, Banana Kelly, the development features 58 low-income rental units and 5,200 sq. ft. of ground floor space for a future childcare facility.It is developed by CPC Resources, the for-profit development arm of The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC), and Banana Kelly Community Improvement Association, with city subsidies from Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and Housing Development Corp. (HDC). The…
Fed Cuts Rate by 50 Basis Points, Impact on MF Financing Still Unknown
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–The Federal Reserve today ordered an emergency interest rate cut of half a percentage point, knocking the key rate down to 1.5 percent.The Fed fund rate is the interest rate that banks charge each other for overnight loans.While this cut will help lower credit card rates as well as rates on automobile loans and business loans, mortgage rates may not fall so easily.Typically, a reduction in the Fed funds rates does eventually lead to a fall in mortgage rates. Currently though, investors are so nervous that they do not want to own mortgage debt…
Government Ownership of Fannie, Freddie Creates Opportunities, Says Housing Director
By Keat Foong, Executive EditorWashington, D.C.—There may be opportunities for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac financing programs to work more closely with FHA, Low Income Housing Tax Credit and other multi-housing initiatives now that the two GSEs are essentially government owned, surmised Conrad Egan, president and CEO of the National Housing Conference (NHC). “It is quite clear now that [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac] are public entities,” Egan told MHN in an interview. “This opens up opportunities to combine Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac resources with FHA and tax credit programs.” The government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac…
TODAY’S DEALS: Post Properties Closes $185M Portfolio Financing, and Other Transactions
By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor, MHN and Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor, CPNAtlanta, Dallas, Charlotte, N.C.–Post Properties Inc. has closed six, cross-collateralized mortgage loans totaling $185 million with Wachovia Multifamily Capital Inc. The loans are secured by mortgages on six Post communities, including Post Parkside and Post Spring located in Atlanta; Post Legacy and Post Worthington located in Dallas; and Post Ballantyne and Post Gateway Place located in Charlotte, N.C. The mortgage loans have an aggregate principal amount of approximately $184.7 million, require fixed interest-only payments at 6.09 percent and mature in six years. Post expects to use $100 million…
Serious Materials Introduces Energy-Saving Drywall
Serious Materials has released a new line of ThermaRock drywall, designed to reduce energy costs up to 30 percent.The product, ThermaRock XI, offers an R-value ranging from R2.5 to R4.1, which reportedly reduces heat transfer through exterior walls. A low-density, high-performance material, aerogel, is incorporated into the panel.ThermaRock XI is available in gypsum and magnesium oxide versions, and is 5/8-in. thick, 4-ft. wide and 8-, 9- or 10-ft. long.
Carlisle Development, Carrfour Supportive Housing Complete $18.5M Renovation of Historic Hotel
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorMiami–Carlisle Development Group and Carrfour Supportive Housing have completed the $18.5 million renovation of Royalton, a historic Miami hotel that will now serve as affordable housing for formerly homeless individuals.Located at 131 S.E. 1st St. in downtown Miami, the seven-story development, which was designed in the classic revivalist style and built in 1923, features 100 furnished apartment units and offices for supportive services providers. “In the current economy, we now have many more individuals facing homelessness,” Jose Chavarria, assistant program director for the Royalton, Carrfour Supportive Housing, tells MHN. “Our project fills that the gap…
Case Study: Iconic Dallas Building the Centerpiece of Forest City’s Mercantile Block Redevelopment
Jim Truitt, vice president, Forest City Residential Group, and Gary Pitts, AIA, design studio partner, BGO Architects, discuss the Mercantile Building (“The Merc”), the first phase of Dallas’ four-building, 1.1 million-sq.-ft. Mercantile Block redevelopment. Once the tallest building west of the Mississippi River and the only skyscraper to be completed during World War II, the Mercantile Building—home to the Mercantile National Bank—t the new site will also include retail space, a parking garage and a new 16-story residential tower, called The Element.Truitt and Pitts talk to MHN Associate Editor Erika Schnitzer about the aesthetic objectives, how the design sets the…
CampusMBA, Insurance Advisors Partner to Provide Online Workshops for M-F Loan Insurance Issues
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–CampusMBA is partnering with Stamford, Conn.-based Insurance Advisors LLC to offer a series of live online workshops addressing insurance issues for commercial/multifamily real estate loans.CampusMBA is the education division of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).“These workshops will focus on insurance principles and practices applicable for both the origination and servicing of commercial/multifamily real estate loans,” says Jan Sternin, MBA’s senior vice president of commercial/multifamily and industry technology.Each workshop will address both broad issues as well a specific topics that industry professionals deal with on a daily basis. The workshops will appeal to a range…
Bailout Will Take Time to Have Impact
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–Days after the $700 billion financial bailout package was signed into law, the stock market continued to tumble. In the longest losing streak since January, U.S. stocks fell for a fifth day today.Meanwhile, the Fed is now considering new actions to do some more damage control in the financial system. The Fed said in a statement this morning that it would begin to buy large amounts of short-term debt in an effort to stimulate the frozen credit markets. In addition, Chairman Ben Bernanke today hinted strongly that the Fed’s Board of Governors would probably…