Illegal Motion?
University of Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez might have something a little more serious to worry about than guiding the Wolverines back into bowl game contention—he’s currently on defense against a $1 million breach of contract lawsuit over his involvement in a venture to develop and sell condos next to major collegiate sports stadiums. Filed in Tuscaloosa, Ala., the suit seeks to recover more than $995,000 plus interest on a $1 million loan for the Legends of Tuscaloosa complex built near stadium for the Crimson Tide, according to reports by the Associated Press and Detroit Free Press sports reporter Mark Snyder. In August 2009, a Birmingham, Ala., bank sued Rodriguez and his partners for $3.9 million, alleging that they defaulted on a loan for the Legends of Blacksburg, a similar condo complex near Virginia Tech’s football stadium. Ron Davis, an attorney for Rodriguez’s development group issued a statement implying the blame lies with now deceased developer and project promoter Lamar Greene. “Coach Rodriguez [was a] passive investor in several real estate developments, including the Legends of Tuscaloosa condominium project that is the subject of this recently filed case. These projects suffered setbacks due to fraudulent actions of its original promoter and developer, Lamar Greene. Coach Rodriguez will handle this personal matter through his own legal counsel.”
Mad Men
If you can’t wait for the next season of cigarette-smoking, scotch-guzzling, and Eisenhower era-esque politically incorrectness of the Sterling Cooper gang on AMC’s Mad Men, head on up to Calgary for a little condominum advertising gone awry. Developers of the Midtown condos are crying uncle after some serious backlash to ads posted in Calgary restaurant bathrooms that read: “A $20,000 down payment is as easy as 25-year-old scotch, or a 25-year-old blonde on scotch.” Twenty-something blondes have been among the most vocal detractors of the ads, and the agency behind the marketing is waving the white flag. “Watermark Advertising apologizes unreservedly for any offense these washroom ads may have caused,” read an official mea culpa posted on a Facebook site launched by protesters. “These executions were meant to be some tongue-in-cheek fun. They will be removed.”
Bare Essentials
If traditional concessions aren’t working for you, you might consider a more stripped-down approach. When it comes to creative amenities being used as a lease-up and retention strategy, one Houston area apartment community has eschewed value-add for the ultimate take away—in clothes that is. La Maison apartments in River Oaks, Texas, is currently boasting a rooftop sundeck where the sunscreen is de rigeur but the swimsuits are decidedly optional. Thus far the city has found no reason—on the law books or otherwise—why La Maison can’t continue with its in-the-buff benefits. In an interview with KHOU news, Houston Apartment Association vice president of public affairs Andy Teas explained the submarket’s multifamily need for nudity in the simplest of terms. “It’s just like restaurants, or bars, or clothing stores,” Teas said. “You always want to find something to offer that your competitors don’t have."
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