Regions

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorLawrence, N.J.–Boston Capital recently invested $8,229,843 in equity financing for Heritage Village at Lawrence Apartments, a to-be-built, 64-unit seniors housing development in Lawrence, N.J.The general partner is Community Investment Strategies Inc. “Heritage Village at Lawrence Apartments provides us with a great opportunity to serve a demand for multifamily housing for seniors in an area experiencing strong population growth,” says Jeff Goldstein, CEO and director of Real Estate at Boston Capital. “We are extremely pleased to once again be in partnership with Community Investment Strategies and offer seniors high-quality, multifamily housing.”Heritage Village at Lawrence Apartments will…

By Lisa Iannucci, Green Building CorrespondentPortland, Ore.–Slowly, more mortgage companies are coming on board to offer discounted rate programs to homeowners who are interested in investing in green homebuilding. Earth Advantage Inc., a nonprofit corporation and homebuilding source for sustainable and climate solutions located in Portland, Ore., has partnered with Countrywide Home Loans, a division of Countrywide Bank, FSB, to launch the Countrywide’s new Green Incentive Program for home buyers. In this program, Countrywide provides a .125 percent interest rate reduction on a Countrywide loan used to purchase a newly constructed green home. The program will initially be available to…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorPhiladelphia–Dranoff Properties broke ground yesterday on 770 South Broad, Philadelphia’s first LEED-registered residential, mixed-use building.Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, City Councilman Frank DiCicco and Delaware Valley Green Building Council Chairman of the Board Dan Garofalo were present at the groundbreaking along with the developer.The five-story project will feature 146 luxury loftstyle apartments and 18,000 sq. ft. of retail space along with high-efficiency heating and cooling systems. The high-tech roof will dissipate summertime heat, while floor-to-ceiling glass will let natural light in.The project includes a comprehensive carbon management plan, which makes full use of public transportation, including…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorColumbia, Md.–A group of cross-industry organizations, including Enterprise Community Partners, Low Income Investment Fund and National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies, have come together to form the “Save America’s Neighborhoods” campaign. The campaign is urging Congress to include a provision for a minimum of $4 billion in emergency grants in the upcoming Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, which the Senate is expected to vote on next week.The $4 billion emergency funding would be used to facilitate the bulk purchase and rehabilitation of foreclosed homes in targeted areas. In turn, this would help…

New York–A new program unveiled Wednesday by New York’s chief judge could help save homes about to fall into foreclosure in the state, the New York Times reports. Under the plan, a new section of the court would be created to help lenders and borrowers reach a settlement more quickly. Foreclosure notification times would drastically increase, giving homeowners more warning their homes were in danger.Homeowners also would receive contact information for legal and foreclosure counselors and would be asked to appear in court for a settlement conference, the Times said.However, the program’s effectiveness will rely heavily on lender participation. Certain…

Washington, D.C.–Although the number of workers submitting new unemployment benefit claims declined slightly last week, the previous week’s large increase suggests that the U.S. labor market is still struggling, according to The Wall Street Journal. Continuing claims lasting more than one week stayed above the three million mark for the eighth consecutive week–which indicates it’s still taking significant time to find a new job.After seasonal adjustments, initial jobless benefit claims dropped 5,000 to 381,000 in the week ended June 14, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week new claims average, thought to represent general job trends, increased by 3,250 to…

Washington, D.C.–Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is pushing for the Federal Reserve to play a bigger role in monitoring the U.S. financial system, CNNMoney.com said Thursday.In remarks released before Paulson’s speech at a luncheon in Washington, D.C. Thursday, Paulson encourages the country to overhaul the regulation of its financial system as soon as possible.His plan–which would appoint the Fed as a type of moderator, enabling the central bank to intervene if the markets become endangered by anything similar to Bear Stearns’ March breakdown–is the biggest move to change Wall Street since the Great Depression, CNNMoney.com said.  To successfully oversee the financial…

New York–FBI agents took former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin into custody Thursday in connection with their participation in the collapse of two funds that helped spark the subprime mortgage collapse, Bloomberg reports.The arrests–the first from a federal probe of possible fraud by banks and mortgage firms whose investments in subprime loans and securities plummeted in value–may result in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing a lawsuit today claiming the men engaged in fraud by telling investors the troubled funds they managed were safe, Bloomberg said.Tannin was Cioffi’s chief operating officer; Cioffi managed two…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–Cushman & Wakefield and Reigns Capital Ltd. have entered into an exclusive alliance to expand their capabilities in the multifamily sector.Keith Misner, executive managing partner and head of multi-housing at Cushman & Wakefield, and Neil Silver, president of White Plains, N.Y.-based Reigns Capital, will be heading the alliance on behalf of their respective companies. The alliance will enable Cushman to offer expertise to clients in the disposition of Section 42 Low Income Housing Tax Credits. For Reigns Capital, the alliance will mean access to Cushman & Wakefield’s full-service real estate and Capital Markets platform…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSpring Lake, N.C.–Sperry Van Ness has completed the sale of Village on the Lake Luxury Apartments, a 115-unit community in Spring Lake, N.C., for $16.85 million. It is located near Interstate 95 at 605 Village Lake Court and includes an adjacent parcel of land that has entitlements for the development of an additional 108 units.Jim Scofield, senior investment advisor for Sperry Van Ness in Raleigh, N.C., represented the seller, Spring Lake-based Village on the Lake LLC. Lefku & Co. represented the buyer, New York-based First American Exchange Corp.Built in 2006, the community is situated on…