Regions

By Keat Foong, Executive Editor Washington, D.C.—Delinquency rates for multifamily and commercial real estate in the third quarter remain historically low, less than 1 percent, although they have ticked up, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The third quarter Commercial/Multifamily Delinquency Report from MBA shows that between the second and third quarters, the 30-plus-day delinquency rate on loans held in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) rose 0.10 percentage points to 0.63 percent.  The 60-plus-day delinquency rate on multifamily loans held or insured by Fannie Mae rose 0.05 percentage points to 0.16 percent. The 60-plus-day delinquency rate on multifamily loans held…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorMonrovia, Calif.—Urban Housing Group, a subsidiary of the Marcus & Millichap Company, has broken ground on The Courtyards at Old Town, a mixed-use community that will include 163 luxury apartments and 6,000 sq. ft. of commercial space.The city of Monrovia features many examples of turn-of-the-century architecture, says Jirair Garabedian, AIA, LEED AP, studio director at KTGY Group, the architecture firm that worked on the project. “We approached the design of the project to be sensitive to that, to compliment Old Town, whether with the massing or the choice of materials.”Monrovia, a town of approximately 50,000 people,…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorParsippany, N.J.—NorthMarq Capital Inc. recently arranged a $26 million construction facility for a 73-acre, 156-unit adult community.“The successful outcome illustrates there is still financing available for well-conceived, for-sale development projects that have a viable exit strategy,” says Martin Klebanoff, senior vice president and co-manging director of NorthMarq.NorthMarq secured a revolving, interest-only construction facility from a regional bank for the age-restricted community, which offers 96 condominiums and 60 detached single-family homes. PNC ARCS Arranges $4.1M for 49-Unit Calif. PropertyHawthorne, Calif.—PNC ARCS has arranged a $4.162 million loan for Eucalyptus Villas Apartments, a 49-unit apartment community in Hawthorne,…

By Teresa O’Dea Hein, Managing EditorLos Angeles–In true Hollywood fashion, the recent well-choreographed topping out ceremony for the W Hollywood Hotel & Residences included a dramatic performance by aerial acrobats unfurling celebratory banners from the rooftop. The $600 million Hollywood & Vine mixed-use development includes 143 W Residences, an adjacent 305-room W Hotel, Legacy Partners’ 1600 Vine apartment homes, approximately 50,000 square feet of retail space, and transit plaza improvements at the Hollywood/Vine Red Line Metro Station in Hollywood. The whole project is slated for completion in Fall 2009.The W Residences are condos that are hotel branded, not condo-hotel rooms,…

By Keat Foong, Executive Editor Austin, Texas–Rental affordability is likely to continue to be an issue despite the recession, suggests a research report from Mission Residential LLC, an apartment development and investment company. Analyzing data from the American Housing Survey, Richard Moody, chief economist and director of research at Mission Residential wrote that “renter households continue to face imposing housing cost burdens, an issue that will only be compounded by what looks to be a deep and prolonged recession in the U.S. economy.” Mission Residential’s December 2008 research report entitled “Affordability Remains an Issue in Rental Housing Market” said that…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate Editor Cambridge, Mass.—KeyBank Real Estate Capital has closed $51.8 million in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans for four multifamily properties in Mass. and N.Y.Two of the four borrowers used Fannie Mae funding for properties in Mass. Forest City 91 Sidney Street LLC borrowed $25 million in Fannie Mae DMBS funding to refinance its 135-unit, 10-story mid-rise property in Cambridge, which is part of the 27-acre master-planned development at University Park at MIT. Spring Meadows Associates LLC borrowed $2.9 million in Fannie Mae acquisition funding for a 22-unit building in Danvers, Mass.In N.Y., KeyBank Real Estate…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorIrvine, Calif.—Douglas Woodward has been named managing director of Enterprise Land Fund LLC, a partnership of IHP Capital Partners and LARO Properties LP. In this role, Woodward will initially be focusing on the purchase, entitlement and development of land in the cities of Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego, including infill properties.“We believe in working with property owners to create value with well-designed residential projects that will be highly desired by homebuilders as we move into a positive market environment,” Woodward says.Prior to joining Enterprise Land Fund, Woodward served as president and founder of TDAC…

By Keat Foong, Executive EditorWashington, D.C.—The government will likely continue to support Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as long as is necessary, suggested a senior fellow at the conservative think-tank American Enterprise Institute. “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will continue in business into the future under the government’s control,” Peter Wallison tells MHN. Wallison said the $200 billion the Treasury has so far committed to backstop Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to keep them solvent will not be nearly enough. There are huge amounts of supprime and other debt that the companies contracted between 2005 and 2007, he said. These…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate Editor Los Angeles—Milbank Real Estate, a Los Angeles-based developer and real estate investment firm, recently opened its newest condominium, The Roosevelt, a 222-unit adaptive reuse project. The transit-oriented development is situated directly above the Seventh Street Metro station.Bank of America provided the construction loan for the $150 million project, which will also be receiving a tax credit from the Los Angeles Conservancy.“Over the last few years, there has been a trend of either converting some of the older office buildings into residential or building brand-new units into downtown L.A. to create a residential neighborhood in downtown,”…

By Teresa O’Dea Hein, Managing EditorWashington, D.C.–While many people may be counting down the shopping days to Christmas, there are only 74 days left, as of December 5, until the end of analog television broadcasts. Are you, and your communities, prepared for Feb. 17, 2009 transition to digital TV?To highlight this issue, the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) recently held a Webinar to point out what property owners and managers need to consider to prepare for the elimination of analog TV broadcasting. Interestingly, said Steven Hill, vice president of training and technology for the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association, February…