February 2008 Table of Contents

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 College, and Hampshire College. Read more

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. Read more

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 the company to private equity investors in the pension fund, endowment, and sovereign wealth spaces. Their message: removed from the hassles and glare of Wall Street, Archstone-Smith—which considers itself the No. 1 U.S. multifamily real estate firm—is about to get bigger, better, and stronger. Read more

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? Read more

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 Read more

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 group representing cities with populations of 30,000 or more. Read more

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

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

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 for rehabbing and preserving the units. Read more

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 Real Estate Investment Trusts, returns on multifamily REITs declined by an average of 25.42 percent last year. Read more

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 broad-based quality of life for the masses—it also has the job growths necessary to effectively support the local multifamily market. Read more

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, Spago, and Lisa Kline. VIPs lucky enough to move into one of the units this month—the customer demographic includes clothing designers, plastic surgeons, film producers, and Grammy Award-winning musicians—know exactly what they are getting: unparalleled luxury in amenities and design that rival some of L.A.'s toniest condo communities. Read more

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. Read more

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. Read more

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 Read more

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. Read more

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.  Read more

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.  Read more