Regions

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorDenver—The winners of the 2008 Design Excellence awards were announced in September at Multi-Housing World. Projects were chosen based on a number of criteria, including overall composition, functionality, aesthetics, special attributes and sustainable elements, if applicable.Click here to see all the 2008 finalists.The panel comprised of five industry professionals, including Darin Schoolmeester, AIA, LEED AP and principal at MVE & Partners in Irvine, Calif.; Susan Slotkis, Allied Member ASID, author of Foundations of Interior Design and adjunct assistant professor at F.I.T. in New York; and Bruce Englebaugh, AIA, partner at Minno & Wasko in Lambertville, N.J….

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorDenver–In this time of ever-increasing economic turmoil, is it time to buy, sell or hold? At a Multi-Housing World conference session on the apartment investment cycle, three expert panelists seeking to make sense of the past week advise that now is the time to buy.If there are no problems in your portfolio, now is not the time to sell, advised Ron Brock (pictured), president and CEO, Pierce-Eislen Inc. However, he cautioned against purchasing certain properties, particularly luxury apartments and those located in the suburbs. “Condo development is out,” he noted. The “hot areas” are student and…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorDenver–While there is plenty of bad news in the markets currently, panelists at the opening session of the 2008 Multi-Housing World Conference in Denver managed to find some good news to share with attendees. When Richard Green, Ph. D, professor and chair, University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estate, began his presentation this morning he confessed, “I find it hard to be optimistic at this time.”He painted a picture of the state of the economy and the way it relates to the multifamily sector. And though most of it was grim; spreads rising…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorDenver–With the growing concern over potential fair housing violations and the mounting number of lawsuits over such mistakes, it is crucial for the multifamily industry to be aware of a multitude of issues relating to the topic. At Multi-Housing World in Denver, a panel comprised of Anne Sadovsky, certified speaking professional; Nadeen Green, senior counsel, For Rent Media Solutions; and DJ Ryan, fair housing specialist, Kimball, Tirey & St. John LLP, discussed “what should keep you awake at night.”Whether or not you make all efforts at following fair housing practices, it is imperative that you have…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorDenver–The Multi-Housing World Conference kicked off yesterday in Denver with a series of workshops designed to tackle urgent issues facing the multifamily industry today. Green building, sustainable development, high-performance projects; whatever one’s term of preference may be, the issue at hand continues to garner growing interest in the industry. As four panelists with plenty of green credentials provided an overview of the various standards for green building today, they emphasized that those standards are tools to achieving the goal and not the goal itself. “Green is quality construction that is well thought out, planned and…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorMcLean, Va.–With the collaboration of Citi Community Capital and Municipal Capital Markets, Citi recently closed $548 million in its first Tax-Exempt Bonds Securitization (TEBS) with Freddie Mac. This is the second largest TEBS transaction in Freddie Mac’s history and one that will support more than 8,800 affordable housing units.The collateral to be securitized consists of a pool of predominantly fixed-rate, tax-exempt and taxable multifamily housing revenue bonds and is comprised of 79 tax-exempt bonds and nine taxable “tail” bonds.“The transaction is secured by 51 multifamily properties, all Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) properties,” says Mike…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSan Francisco, San Ramon, Garden Grove, Calif.–NorthMarq Capital Inc.’s (NorthMarq) San Francisco regional office, recently arranged first mortgage financing of $7.5 million for 1055 California St., a 15-unit multifamily property, located in San Francisco while the Los Angeles regional office arranged a $53 million first mortgage financing for Mill Creek at Windemere Apartments (pictured), a 400-unit multifamily complex, located in San Ramon, Calif. and $12.415 million first mortgage for the acquisition and renovation of Westminster Arms, an 88-unit multifamily property, located in Garden Grove, Calif. Financing for the San Francisco property was based on a…

Jeff Adler (pictured) is the executive vice president and chief operations officer of Apartment Investment and Management Co. (AIMCO), the largest apartment owner in the United States.He previously served as the company’s chief property operations officer and executive vice president of AIMCO Property Operations and several other positions.Currently, he focuses on initiatives in consumer marketing, customer analytics, and information technology at AIMCO. As the 2008 Multi-Housing World Conference and Exhibition kicks off in Denver today, Adler talks to MHN Online News Editor, Anuradha Kher about the state of the Denver multifamily market, how AIMCO is tackling the slowdown in the…

By Teresa O’Dea Hein, Managing EditorDenver–A busload of Multi-Housing World attendees enjoyed a comprehensive tour of multifamily developments in the Mile High City this morning as they got to see firsthand how Denver has transformed its housing stock and neighborhoods in the last 10 years, with the help of an extensive light rail system. Downtown Denver and the surrounding submarkets have become very popular places to live, with 63,000 people now residing within 1.5 miles of downtown. The building of Coors Field spurred redevelopment of many formerly derelict downtown blocks, explained Jeffrey Hawks of the Denver office of Apartment Realty…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorBethesda, Md.–Green Park Financial has announced a partnership with J.S. Watkins Partners in a multifamily small loan pool purchase program. The program will purchase pools of multifamily loans that cannot be sold to GSEs due to size restrictions.“We see it as an opportunity to help facilitate community banks—freeing up balance sheets by facilitating the sale to Fannie of loans on books that they might not otherwise be able to see, given the size of the deals individually,” says Ted Patch, chief production officer, Green Park Financial.The basic outline of the program is aimed at community bankers…