November 2006 Table of Contents

If you are in the apartment industry, chances are that, whatever your job, you saw less of a merit raise this year, according to the National Multi Housing Council's seventh annual National Apartment Survey of Compensation and Benefits Practices released earlier this fall. Read more

It would be the win-oriented group that attended the Multifamily Executive Conference last month, foregoing the roulette wheel and the blackjack tables in favor of hearing the latest trends and strategies in the apartment industry. After all, gambling is fun, but when it comes to the apartment business, multifamily leaders want to triumph, in everything from technology to talent. Read more

The momentum to ban smoking in both public and private locales is growing at lightning speed. Each year, more cities and counties across the country prohibit smoking at restaurants and bars. Just a few months ago, hotel giant Marriot International became 100 percent smoke-free. And now, an increasing number of multifamily firms say it's time to join the movement to extinguish those lighters. The biggest such move: In September, senior housing developer First Centrum adopted a smoke-free policy for all new residents at 46 of its communities in six states. Read more

For Dick Banks, accepting the position of president and COO of Mercy Housing in Denver was like a homecoming. His first-ever job in the multifamily industry was as an apartment salesman for CB Commercial in Denver's Capitol Hill neighborhood, and his new role with Mercy has brought him back to family and friends he had left behind. He started in this position–his first at a nonprofit–in September 2006 and previously was COO for a 70,000-unit portfolio that Goldman Sachs and Cerberus owned in Germany. Banks has a bachelor's degree in business from the University of Southern California and a master's in international finance from Thunderbird in Phoenix. Read more

It's not in Hollywood, but Arc Development promises that Solaria, its new 65-condominium project, will have its residents seeing stars. Read more

That screeching noise you're hearing is coming from Florida. It's the sound of a once white-hot apartment sales market grinding to a halt. Read more

Sam Switzenbaum has a pretty good idea about who makes the decisions when it comes to choosing an apartment or condo, so he keeps gender in mind when picking the style of cabinets that go into his buildings. "First of all, women make a significant percentage of the decisions when it comes to housing, which is not to say that men don't have good taste," says Switzenbaum, CEO of Philadelphia's Switzenbaum & Associates, who has been involved in all phases of commercial and residential development and property management for more than 40 years. "The most important rooms for women are kitchens and baths–it's just that simple. So cabinets are one of the most important elements in the whole condominium or rental unit." Read more

The Los Altos Apartments has had its fair share of Hollywood glitz and glamour. Built in Los Angeles in 1925 as a co-op–and later used as a luxury apartment and hotel–Los Altos boasted a star-studded residential roster with the likes of Clara Bow, Bette Davis, Mae West, Douglas Fairbanks, and William Randolph Hearst living under its roof. Read more

From the bright lights of Los Angeles to the bluegrass of Louisville, Ky., lofts have become the choice places to live. And many of the 2006 MFE award winners are at the center of this architectural action, capitalizing on renters' and buyers' desire for urban-style living even in the heartland. These winners show us all how to build a loft of distinction–whether it be an inventive adaptive reuse project with exposed wood beams dating back to the early 1900s or new construction with soft-loft features such as oversized windows and open floor plans. Read more

From the bright lights of Los Angeles to the bluegrass of Louisville, Ky., lofts have become the choice places to live. And many of the 2006 MFE award winners are at the center of this architectural action, capitalizing on renters' and buyers' desire for urban-style living even in the heartland. These winners show us all how to build a loft of distinction–whether it be an inventive adaptive reuse project with exposed wood beams dating back to the early 1900s or new construction with soft-loft features such as oversized windows and open floor plans. Read more