Table of Contents July 2005

FEATURES

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  Caught in the Crunch

  Cost fluctuation for raw materials is nothing new—it's a reality of our business," says Glenn Ferguson, president of Clark Realty Builders in Bethesda, Md. "Price increases simply make it more challenging to predict costs, particularly for longer-term projects. It seems like every year it's a...

   
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  Sight Unseen

  Open up the real estate section of any daily paper and you'll see the ads. They feature an attractive woman doing yoga with a promise of "Tranquility in the City," three twenty-somethings enjoying a gorgeous day outside, or a young couple relaxing in their modern living room.

   

Cover Story

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  California Creatives

  It's been two years since City Lights at Town Center opened its doors high in the hills of Aliso Viejo, Calif. And in ever-trendy, ever-changing Orange County, two years might as well be an eternity. But this luxury apartment property, which still catches the eye of discerning developers across the...

   

FROM THE EDITOR

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  Vegas, Baby!

  Programming a conference is a lot like publishing an issue of a magazine. You want to offer a diverse mix of topics, provide the chance to hear from industry leaders, and include a few provocative comments that will get people talking. And I think we've done all of that with this year's Multifamily...

   

CORNER OFFICE

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  Looming Issue

  Although we usually focus on American markets and economic indicators, it really is a global world. But it doesn't always seem like one.

   

NEWS + NUMBERS

Direct Reports

• Total Exposure

  High home prices in hot markets like Southern California and Washington, D.C., are destroying the dreams of many wannabe homebuyers. But some apartment owners are reveling in these sky-high price tags, which help fuel business for the rental market.

   

Regional

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  Condo Control

  If you're looking for a vital, growing community, Jacksonville is a great bet. If you're looking for an active economy, it's Jacksonville again. If you're looking for a relatively low cost of living and quality of life among beaches and oceans, rivers, and estuaries, Jacksonville has these as well.

   

PEOPLE + PLACES

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  Starting Over

  In January 1998, Gregory T. Mutz posed for the cover of Multifamily Executive holding a globe in his hand. And at the time, the world might have indeed been in the enthusiastic Mutz's hands. Mutz, then the CEO of AMLI Residential in Chicago, had just been named Builder of the Year and was building...

   

Apartment Life

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  No Free Rent

  Patio furniture, a trip to the Caribbean, a flat screen TV. Wedding presents? Housewarming? Hardly. Welcome to apartment leasing 2005. These are marketing tactics offered by multifamily owners and management companies whose applicant pool is no longer persuaded by "free" rent. It represents a new...

   

Facelift

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  Body Work

  Maybe parents don't always know best. Robert Montagne's dad was skeptical when he saw his developer son's newest purchase—an auto body shop in downtown Washington, D.C., that he envisioned as authentic loft-style condos.

   

Corporate Ladder

• New Leader

  It's very hip these days to talk about affordable housing. But the words of Alan Greenwald, the new president and CEO of A.F. Evans Co., carry a different weight than the average person. Perhaps that's because of his background. Greenwald holds a bachelor's, a J.D., and a master's of city and...

   

SALES + SOLUTIONS

New Developments

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  Remaking a Legend

  Once upon a time, the Biltmore Hotel catered to famous Hollywood actors such as the Rat Pack—and a hotel napkin with Frank Sinatra's autograph now sells for upwards of $600. Today, developers of the Biltmore Colony in Palm Springs, Calif., say the mix of single-family and multifamily housing will...

   

Done Deal

• Calculated Risk

  At first glance, Archstone-Smith's purchase of Oak Creek Apartments in Agoura Hills, Calif., was just another $99.6 million deal. Sure it was a lot of money, but the 24-building, 336-unit luxury multifamily community seemed a clear winner. Agoura Hills' median income of $85,000 and median age of 32...

   

Tech Specs

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  Got Fiber?

  Talk about pressure. Many multifamily companies have barely completed their switch to Web-based property management software, and they're being faced with a new technology challenge: fiber.

   

PRODUCT STUDIO

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  Panel Discussion

  Structural panels now come in almost as many flavors as ice cream. In fact, there seems to be a specialty panel system for nearly any situation a multifamily builder might confront. Depending on your location, investing a little more in one of these can save time and money, reduce liability, and...

   

LANDMARKS

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  Maple Terrace Apartments

  At first glance, the Maple Terrace apartments look pristine, regal, and steeped in rich history. It's easy to see why.

   

OTHER ARTICLES

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  Exit Strategy

  While newspapers and magazines have been marveling at historically low mortgage rates, the story to watch in multifamily has been the incredible slide of cap rates. Despite weak apartment fundamentals, cap rates have fallen from their historical levels to lower than 5 percent in some hot markets...