The 234 Apartment

Another program, run by the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board , works with the city on co-op conversions of buildings taken over from delinquent landlords. Tenants help with renovations and can eventually buy the units for low prices. About 30,000 apartments are in the program, which is administered by the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Since 2003 the city’s Housing Development Corporation has also been partnering with both for-profit and nonprofit developers to create new affordable apartments — 1,767 units in 21 buildings. The benefits of promoting homeownership in this way extend far beyond the individual owners, said Andrew Reicher, the executive director of the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board . “In the Lower East Side , in Harlem, in Bed-Stuy,” he said, “these owners stuck it out and struggled to improve their block, and improvements spread from their work. And they are not displaced when the neighborhood turns around.” Of course, the question fo...

WITH the median price of an apartment in Manhattan topping $1,000 a square foot, homeownership is often far out of reach. But there are options for those who cannot afford the market rate, including co-op apartments for buyers who earn a certain percentage of the area median income , or A.M.I. These buildings are scattered all over the city. Some date to the 1950s; others are brand-new and still looking for buyers. Some are limited to those who earn less than the median income -- 60 or 80 percent, for example (the median for a family of four in New York City is $83,000). Others have apartments for those earning a bit more than that sum. Many new developments try to bring in owners from different economic backgrounds, and are likely to include market-rate units as well. At one recent development, Atlantic Terrace, near the new Nets arena in Brooklyn, similar one-bedroom apartments were priced at $85,000, $113,000 and $232,000, depending on the buyer's income. A market-rate one-be...

| Share | Share | Share | Share Aug. 15--A proposed $57 million development would convert part of the MBTA's Mattapan Station parking lot into a mixed- income apartment building with 135 units and 10,000 square feet of commercial/retail space. Preservation of Affordable Housing Inc. and Nuestra Comunidad Development Corp . filed a letter of intent with the Boston Planning & Development Agency to build on the 2.57- acre River Street site in Mattapan Square , which borders Milton and Hyde Park, and is bound by Blue Hill Avenue and the newly restored Neponset River Greenway . "What makes this site so unique is the new Neponset River Greenway , which is something our development plans are highlighting and really seeing as a major amenity," said Julie Creamer, POAH's vice president of real estate development . "We're creating some really meaningful pathways to the greenway, as well as creating about a 2,000-square- foot community space which will abu...

CNE is a nonprofit housing organization that aims to create economically diverse neighborhoods filled with financially empowered citizens and housing for all. (Photo: Staff) New apartments, including some with income-restricted rents, are now open for leasing near Highland Park. Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise has been working on the project, which includes 49 residential units , for about three years.  “We were able to buy 32 vacant parcels from Tennessee Temple before they closed down campus,” CNE President and CEO Martina Guilfoil said.  Of the 49 units, 41 are one-bedroom, six are two-bedroom and two are three-bedroom. Eleven of the units are income-restricted for lower-income households. Rent for the 39 “market rate” apartments, which CNE aims to make affordable for young professionals, ranges from $800 to $1,500 a month. The income- restricted rents range from $462 to $884, and a lottery will be used for initial leasing of these units.  Rent from the market rate unit...

Apartment hunters may soon have another option when shopping for an affordable place to rent in Round Rock. The Round Rock City Council passed a resolution of non-objection last week allowing Pedcor , the developer of the Shadow Ridge Apartments , to move forward with efforts to receive state tax incentives to help develop the complex. Shadow Ridge Apartments " width="460" height="418" />Applicants must make 60 percent of the area’s median income, which is approximately $78,000, according to city of Round Rock Planning Director Brad Wiseman , in order to qualify for one of the 256 units planned for the development.  It will be located on the northwest corner of A.W. Grimes and Old Settlers Boulevard and will be one of only a handful of income- restricted apartment complexes in the city. “There is a huge need in this entire region and all across Texas,” said Craig Lintner, senior vice president of Pedcor, to the council during the meeting. Wiseman said th...

