Regions

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorEnglewood, Colo.–Jeff Adler, former chief property operations officer at AIMCO and Jack Kern, former investment research director at Archstone-Smith and vice chair of the NMHC Research Committee, have formed a new multifamily investment vehicle, Sanctuary Multifamily Advisors. The asset management firm, one of Sanctuary Group’s companies, which Adler formed in October 2008 after departing AIMCO, plans to initially acquire and renovate 5,000 to 7,000 units in Denver, San Diego and Orange County, Calif.“Our concept all along has been to marry a solid quantitative foundation in investment analysis with moderate leverage and a passion for the…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorChapel Hill, N.C.–NorthMarq Capital recently arranged first mortgage financing of $13.11 million for The Pointe at Chapel Hill, a 240-unit multifamily complex, located in Chapel Hill, N.C. Financing was based on a five-year interest-only term and was arranged for the borrower, a Chicago-based apartment owner and manager, by NorthMarq through its affiliate AmeriSphere Multifamily Finance, a Fannie Mae DUS lender.Love Funding Closes $5.56M Loan for 40-Bed Assisted Living Property  Leesburg, Va.–Love Funding recently utilized LEAN processing to close a $5,560,000 refinance loan for Meadow Glen of Leesburg, a 40-bed assisted living facility located in Leesburg,…

By Keat Foong, Executive Editor Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.—Has the apartment market bottomed? Here is one company that is currently in acquisitions mode for conventional apartments.  The Newport Beach-based Stoneridge Capital Partners purchased the Class A, 498-unit Avila Apartment Homes here from The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company for $70 million. According to Greg Merage, CEO of Stoneridge Capital Partners, the company is able to move forward on this transaction because it has patient, internal, capital that invests for the long-term. Also, the company believes in the long-range fundamentals for multifamily in Orange County, especially in south Orange County where…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorDallas–The Villas of Hillcrest (pictured first from top), designed by Humphreys & Partners Architects L.P., is the first affordable housing development to win a McSAM Award in the 30-year history of the Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas’ annual competition. The project, located in North Dallas, won the “Best Multifamily Rental Community” category.”Incorporating affordable housing into an established neighborhood is no easy task,” says Jenny Lynn of the Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas. “The Villas of Hillcrest is a prime example of the role that design plays in overcoming the challenges of adding affordable…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorBrooklyn—Scarano Architects PLLC has helped to bring Olive Park, a seven-story, 87-unit luxury condominium development located at 100 Maspeth Ave. in Brooklyn, up to code and ready for sale.Brought in as troubleshooters, Scarano Architects helped developer Aron Deutsch and George Schwartz Architects complete the project without having to start from the beginning, explains Robert M. Scarano, Jr., AIA, FARA, ALA, president and principal architect at Scarano Architects.Under Department of Building zoning laws, the building was required to be set back 15 ft. from the street, based upon its height. The team would have been required to…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–New home construction fell to its lowest pace on record in April, according to the Census Bureau’s latest report. Multi-housing starts for April are down to 78,000 units, a 42 percent drop from last month and a whopping 74 percent drop year-over-year. This dragged down the overall housing starts by 12.8 percent last month from March, to an annual pace of 458,000 units.While some forecasters were disappointed, as they had hoped for a modest increase, others were pleased that the supply is reflecting the demand in the market. “It’s about time the number fell…

New York—Anthony Morena, AIA, architect and principal at The REDD Group, a firm that designs, develops and manages properties, has been selected to judge MHN’s second annual Green Initiative Awards. Morena’s eco-friendly residential work includes the 10-unit 100 Gold Street and the eight-unit project at 294 Ainslie Street, both in Brooklyn. At 100 Gold, REDD Group is purchasing renewable energy credits and assisting in funding reforestation projects to offset the building’s carbon emissions for the first year.”We have had a lot of great interest in the building so far, primarily because we are able to provide a well-conceived, quality, ‘green’…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorRancho Cucamonga, Calif.–HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) recently arranged a $23.28 million refinancing for Ironwood Apartments (pictured), a 260-unit multifamily community in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.Working on behalf of institutional investors advised by J. P. Morgan Asset Management – Global Real Assets, HFF senior managing director Whit Wilcox placed the seven-year, adjustable-rate loan with the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). Loan proceeds are paying off a maturing loan that the borrower had with a portfolio lender.  HFF recently closed on a $22.1 million financing for the adjacent Fairway Palms Apartments.  Located at 11100 4th…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is offering nearly $1 billion to make substantial improvements to thousands of public housing units nationwide. The Public Housing Capital Funds are being provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and are designed to help selected public housing authorities improve the quality of their housing stock, promote energy efficiency and create jobs.In March, HUD allocated nearly $3 billion in Recovery Act funding to more than 3,100 public housing authorities across the U.S. That funding is already being put to work to improve public…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate Editor  Nashville, Tenn.—The Gulch, developed by MarketStreet Enterprises and planned by Looney Ricks Kiss Architects Inc., is the first neighborhood in the South to receive LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for Neighborhood Development Silver certification. The Gulch is one of the first fourteen neighborhoods internationally to become LEED ND-certified in this pilot program. “The Gulch is representative of a new generation of higher-density multifamily and mixed-use communities, particularly in the South, where it is somewhat of a new phenomenon,” notes Paige Close, principal at Looney Ricks Kiss Architects, adding, “there has traditionally been a…