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...

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Forest City Realty Trust , Inc., passed the torch at Tower City Center on Thursday, selling off its final pieces of the mixed-use complex in the heart of downtown. With the sale of the Post Office Plaza and a nearby parking lot , Forest City - once downtown Cleveland's dominant landlord - finished a six-year-long exit from property ownership in the center city. The publicly traded company will stick around as a tenant, moving its headquarters and hundreds of workers from Terminal Tower to Key Tower in the spring. The K&D Group paid $15 million for Post Office Plaza , a 477,000-square- foot office building that is 55 percent vacant. In a separate transaction, K&D paid $1 million for a triangular parking lot next to the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel , west of Public Square. Doug Price, K&D's chief executive officer , confirmed the details during an interview late Thursday . "We think it's a real strategic purchase ," he said of Post...

Natalie Marra benefited from the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA), a provision in the District that provides strong protection for tenants to avoid a forced move. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post) Four years ago, when her apartment building at 1921 Kalorama Road NW in Washington was up for sale, Natalie Marra, a resident for more than 30 years, was determined to stay in the home she loves. “It took almost two years of tough negotiating, but there was a core group of seven of us in the tenant association that worked with a lawyer to make sure our rights were protected,” Marra says. “We negotiated the right to live in our apartments under rent control for the rest of our lives. Believe me, none of us ever plan to move now. Why would we? We have great renovated apartments and low rent.” Marra and her neighbors benefited from the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA), a provision in the District that provides strong protection for tenants to avoid a forced move. Elder...

JACKSONVILLE, AR - The parents of a two-year-old who died in a Jacksonville apartment complex have been given 10 days to move out after they failed to pay the rent. We initially covered this story because parents were concerned that this and another's child's death could have been linked to the condition of the apartments. According to Jessica Rollins, she was under the impression that a verbal agreement had been reached. But according to Rollins on August 18 she received a letter telling her she had 10 days to vacate the premises, instead of the 30 day notice she pointed to in her lease terms. Another letter she had been provided made note that her rent could increase but did not mention termination. "I talked to Miss Erica in the office about I wasn't going to be able to pay my rent this month because my son passing away and had to pay for his funeral and I would double it next month," said Rollins. "When you buy your home, your grandmother, father, and b...

"We currently have more than 90 projects in the pipeline at various stages in the relocation or expansion process," said Beth Bowman, president of the Greater Irving - Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce. Cognizant Technology Solutions U.S. Corp., a New Jersey-based provider of information technology, consulting and business process services , plans to shift more than 1,000 jobs to an office building in Las Colinas. And, tech-research firm, Gartner Inc., is looking to move up to 800 workers to an office building Goldman Sachs plans to vacate in a move to downtown Dallas . Gartner will occupy at least 100,000 square feet in the building. And nationwide restaurant chain Pei Wei Asian Diner has put Las Colinas on its menu of locations for a headquarters move. Pei Wei is looking at an office lease in a building on State Highway 161. Business tenants cite Las Colinas ' proximity to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, the development of thousands of new apartments and ac...

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Lyndhurst hotel and a pair of projects that will bring nearly 500 apartments to Cleveland won financing support Tuesday from the Cleveland- Cuyahoga County Port Authority . The port's board signed off on nearly $200 million in real estate- related bond transactions , setting the stage for construction to start within months on a trio of projects. The agency acts as a conduit for development financing, issuing bonds and helping to structure deals that involve longer terms , lower interest rates or cheaper construction materials than a borrower might find in the private market. Tuesday's headline deals were: A  Hyatt Place hotel and a 355- space parking garage at the Legacy Village shopping center in Lyndhurst. Developer Mitchell Schneider hopes to start construction in May and to complete the $33 million project by June 2016, in hopes of grabbing hotel- room demand generated by the Republican National Convention in July. The 135-room hotel and gara...

ALAMEDA — Tenants have once more been told to vacate the Bayview Apartments on Central Avenue, the same complex where a mass eviction was threatened nearly two years ago. Rommel Laguardia, who lives with his wife and three children in a one-bedroom unit for $1,064 each month, said he found a three-day notice on his front door when he woke up Friday morning. Three other tenants got similar notices at the 33-unit complex at 470 Central Ave. An additional three tenants received 60-day notices. “These notices that are coming now are just retaliation,” said Laguardia, who has fought to stay at the complex ever since San Jose- based Sridhar Equities Inc. bought the property in October 2015 for $6.1 million and soon afterward told all tenants to leave so that upgrades could be carried out. No one from Sridhar Equities was immediately available for comment. Like the Alameda Journal Facebook page for neighborhood news and conversation from Alameda and beyond. The potential evictions at the ...

Cain Fatica, Fairway Park Luxury Apartments , Copley | Amanda Gardner, Fairway Park Luxury Apartments How many tenants spend some of their free time in their apartment building’s leasing office just because it is such a great place?  Residents of the Fairway Park Luxury Apartments in Copley consider their leasing office to be part coffee shop and part lodge. The Starbucks coffee is always hot, and a fireplace keeps things cozy in cold or damp weather.  “I’ll just sit there sometimes and read the paper or one of the magazines they have, like Bon Appetit. Sometimes the office staff puts out recipes that we can try,” said tenant Cain Fatica . “I enjoy cooking. My brother is a chef, but I don’t get to cook as much as I’d like to. But it’s fun to taste new recipes. In the office, it’s like your family trading recipes .” Fatica, a graduate of the University of Akron with a major in biology, has lived in the complex a total of two years. He moved once, but came back because “compared to al...

Klrcow r People are never in office, and their computer bay hasnt been working for the past month … more » People are never in office, and their computer bay hasnt been working for the past month Jamie Young Needs code or lock on both pools. There are a lot of visitors who take up the whole pool that do not live there and leave trash on the residents hallways. Not a safe place to live and office staff are … unpredictable and very difficult to get answers from. more » Needs code or lock on both pools. There are a lot of visitors who take up the whole pool that do not live there and leave trash on the residents hallways. Not a safe place to live and office staff are unpredictable and very difficult to get answers from. Leonard Morales Agreed with comment below. Upper management has done a disastrous move with its recent change. Willow Springs has fallen behind and now us tenants must pay the price and wait for everything to get re- … organized. Lock on pool has yet to be remove...