Midtown West Development " src="https://media.atre.yardi.com/1/11100/images/Gothams-Midtown-West-Development-.jpg?w=270&h=129" alt="" width="270" height="129" /> Gotham's Midtown West Development New York— Gotham Organization Inc. has commenced construction on a $ 520 million development in Manhattan’s Midtown West district . The four-building complex will span from West 44 th to West 45 th Street and from 10 th to 11 th Avenues. The mixed-use project will have over 1,200 units available for rent. “Through an innovative partnership with the City of New York, Gotham Organization is proud to take the lead on a development that changes the face of Midtown West,” says David Picket, president of Gotham Organization . “This bold investment in our City’s future will create hundreds of new jobs, generate millions of dollars in revenue for the construction industry, contribute toward the building of a new primary school and provide ...

Construction of a controversial affordable housing scheme in Newburgh has been given the go-ahead. Forty houses and flats for rent are to be built at Banklands by Robertson Homes and Kingdom Housing Association . There were around 50 objections from the public to the development, voicing worries about road safety, flooding and the suitability for housing of the 1. 2 hectare steeply sloping site , which is outside the town’s settlement boundary. However, Fife Council’s north east planning committee gave consent , subject to conditions and a legal agreement on roadway improvements and an extra £10,000 for play park facilities . The estate will include 22 one and two-bedroom flats, 12 two-bedroom houses and six three-bedroom houses. It is one of two schemes proposed for Newburgh, with plans for mixed use development on a large plot of land north and south of Cupar Road at an early stage. Those behind the Banklands scheme overcame reservations of transportation officers by agreeing to i...

By Phillip Garjay Innis What lessons can African countries learn from Sierra Leone ’s devastating mudslides? Was the disaster due to natural events or is there a social dimension? Is there anything such as a ‘ natural disaster ’? What can be done to reduce risks? On August 14, 2017, torrential rainfall caused a hillside to collapse in Sierra Leone ’s capital city. This torrential downpour triggered mudslides that killed hundreds of residents and destroyed properties. As of August 19, 2017, the death toll is placed at 467, with approximately 600 still missing. Heavy rainfall is not a strange phenomenon in Sierra Leone . The country experiences heavy annual rainfall and is  ranked 12th globally  in annual precipitation by rainfall. Sierra Leone received  over 2,500 mm of rain from 2013 to 2017, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). Sierra Leone is therefore familiar with heavy rainfall . Torrential downpours are common in August and September. The country has ...

NEW YORK – Aug. 22, 2017 – With all the talk about aging baby boomers and life- extending health care advances , it might be a bit bewildering deciding which seniors housing assets are best primed for success. Lee Everett, managing consultant at research firm CoStar Portfolio Strategy , might be able to provide some clarity. Two product types – active adult communities and continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs – will be the winners in the seniors housing race both in the short and the long term, Everett says. Everett and his CoStar colleagues are bullish about active adult communities , which are age-restricted developments that offer an independent lifestyle and relatively maintenance-free housing. Growth in this segment is "just around the corner," with more baby boomers getting older and seeking alternatives to traditional homes and apartments. "We're looking at a period where there's going to be a lot of fast and explosive growth in active a...

$4 Million Project Includes 40 Senior Living Apartments The Heritage Place senior living apartment complex took another step closer to becoming a reality as the building permit was issued on Monday, Aug. 15. The complex will be constructed next to Orscheln’s, beside and behind the Dos Primos restaurant location . It will feature affordable housing for senior citizens who are 55 and older. The project was proposed more than a year ago to the Board of Aldermen by Woodco, Inc., out of Billings, Mo. The company secured federal and state tax incentives to take on the project which has made the process take longer. The project will be developed by DowCon, LLC, out of Kansas City. Doff Woodman, of Woodco, addressed the board about the development and noted it will be a top-notch facility. In addition to the apartment units there will also be a community building constructed with space for an exercise room, common areas, kitchen and porches for residents to gather. Those interested in b...

A housing project in Qingdao, Shandong province. [Photo/VCG] President Xi Jinping has said "houses are built to be lived in, not for speculation". In this context, the pilot for joint property rights housing implemented by Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban Rural Development is an important move to cool down the heated housing market in the capital. According to a document, the government and the homebuyers will jointly own the policy- based housing units , with the government granting the buyers the right to use the property. Since the Beijing municipal government will provide policy support for the construction of joint property rights housing , the price of such housing units will be lower than commercial property in the same neighborhood. However, the homebuyers' right to use the property will be partly restricted. Different from economically affordable housing , joint property rights housing is a kind of limited property rights housing , becau...