Regions

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorJersey City, N.J.—“A” Condominiums, a 33-story complex, developed by the Athena Group and located on Washington Boulevard and First St. in Jersey City, opened this week. The 250-unit complex, which has 10,500 sq.-ft. of retail space, has sold more than 80 percent of the units.The building has one-and two-bedroom apartments ranging in price from $400,000 to $1.2 million.“A” Condominiums (pictured) is designed by the international architectural firm RMJM Hillier to integrate existing local brick architecture with contemporary glass buildings. The building’s architecture is aimed at incorporating the typology and scale of the New York City…

Denver–GID Investment Advisers LLC has acquired The District at Southmoor Station, a mixed-use property containing 276 luxury apartment units and 16,617-sq.-ft. retail space. The property is located at the intersection of Interstate-25 and Hampden Avenue, near the Southmoor Station stop on the Regional Transit District light rail.The building includes studios, lofts, and one-and two-bedroom apartments with average rents of $1,300.Amenities include a swimming pool, resident lounge, fitness center, business center and a 5-story parking garage. The apartments include stainless steel and black appliances, granite counter tops, wood cabinetry in the kitchen and full-size washer & dryers in all units. Matt…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–Greenbelt, Brooklyn’s first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified condominium project is opening at 361 Manhattan Ave., with sales for the project expected to begin in February 2008.The eight-unit building includes one- and two-bedroom condominiums ranging in price from $599,000 to 815,000.Greenbelt was designed to save more than 40 percent on energy use and 30 percent on water usage as well as to improve the indoor air quality. 40 percent of the materials used in the construction of the building are recycled, rapidly renewable and certified.“Greenbelt integrates every aspect of an environmentally…

New York–As U.S. regional banks, credit unions and global financial institutions write down the value of their holdings, deficits from subprime mortgage-related securities could total more than $265 billion, according to Standard & Poor’s.The New York-based ratings agency put $534 billion of bonds and collateralized debt obligations connected with subprime home loans on review Wednesday, Bloomberg reports.In addition, Moody’s Investors Service said Thursday that losses from mortgages packaged into bonds in 2006 likely will be between 14 and 18 percent.Banks and securities firms including Citigroup Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. have comprised most of the $90 billion in writedowns…

Washington, D.C.–Consumer spending rose in December–but not as much as in the previous month, the Commerce Department said Thursday.Personal consumption grew by 0.2 percent from November to December, the slowest pace since June. November spending increased by a revised 1.0 percent; November spending originally was perceived to be 1.1 percent higher, the Wall Street Journalreports.After adjusting for inflation, consumer spending–which comprises roughly 70 percent of the economic activity in the U.S.–was flat.Gross domestic product government data released Wednesday indicated consumer spending slowed in from the third to the fourth quarter. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index also increased 0.2 percent…

New York–Developer Larry Silverstein announced plans this week to build New York’s tallest residential building, which will sit two blocks from the former World Trade Center site and contain a Four Seasons hotel, the New York Sun reports.Architect Robert A.M. Stern will design the 80-story limestone building, which will be located at 99 Church St. The residents’ lobby will be at 30 Park Place; the hotel lobby will be located off Barclay Street. The structure will feature 143 luxury condominiums; the 175-room Four Seasons will occupy the building’s first 22 floors.The hotel will include four floors of amenities such as…

Washington, D.C.–Two Houston lawmakers criticized officials–from both the government and Texas–this week for the slow housing replacement rate for Hurricane Rita and Katrina victims, the Houston Chronicle said.At the investigative hearing, held by the House Homeland Security Committee in Washington, D.C., Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, called the efforts “a complete failure” and Rep. Al Green, D-Houston suggested “heads really should roll for letting this go on and on and on.” Thousands of Texans have been living for more than three years in trailers that contain cancer-causing formaldehyde, according to Jackson Lee and Green.Government agencies and Texas officials blamed other…

Bergen County, N.J.–Gebroe-Hammer Associates, a N.J-based real estate investment company, negotiated the sale of eight multifamily properties totaling 299 rental units in the Bergen County area for a total of $44 million. The properties include Ann Foschini Estate, Riverside Terrace, the Grand Imperial, the Imperial, 222 Elleen Terrace, 403 Prospect Avenue, 7 Amsterdam Avenue and 333 Willow Street in the Hackensack, Teaneck and Bogota regions of Bergen County.Greg Pine, vice president at Gebroe-Hammer Associates, who specializes in the Northern New Jersey marketplace worked on the all-cash sales.

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Foundation and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) will release the nation’s first sustainable residential remodeling guidelines at the annual ASID conference, Interiors 08, in March 2008.The guidelines, called the Regreen program, are designed in way in which residential designers, construction professionals and homeowners can use them. Regreen includes best practices, learning programs and valuable print and electronic resources for those looking to go green in an existing home.“Regreen is an important collaboration between both of our organizations,” says Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair of…

Washington, D.C.–The Federal Bureau of Investigation has opened criminal inquiries into 14 companies in connection with a mortgage industry investigation, the Wall Street Journal reports.Although the F.B.I. did not identify the companies under investigation, it said the investigation, which began last spring, includes potential accounting fraud, insider trading and other violations that originated with loans made to subprime borrowers. The inquiry includes mortgage lenders, loan brokers and Wall Street banks that wrapped home loans with securities in sales. The F.B.I. is working with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is conducting roughly three dozen civil investigations involving how subprime loans…