Capital Arrival Irvine, Calif.-based Sperry Van Ness has expanded into Washington, D.C., by forming Sperry Van Ness/Advisory Real Estate Services. Industry broker Michael Sims will head the office. The expansion into the nation's capital is part of a national expansion program, which has extended the firm's reach from nine markets to more than 150 markets in approximately five years. —L.S.
Mexican Auction Condo and land auctions aren't just for the United States. In July, Chicago-based auction firm Sheldon Good & Co. Auctions auctioned a 0.92-acre master-planned development site that's approved for 500 units in Playacar, Mexico. The site was approved for 48 three- and four-story buildings with units range from 829 square feet to 2,000 square feet. —L.S.
Frankly Amazing Plans for Beekman Tower (shown)—Manhattan's first apartment building designed by architect Frank Gehry—were unveiled last month to great fanfare by Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Forest City Ratner. The 76-story, 1.1 million-square-foot building will boast 903 market-rate apartments and ground-floor retail in addition to housing a public school and an ambulatory care center for New York Downtown Hospital. At 867 feet tall, Beekman Tower is widely recognized as Gehry's first skyscraper—the T-shaped tower will be clad in draping stainless-steel panels and feature several notched, shallow cutbacks. The grand opening is slated for June 2010. —C.W.
Permanent Press Plainview, N.Y.-based multifamily laundry services firm Coinmach/ ASI announced an exclusive distribution agreement with LG Electronics in late June. The partnership will bring LG's line of digitally enabled, commercial-grade laundry equipment to apartment, condo, and student housing properties serviced by Coinmach and ASI. According to a press release, LG front-load washers, which promote energy savings, can be integrated into Coinmach's existing laundry monitoring programs and college PIN code debit systems. —C.W.
Alignment Job Reacting to a challenging real estate market, Atlanta-based Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage has aligned its condo, new home, and builder/ developer services into a single real estate and sales and marketing company. The company's divisions—including Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, The Condo Store, and Builder Developer Services—will retain their brand identities but sales, marketing, business development, training, technology, and accounting support teams will be integrated into a single unit. The Condo Store president Brad Horner says the new structure will allow the company to provide greater service to developers focused on mixed-use communities. “Our combined skills and sales teams will help us further penetrate key markets throughout Atlanta and the Southeast,” Horner said in a statement. —C.W.
