Regions

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–Move ins have begun at The Absolute, a boutique condominium located at 111 Steuben St. in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill neighborhood.The Absolute, designed by architect Gary Shoemaker, is a six-story steel framed structure, with a green-tinted insulated glass curtain wall. The building features 35 units, ranging in size from 684-sq.-ft. to 1,877-sq. ft. The project comprises one-, two and three-bedroom units, many with terraces or balconies. All units feature eco-friendly maple micro-strip hardwood floors, high ceilings and video intercom systems. The building also offers a fully equipped fitness center, onsite parking available for purchase and…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorSan Francisco—Urban Housing Group of Palo Alto, Calif., a subsidiary of The Marcus & Millichap Company, is on track to lease 25 units per month at its recently opened Strata at Mission Bay, a 192-unit mixed-use luxury community that includes 10,000 sq. ft. of ground-level retail.Despite the recession, the San Francisco market has shown strength in its occupancy numbers, with many properties maintaining 90 percent rates, Dan Deibel, vice president of development for Palo Alto-based Urban Housing Group, tells MHN. Since the Strata’s opening two weeks ago, Urban Housing Group has leased 20 units, which Deibel…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorEl Cajon, Calif.–Hendricks & Partners recently arranged the sale of The Grove (pictured), located at 346 Jamacha Rd. in El Cajon, Calif. for $14.7 million. Constructed in approximately 1973, The Grove features 144 units in 12 two-story buildings. It comprises 24 one-bedroom/one-bathroom units, 40 two-bedroom/one-bathroom units and 80 two-bedroom/two-bathroom units. Interior amenities include air conditioning (wall units), vertical blinds, refrigerators, and dishwashers in select units. Common area amenities include a swimming pool and spa, sauna, fitness room, playground, and on-site laundry facilities.NorthMarq Arranges Over $8M in Permanent Financing for 167-Unit Rental Community Denver–The Denver regional…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorDallas—PM Realty Group (PMRG), a Houston-based full-service commercial real estate firm, is now leasing The Heights at Park Lane—the residential portion of a 33.5-acre mixed-use transit oriented development comprised of 325 units in three rental buildingsThe $750 million Park Lane was developed by Dallas-based Harvest Partners. It is located next to the Park Lane station of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and across from NorthPark Center, one of the top-grossing malls in the nation. Residents will have easy access to 700,000 sq. ft. of retail, restaurant and entertainment space, including Dallas’ flagship Whole Foods Market…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorDavidson, N.C.–The Condos in South Main Square, a 26-unit project in Davidson, N.C., finished construction in September 2008. But by then, the credit markets had collapsed and buyers who were in contract for 75 percent of the units defaulted, leaving the project largely unsold. To help sell their product, Martin Grimes Development is now auctioning 17 units through Sperry Van Ness Interstate Auction Co. The project is part of a mixed-use, live-work-play community, located in the heart of the Davidson Main Street Arts District. Three units are reserved for workforce housing and will not be auctioned….

Gwen (Wendy) Rowden (pictured) recently stepped into the role of managing director of Jonathan Rose Cos.’ Investment Practice. In this capacity she will manage the Smart Growth Investment Fund I, LP, the country’s first green real estate investment fund to focus exclusively on providing superior economic returns through the creation of an American portfolio of green real estate assets in smart growth, mass transit accessible locations. Most recently, Rowden served as vice president, general counsel and secretary of Rockefeller Group International Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Japan’s Mitsubishi Estate Co. She talks to MHN Online News Editor Anuradha Kher about…

By Keat Foong, Executive EditorNew York—The number of new renters will exceed the supply of apartments by as much as two times, according to the president and CEO of Associated Estates Realty Corp. Jeffrey Friedman. In an interview with MHN, Friedman argued that demographic patterns in this and next decade dictate that there will be strong demand for apartments that will outstrip supply.  Friedman explained that the homeownership rate is about 65 percent currently, and that the total number of households in the US is about 120 million. “If 35 percent of the population rents, we are talking about 40…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorGreensboro and Fayetteville, N.C., Lexington, S.C.–Arbor Commercial Funding, LLC recently completed funding of three loans totaling $52.9 million under the Fannie Mae DUS product line. These loans include:Battleground North Apartments in Greensboro, N.C. a 288-unit complex in the amount of $16.2 million funded under the Fannie Mae DUS product line. The 10-year loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule and carries a note rate of 6.24 percent.Eagle Point Village, Fayetteville, N.C., a 300-unit complex in the amount of $18.7 million funded under the Fannie Mae DUS product line. The 10-year loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate Editor Tampa, Fla.—Tampa’s apartment fundamentals have softened considerably, according to Marcus & Millichap’s 2009 National Apartment Report.Asking rents are forecast to fall 0.8 percent, to $834 per month, while effective rents will decline 1.5 percent, to $779 per month. “Before the credit crunch hit and before the employment numbers started to soften, it was a 2 to 3 percent annual rent increase market, but I don’t think anyone realistically thinks we’ll return to that until 2011,” Jeffrey Meyer, senior investment associate and director of Marcus & Millichap’s National Multi Housing Group in Tampa, Fla., tells MHN.Vacancy…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorMemphis, Tenn.–Blackstar Urban Fund II, owned by Blackstar Capital Partners, a real estate private equity fund, recently completed restoration of The Greenstone, the first and only multifamily building to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Memphis. The Blackstar Urban Fund II is an internally capitalized fund, which has no set amount of equity, and an agenda to invest in distressed properties. The Greenstone is one such property. The building itself, which was built in 1927 and operated as a multifamily rental community for 82 years, hadn’t been given the appropriate attention….