Regions

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorMiami—CondoReports.com recently launched a BuildingHealth Index, the first measure of condominium building health county-wide throughout Miami Dade County. The index will provide ratings on nearly 2,000 condominium and townhome communities. “It is vitally important for buyers to know the stability and potential risk of the buildings they are buying into. Just because a unit appears to be cheap, doesn’t mean it may not drop in price further,” says Adam Cappel, president of CondoReports.com and creator of the index. “Beyond pricing dynamics, lower-rated buildings are more prone to special assessment or higher maintenance simply because of the…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorDallas–The RealPage User Conference kicked off this morning in Dallas with an opening session presented by president and CEO Steve Winn. With football as an analogy for running an apartment business, Winn explained how the company’s new products and upgrades can result in a winning game for their customers.“Football is the perfect metaphor for where we are in the multifamily industry today,” he said. “Challenges we face in the apartment arena can be likened to butting heads in a football game.  But by using our new technologies, companies can overcome and beat their competition.” “We…

By: Barbra Murray, Contributing EditorThe dismal economy continued its stranglehold on the commercial real estate industry, as per CBRE Econometric Advisors’ recently released analysis, pushing up vacancies in the office, industrial and retail property markets. But there was one surprise. Demand in the multi-family sector, despite the ongoing job losses that are hindering the formation of new households, was essentially unchanged from the first quarter of the year. Neither the central business district nor the suburban office markets were able to put a lid on the growing stock of available space. Suffering an increase of 80 basis points, the office vacancy…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate Editor Torrance, Calif.—Withee Malcolm Architects has received three top awards for its recent multifamily commissions.“We pride ourselves in creating projects that fit the context, that deliver based on what’s around it. We want to be good neighbors, but we want to have projects that enhance the community around it. Because we do infill, lifestyle is a big part of that,” Dan Withee, principal at Withee Malcolm Architects, tells MHN.Two of the honors were 2009 PCBC (Pacific Coast Builders Conference) Gold Nugget Awards. Withee’s Carson Senior/Workforce mixed-use project (top right) received the award for “Outstanding on the…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorMorris County, N.J.–NorthMarq Capital has closed a $10 million multifamily loan on a 372-unit garden-style apartment complex in Morris County, N.J.  NorthMarq said its New Jersey team canvassed the market and quickly obtained extremely favorable financing for this upscale complex with a full amenities package.  Through its relationship with a local bank, NorthMarq secured a loan for its client of $10 million for 10 years on a 30-year amortization schedule at a fixed rate of 5.70 percent on a non-recourse basis.  Arbor Closes $2,025,000 Fannie Mae DUS Small LoanGrenaga, Mass.
–Arbor Commercial Funding LLC recently completed…

Mexico City, MEXICO–CB Richard Ellis has appointed Lyman Daniels (pictured first from top) to the position of president of CBRE Mexico. A commercial real estate executive in Mexico, Daniels will be instrumental in leading the growth of CBRE’s business in Mexico across all lines of business.
Since 2006, Daniels has served as the executive director and vice president for Hines in Mexico and Central America, overseeing more than $800 million of investment in the region and providing property and asset management direction for more than 50 properties. Daniels has been instrumental in shaping the commercial real estate market in Mexico and…

By Brooks Rainwater, American Institute of ArchitectsCurrently, buildings are the largest single source of emissions to our environment. Approximately 40 percent of all carbon emissions come from buildings, and these are the places where you live, work and play. At the American Institute of Architects, we are approaching sustainability and green buildings with a solutions-based approach that embraces technological change and incorporates the business case for green buildings. The green trend has become immeasurably stronger during the past decade, as prices for green materials have decreased and knowledge of green design has increased. As green building technology has improved over…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorSan Francisco—San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom recently passed an ordinance that would require residential and commercial building owners to sign up for both recycling and composting services.“Cities have been struggling with recycling rates that have been pretty stagnant; they haven’t increased as much as recycling program managers would have liked,” notes Kendall Christiansen, a recycling industry expert who helped to launch New York’s recycling program and who is principal of Brooklyn-based Gaia Strategies, a public affairs consultancy for environmental business. The challenge of recycling at multifamily buildings is “the anonymity of residents, which makes it hard…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorMartinez, Calif.–Nonprofit developer Resources for Community Development (RCD) and KTGY Group Inc., Architecture and Planning, are proposing to contribute to the renaissance of Martinez’s downtown area. Using the inspiration of the local architecture and the latest in green building technologies and design, RCD is in negotiations to purchase 1.03 acres at 310 Berrellesa St. in Martinez as the site to build Berrellesa Palms.Designed by KTGY, Berrellesa Palms is a proposed environmentally- and pedestrian-friendly, transit-oriented community, which will provide 48 one-bedroom apartments (plus an on-site manager’s unit) for active seniors 55 years of age and over,…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorWashington, D.C.—Sustainability is a buzzword for today’s consumers and likely a requirement for them tomorrow, noted Bobby Bowling, president of Tropicana Building Corp. and moderator for an NAHB Multifamily Webinar, entitled “Green Building: A Cost/Benefit Analysis.”Speakers Sanford Steinberg, AIA, principal of Steinberg Design Collaborative LLP, and Patrick Dennis, regional construction manager at Wood Partners, discussed ANSI’s (American National Standards Institute) new National Green Building Standard (NGBS) and its application to the multifamily industry, as well as the cost of going green.(Click here for MHN’s coverage of the National Green Building Standard.)“What’s unique is that it gives…