Regions

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorCambridge, Mass.–ADD Inc recently received three awards, including the best residential multi-housing project, from The New England chapter of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA NE), at its second annual Interior Design Awards held at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art.IIDA NE’s Interior Design Awards recognize New England firms for outstanding interior design and excellence in teamwork.ADD Inc was one of two firms honored with three interior design awards this year. ADD Inc received the best in multi-housing award for the planning, architecture and interior design on the Archstone Boston Common, a 28-story high-density rental housing…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–Commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations continued to fall on a year-over-year basis in the second quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations. Overall, second-quarter originations were 63 percent lower than during the same period last year and multifamily property loans saw a 42 percent decrease in the same period.“Since the onset of the credit crunch, we have seen an overall slowdown in multifamily property sales transactions, Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities (CMBS) loans and issuance of mortgages in general,” Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s vice president of Commercial/Multifamily…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorDallas–Park Lane Place, a 33-acre mixed-use development in downtown Dallas featuring two million square feet of retail, apartments, condos, hotel space and offices, is expected to be complete by the end of summer. Park Lane Place will consist of a total of 625 residences, which will feature views of downtown Dallas, state-of-the-art amenities and have access to more than 50 shops and restaurants. In addition, Park Lane Place will feature a 210-room Valencia hotel, a 65,000-sq.-ft. sports club/LA health club and spa, a Whole Foods Market that is expected to be the largest in the…