Envy Apartment

Boston, MA  LIHC Investment Group, one of the nation’s largest owners of affordable housing, has donated its ownership stake in the Close Building to Just-A- Start Corporation , a community development corporation focused on the preservation and expansion of affordable housing opportunities in Cambridge and nearby communities. “Just-A-Start has been an invaluable partner in the Close Building, and under their stewardship the property will be preserved and maintained as affordable housing for tenants and the community for generations to come,” said Andrew Gendron, principal, LIHC Investment Group. “Quality, affordable housing is the foundation of healthy neighborhoods and this donation will allow Just-A-Start to continue and expand its mission in a very tight housing market .” “This generous donation assures the preservation of this property as affordable housing,” said Deborah Ruhe, executive director of Just-A-Start. “We will leverage this donation to support renovations and upgra...

The average market rent for a one- bedroom apartment in San Mateo County is $2,053 per month, according to new rental data released by the San Mateo County Department of Housing. This reflects an 8.2 percent increase from last year. This is devastating news for anyone looking for affordable rental housing and comes on the heels of other unsettling trend data for the county, housing officials said. United Way's 211 referral line for  San Mateo   County  reports taking significantly more calls for housing related services than for any other service. Additionally, according to the county's new Health and Human Services Agency report on homelessness, the county's homeless rate has risen 12 percent since 2011. "People can't afford to live here, and not just people who are poor," said Kate Comfort Harr , Executive Director of HIP Housing, a  San Mateo   County  nonprofit specializing in affordable housing programs including Home Sharing . "Anyone maki...

At the ribbon cutting this month for the Wesley Village affordable housing complex in Garden Grove, Laura Archuleta couldn ’t resist referencing Joni Mitchell ’s 1970 environmental protest “Big Yellow Taxi.” Built on underused land that’s part of the Garden Grove United Methodist Church campus on Main Street, Wesley Village offered Archuleta , president of the nonprofit community organization Jamboree Housing Corp ., a chance to riff on one of Mitchell’s most famous lyrics. Where Mitchell sang “They paved paradise/And put up a parking lot,” Archuleta told about 300 people packed into the steamy church sanctuary on a hot afternoon that “Today we are going to learn how a group of dedicated organizations and individuals re-purposed a parking lot and put up a paradise.” Then she and others who spoke, including a single mom with six children who now reside at Wesley Village , told how the project became reality through a unique collaboration that involved the church, Jamboree and other...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An affordable housing project in Albuquerque’s Southeast Heights that has been in the works since 2015 officially opened Thursday . Described as a high- design urban infill site , the 89- unit Casa Feliz apartment complex is a $17. 2 million redevelopment project that received funding from four sources. The bulk came from $12.5 million in low- income housing tax credits from the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority . City support for the project, which is located in the International District, includes $2.8 million from the Affordable Housing Fund . The New Mexico Housing Trust Fund kicked in $1.5 million and $400,000 came through the Ventana Fund, a nonprofit organization administered by MFA. The development, which is located at 443 Española Street SE, consists of efficiency, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Casa Feliz is reserved for families and individuals with incomes at 30 to 60 percent of the area median household income of $48,900. Twenty per...

AGOURA, CA - AMCAL Multi-Housing, one of California's leading builders of workforce and affordable housing , has just announced plans for two new, apartment developments in Los Angeles stemming from the recent funding from California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC). TCAC funding will be used by AMCAL to finance the Argyle Apartments, a 40-unit development in Hollywood, and the Terracina Apartments, a 72-unit development in South LA. Construction on both is set to begin this Fall. "Our success in receiving these awards is a result of our ability to develop adequate soft funding , which made our applications competitive and demonstrated a readiness to proceed with the development," said Percival Vaz, chief executive officer of AMCAL. "We have also been able to secure equity investors and permanent lenders enabling us to move forward, whereas with the economy still struggling other developers without strong backgrounds and investor relationships have ha...

