Regions

Washington, D.C.–The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Mortgagee Review Board has suspended three lenders based on evidence of serious violations under HUD’s regulations. The three lenders are Golden First Mortgage Corp of Great Neck, N.Y., Great Country Mortgage Bankers, Inc. of Coral Gables, Fla. and Beneficial Mortgage Corporation of San Juan, P.R.   They are now prohibited from originating new FHA-insured mortgages pending completion of HUD’s investigation into their lending practices.The Board found that Golden First Mortgage (GFM) failed to notify HUD/FHA of an investigation by the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) into the business activities of the company’s…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSeattle–Alliance Residential Co. recently added the Broadstone Domaine project to its property management portfolio. The company has completed condo conversion on the 91-unit apartment community in Seattle, which is now open for leasing.Located at 2480 and 2483 Birch Ave. North, in the Queen Anne neighborhood, the newly built property had not sold any of the units prior to Alliance buying it. “Units in a number of for-sale projects in Seattle, as in other parts of the country, are not selling at the price that builders initially expected,” Kelly Hughes, VP of Operations, tells MHN. “Which…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorDenver–The Denver regional office of NorthMarq Capital has arranged a $41 million construction/permanent loan for The Carillon at Boulder Creek, a 117-unit senior living community located at 2525 Taft Dr. in Boulder, Colo. It is a nine-story building currently being renovated to feature 54 senior residential units, as well as construction of 63 new units on ground previously occupied by a one-story skilled nursing wing. The property will be operated by One Eighty/Leisure Care with amenities including a full service restaurant, outdoor garden and walking path, spa/salon, gym and an indoor lap pool. The property…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, along with the city of Chicago, recently launched HUD’s “Recovery Act in Action” Week, along with $143 million in Recovery Act funds, in order to improve Chicago public housing, create jobs and jumpstart the local economy. The announcement marks the first day of HUD’s “Recovery Act in Action” Week, which is dedicated to communication with HUD’s stakeholders, grantees, staff and partners about the funds that are available for competition and Recovery Act program implementation. The week will include three days of webcasts that will provide education…

By Keat Foong, Executive EditorLafayette, La.—The sale of Grand Pointe Apartments provides an example of the kinds of transactions that can take place in a down market—in which a strong market and high quality asset can help facilitate any deal.  Apartment Realty Advisors (ARA) brokered the sale of the Class A luxury apartment community based here by the Mississippi-based regional developer of the property. On behalf of ARA’s Secondary Markets team based in Austin, Texas, Matt Heininger represented the developer.  The buyer was an Omaha-based national investment corporation which owns and manages apartments throughout central U.S. “Despite the current difficult…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorIrvine, Calif.–The Granite Court Apartment Homes in Irvine, Calif. are all set to open this July. Designed by KTGY GROUP, INC., Architecture and Planning and developed by Jamboree Housing Corp., Granite Court is an affordable housing community for families earning between 30 percent and 60 percent of the area median income. Granite Court features 71 units with 20 one-bedroom, 20 two-bedroom, and 31 three-bedroom apartments. Granite Court is situated on 1.23 acres in the city’s urban core at 2853 Kelvin Ave. in Irvine with a design that’s green, smart growth, modern, compact, with four stories…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorLos Angeles—Abode Communities, in collaboration with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), has completed construction documents for Glassell Park, a new joint-use community that will co-locate housing and an LAUSD school on the same site, the first development of its kind in Los Angeles.“This program was thought of as an opportunity to utilize surplus land to produce housing, if possible for the workforce,” explains Robin Hughes, president and CEO of Abode Communities. “It’s an initiative that allows the school district to support affordable housing and workforce housing for district employees.”Hughes tells MHN that the Southern…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate Editor Atlanta—Gables Residential has received EarthCraft Multifamily certification for three new apartment communities. The EarthCraft program is a residential green building program of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association in partnership with Southface.  In addition to achieving the certification, the company received the 2009 EarthCraft Multifamily Developer of the Year.“The City of Atlanta has a program that [will incentivize] developers to build toward a green standard,” Joe Wilber, senior vice president of investments for the East, tells MHN. “We feel like we are pioneers in the city because we did it without incentives being offered and…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorMadison, Wis.–Hendricks & Partners’ National Affordable Housing Group has arranged the sale of the 210-unit Wisconsin Affordable Housing Portfolio (pictured) for $8,068,000.The seller was Dunn County Realty Group (DCRG), Housing Development Services (HDS), and Housing Management Services (HMS) of New Richmond, Wis. and the buyer was WHPC- Dunn County, LLC, WHPC- Washburn County, LLC and WHPC- St. Croix County II, LLC of Madison, Wis.The 14-property portfolio was primarily developed as HUD Project-Based Section 8 housing for the benefit of qualified low-income elderly residents via Wisconsin Housing & Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) and USDA Section 515…

Alex Palmer, ContributorNew York–Consumers are open to making energy-saving lifestyle changes. But, they are still far from becoming active managers of their household energy use, per new research from Nielsen Claritas. The annual Convergence Audit drew on data from more than 32,000 respondents replying both online and through the mail about their energy behavior.While consumers are generally on board with energy conscious products, their green behavior has yet to extend to their habits in monitoring and paying for the energy in their homes.Services offered by local utilities such as whole house energy audits, energy efficient HVAC rebates and weatherization services…