Table of Contents December 2006

FEATURES

• 

  Smooth Sailing Ahead

  When the apartment industry was mired in a serious recession in the early 2000s, many people called it a "perfect storm"–and it's easy to see why. A poor economy and low interest rates pulled people out of apartments, while a flood of new construction saturated demand for rentals.

   

Cover Story

• 

  Eye of the Storm

  If only FEMA prepared for a disaster as well as The Mitchell Co. While confusion and inactivity plagued the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, this diversified Gulf Coast multifamily company mobilized almost immediately to help its properties and communities.

   

FROM THE EDITOR

• 

  Higher Calling

  In today's PowerPoint world, the architect's presentation proved to be surprisingly low-tech. Instead of logging onto a laptop, he turned to a sheaf of transparencies, carefully placing each one on the slide projector. They deserved the care. With their faded black backgrounds and black-and-white...

   

CORNER OFFICE

• 

  Immigrant Economy

  Just a few months ago, it looked like immigration might be the defining issue in the 2006 elections. But it seems that the politics of immigration have proved too complicated for simple sloganeering, muting the potential impact.

   

NEWS + NUMBERS

Direct Reports

• 

  Building Boom

  At $4.4 billion, AvalonBay Communities' development pipeline is the highest it's ever been in company history. Of that total, $1.4 billion is under construction and $2.98 billion is in the planning stages. How did the Alexandria, Va.-based apartment REIT make this happen? By buying in good times...

   

PEOPLE + PLACES

Facelift

• 

  Armed and Fabulous

  In the little town of Bethlehem sits a newly redeveloped 4.5-acre mixed-use property with a 65-year history inescapable from the Pennsylvania steel town's industrial roots. The building formerly served as the Johnson Machinery Shop for the Bethlehem Steel Co., once the second-largest steel...

   

Corporate Ladder

• Training Day

  Christine Burnett was a business software trainer at Pinnacle, an American Management Services company, when she was asked to be part of a 20-person team tasked with creating a comprehensive, corporate-wide training program. The group spent two months talking, planning, debating, and developing the...

   

SALES + SOLUTIONS

Done Deal

• 

  Tax-Free Living

  Imagine marketing condominiums with the promise of nearly tax-free living–no property tax and almost no state and local income tax. Sounds like an undeniably sweet deal for the developer and buyers alike, no?

   

PRODUCT STUDIO

• 

  Product Studio: What Lies Beneath

  Floors offer more benefits than meet the eye

   
• 

  What Lies Beneath

  Sure, you need to floor residents with sparkling hardwoods and plush carpeting. But in the mad dash to find the best-looking product, don't forget that what's underneath the pretty floor is just as critical to the success of an apartment or condo community.

   

LANDMARKS

• 

  Lawton Foundry

  After nearly a century as an iron castings plant in Wisconsin, the C.A. Lawton Co. General Machine and Foundry Shop faced demolition in the early 1990s. And then, just three weeks before the wrecking ball was scheduled for duty, came a reprieve.