Apartment Choice

By Beth Jacobi The recommendations of the Bend 2030 housing workgroup , recently offered to Bend City Council , may not ease the housing burden of many of the people who live and work in Bend. The recommendations are designed to increase housing for those making $40,000 to $90,000 a year. But according to the Oregon Housing Alliance , the current mean renter wage in Deschutes County is $11.86 an hour (about $24,000 a year). Many tourism industry workers , teachers, police officers, health care workers , social service workers , and families with children are suffering from our housing crisis. Bend leads the nation for rent increases. Bend’s average home sales price is over $400,000, and homelessness has gone up 31 percent since 2015 (Point in Time Count, 2017). The Bend 2030 housing workgroup has some great ideas, but the recommendations don’t ensure the development of affordable housing . City leaders must reserve valuable subsidies and incentives, ( property tax waiver , system ...

By Sarah Butrymowicz and Meredith Kolodner Alduha Leon and Jared Sanders, roommates at Savannah State University , dined on hot dogs in their apartment on Thanksgiving Day of their sophomore year. They had decided to skip feasting with family in Atlanta to pick up extra hours at their airport jobs loading luggage onto planes. Payday wasn’t until Friday, though, and Leon only had $5 left on his food stamps card . During the three years they spent at Savannah State , Sanders and Leon struggled to pay their tuition, fees and living expenses. They accumulated more than $50,000 in loans between the two of them, despite working up to 40 hours a week. After exhausting themselves working late or overnight shifts so they wouldn’t have to miss class, and finding their grades suffering, they dropped out in 2015, joining a growing pool of Georgians who have debt but no degree. More than 108,000 students who had taken out federal loans withdrew from Georgia’s public colleges and universities bet...

Ann Arbor YMCA swim instructor Aaron Jackson, center, helps 5-year-old Ypsilanti resident Macari Moore put on his life vest during the Ypsi SPLASH! program held at The Villas apartments in Ypsilanti. The program helps teach kids water safety . Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com The Ann Arbor YMCA is offering free swim and water safety classes at three Ypsilanti apartment complexes this summer following last year’s successful program . Twenty children participated in the 2011 inaugural Ypsi Splash ! Program at Aspen Chase Apartments located at 2960 International Drive. The program has expanded to allow access to more children and includes not only Aspen Chase but the Villas located at 2911 Bynan Dr., and Golfside Lake at 2345 Woodridge Way. Jan Hack , communications director of the YMCA, said the goal is to have 50 children participate this year. “We still have registration ongoing,” Hack said. “What happened last year was as parents saw what was going on, registration began to fil...

Got a super- small studio apartment ? Just because your square footage may be lacking doesn’t mean your style has to be! There are actually quite a few tips and tricks to decorating a studio apartment stylishly…and smartly. We’ve put together a guide of some basic ideas and strategies to help you make the most of your tiny apartment, no matter what your style or taste. 1. Maximized Use & Layout. View in gallery Throw some stools under an end table to pull out for extra seating when needed. Have a coffee table that doubles as great storage , or even a chair. Hang shelves from the ceiling. Leave plenty of walking space where possible to make the studio feel relatively roomy. 2. Neutral Walls. View in gallery Neutral walls have an expanding effect – they seem to float away from the actual space itself, giving the small studio apartment a look that reads as larger than it actually is. Plus, they infuse the space with a warm sense of structure and balance. 3. Use Moveable Dividers. Vi...

GREENWICH, CONN. — Monument Partners LLC , an entity owned by affiliates of Starwood Capital Group and Milestone Apartments Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX: MST.UN), has entered into an agreement to acquire Landmark Apartment Trust Inc. in an all- cash transaction valued at $1.9 billion, including the assumption of existing debt. Under the terms of the deal, Starwood Global Opportunity Fund X, through a controlled affiliate, will acquire Landmark Apartment Trust ’s ownership interest in 19,615 units in 63 apartment communities . The portfolio is located in eight Sunbelt states, with major concentrations in Dallas, Atlanta, Orlando, Tampa, Charlotte and Nashville. Milestone — which will acquire 4,172 units in 15 assets as part of the transaction — will serve as property manager for Starwood’s portion of the portfolio. “This acquisition highlights our confidence in multifamily housing as an asset class that represents an attractive risk-reward proposition for our investors,” says ...