It is one of the necessities in life, finding shelter. But who actually enjoys taking the time to search all over town for a perfect place that mandatorily fits into a budget? Anchorage isn't exactly the most expensive city around, but it's certainly not the cheapest. In a search for almost anything these days, most will likely turn to everybody's favorite modern resource , the Internet. Unfortunately, the online listing for Anchorage apartments is slim, and the information available for those apartments is even more feeble. The best and probably most accurate aid in an apartment search is an Apartment Finder catalogue , the small, detailed pamphlets found all over town in stores like the local supermarket and other retailers. The Apartment Finder names a variety of complexes citywide, lists apartments within most everyone's budget, and even provides maps for easy directions. And it can be acquired for every consumer's favorite cost: p...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 09 /CSRwire/ - Students who live in affordable, subsidized housing will have the opportunity to pursue their dreams of higher education through a scholarship fund that is receiving a donation of $140,000 from Apartment Investment and Management Company (Aimco).   Aimco Senior Vice President Patti Shwayder presented the contribution to Denise Muha, Executive Director of the National Leased Housing Association , for the NLHA Education Fund , which provides tuition assistance through the Aimco Cares Opportunity Scholarship and several other award categories.  The check presentation took place last week during the NLHA Fall Seminar at the Washington, D.C. Marriott.     “We are so proud to be helping the amazing young men and women through the Education Fund and the Aimco Cares Opportunity Scholarship .  These talented students come from diverse backgrounds and circumstances, but all share the same goal of earning a college degree,” said Shwayder.  “Our scholars are...

Reliable Sports owner Ken Vos sold to a different buyer. By Sydney.Smith@hollandsentinel.com (616) 546-4219 Reliable Sports isn ’t going anywhere. After Holland City Council approved an affordable housing development earlier this year, developer General Capital could not secure funding through the Michigan State Housing Development Authority , and Reliable Sports owner Ken Vos sold to another buyer who wants to keep the business open. Vos confirmed that the building is under contract to be sold in a sale that will be finalized at the end of September. The building located at 254 S. River Ave. was sold in July. Vos declined to share who the new owner will be, but said they "are a prominent figure in downtown Holland ." He still plans to retire, and a retirement sale is underway at the store. Since the business will remain open, that means the planned 54- unit affordable housing building Centennial Apartments will not happen — unless the new buyer decides to work with...

AMCAL’s new Southern Los Angeles County community has high- efficiency appliances and low-irrigation landscape Screen Shot 2014-07-23 at 4.29.29 PM AGOURA HILLS, Calif. - July 23, 2014 - PRLog -- AGOURA HILLS, CALIF. - AMCAL Multi-Housing, one of California’s leading builders of workforce and affordable housing, announces the planned LEED Gold certification for the new apartment community , Terracina in South Los Angeles County . Terracina is AMCAL’s fourth LEED Gold development since 2011, along with four Platinum and two Silver apartments qualifications . To achieve LEED Gold , AMCAL created a community with a range of unique green features : - 27% reduction in energy use - 70% of construction waste was diverted from landfills - Water- efficient flow fixtures to reduce indoor indoor water use - ENERGY STAR appliances installed to reduce energy loads - Storm water runoff managed by increasing vegetative landscaping , directing impermeable surfaces towards infiltration feat...

Last year, the Miami- Dade County Commission shot down a plan that would have forced local developers to include some affordable apartments in every new project. Commissioner Javier Souto claimed the idea was "social engineering," one of the most profoundly stupid things said in South Florida politics this decade. According to the study, almost two-thirds of Miami's poor are stuck spending more than half of their income on rent or living in roach-infested hellholes. "These households are defined as very low-income renters who do not receive government housing assistance and who paid more than one-half of their income for rent, lived in severely inadequate conditions , or both," HUD's researchers write. "High rents in proportion to renter incomes remain dominant among households with worst-case needs, leaving these renters with substantial, unmet need for affordable housing." Larger cities, including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, techn...

Flagship Inn, Petersburg Two Sundays ago the Richmond Times-Dispatch ran a disturbing special report on poverty and housing insecurity along the Jefferson Davis Highway in Chesterfield County. Hundreds of people live in shabby motels, paying $200 or more per week to live in conditions almost as deplorable as Richmond’s public housing projects . These hotels, the housing equivalent of pawn shops and payday lenders, serve the poor and the desperate who have nowhere else to turn. It is depressing to think that people live this way. People pay huge sums — $200 per week translates into more than $800 per month, enough to rent a nice, two- room apartment in a decent neighborhood — to dwell amidst deplorable conditions . Many hotel rooms have roaches, bedbugs and other insect infestations. The article cites leaking sewage , mold, mice droppings, and inoperable door locks . Conditions sound similar to those of the public housing projects — without the same level of crime. The plight of ...