A long-planned retail and rental apartment complex on Anderson Avenue is close to securing $74 million in loan guarantees from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, borough officers said Friday. The guarantees are a main step ahead for the Towne Centre Redevelopment Project, which will include 267 rental units, 50,883 square feet of retail space and a three-story underground parking garage, officials mentioned.
James Demetrakis, who is developing the project with Fred Daibes and Frank Raimondo under the name Towne Centre City Renewal Business, LLC, said the group must submit the final plans for government approval prior to closing on the financing.
Demetrakis mentioned the project, which has a total pricetag of $100 million, will take 18 months to total right after the closing.
“We’re 100 percent committed to obtaining it done and to rehabilitation of the business district,” Demetrakis mentioned.
The Federal Housing Authority program insures private lenders against default by developers of city rental housing, allowing the developers to secure a much better rate of interest.
Towne Centre promises to revitalize the downtown area with 200 public parking spaces for downtown shoppers along with a 1 acre landscaped outdoor plaza with a reflecting pool.
Nonetheless, the undertaking has attracted controversy in the past.
The borough seized 12 properties in the central business district by eminent domain in 2006, angering some residents. The giant hole in the middle of city has also left several wondering when construction would begin.
City officials mentioned they had been confident that the undertaking will move ahead.
“After many years of planning, I am delighted, that in spite of a slow economy, substantial progress is being created to bring this project to reality,” Mayor Gerald Calabrese mentioned.
Borough officers added the project won’t price borough taxpayers and will revitalize the downtown and add to the tax base.
Source: North Jersey News
Using the ever-rising demand for affordable housing, John Muir High School pals Joel Bryant and Dan Akins believe they’ve discovered a small-scale formula to construct on
Country Style House Plans.
The final polish is becoming applied towards the Pasadena developers’ newest six-unit “infill” condominium undertaking at 1142 N. Allen Ave., in readiness for Wednesday’s grand opening celebration. The initial two families will move in at the finish of October, Bryant mentioned.
“This project is really a success story for that city,” said Councilwoman Margaret McAustin, whose district consists of the new complicated. “The community has been fighting various tasks for this website for 12 or more years. This is the website of an old gasoline station, zoned for three stories, which was unacceptable towards the community.”
Right after the city bought the website in 2005 and “down-zoned” it, McAustin mentioned, the subsequent challenge was to discover a undertaking “appropriate” for that single-family neighborhood.
Bryant and Akins, each urban planners, bought the property from the metropolis in February 2009 for $50,000, using the understanding that any undertaking would include affordable housing.
They then spent 18 months engaged on a plan to win over each the neighbors and the metropolis – not to mention potential first-time homebuyers.
“We had 30 applications – about half of them qualified,” for that four one- to three-bedroom, moderate-income models at Allen-Bridgen Classics, Bryant mentioned.
At costs ranging from $233,000 to $291,000, the four affordable models are spoken for, Akins mentioned. Financing is becoming provided by the city.
“There’s an order of priorities established by the city,” Bryant said of the application procedure. “First, people who each reside and work right here, then individuals who reside right here, then people who function here, and then the common population.”
Two two-bedroom, live-work townhouses within the Mediterranean courtyard-style complicated have not yet been marketed but will probably be sold at market rates of about $565,000, he mentioned.
The complicated was designed by Pasadena architects Tyler/Gonzalez, and Akins and Bryant, who nonetheless reside in the metropolis, said everyone involved has a great sense of what Pasadenans want for their hometown.
The developers, both 43, are engaged on or have completed six inexpensive tasks within the city, the initial just two units in the “Lincoln Triangle” neighborhood in Northwest Pasadena. Their Trademark Development Co. is now engaged on an eight-unit, mixed-income undertaking at El Molino Avenue and Washington Boulevard, with four reserved for moderate-income buyers, Akins mentioned.
It is not their theme, Akins joked, but the El Molino undertaking also is on a former gas station site.
Source: Pasadena Star News
The primary task with the Philadelphia Real estate Authority’s board after the firing of Executive Director Carl R. Greene is likely to expose political divisions not just among commissioners, but also between the company and City Hall.
The five-member board must select an interim substitute for Greene, who was fired Thursday for keeping commissioners in the dark about secret payouts to settle sexual-harassment complaints.
Moments following removing Greene by a 4-1 vote, commissioners began interviewing six candidates to replace him for three to six months. Once that spot is filled, the board will launch a national search for a permanent replacement.
PHA has been told by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that the subsequent director has to rise above politics and be acceptable not just towards the commissioners but to Mayor Nutter as well, according to sources familiar with discussions.
PHA Chairman John F. Street, the previous mayor, said he favored his former secretary of real estate, Kevin Hanna. “He had the strongest background and resumé,” Street stated.
But political observers say Hanna is such a clear ally of Road that his candidacy isn’t most likely to go over well with Nutter, who has publicly clashed with his predecessor over the handling of the authority. Nutter appoints two of the agency’s board members, which provides him a say within the choice.
This isn’t the first time Road has tried to get Hanna into the PHA. In 2004, as mayor, he appointed Hanna to the board, expecting him to ultimately turn out to be chairman. But the appointment was blocked by another housing commissioner, Metropolis Councilwoman Jannie L. Blackwell. Road then named himself towards the board and ultimately became chairman.
