Regions

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorBoston–Phoenix Property Co., a Dallas-based real estate development firm, has submitted a Draft Project Impact Report to the Boston Redevelopment Agency (BRA) for the first purpose-built private student residence hall in Boston.The original building design was submitted to the BRA in April 2007. There was a significant reduction in the number of beds—from 1,140 to 793—the height—from 34 to 24 stories, explains Jason Runnels, executive vice president and a principal for Phoenix Property Co. “We changed some of the massing to accommodate a few of the city’s requests with respect to how the project laid out…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorBaltimore–Alliant Capital recently closed a $1,525,000 second lien loan, collateralized by the Apostolic Towers Apartments located at 201 N. Washington St. in Baltimore.Apostolic Towers Apartments features a 149-unit, 12-story building built in 1979. Alliant provides return of equity to its borrowers through structured subordinate financing behind its own senior debt.

Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–James Delayo, acting chief inspector with the Department of Buildings’ cranes and derricks division, was arraigned and released without bail late last week on charges of receiving bribes, tampering with public records, falsifying business records, filing a false instrument and receiving unlawful gratuities.Delayo has been accused of signing off on crane inspections he did not perform and helping crane operators cheat on licensing exams in exchange for thousands of dollars.Although his arrest comes right after the fatal crane accidents of last week, authorities have said that his actions do not seem to be connected to…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorLong Beach, Calif.–Avanath Capital Partners and MacFarlane Costa Housing Partners (MCHP) have acquired Simpson Housing Solutions (SHS) and its portfolio of 273 properties, representing 26,000 affordable rental apartments in 33 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.“We will run MCHP the same way as we did Simpson Housing Solutions,” Michael Costa (pictured), president and CEO of MCHP, tells MHN. “The only change will be that we will now focus on our own development processes instead of third party syndication.” Earlier this year, SHS was ranked by Affordable Housing Finance magazine as the fifth-largest owner of…

By Keat Foong, Executive EditorNew York–Lenders are happy with doing business with REITs. That is the word from a panel of speakers at the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts’ (NAREIT) REIT Week held here at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Joseph Shaw, managing director, John Hancock Financial Services Inc., said that his company views REITs at least as favorably as non-public entities. He added that REITs operate in the 50 percent leverage level, which is in line with John Hancock’s tendency to provide financing at about up to 65 percent LTV. Leonard Cotton, vice chairman, Centerline Capital Group, said…

New York–Credit rating firms Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch and New York state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo settled on new practices on Thursday, CNNMoney.com reports.The deal–the result of a probe Cuomo has been handling for over a year–will reconfigure the ratings firms’ incentives for offering services.Previously, although multiple credit raters would weigh in on a residential mortgage-backed security, just one would be paid for doing it–frequently the one that provided the best rating. Agencies who used laxer ratings standards often got more business as a result, which caused questions about impartiality in the $5 billion-a-year credit rating industry.Under the new agreement,…

Horsham, Pa.–When Toll Brothers CEO Robert Toll suggested–during a company earnings report on June 3–that Congress needed to pass a bill granting home buyers tax credits to reinvigorate the real estate market and economy, he wasn’t alone.Toll–along with other builders–believes that if the government just approves billions in Federal Housing Administration loans or rescues homeowners whose home equity has fallen below their mortgage amount, home prices will keep falling, BusinessWeek reports.Congress instead needs to prompt consumers to buy homes–which, Toll said, it’s done before. In the mid-1970s downturn, Congress approved a home buyer tax break that rewarded buyers $2,000 for…

Ottawa–Canadian building permits grew 15 percent in April, due mostly to apartment and condominium demand–the largest increase in nearly a year, according to Statistics Canada.The value of municipality-issued permits swelled to a six-month high of C$6.4 billion ($6.27 billion), Bloomberg reported Friday.Multifamily housing unit permits reached the highest point since 2005, increasing 40 percent. As housing costs rise, buyer demand is moving from single-family homes to less expensive condos and apartments, according to Statistics Canada.Canada’s average apartment vacancy rate dropped from 2.8 percent in 2007 to 2.6 percent in April, Canada Mortgage and Housing said in a separate report.Because banks…

Washington, D.C.–The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 5.5 percent in May–the largest increase in more than two decades, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday.Workers already struggling with the housing decline and rising energy prices rise are now also facing an increased risk of unemployment, the New York Times said. Payrolls have declined every month in 2008; in May, employers cut 49,000 jobs. Manufacturers, construction companies and the retail industry were the most affected due to reduced demand and cost-cutting, according to the Times. In addition, the government announced revised, lower payroll estimates for April and March Friday that included…

By Myles McBride, ReporterChicago–Plans for Solstice on the Park, a new 147-unit condominium project in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, have been unveiled by Englewood, N.J.-based developer, Antheus Capital.The 28-story tower, located at 5532 S. Cornell Ave., will be the first new condo development to come up in 30 years in this Windy City neighborhood.Architect Jeanne Gang, principal founder of Studio/Gang/Architects, is responsible for the design of the building that will serve several practical purposes to its residents. “The design for Solstice on the Park grew out of an organic process of research, exploration, and discovery,” says Gang, “Our design is…