William Gauger & Associates Blog

Prince William County is to get more than $4 million in federal funding
to stimulate development and buy homes in foreclosure.

The county will get more than $2.8 million in U.S. Housing and Urban
Development funds to fuel development and produce affordable housing.

The county will also get $1.5 million to purchase and rehabilitate
foreclosed homes, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) said Monday.

The $1.5 million in Neighborhood Stabilization Program grants is being
authorized under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 and
administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community
Development. Prince William was one of nine localities to benefit from
$9.4 million awarded to Virginia on Monday.

The funds will be used to buy about 85 foreclosed homes at discounted
prices in 24 neighborhoods across Virginia, a news release from the
governor's office says. The homes will be rehabilitated and available
for sale to low- and middle-income families.

*Source: The Washington Post: More on the Topic

Prince William County is to get more than $4 million in federal funding
to stimulate development and buy homes in foreclosure.

The county will get more than $2.8 million in U.S. Housing and Urban
Development funds to fuel development and produce affordable housing.

The county will also get $1.5 million to purchase and rehabilitate
foreclosed homes, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) said Monday.

The $1.5 million in Neighborhood Stabilization Program grants is being
authorized under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 and
administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community
Development. Prince William was one of nine localities to benefit from
$9.4 million awarded to Virginia on Monday.

The funds will be used to buy about 85 foreclosed homes at discounted
prices in 24 neighborhoods across Virginia, a news release from the
governor's office says. The homes will be rehabilitated and available
for sale to low- and middle-income families.

*Source: The Washington Post: More on the Topic

SHORELINE, Wash. - August 27, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) - Design-build
real estate developer Opus Northwest, L.L.C. together with architectural
partner LMN Architects, today announced completion of the first phase of
the City of Shoreline's $33 million, 67,000-square-foot City Hall and
Civic Center, and the turnover of the city hall building.
The second phase of this government campus will be completed at the end
of the year with the opening of the garage and public plaza, designed as
the central gathering place for the community. The municipal real estate
development project is expected to receive the U.S. Green Building
Council's LEED Silver certification.

At the outset of this public-private partnership, Opus Northwest and the
City of Shoreline agreed upon a strong, collaborative, management team
approach.

"The combination of design-build, build-to-suit and lease-to-own methods
ensured a focus on the guiding principles we developed with the
community, while limiting our exposure to potential cost overruns for
our new City Hall," said Bob Olander, city manager for Shoreline, which
incorporated in 1995. "I am pleased to say it more than meets the city's
smart-design intent, and demonstrates our commitment to customer
service, transparency and accessibility for the entire community."

To strengthen Shoreline's sense of identity, designers created a council
chamber with doors that open onto a plaza and outdoor amphitheater, a
water feature and the stunning, four-story dogwood mural "Lime Light" by
local artist Linda Beaumont.

"It is a special opportunity to be a part of creating a new front door
and living room for a city. With Shoreline, our team worked passionately
with citizens, constituents and community leaders to develop the vision
and design that culminated in the creation of a municipal real estate
project with a great sense of place and a clear statement about
sustainability," said PJ Santos, senior real estate director for Opus
Northwest.

The commitment to green building resulted in a design that's as
educational as it is sustainable, and features a path called "The
Shoreline Sustainability Stroll."

"The idea for the Shoreline Sustainability Stroll came from our shared
belief that changing paradigms and educating the community - especially
young people - on the possibilities of green development is as important
as achieving a LEED accreditation," said Jesus Sanchez, Shoreline
project manager. "This educational pathway is something to be proud of,
and we hope others will follow this creative example in their projects.
It's just the kind of change we all need to implement to reduce our
environmental footprint."

Source: Washington RealEstate

A Federal Reserve program to spur commercial real estate lending may
provide a bit of a jolt, but the amount of financing will likely be
limited because the infrastructure needed to produce commercial
mortgage-backed securities in bulk is still broken. The Fed threw a
lifeline to the battered commercial real estate sector in June by
opening up its consumer and business lending program, the Term
Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF), to commercial mortgage
backed securities (CMBS).

Through the TALF program, investors who buy newly issued CMBS can borrow
directly from the Fed. Investors in existing CMBS can also borrow under
the program. While there has been some participation for existing CMBS,
there have been no new commercial mortgage bonds available for the
program as it takes months to structure new CMBS.

Source: Reuters

Using resources afforded under the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program, a new nonprofit organization is bringing together mortgage companies, philanthropic organizations and community groups in an effort to rehabilitate foreclosed properties.

So far, more than 100 hard-hit communities in 35 states have signed up for services from the National Community Stabilization Trust, which facilitates the transfer of foreclosed property from financial institutions to locally designated community housing providers. The housing providers then renovate the housing for new homeowners and renters.

More at: MORTGAGEORB.COM

Elana Schor’s “Crunching June Stimulus Numbers: Roads Create Pricier Jobs Than Transit” confirms, so far, the predictions in SGA’s Spending the Stimulus: per dollar of investment, state road projects create fewer jobs than do state transit projects. The differences that she found are smaller than other studies have found, mostly, we suspect, because all the road project types are lumped together. Repair has long been found to produce more jobs than new roads.

HUD has established new rules limiting the percentage of units in a building that can get FHA loans. Developers cry foul, calling it a bias against affordable housing and density.

"[Developer] Diana Chevalier, owner of Project Approval Services, said she was so upset when she learned of HUD's new restrictions that she hopped the first plane to Washington, D.C."

"'I took a $1,000 flight, and I met with Margaret Burns,' Chevalier said of the director of HUD's Office of Single Family Program Development. 'What the FHA is doing is trying to limit their exposure in existing condos and new condos and this is their way of monitoring their exposure.'"

Full Story: HUD Rules May Hurt Builders Source: San Diego Business Journal, August 24, 2009