Regions

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorMilwaukee–Siegel-Gallagher Management Co., a division of Siegel-Gallagher ONCO International, a Milwaukee-based full-service commercial real estate firm, has landed the management assignment for Wisconsin Tower, a 74-unit, 22-story condo tower.“I think the Board of Directors selected us because we mostly do high-rise management and we are associated with two other really high-end condos–Kilbourn Tower and University Club Tower,” says Kris Ruka, property manager for Wisconsin Tower.Wisconsin Tower is an adaptive reuse of the Mariner Tower, which was used as commercial and medical space, until it was sold in 1971. Originally designed by Chicago-based Weary and Alford, the…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorOakland, Calif.–PropertyBridge Inc.’s payments platform is now fully integrated with Yardi Systems for the purposes of integrating its electronic payment services with Yardi’s property management system.  PropertyBridge is the first electronic payments provider to integrate with Yardi using the MITS (Multifamily Information and Transactions Standards) Residential Transactions 2.0 Standard, as part of Yardi’s MITS-based Standard Interfaces Program.By merging data between management and accounting systems and the PropertyBridge Payments Platform, property management firms streamline core administrative practices, and significantly reduce the time required to process resident payments. The full integration makes it possible for property managers…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorAtlanta–In the midst of the housing crisis, Apartment Realty Advisors (ARA) has revealed that its mid-year national multi-housing transaction volume has increased 11 percent over the same period last year, equaling $2.6 billion.In a recently released report by Real Estate Alert, ARA was ranked number two nationally for multifamily production, right behind CBRE. The gap in production value for the two companies was $186 million as compared to last year’s mid-year figures when CBRE’s multifamily volume totaled $6 billion as compared to ARA’s volume of $1.9 billion. ARA attributes the increased transaction volume to several…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorBryan, Texas; Lawrence, Mass.; Buffalo, Minn.–NorthMarq Capital Inc. recently arranged construction/mini-perm financing of approximately $43.82 million and secured an equity of $11.42 million for Wave’s Z Islander, an 852-bed, 368-unit student housing facility, located in Bryan, Texas.The company also arranged first mortgage bridge financing of $16.195 million for Hampton on Beacon Street Apartments, a 222-unit multifamily property, located in Lawrence, Mass. and first mortgage financing of $4.16 million for Evergreen Square Apartments, a 78-unit multifamily property, located in Buffalo, Minn.The construction/mini-perm financing is based on a term of 42 months with interest-only for the construction…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorAsheville, N.C.–The National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the U.S. Conference of Mayors have named Asheville, N.C. an Ambassador city for expanding affordable housing. Asheville is receiving the designation in recognition of the Mayor’s Affordable Housing Task Force, aimed at addressing the city’s growing need for affordable housing. The city, Asheville Board of Realtors (ABR) and more than a dozen other groups joined forces to help create the city’s first affordable housing plan.”Realtors build communities and care about the lack of affordable housing in many of our towns and cities,” says Pat V. Combs, NAR’s…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorBeijing, China–The Olympic Village in Beijing has earned LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council under the Neighborhood Development program. It is the first Olympic Village to receive LEED certification.A project of Guo Ao Development Company, the Olympic Village is one of only eight communities–and the first international one–to earn certification under this pilot program. The LEED for Neighborhood Development program incorporates principles of smart growth, New Urbanism and green building, and certifies neighborhoods based on their design and performance in the categories of smart location and linkage,…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorDallas–Park Lane Place, a 33-acre mixed-use development in downtown Dallas featuring two million square feet of retail, apartments, condos, hotel space and offices, is expected to be complete by the end of summer. Park Lane Place will consist of a total of 625 residences, which will feature views of downtown Dallas, state-of-the-art amenities and have access to more than 50 shops and restaurants. In addition, Park Lane Place will feature a 210-room Valencia hotel, a 65,000-sq.-ft. sports club/LA health club and spa, a Whole Foods Market that is expected to be the largest in the…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–The government-insured share of mortgage applications tripled in the past year, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly mortgage applications survey. Of all mortgage applications accepted during the month of July 2008, 29.1 percent were for government-insured loans (consisting mostly of Federal Housing Administration loans (FHA)), compared to 8.4 percent in July 2007. The government-insured share has been increasing since February 2007 but only since the beginning of this year has the share exhibited significant increases, up from 9.4 percent in January. Since the MBA survey’s inception in January 1990, the lowest…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorMarcus & Millichap Opens New Office in Jackson, Miss., Appoints Matthew M. Fitzgerald as Regional ManagerJackson, Miss.–Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services has opened a new office in Jackson, Miss. and has appointed Matthew M. Fitzgerald (pictured right) as regional manager. “The opening of our new Jackson office marks the first time a national commercial real estate brokerage firm has entered the state of Mississippi,” explains Fitzgerald. “Marcus & Millichap will serve a segment of the Southeast investment community that has been overlooked in the past. We opened this office to meet the growing demands…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorWashington, D.C.–As part of its Brownfields Sustainability Pilots, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing $500,000 in technical assistance for the sustainable assessment, cleanup and redevelopment of 16 brownfields throughout the nation.The program will allow states and communities to work together to reuse a number of brownfields for a multitude of uses, including commercial, residential and recreational, as well as for development of a solar power plant and a nonprofit organization. The assistance will help to support sustainable activities, including reusing and recycling construction and demolition materials, green building and infrastructure design, energy efficiency, water…