Regions

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorHarleysville, Pa.–GPX Partners L.P. has recently acquired Village Square, a 128-unit garden-style apartment community, located at 422 Main St. in Harleysville, Pa., for $13.12 million.“Village Square is a strong addition to our growing multifamily portfolio,” says Joseph Conwell, managing director of GPX Realty Partners. “The combination of the very desirable location and our capital improvement plans will result in a high quality of living for the residents.”Built in 1972, Village Square is situated on 10.7 acres and features one- and two-bedroom units ranging from 715 sq. ft. to 875 sq. ft. Amenities in this garden-style…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorBoston–Cubellis, an international architecture, interior design and engineering firm, has entered into an agreement with 5 Capitals Environmental and Management Consulting to form an association that will provide sustainability and green building advice along with LEED (Leadership in Energy Environmental Design) accreditation services to developers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The firm will operate from its headquarters in Dubai with the help of an expert team of six to eight people that has extensive experience helping businesses find solutions to their environmental and sustainability challenges.The new association, created by Cubellis and 5 Capitals, will…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorWarrensburg, Mo.–Collegiate Development Services LP (CDS), based in Irving, Texas, and Chicago-based Harrison Street Real Estate Capital recently celebrated the grand opening of Collegiate Station at Warrensburg, the newest student apartment housing project for the University of Central Missouri.The 360-bed development comprises eight acres and five three-story garden apartment buildings. It offers 60 two-bedroom/one-bathroom units and 60 four-bedroom/two-bathroom units. Unit amenities include a full kitchen, furnished living room and bedrooms, cable television, high-speed Internet access and intrusion alarms. Additionally, the project offers a 4,257-sq.-ft. clubhouse that features a computer lab, media room, fitness center, kitchen, pool…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorAtlanta–Coro Realty Advisors LLC, an Atlanta-based real estate development firm, has topped off its latest project, Tremont, a $30 million mixed-use urban living community. It is located at 15 Habersham Rd. in Atlanta’s desirable Buckhead neighborhood. Currently under construction and built to EarthCraft House standards, Tremont will feature 78 residential units, including condo units and townhomes, starting from the mid-$200s. The project will also feature 15,000 sq. ft. of commercial space. It is anticipated that the four-story development will open for sale in early January of 2009.EarthCraft House is a green building program adopted by…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorBoston–National apartment fundamentals failed to display any demonstrable signs of improvement in the second quarter of 2008 as vacancies slipped by another 10 basis points to 6.2 percent, according to Property & Portfolio Research’s latest Apartment Trends report.“A soft job market, an increasing pace of apartment completions and persistent shadow supply were the three main reasons for this trend,” Michael Cohen, research strategist at PPR tells MHN. Cohen follows and analyzes the state of the U.S. multifamily market including both rental and for-sale product. “In the absence of job growth, people find it difficult to…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorIrvine, Calif.–Keystone Pacific Property Management Inc. has recently promoted Ron Lyen, Jeremy Niswonger and Jennifer Stocks (pictured). Lyen moves from network administrator to director of network operations, Niswonger has been promoted from general ledger associate to lead general ledger associate and Stocks, who was community association manager is now senior community association manager. All three are based in the firm’s Irvine headquarters.As director of network operations, Lyen will oversee the management information systems department, which includes managing projects, budgets, hiring and supervision of the department staff. Lyen will also help to ensure the stability of…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSacramento, Calif.–Hendricks & Partners recently completed the sale of Broadway Seniors Center, located at 5200 Broadway in Sacramento, Calif. The 120-unit senior housing community was sold for $6,850,000.Steven A. Nelson and Al R. Inouye in the Sacramento office of Hendricks & Partners negotiuated the transaction on behalf of the buyer.Arbor Closes $4M Fannie Mae Co-op Loan for 267-Unit Rental PropertyWayne, Mich.–Arbor Commercial Funding LLC has recently completed funding of a $4 million loan under the Fannie Mae Co-op product line to refinance the 267-unit complex known as Hickory Hollow Cooperative Townhouses in Wayne, Mich.The 30-year…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has assembled a task force of MBA members to examine policy options and issue recommendations for the future of the secondary mortgage market. Michael D. Berman, CMB, MBA’s incoming vice chairman and the president of CWCapital of Needham, Mass., will lead the Council on Ensuring Mortgage Liquidity (CEML). “The next 16 months will see a wide-ranging policy debate focusing on the recreation and redefinition of the secondary mortgage market and the roles that Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the federal home loan banks will play,” says David G. Kittle, CMB,…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–The level of distress among apartment sellers is increasing rapidly, according to the latest Capital Trends Monthly report on the apartment sector, released by Real Capital Analytics (RCA). The continuing effects of the collapsed condo conversion market have elevated levels of distress since 2006, but the recent spike indicates that financial troubles beyond the failed conversions are starting to emerge. Over eight percent of recent apartment sales can be linked to a distressed seller, and this percentage has quadrupled over the past year. By dollar volume, distressed apartment sales have ranged between four percent…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorChicago—Standing at 1,362 ft. and 92 stories, the tallest North American residential high-rise, Trump International Hotel & Tower, Chicago, was topped off in late September. The project will offer 486 condominiums and—located on floors 17 through 27—339 hotel condominiums. Both tower residents and hotel guests have access to the development’s services and amenities. The residential condominiums have their own lobby and elevator, separate from hotel guests.Closings for the condo hotel portion of the project began this spring and closings on the condominiums began in August. Seventy-five percent of the property has been sold. Construction is expected…