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San Carlos, Calif.—Although it closed before the financial crisis further worsened in September, the investment sale of the 42-unit Laurel Theatre Apartments brokered by Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services was already taking place in an environment of scarcer credit.
Seven Steps to Cleaning Green
Adopting green practices is becoming an essential step to retaining residents, improving operating costs and ensuring the long-term financial stability of a property. This article will demystify the process of implementing a green cleaning program by offering seven useful tips for sustainable facility maintenance.
Case Study: Iconic Dallas Building the Centerpiece of Forest City's Mercantile Block Redevelopment
Jim Truitt, vice president, Forest City Residential Group, and Gary Pitts, AIA, design studio partner, BGO Architects, discuss the Mercantile Building ("The Merc"), the first phase of Dallas' four-building, 1.1 million-sq.-ft. Mercantile Block redevelopment. Once the tallest building west of the Mississippi River and the only skyscraper to be completed during World War II, the Mercantile Building—home to the Mercantile National Bank—the new site will also include retail space, a parking garage and a new 16-story residential tower, called The Element.
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Emerald Terrace, located in the Koreatown neighborhood of downtown Los Angeles, was an asset that hadn't been maximized by the previous owner. Here's how StarPoint Properties set about implementing its ambitious repositioning plan over a 19-month period.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Storm Surges
The fallout from natural and man-made storms continues to swirl around us. Between the hurricanes and the continuing upheavals in the financial world, these truly are unsettled times. While I’d planned on writing about a different topic, yesterday’s historic plunge on Wall Street compelled me--and perhaps you, too?--to explore safe harbors and lifelines.
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The real challenge of "relationship management" is the relationships. Managers, in addition to making sure the work gets done, need to be concerned with the performance of the most important link in the customer connection--people. Here are 11 useful tips for developing a more upbeat, solution-oriented staff.
Property Management: Retaining Residents by Building a Sense of Community
The top amenity desired by residents isn’t a granite counter-top, six-panel doors and crown molding. It’s a sense of community that cuts across luxury, A, B and C-grade properties
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: Are You Leveraging The True Value of Internet Listing Services?
Jeff Smedley of CallSource makes the case for implementing an effective lead management system
EDITOR'S NOTE: In the Shadow of the Financial Crisis
Phew! What a week! Our very own event Multi-Housing World 2008 Conference and Exhibition was held in Denver last week. Within less than a week—a week—prior to the conference starting, the following happened: The government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers collapsed, and the sale of Merrill Lynch was announced. And on the day the conference began, on Wednesday, the newspapers were filled with reports of the government bailout of insurance giant AIG. The next day, the stock market plunged. And by the end of our three-day educational and networking get-together, the Administration had gotten together with members of Congress to announce what is now its proposed $700 billion financial securities purchase plan.
Multi-Housing New TV Launches Today
In our ongoing efforts to expand the Multi-Housing News digital products, MHN TV will launch on our Web site today. In the first segment, six industry people weigh in on the bailout of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and AIG.
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Leader's Panel: A View from the Top
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Mark Fogelman is president and COO of the Fogelman Management Group (FMG), a privately held, full-service property management organization founded in 1963. FMG, based in Memphis, Tenn., manages 51 properties and 18,000 apartments, covering 12 states and 21 cities throughout the Midwest and Southeast. Five hundred and fifteen employees help to maintain FMG's high rankings, shown by its continuous placement in the top 10 of Ellis National Benchmark's listing for shopping reports–-in the second quarter of 2008, the company obtained sixth place out of 47 companies. FMG also takes pride in its philanthropic program, Fogelman Cares, through which the firm was able to raise enough money in just three months this year to grant two wishes through the Make-A-Wish foundation.
Case Study: Redeveloping Long Island City with Luxury Condominiums
Kana Kakihara-Oh, ASID, partner of New York-based DeArch LLC, discusses Roe Development’s newest luxury condominium, Star Tower, located in Long Island City, Queens. She explains the project’s aesthetics and challenges, as well as how it fits into the neighborhood’s redevelopment.
Editor's Note: Back to School
Back to school is a time of mixed emotions for many. While it means that the endless days and nights of summer are over—remember how long July and August felt when you were a kid?—fall brings an energy and excitement of its own. It’s a time of new school clothes, of stationery and supplies plastered with the latest pop culture icons, and the fresh pages of brand-new notebooks and binders, their blank sheets brimming with promise and potential.
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Opening Session: The National Real Estate Economy
EDITOR'S NOTE: Business as Usual…for Now
As the government places Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in conservatorship, what we can keep in mind for now is that the plan reportedly is meant to allow for the continued operations of the two companies while the rescue is taking place.
Labor Pains
Doesn’t it always seem ironic that yesterday’s Labor Day is when most of us—happily—tend to do the least amount of actual labor? It’s a great tradition, originated in 1882 when the Central Labor Union of New York City sought to create "a day off for the working citizens." Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894 in one of Congress’ better moves.
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As the emerging population of baby boomers enter their pre-retirement and retirement years, they are bringing to the market a new variety of housing objectives, activity interests and product responses to consider. They are not the generation that preceded them. Their interests, lifestyle, financial capacities, and tastes are the result of a body of life experiences that differ dramatically from seniors in the earlier era.
Case Study: Brownfield Redevelopment Brings Mixed-Use, Mixed-income Residences to Denver
Jim Johnson, AIA, founder and principal of JG Johnson Architects in Denver and a past chair of the Denver Partnership Housing Council, discusses his firm’s work on a new mixed-use, mixed-income, transit-oriented development in Denver. When completed, Alexan Broadway Station will be comprised of 479 units and 14,000 sq. ft. of retail space and public amenities.
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Too often, I see multifamily housing managers put all their efforts behind fancy sales and advertising promotions to bring in new tenants. New business is great—don’t get me wrong—but what if you were able to fill your entire complex without having to go to great lengths to pull in new residents? What if you were able to re-sign the majority, if not all, of your tenants with a proactive resident retention plan? What if this plan involved little cost to you? Do I have your attention yet?
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Industry Prefers Status Quo for Fannie and Freddie
In the past week, press reports seem to be intensifying in regards to the need for a government bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
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First Solar-Powered Housing Project in India Complete, Sold Out
New Town Kolkata (Calcutta), India--India’s first solar-powered housing project, Rabi Rashmi Abasan, has been completed and sold out. Conceived, designed and built by West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency (WBREDA) and Bengal DCL Housing Development Co. Ltd., a joint enterprise of West Bengal Housing Board and DC Properties Ltd., the 600,000-Euro housing community is comprised of 25 residential bungalows and a community center on 1.76 acres.
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Thomas Feldman is the proud recipient of the 2008 National Apartment Leasing Professional (NALP) of the Year title from the National Apartment Association Education Institute (NAAEI). Feldman leases apartments at 100 Memorial Drive, a 260-unit building in Cambridge, Mass. He believes, "You really need to make the experience of a site visit more than just a live 'virtual tour.' By the end of the tour, I want my prospective resident to feel excited, not sold.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: Bowling, Anyone?
n the last two hours of a recent workday, my colleagues and I were scheduled to attend a group meeting, but one with a twist. We were all going bowling. Yes, bowling. Attendance was mandatory, which was an important factor because packing boxes for an office move (to a different floor in the same building) and deadlines for the September print issue were looming over us.
