Apartment Choice

Illinois-based multifamily developer  Banner Real Estate Group  has the initial support of city staff for its proposed 13-story mixed-use apartment building planned in Downtown Orlando, but has also been put on notice that key design elements must change in the coming months.  Conceptual plans and new renderings for the 13- story building will go before Orlando's Appearance Review Board on Thursday for a courtesy review.  That's being done by the developer, civil engineer  Kimley-Horn  and architect  Baker Barrios  to get valuable early feedback from the ARB and staff on their design, before an eventual Master Plan filing . Banner will have to submit again for a formal ARB review and approval, prior to submitting for building permits.  Banner Real Estate project aerial map" class="trb_em_ic_img" title=" Banner Real Estate project aerial map" src="src" /> This would be Banner's entry to the Central Florida market , with a propo...

LEWISTON — The city is seeking a large federal grant that would address housing and other issues in the poorest areas of downtown Lewiston , and neighborhood advocates say the funds could go a long way toward implementing goals they've had for years.  If successful in its bid, Lewiston could receive $1.3 million from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development and what's known as a  Choice Neighborhood Planning and Action Grant. The city council approved the application last week, and will commit $237,500 in local Community Development Block Grant funds during implementation if the grant is successful.  The city hopes the funding can lead to long-term changes in the downtown neighborhood , where nearly half of residents live below the federal poverty level . According to 2015 census figures, the median family incomes in downtown census tracts 201 and 203, are $12,417 and $16,047, respectively.  The main purpose of the funds is to plan and execute major housing...

Leesha Posey remembers cutting across a vacant lot in North Portland on her way to Harriet Tubman Middle School . "It's been empty since I was a little girl," says Posey, 41. That was three decades ago. But the lot still sits empty—a rarity in a city where vacant land is coveted, especially in the red- hot North Williams Avenue corridor . Its emptiness is a reminder of what the city and its urban renewal agency , Prosper Portland , took from the black community . In the 1960s, the city-owned agency, then known as the Portland Development Commission , condemned vast tracts of inner North and Northeast Portland . The takings—including the still-vacant block at the northwest corner of North Williams Avenue and Russell Street—allowed urban renewal, including construction of parts of Interstate 5, the Oregon Convention Center and Legacy Emanuel Hospital . But in the process, the agency gutted neighborhoods and dispersed the black community . In a belated ef...

POWAY -- The city's newest affordable-housing development received its first residents over the weekend, after being cleared by the city for occupancy late last week. Escondido- based nonprofit Community HousingWorks teamed up with the city to build Solara Apartments on the southwest corner of Community Road and Hilleary Place, just south of Hilleary Park. The $16.5 million, 3- acre project added 55 apartments to the city's supply of housing for low- and very- low income people . Contractors are still putting finishing touches on the complex's landscaping. Community HousingWorks asset manager Rosemary Stabrawa said Monday, however, that Solara's first residents moved in over the weekend, and more are expected to follow by the end of this week. All the development's tenants should be in their new homes by the end of the month, she said. "Approximately jubilant," Stabrawa said, describing her mood while handing out Solara apartment keys . "It...

UConn’s place in the Hartford skyline . Hartford — For nearly a half-century, the University of Connecticut has had no place to call its own in the state’s capital city. Today that changes as Connecticut’s flagship university opens the doors of its new $140- million downtown branch campus on Prospect Street . The arrival of the campus, which comes after five years of false starts and setbacks, is a milestone for the university and the city of Hartford. Hundreds attended the grand opening ceremony downtown Wednesday morning . For UConn, it marks the institution’s return from the suburbs into the heart of the city – where the school first opened its Greater Hartford branch in 1939. It moved to West Hartford in 1970. The university, in the years since, had been able to continue to claim a “presence” downtown. Some of UConn’s graduate business programs are housed in a space it leases in 100 Constitution Plaza, and the university’s basketball and ice hockey teams play games in the XL ...

Among the filthy rich billionaires who gave money to the CAA, but lost in the battle against rent control in Richmond and Mountain View includes Berkshire Hathaway Home Services owned by Warren Buffet, Equity Residential owned by Sam Zell, and Prometheus Real Estate Group owned by Jackie Diller Salfier and the Diller family. California Apartment Association suspends legal challenges against Richmond rent control California Apartment Association suspends legal challenges against rent control in Richmond and Mountain View By Lynda Carson - May 6, 2017 On May 5, 2017, the The California Apartment Association (CAA), announced that it is suspending its legal challenges in court against the City of Richmond and Mountain View, and the renter protection ordinances known as Measure L and Measure V, that were passed into law by the voters last November. After a long hard fought struggle against greedy landlords involved in price gouging and eviction for profit schemes supported by ...

Shares 355 By Amy Wenk and Maria Saporta As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on August 4, 2017 An Atlanta developer is planning an innovative co-working space along one of Atlanta’s most historic streets — a project that’s already lured high- profile investors including top Home Depot executives . Historic preservation developer Gene Kansas in front of the 135 Auburn Ave. building, which he and a group of investors have acquired to turn into a “Constellations” project on the second floor (Photo by Maria Saporta) Gene Kansas Commercial Real Estate plans to open Constellations, a $2 million project that will offer “culturally-inspired” workspace with the hope of bringing together great minds who care about making a difference in the city. It’s coming to the second floor of the circa-1910 former Southern School Book Depository at 135 Auburn Ave., a building that was designed by famed Atlanta architect Neel Reid . Constellations will replace the Southern Education Foundati...