The 234 Apartment

As you do more banking by smartphone, that bank branch you used to visit may soon turn into a restaurant, a day care center or even a condo tower. After a branch building boom a decade or so ago, banks are closing offices by the thousands as more of their customers bank online . They're leaving behind space ready to be transformed into something else, whether an urban storefront or a free- standing brick building with a drive-thru in the suburbs. "If the real estate is strong, any number of things can happen to the property," says Kim McGuire, senior vice president in the Chicago office of CBRE. It's a problem or an opportunity, depending on your perspective, that will be here for a while. Banks operate about 89,300 branches in the United States today , down 8 percent over the past decade, according to Chicago- based real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle . JLL expects an additional 20 percent drop over the next decade. In the Chicago area, the number of branches d...

The value of new construction starts in July advanced 6% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $728.1 billion, it was reported by Dodge Data & Analytics. Leading the way was a 26% jump by the nonbuilding construction sector , which reflected an improved level for public works and the start of two massive power plants , located respectively in California and New York. Residential building in July increased 8 %, as multifamily housing rebounded after three consecutive monthly declines .  Running counter was a 7% slide for nonresidential building following its 14% hike in June, as both office buildings and hotels retreated from June’s elevated activity , outweighing a sharp rise for healthcare facilities in July.  During the first seven months of 2017, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis were $411.9 billion, down 1% from the same period a year ago.  Dampening the year-to-date performance for total construction was a steep 44% decline for t...

The value of new construction starts in July advanced 6 % from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $728.1 billion, according to the most recent report from Dodge Data & Analytics.   Leading the way was a 26% jump by the nonbuilding construction sector , which reflected an improved level for public works and the start of two massive power plants in California and New York.   Residential building in July increased 8 %, as multifamily housing rebounded after three consecutive monthly declines . Running counter was a 7% slide for nonresidential building , following its 14% hike in June, as both office buildings and hotels retreated from June’s elevated activity , outweighing a sharp rise for health care facilities in July.   During the first seven months of 2017, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis were $411.9 billion, down 1% from the same period a year ago. Dampening the year-to-date performance for total construction was a steep 44% declin...

Archstone Berkeley on Addison Berkeley, Calif.—Archstone has broken ground on Archstone Berkeley on Addison, the company’s first apartment community in Berkeley, Calif. The 94-unit asset will be located at the corner of Third and Addison, blocks from the Berkeley Marina and the San Francisco Bay . “Berkeley is an incredible city and an excellent fit for an Archstone apartment community ,” says Amir Massih, vice president of development at Archstone. “We’re excited about starting this project and look forward to providing an outstanding addition to the neighborhood and for our future residents.” The property’s amenity package will include a roof deck with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge , an open- air fitness center , and a pet salon. “This is the first Archstone development start in the Bay Area since completing the second phase of Archstone San Bruno in 2007,” adds Rick Lamprech , Archstone’s executive vice president of development for the West Region. “We’re pleased to be bac...

A pair of west suburban apartment complexes have sold for a combined $59 million to investors that plan to fix them up and hike rents. In the bigger deal, Rockwell Partners said it paid $34 million for 313 units in the Huntington Condominiums in Naperville, a property that was converted to condos before the crash but never sold out. Chicago- based Rockwell aims to “deconvert” the property back to apartments by buying back the 43 condos sold by the previous owner, an affiliate of Inland Real Estate Group , said Rockwell Principal Jason Fishleder . That means negotiating deals with every condo owner, a time-consuming and complicated process. The firm wants “to help these condo owners get out whole if not more than whole if we can,” he said. In the second deal, Sinatra & Company Real Estate , a Buffalo investment firm , has paid $25 million for Timber Creek Apartments in Woodridge. Sinatra plans to spend another $4 million to $8 million renovating the 304-unit property at 3421 Fox...

Classes start today for La Salle grade school students , with early dismissal at 2 p.m. today, Thursday and Friday. Both La Salle and Spring Valley school districts late Tuesday released bus schedules . Afternoon times are for days without early dismissal. La Salle Route 1, bus 345 — 7:09 a.m. PADS homeless shelter south of Menard’s; 7:18 a.m. Fourth and Lafayette; 7:20 a.m. Second and Creve Coeur; 7:22 a.m. Second and Bucklin; 7:27 a.m. 205 24th; 7:30 a.m. Victoria Drive and Lauren Avenue; 7:30 a.m. Chartres Street apartments near post office; 7:30 a.m. Vermilionvue subdivision; 7:38 a.m. St. Vincent’s trailer court; 7:40 a.m. 26th and Hennepin streets; 7:40 a.m. 25th and Hennepin streets; 7:41 a.m. 24th and Hennepin streets; 7:45 a.m. Lincoln School ; 7:50 a.m. Northwest School . 2:45 p.m. Northwest School ; 2:50 p.m. Lincoln School ; 3:05 p.m. Second and Creve Coeur; 3:06 p.m. Second and Bucklin; 3:12 p.m. Fourth and Lafayette; 3:17 p.m. 205 24th; 3:18 p.m. Victo...

Copyright © 2015 Albuquerque Journal Platinum Apartments construction project employs a 60-foot- high building crane to lift prefabricated framing panels into place. Building cranes on an urban skyline are a common sign that a city is experiencing redevelopment. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis/Albuquerque Journal)" width="265" height="400" /> The Platinum Apartments construction project employs a 60-foot- high building crane to lift prefabricated framing panels into place. Building cranes on an urban skyline are a common sign that a city is experiencing redevelopment. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis/Albuquerque Journal) Optimism was in the air in early 2007 when preliminary plans got underway for a four- story housing project a block south of Central Avenue at the east end of Nob Hill. “Over the next decade, you’re going to see the entire landscape in that area change,” Chicago- based developer Rick Goldman told the Journal in an article from February of that year. Go...

At her 33rd appearance as Subject 16019 in a clinical trial of an experimental drug she hoped would fix "this little problem with my memory," Sandra Brannon sank into a medical exam room 's recliner and waited. "What's the date again?" Sandra asked me. I had escorted her to a wing at Bellevue Hospital Center in Manhattan, where the NYU Langone Medical Center was among 210 institutions worldwide conducting the trial. As a family friend, I was standing in for Sandra's only child and chief caregiver, who had business elsewhere that morning. "November 18th," I answered. I'd responded to the same question from Sandra four times during our 27- minute subway ride to a stop a few blocks from Bellevue. "Right. Got it." Sandra scribbled my reply on her cheat sheet as a nurse bounded through the door to prep her for her monthly intravenous infusion of solanezumab, which Eli Lilly developed to target mild cognitive impairment caused ...