Table of Contents February 2008

FEATURES

• School Spirit: Senior and Student Housing Collide

  Developed by Boston-based Beacon Communities, Veridian Village will offer 129 units across the street from Hampshire College's main campus. The project will be closely connected with the area's five universities—University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith...

   

• The Ultimate Hybrid: Condo-Hotels Come Back

  There's certainly no lack of condo-hotels to keep an eye on. More than 200 such projects are in development across the United States, according to the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based National Association of Condo Hotel Owners.

   

Cover Story

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  Under the Radar: Meet Scot Sellers

  Since a $22.2 billion buyout of the real estate investment trust by a partnership between Tishman Speyer and Lehman Bros. Holdings, the centrality of headquarters has continued to streamline the travel docket for Sellers and the Archstone-Smith executive team, who have been on the road introducing...

   

FROM THE EDITOR

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  Time to Act: Cautious Optimism in 2008

  What now? That's the question on everyone's mind. Now that the dust has settled, now that the credit crunch is a reality of today's financing and lending markets, now that the quick, competitive environment of the last few years has palpably slowed … what now?

   

NEWS + NUMBERS

Stat of the Month

• Pump Up the Volume: Merge Debt Options Grow

  Variety in the types of multifamily loan originations helped to power a $5 billion lending increase between 2005 and 2006, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Mortgage Bankers Association's

   

Direct Reports

• Clean Cities: Mayors Address Climate Issues

  Developing sustainable cities ranks high on the to-do list for mayors nationwide. The issue was a hot topic at the 2007 Mayors Climate Protection Summit last fall, the largest-ever gathering of U.S. mayors on climate issues. The event was sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, a nonpartisan...

   

• Rising Up: Spire Construction Begins

  It looks like the Chicago Spire is going from vision to reality after dodging a few bullets late last year.

   

• News Bites: February

  Tom Bozzuto honored by ULI, an ingenious roommate fridge, 2011 construction outlook, and more news.

   

• Easy Money: Maryland Saves Affordable Housing

  Nothing pains affordable housing advocates more than to watch helplessly as much-needed affordable housing stock is converted to high-end communities. But in Maryland, a new state program aims to protect affordable units by offering developers a one-stop shop to obtain all of their financing needs...

   
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  Public Plans: Multifamily REITs Influx

  By the end of this month, the bulk of U.S. apartment real estate investment trusts will have wrapped up earnings calls for 2007, and the results—at least from a price-per-share standpoint—won't look pretty. According to year-end data compiled by the Washington, D.C.-based National Association of...

   

Regional

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  Safe Harbor: Houston Multifamily Market

  As the credit crunch continues to toss the real estate market around like a toy sailboat, ever-bullish Houston remains one of the most desirable ports in the storm. Not only does the market follow a compelling model for urban greatness—approaching its future from the mindset of providing a...

   

PEOPLE + PLACES

Apartment Life

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  Opulent Options: Residents Customize Unit Interiors

  Anticipation for blu among well-heeled Beverly Hills renters is running high. Interest has grown since November, when Galaxy Commercial Holdings dropped its construction tarps to reveal the blue glass façade of the 37-unit exclusive rental high-rise on Wilshire Boulevard just seconds from The Ivy...

   

Facelift

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  High Speed: Wildwood Village Apartments

  The race was on. Midwest Real Estate Services rehabbed a massive six-project, 767-unit portfolio of low-income rental units in Ohio with lightning speed—at the rate of eight units a week. Do the math. flat equals a whopping 40 units a week.

   

Corporate Ladder

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  All Sunshine: Q&A With Matt Greer

  Except for a brief gig with a hedge fund focused on South American real estate acquisition, Matt Greer's jobs in the multifamily industry have all been with Miami-based Carlisle Development Group.

   

SALES + SOLUTIONS

New Developments

• Aging in Style: Cantabria Senior Apartments

  The latest affordable senior apartment project from Los Angeles-based Meta Housing is the 81-unit Cantabria Senior Apartments in Panorama City, Calif. When the property opens in the spring of 2009, the developer's hope is that residents will want to

   

Tech Specs

• Revenue Revolution: Pushing Rents Becomes the Norm

  Industrywide, firms using revenue management programs such as LRO from Rainmaker Group and M/PF YieldStar from RealPage have seen “revenue lift” of 1 percent to 3 percent; some companies have seen even more dramatic results.

   

PRODUCT STUDIO

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  Big Brother: Security Devices

  Residents at a Greenwich Village, N.Y., condo community say hello and goodbye to their doorman everyday as they pass through the building. But get this—they've never actually met the doorman. 

   

LANDMARKS

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  Landmarks: Folsom + Dore Supportive Apartments

  The renter-by-lifestyle demographic is occasionally treated to a caring design and construction effort that allows them to have a sense of pride in where they reside, even though they don't have ownership.