In an interview Friday, Blackwell would say of Hanna only that “he made a great presentation” prior to the board.
Road, for his part, stated the choice of an interim director was nonetheless up in the air.
“We had some really good individuals in for interviews,” he stated, “but not a great deal of them knew a lot about public housing.”
A second round of interviews is set for Oct. 4.
Hanna, who runs a Philadelphia urban and economic-development consulting agency, could not be reached for comment. As real estate chief for Street, he oversaw the Neighborhood Transformation Initiative, a much-vaunted project to eliminate blight that fell short of objectives. Nutter put the initiative on hold although his administration untangled a complex financial problem involving bond funding.
Amongst real estate authorities, the Philadelphia agency is unusual in that it doesn’t fall beneath the control of the mayor. For that reason, housing experts and political observers say, Hanna may not be acceptable to Nutter. The subsequent executive director, individuals observers stated, needs to bridge the gulf in between the company and the metropolis.
Simply because of Greene’s independent and autocratic style, PHA did not integrate its agenda with those of other metropolis real estate agencies and nonprofit real estate groups. PHA is really a hybrid company, chartered through the state, funded through the federal government but serving the city of Philadelphia.
The next director “has to have an capability to coordinate and work with other outside actors in real estate and neighborhood improvement,” said Rick Sauer, director with the Philadelphia Association of Neighborhood Development Corporations.
The candidate who was an early front-runner for the career, former Managing Director Phil Goldsmith, stated Friday it was doubtful he would take the career if offered it. He stated he was enjoying life too much to leap into the “PHA inferno.”
The other candidates interviewed for the job were:
Laura Weinbaum, director of public policy for nine years at Project House, a nonprofit offering companies and housing to the homeless.
Seth Shapiro, president of the Nauset Group, a genuine estate development consulting firm, and former vice president of operations for Westrum Improvement.
Leon King 2d, the previous commissioner of the Philadelphia Prison System.
Blane Fitzgerald Stoddart, president of BFW Group, a construction-management and green-building-services agency.
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
Meadowbrook Golf & Country Club Inc. in Prairie Village has sold to Caymus Real Estate LLC, which will keep Meadowbrook running as a full-service private club.
This wasn’t the first buyout effort for the club, which was owned by its members. Several years ago, Meadowbrook members rebuffed Opus Northwest LLC’s $14 million purchase offer, which would have closed the club at Nall Avenue and 91st Street. Other plans followed.
The new deal involves a familiar player.
The president of Caymus Real Estate is Dave Harrison, who led the Kansas City office of Opus Northwest for 10 years before venturing out on his own when the developer’s parent hit financial troubles.
Opus Northwest had a contract on the club and worked on the deal for about three years before the recession hit, Harrison said. He got re-engaged with the club five or six weeks ago, and the rapid deal closed last week. The parties aren’t disclosing the sale price.
“We always have thought that was a special piece of property,” he said. “Now that we’ve acquired it relative to having the property and the club operations, we’re just real excited to get the club stabilized and going forward and growing. Then we’ll take a look at the development side when it presents itself.”
A rezoning was approved in August 2008 for 96 condos in the middle of the course and a senior housing component on Nall, and Harrison said Caymus is taking another look at that plan to see what might work in today’s economy. In the original plan, the idea was for just those parcels to be acquired while the club kept the rest — a much different scenario. Now, Caymus wants to maintain the golf course and plenty of green space. But there are no immediate development plans — the initial focus is getting the club “looking great,” he said.
Landscapes Golf Group, a division of Landscapes Unlimited, will manage day-to-day operations there.
Harrison estimated that the club has approximately 300 members.
Here’s the purchase announcement:
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Caymus Real Estate, LLC has finalized the purchase of Meadowbrook Golf and Country Club in Prairie Village, Kan. Meadowbrook will continue to operate as a full-service private club. The club was previously owned by its membership.
In addition, Caymus has also entered into a management arrangement with Lincoln, Neb., based Landscapes Golf Group (LGG), a division of Landscapes Unlimited, to manage the day-to-day operations of the Club.
“We are extremely pleased to finalize the acquisition of this special piece of property,” said David Harrison, principal, Caymus Real Estate LLC. “This club has a long history in Prairie Village and we are very excited about its future. Teaming with Landscapes and leveraging their experience to help us develop one of the most attractive club experiences in Kansas City made perfect sense,” added Harrison. Under the management agreement, LGG will be responsible for the club’s golf, tennis swimming activities and hospitality needs, including food and beverage, marketing, course maintenance and management of the facility’s day-to-day operations.
“We are very excited about the opportunity to manage Meadowbrook Golf and Country Club,” said Mike Jenkins, president, Landscapes Golf Group. “We have experience in the Kansas City market and have been successful elsewhere in the private club business,” Jenkins added.
Landscapes Golf Group, recognized by Golf Industry magazine as one of the largest management companies in the U.S., offers a full line of management services including golf operations, accounting and finance, agronomy, marketing and food and beverage.
Landscapes Golf Group began providing management services for Meadowbrook Country Club in September 2010. This is the fourth Kansas City-area facility that Landscapes Golf Group is involved with. LGG provides management services for The Country Club of Blue Springs and owns and operates Drumm Farm Golf Club in Independence, Mo. as well as course management of the new Firekeeper Golf Course in Mayetta, Kan.
Source: Kansas City Business Journal
