April 2010 Table of Contents

After a significant drop-off in renovation production, most operators see future growth. Read more

JRK Birchmont Advisors Sets Out to Redefine Multifamily Value-Add Read more

Multifamily owners need to know that when it comes to cutting costs, nothing is off the table. Read more

As Congress debates the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the industry looks at the effects any decisions would have on their business. Read more

CBRE’s predicted 2010 apartment vacancy decline hinges on an employment uptick. Read more

With the worst of layoffs seemingly behind it, the New York metro is once again poised to be the darling of the multifamily investment community. Read more

In times like these, some apartment developers tout their sparkling-new amenities to stabilize new buildings. Others rely on high-tech fitness rooms and amenity packages to put heads in beds. Still others trumpet their urban lifestyle and proximity to nightlife. Atlanta-based Gables Residential uses all of those factors to lure new residents, but it has another selling point. It has Johnny O. Read more

Monday marked the official release of the International Green Construction Code—the country’s first set of model codes and standards for green building. Read more

Freddie Mac's CEO Ed Haldeman says "we want to bring more emphasis to the multifamily business," as the company revamps internal systems and seeks to close the competitive gap with Fannie Mae. Read more

In the past couple of years, apartment owners felt one upside to the recession. Despite a tight credit market and declining occupancies, their suppliers and contractors were willing to budge, while localities were generally open to lowering taxes. That pushed expense increases down. Read more

Courtesy of a groundbreaking façade designed by architect Jeanne Gang of Chicago-based Studio Gang Architects, the 81-story Aqua in Chicago has largely overcome the wind issue in the windiest of cities, just one of the reasons judges in the Emporis Skyscraper Award bestowed top honors last month to the mixed-use tower, built by Magellan Development and James McHugh Construction Co. Read more

Phoenix is a tough metro for multifamily owners and investors today. But there are glimmers of hope. Chicago-based Equity Residential says it pushed occupancy 600 basis points in the past week and that’s it's pushing rents again. And, transaction volume, fed by distressed sales, are upward bound. But before the market can be declared in recovery, the city's annihilated submarkets will need to improve. Read more

While the EPA is happy with the uptick in Portfolio Manager adoption among the multifamily set thus far, a data set robust enough for true comparative analyses and benchmarking of the energy usage of multifamily property types is likely still a ways off. Read more

A trio of apartment buildings jump-start Tulane Avenue’s rebirth in the Big Easy. Read more

Video surveillance and access control and monitoring systems lose their big brother stigma with a host of resident friendly amenity and multifamily back-end applications. Read more

Windows play an important role in historic renovations. Read more

200 Second Street in Oakland, Calif., offers a creative design with efficient floor plans. Read more