Envy Apartment

NEWARK — The Pavilion and Colonnade apartments are made up of three towering Newark high -rises known for their stately glass windows with New York City views . The buildings are still striking on the outside even though their glory days are clearly gone. They are close to most things a tenant could want in downtown Newark. You can walk to church or to the park. The train station is a hop, skip and a jump away, and the bus stops out front. The convenience is grand. Residents say it’s not so grand living here when the heat doesn’t work, when the elevators break down, when management doesn’t appear to be fond of tenant organizations speaking up for themselves. And some residents say it seems like its always been this way. You know, mama said there would be days like this, but she didn’t say they’d last 30 years. Over the years, one management company after another has tried to run Pavilion and Colonnade apartments. The latest, Kettler Management of McLean, Va., is the third in eight ye...

Of all the gleaming high- rise residences anchoring the Streeterville neighborhood, perhaps the new Optima Signature is one of the most artistic. You can't help but notice the striking red glass panels that wrap the lower seven floors of the modern apartment tower or the bright yellow free -form sculpture that stands in the plaza in front of the building. The color bursts are a signature of renowned architect and developer David Hovey of Glencoe. The 57- story Optima Signature at 220 E. Illinois St. is a joint venture between Hovey's firm, Optima Inc., and DeBartolo Development. The two also partnered in 2013 on the sister building next door, Optima Chicago Center . The base of that apartment tower is similarly clad in black glass. "Our focus is on architecture and contributing to the built environment but doing it in a way that resonates with the broader community and our residents," Optima Senior Vice President Mark Segal said. "We didn't design in ...

Morningside Park, a Kushner Companies- owned housing complex , in Middle River, Maryland (Philip Montgomery for The New York Times) Maryland’s two U.S. senators and four of its U.S. House representatives , all Democrats, sent a letter today to the large real- estate company owned by the family of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump ’s son-in-law and senior adviser, demanding information about the company’s management of 17 apartment complexes it owns in the state. The letter to Kushner Companies came in response to a May 23 article co-published by ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine investigating management practices at the rental complexes, most of which are in the suburbs of Baltimore, as well as an article this week in The Baltimore Sun that revealed additional details . The original story described the highly aggressive legal tactics that Kushner Companies has used to pursue tenants who owed back rent or had left their leases early — even tenants who left the complexes...

Duval Mobile Home Park in southeast Houston has 182 lots." />EXPAND The Duval Mobile Home Park in southeast Houston has 182 lots. Stephen Paulsen Elizabeth Perez loves her trailer park . But if she's ever forced to move, at least she has a back-up plan. A chatty 45-year-old with a wide smile, Perez has lived at and managed the Trinity Duval Mobile Home Park in southeast Houston since 2008. Used mobile homes here typically sell for $12,000 to $38,000, depending on their size and condition, she says. She remembers one woman buying a home for just $2,000, using her IRS refund. The Duval Mobile Home Park first opened in the 1950s. It was purchased last year by Trinity Community Group , a trailer park management company — and Perez worried about the future of the park. “I kept thinking, ‘Shoot, they're going to want to tear it down,’” Perez said. “I was kind of scared.” The company promised it would keep the park operational , according to Perez. Still, Perez accepts...