Construction Maison

By Katherine Shaver The Washington Post From the rooftop terrace of their new townhouse, Keisuke and Idalia Yabe take in their suburban Maryland neighborhood : a staid, 1970s- era office park of glass office buildings and concrete parking garages . The Yabes say they have found the advantages of urban living in a shorter commute and the ability to walk to shopping centers and a park. They also have what feels like the best of suburbia -- mature trees, plentiful parking , Bethesda's sought-after schools and a more affordable mortgage. From the Washington and New York suburbs to North Carolina's Research Triangle Park , traditional corporate campuses that have struggled since the Great Recession are trying to transform from sterile worksites into vibrant mini-towns. In addition to housing, they're adding restaurants, grocery stores, playgrounds and outdoor concert spaces -- anything to draw people in and make them want to stay. Although it might sound strange at first, th...

Local investors beware: Central Pennsylvania is on the map for outside groups looking for higher returns. Last month, The Solomon Organization , a New Jersey-based operator of multifamily properties, closed on a $25.7 million purchase of the newly built Ivy Ridge Apartments in Swatara Township . That price — $117,913 per unit — is the highest in the Harrisburg market this year. It also marked the company's first foray into the Harrisburg area after landing in Lancaster County six years ago. It owns six communities in Lancaster County and more than 1,200 units. "Two years ago, you said 'Harrisburg' and people would just hang up the phone," said Zachary Pierce, director of the National Multi Housing Group in Philadelphia for Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services . Outside investors were interested only in primary markets such as New York City and Washington, D.C., and maybe Philadelphia, he said. But as prices have shot up in those prime areas, th...

FLINT, MI -- Hurley Medical Center will celebrate its continued partnership with Oak Street Senior Apartments by unveiling the new wellness exercise room . Hurley and Communities First, Inc. will host a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new wellness room at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 28 at Oak Street Senior Apartments located at 1000 Oak Street in Flint.  The room will be filled with space for activities, exercise equipment and much more. The partnership between Hurley and Oak Street Senior Apartments  started nearly a year ago when the apartment building for low- income seniors opened . Hurley helped outfit their Health Services Room with an exam table, medical supplies and health literature. Hurley staff help with routine health screenings and onsite nursing hours for one-on-one health and wellness coaching . This is just another way hospitals in the Flint area are preparing to take care of the county's aging population .  Even though Genesee County 's overall population h...

It was the type of celebration that’s become commonplace in the Seaport District . Investors, developers, and other real estate types mingled earlier this summer at a groundbreaking ceremony for Echelon Seaport — $900 million worth of luxury condos and apartments set to rise from a parking lot on Seaport Boulevard. Advertisement Under a big white tent , guests sipped cocktails and listened as Governor Charlie Baker and Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh touted the glassy, gleaming business district sprouting around them.Away from the festivities, Alex Shing of Los Angeles- based Cottonwood Management — the project’s developer — spoke about the strong interest from investors all over the globe who wanted to buy into Boston’s booming Seaport. Get Talking Points in your inbox: An afternoon recap of the day’s most important business news , delivered weekdays. “This is probably the most valuable piece of dirt in the world,” Shing said. Yet to help finance the project, Cottonwood and its...

The Gold Coast secret may have been out for years, but the residents of the Gold Coast suburb of Benowa believe their piece of paradise remains something of a hidden gem. While the oceanfront from Main Beach to Coolangatta captures more than its share of the booming Gold Coast property headlines , there are suburbs within cooee of the sea that offer a special combination of lifestyle and economic advantage. Just five kilometres inland of Surfers Paradise, and close to the Nerang River flowing out to the Broadwater, Benowa Waters was one of the earliest suburban extensions to follow the original canal excavations at the nearby Sorrento canal estate . renowned Royal Pines Golf Course, host of the Australian PGA." /> The suburb is best known for the world- renowned Royal Pines Golf Course, host of the Australian PGA. Photo: Paul Harris Benowa is now firmly established as one of the Gold Coast’s premier suburbs with a range of property types , many waterfront with accompanyi...

Lee B. Lok (center) at his store, Quong Yuen Shing & Co, on Mott Street, New York, c. 1917. Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Collection One day in 1941, Lee Ng Shee went for a stroll in Bradley Beach , New Jersey. She was the wife of a prominent merchant in New York City Chinatown named Lee B. Lok, who in 1891 had established Quong Yuen Shing & Company, a general store on Mott Street. The family liked to spend their summers on the Jersey Shore, though it was a challenge to find landlords who would rent to nonwhites. Lee Ng Shee was passing a house on Newark Avenue, stepping carefully on her bound feet, when a woman came out on the porch. “Are you looking for a house?” the woman called out. “Would you like to buy this one?” Lee knew a deal when she heard one. “Two thousand dollars later, Lee B. Lok and family were ensconced in a summer bungalow of their very own in the village where twenty years before they would have been lucky to be able to rent some rooms over a store,” ...

The hotel industry may be waging war on Airbnb, but that hasn’t stopped hotels in Miami-Dade from sleeping with the enemy. Of course, to most properties that have chosen to list some of their hotel rooms on the home-sharing platform, Airbnb is anything but an enemy and rather just another site to advertise their product. They’re far removed from the ongoing tension between Airbnb and the American Hotel and Lodging Association, which has devised a detailed plan around the nation to squash the growth of short- term rental platforms . The intersection of hotels and Airbnb has, naturally, found a home in Miami-Dade, one of the top five short- term rental markets in the country. More than 100 South Florida boutique hotels list some, if not all, of their rooms on Airbnb, the company estimates . They are part of a growing number of properties in the U.S. that have moved onto the site, particularly since last November when Airbnb started aggressively courting boutique hotels to list on the...

While the likes of Harry Styles, Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebel Wilson and Meg Ryan are moving into 443 Greenwich Street — Manhattan’s most celebrity-filled condominium — fashion mogul Serge Azria is moving out. The creative force behind Joie, Equipment and Current/Elliott paid $14.3 million for it in February, but is flipping the three bedroom, 3,471-square- foot duplex apartment for $17.3 million. The posh penthouse comes with its own private elevator entrance to both floors and a rooftop terrace complete with an outdoor kitchen. It appears to have been an investment property as he never actually lived in it, according to the listing. While this is the first penthouse resale, Azria is not the first celebrity to flip a condo at the building. “Austin Powers” star Mike Myers sold his four-bedroom pad without ever living there after it became too small for him when he had another child. 443 Greenwich Street ’s amenities include a 71- foot indoor swimming pool , children’s playroom, a...

Offices, a grocery store and “micro-condominiums” might soon rise out of the ground on a prime piece of land in West Palm Beach west of Northwood Village. These are the first projects that Boca Raton-developer Mario Caprini wants to build as part of an ambitious $70 million complex dubbed Northwood Common s, on a 3.5- acre parcel owned by the West Palm Beach Community Redevelopment Agency . Can Caprini get the job done? His company’s website lists his prior development work in Canada and Ohio, including 1,000 residential units, 5 million square feet of industrial parks and “hundreds of thousands” of square feet of office, retail and medical buildings. In South Florida, Caprini recently completed construction of a “green” home in Pompano Beach at 4620 N.W. 18th Ave. The project, dubbed Modernista, was recognized by the mayor of Pompano Beach in March and won a national award in February from the Structural Insulated Panel Association , earning first place in the affordable housing...