Regions

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorHouston– Alliance Communities has broken ground on Broad¬stone Voss, an urban infill multifamily development located in the Galleria corridor area near the Uptown District in Houston. Designed by Meeks + Partners, this four-story community features 307 rental apartments. It is expected to be ready by the summer of 2009.Broadstone Voss is a redevelopment of apartments built in the early ’70s on a 4.89-acre site. The community serves as a transitional piece of the urban fabric shifting from an adjacent commercial retail center on the south side to less denser single-family and multifamily developments nearby.“Our main…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–Delinquency rates continued to tick up in the third quarter for most multifamily mortgage investor groups, but remained at the lower end of their historical averages, according to the third quarter Commercial/Multifamily Delinquency Report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). “The frozen credit markets and deteriorating economic conditions are placing increased pressure on the performance of commercial and multifamily mortgages,” says Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s vice president of Commercial Real Estate Research.  “Multifamily mortgages have not seen the same kind of deterioration in performance witnessed among other real estate loans, and at the end of the…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York, N.Y.–PNC ARCS has closed a $9.416 million loan for the Fourth Avenue Apartments, a 56-unit community in Brooklyn, N.Y.Built in 2008, the Fourth Avenue Apartments is an A-rated, 10-story building containing 56 apartments and a 28-car parking garage. There are no other amenities in the building.The loan was for a 15-year term/30-year amortization at a fixed rate of 6.245 percent.  The loan was originated by PNC ARCS’ Princeton, N.J. office through Fannie Mae.Arbor Closes $8,321,800 Fannie Mae DUS LoanLynn, Mass.–Arbor Commercial Funding LLC recently completed funding of a $8,321,800 loan under the Fannie…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorPlymouth, Mass.–Cordage Development LLC has chosen Boston-based Cubellis, an international architecture, interior design and engineering firm, as the master planner of the redevelopment of the historical Cordage Park property, a 2.4 million-sq.-ft. site that will include 675 residential units, as well as retail, office and hotel space, at build-out.The former industrial site of rope warehouses will incorporate the state’s Chapter 40R Smart Growth affordable housing legislation, which “was enacted by the state of Massachusetts to promote affordable housing and Smart Growth design and construction in areas where this is a high density of uses, such as…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–Arbor Commercial Mortgage has appointed Robert Russell (pictured) to senior vice president in Arbor’s New York City office. In this position, Russell is responsible for sourcing and structuring multifamily and commercial transactions. He reports to John Caulfield, executive vice president, director of operations.  Prior to joining Arbor, Russell was managing director at Wachovia Securities, where his responsibilities included developing client relationships, originating loans, underwriting, structuring and closing transactions. He previously served in a similar capacity as managing director at Credit Suisse. Russell has also held positions at Nomura Asset Capital Corporation, Rosenman & Colin, LLP…

By Keat Foong, Executive Editor Washington, D.C.–Bankruptcy is definitely an option that builders should learn about even if they do not pursue it, according to the presenter at a recent seminar sponsored by Builder Partnerships. Jim Weigel, of The Shinn Group, a home builder consultant, was the presenter for the seminar entitled “Financial Impacts: Is Bankruptcy an Option?” According to Weigel, bankruptcy can be used not only to liquidate a business, pay off its creditors and shut it down, but also to ensure a business’s ability to survive, for example by providing it temporary relief from creditors. It can be…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorDallas–The Dallas City Council has approved its first Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) District focused on multi-station transit-oriented development (TOD). Spread across 559 acres, the new TIF District features public rights-of-way and stretches from the Lovers Lane/Mockingbird area along the DART rail line to the Lancaster/VA Medical Center region. The District will have a 30-year life, during which real property values are forecasted to grow from $320 million in 2008 to $3.52 billion by 2038. The incremental tax revenue expected to accrue to the District is projected to be approximately $328 million during the life of…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorTucson, Ariz.–Hendricks & Partners recently arranged the sale of Skyline Gateway (pictured), a 246-unit apartment community located at 4601 East Skyline Dr. in Tucson, Ariz., for $18.4 million.Constructed in 1985, Skyline Gateway is a gated community featuring 14 three-story, garden-style buildings. The property features one- and two-bedroom units in six floor plans. Each unit is equipped with air conditioning, ceiling fans, dishwashers, disposals, frost-free refrigerators, a private balcony or patio, and cable television. Select units include fireplaces, stacked or full-sized washers and dryers, and walk-in closets. Community amenities include a clubhouse with kitchen, billiards, a…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorRichardson, Texas–Post Properties, Skyrise Properties, and Greenway Investment Co. recently celebrated the grand opening of Eastside, a mixed-use development located in the Dallas suburb of Richardson, Texas that will offer 435 apartments, 80,000 sq. ft. of retail and 200,000 sq. ft. of office space upon its build out, slated for late March 2009.“This was a really good retail-driven intersection at Central Expressway and Campbell Road in Richardson, and it is adjacent to the Telecom Corridor, which includes several million sq. ft. of Class-A offices built in the ‘90s,” David Ward, executive vice president, regional investment director…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor Yonkers, N.Y.–Croton Heights Apartments, a $23 million, 60-unit affordable rental community in southwest Yonkers, N.Y. opened today.Developed by The Richman Group Development Corp., and built on the site of an old, unused parking lot formerly owned by the Yonkers Parking Authority at 193 Ashburton Ave., the building features one-, two- and three-bedroom rental units, and 1,500 sq. ft. of community space with a well-appointed community room, a fitness facility, a resident computer center, broadband wiring, on-site storage space, parking and a children’s tot lot. “The benefits of creating safe, affordable housing go well beyond bricks…