News
No. 10 Park Rental Community to Rise Up on Perimeter Center East
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorAtlanta–Construction on No. 10 Park, Lane Co.’s newest development, has begun. The $60 million luxury rental community, located at Perimeter Center East and Ashford Dunwoody Road, features 312 units. The first residents are expected to move in by the summer of 2009, followed by completion of the entire project in the fall.“The Perimeter area is one of the strongest markets in the metro Atlanta area,” John Bell, development partner for Lane Southeast LLC, tells MHN. “Low apartment vacancies and strong job growth will mean a continued demand for luxury apartments,” he added.The project features one-…
Twin Cities Adaptive Reuse Development Features Green Elements
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorMinneapolis–Eitel Building City Apartments, a 213-unit adaptive reuse luxury apartment community developed by Village Green Cos., combines modern green building with a piece of the city’s history by incorporating a part of Eitel Hospital into the project.The development’s interior design is more streamlined and Asian-inspired. “We kept the historic elements of the hospital and added to it a more contemporary feel,” says Andrea Roebker, director of public relations for Village Green, based in Farmington Hills, Mich.As an environmentally conscious project, Eitel has an underground tank to filter sediments and control water quality before it leaves the…
Inside the Deal: Investor Snags ‘Failed Condo’ for Discount in Raleigh, N.C.
By Keat FoongExecutive EditorRaleigh, N.C.—Polo Run Apartments may have been a “failed condo” project, but it sure has a profitable location. The property was purchased by a New York-based investor for a discounted price of $12.232 million, or $44,000 per unit, in the Research Triangle market. This is considered one of the stronger markets in the Mid-Atlantic/Southeast region, says Jeffrey Gorodensky managing director of the Sperry Van Ness/FG Commercial Real Estate Services office in Lodi, N.J., who represented both the buyer and the seller. “The market seems very frothy here,” he says. The sale, says Gorodensky, was an “off-market” deal…
London Real Estate Sees Biggest Decline Fall in 14 Years
London–London’s property market saw the most widespread price drops in 14 years in April due in part to a financial services sector decline and reduced lending, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.The number of residential property agents and surveyors who found prices declined surpassed the amount that reported growth by 94 percentage points in April–the lowest amount since records began in 1994. Bloomberg said.The surveyors’ country-wide reading fell to negative 95.1–the lowest reading since 1978.Last month, banks hiked the cost of their most popular mortgages up to the highest level in eight years, Bloomberg said. By 2011, London…
Republican, Democrat Senate Negotiations Break Down
Washington, D.C.–Central Republican and Democratic Senate negotiators said that they have not been able to reach agreement on a plan to help fix the U.S. mortgage crisis, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.Aides to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., and the senior Republican on his committee, Richard C. Shelby, Ala., have been discussing a possible bipartisan plan for a month, but the conversation tapered off on Friday.Dodd announced a separate housing bill Monday to help homeowners exchange risky mortgages for affordable ones with federal government backing. A committee drafting session is scheduled for Thursday.However, Dodd’s bill isn’t likely…
Fiscal Second Quarter Toll Brothers Results Suggest Sales Are Down 30 Percent
Horsham, Pa.–Luxury builder Toll Brothers Inc. said Tuesday that its preliminary fiscal second quarter results indicated homebuilding sales had fallen 30 percent, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.”The just-completed spring selling season was quite weak in most markets as buyers remained on the sidelines,” chairman and chief executive officer Robert I. Toll said.The Horsham, Pa.-based homebuilder announced preliminary revenues of $817.9 million, a $1.17 billion reduction from a year ago. Land sale revenue for the quarter was $800,000; last year, it was $2 million.In the last six months, sales plummeted 27 percent to $1.66 billion. Toll Brothers’ cancellation rate was 24.9 percent….
DEAL OF THE DAY: Section 8 Affordable Housing Sells for $41.2M
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSan Diego–Steadfast Villa Nueva LP purchased the 390-unit Villa Nueva Section 8 affordable housing apartment complex in San Diego from Villa Nueva for $41.2 million.When owners of the property received an unsolicited purchase offer, Kevin Mulhern of CB Richard Ellis’ San Diego Multi-Housing Group and Jim Lampman of CBRE’s HUD Services/Affordable Housing Group in Seattle took the sales assignment to market the property on behalf of the non-profit owner, Villa Nueva.The primary challenge in completing the transaction was overcoming U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s policy restrictions impacting non-profit ownership rights. Faced with many…
Consumer Spending Drops in April
Washington, D.C.–Facing rising gas prices and a slowing economy, consumers reduced their spending last month, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.Retail sales fell 0.2 percent in April–the second drop in three months, the New York Times reports. The decline was prompted by a 2.8 percent auto sales drop–which was the sector’s biggest decline in 10 months.Department store sales declined 0.1 percent in April, suggesting the weakening economy is causing consumers to bargain hunt at discount stores, the Times said.The Commerce Department also said that business inventories rose a slight 0.1. percent in March–the smallest growth in a year.
Behringer Harvard Invests In Trammel Crow’s New Construction in Denver
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorDenver–Behringer Harvard, an Addison, Texas-based real estate investment company, announced its investment in Trammell Crow Residential’s 400-unit rental community, Alexan Prospect. “The site is strategically located in the strongest rental submarket in the Denver area, thus fitting nicely with our transportation-oriented portfolio,” Mark Alfieri, senior vice president of Behringer Harvard, tells MHN. The community’s plans include 367,433 sq. ft. of rentable space. Construction is expected to begin Oct. 1. Located in the Central Platte Valley, a 120-acre area immediately west of Denver’s central business district, the property will provide easy access to Interstate 25. Additionally, the…
For Rent Media Uses Video Contest to Promote Brand
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNorfolk, Va.–For Rent Media Solutions, a division of Dominion Enterprises, has opened its “If Only Your Apartment Furniture Could Talk” video contest, in which participants are asked to creatively express through the eyes and voice of their current apartment furniture why they should win $10,000 towards new furniture. Videos must be original and two minutes in length or shorter. “Social media is a proven promotional tool which enables us to build our brand effectively,” says Brock MacLean, vice president of national sales and development for For Rent Media Solutions. “With this contest, we are reaching…