Regions

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorCoral Gables, Fla.–Ponce Circle Developers LLC has selected architecture firm, Jorge L. Hernandez Architect, to design Old Spanish Village, a $350 million, seven-acre mixed-use development in Coral Gables, Fla. Inspired by the vision of Coral Gables founder, George Merrick, Old Spanish Village hopes to evoke the aesthetics of ancient Spanish towns.Old Spanish Village is the modern realization of one of several themed enclaves in the city, such as the French, Chinese and Dutch villages that Merrick conceived and created in the 1920s. Spanning three city blocks, the community will feature three mid-rise condominiums and 38…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorMontclair, N.J.–Pinnacle Downtown, the developer of the Siena at Montclair, a 101-unit condominium, located at 48 South Park St. in Montclair, N.J., will offer Abigail Michaels Concierge, an elite service that provides hotel-style services as well as lifestyle management, at the community. This will be an addition to the existing on-site concierge team.“With Abigail Michaels Concierge serving as the caretaker of residents at The Siena at Montclair, we at Pinnacle Downtown know that our clients are in the industry’s best hands,” says Mary Boorman, Pinnacle’s senior vice president for development, sales and marketing. Through Abigail…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorShanghai, CHINA–The Institute of Real Estate Management will soon be launching its Certified Property Manager (CPM) course in China’s most populous city, Shanghai. In partnership with the Shanghai Weston Real Estate Management Institute, a division of Brawman International Group, IREM will begin a complete series of CPM courses from Oct. 22 to 26. IREM hopes that by 2009, the courses will be presented in other Chinese cities, namely in Beijing and Guangzhou.The one-week course will be offered in Shanghai in Chinese on a bi-monthly basis. “China is a huge, untapped market where a lot of…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor, MHN and Eugene Gilligan, Senior Editor, CPNWashington, D.C.–The U.S. government’s takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is a necessary step to stabilize the U.S. housing market, according to multifamily industry experts who are still examining the ramifications of the announcement.The takeover will go a long way toward solving what Stuart Saft, partner in the law firm of Dewey & LeBoeuf, called a “Catch 22” that has been bedeviling a critical part of the economy— housing. Real estate, being an illiquid asset, needs a steady stream of capital inflows, Saft points out. The credit…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor, MHN and Gail Kalinoski, Contributing Editor, Commercial Property NewsBoston–Development of Archstone Avenir, a 241-unit luxury apartment community in Downtown Boston, is moving forward with help from a $90 million construction loan arranged by the Boston and Dallas offices of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP. The 36-month construction loan was secured through NEBF Investments (National Electrical Benefit Fund), a Washington, D.C.-based union pension fund advisor and real estate investment program. John Ahmed, an HFF associate director from the Dallas office who helped arrange the financing, says HFF has worked with NEBF in the past. The fund,…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–Orlando J. Cabrera has joined the international law firm of Nixon Peabody LLP as counsel in the firm’s affordable housing practice. Cabrera was most recently assistant secretary for Public and Indian Housing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). He was nominated for the position by President George W. Bush. Cabrera will continue to serve as CEO and president of National Community Renaissance, a national, nonprofit affordable housing developer. While at HUD, Cabrera oversaw the administration of a $24 billion program, which included public housing, Section 8 vouchers and moderate rehabilitation (Mod…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–The foreclosure crisis in the U.S. has resulted in many households and investors renting their houses and condos in the current market, increasing the competition apartment firms face. In response to this competition from the shadow rental market, the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) has launched a new brochure to help apartment firms promote their professional advantage. Your Best Start to Renting Smart: Rent From the Pros is a consumer-friendly brochure, which warns that nearly 40 percent of today’s foreclosures involve a single-family house, condominium or other housing rented out by its owner. It…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWhite Plains, N.Y.–Community Housing Innovations (CHI), along with White Plains Mayor Joseph Delfino, recently broke ground on the city’s newest affordable housing development, the 14-unit Minerva Place Condominiums. Community Housing Innovations Inc., a White Plains-based nonprofit organization, is developing and constructing the project, which features the city’s first GeoExchange system for heating and cooling, making the units highly energy efficient. Patick Fitzgerald, project manager for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), notes that it is one of the first projects in the state of New York to exceed the New York…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorNew York–Sales for Madison Equities’ 57 Irving Place, a nine-unit luxury condominium, have officially begun. Comprised of six full-floor residences, a townhouse, duplex and penthouse, the development is located two blocks from Gramercy Park, a private, key-locked park.Designed by Audrey Matlock Architect, the building’s glass façade features walls of glass spanning the entire front and back of the living space. The patterned fritted glass paneling on the building is designed to look like the reflection of clouds. Additionally, each home includes floor-to-ceiling automated push-out windows. “The internal planning concepts give shape to the face of the…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.- Wachovia Securities, followed by Midland Loan Services/PNC Real Estate Finance and Capmark Financial Group Inc. are the top three commercial and multifamily loan servicers, according to a mid-year ranking report recently released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).As of the end of June 30, 2008, Wachovia Securities had $434.3 billion in U.S. master and primary servicing, while Midland Loan Services/PNC Real Estate Finance had $273.8 billion, Capmark Financial Group Inc. had $258.3 billion and Wells Fargo Bank had $179.5 billion.The report also found that Capmark ranks as the largest master and primary servicer…