Winning Formulas Think you’ve built a great apartment building? Want to share the word about your company’s community service efforts? Believe you’ve got the best CEO in the apartment industry? Then you’ll want to be watching your mailbox for the 2005 MULTIFAMILY EXECUTIVE awards brochure. Entry fees are due May 16, with binders due July 1. Winners receive recognition in an upcoming issue of the magazine. For more information, contact Rachel Z. Azoff at 202-736-3494 or razoff@hanleywood.com.
Save the Dates! Make friends and influence people at this year’s MULTIFAMILY EXECUTIVE Conference, Oct. 17-19, 2005, at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. Seminars will cover tactics and strategies for property management, finance, acquisitions, multifamily renovation, development, and more. For more information, contact Alison Rice at arice@hanley wood.com. Please put “MFEEC 2005” in the subject line.
Governmental Misuse HUD is investigating the Los Angeles Housing Authority on charges that it misused money earmarked to provide work experience for public housing residents. HUD’s audit of the program says mismanagement and conflicts of interest led to more than $1.7 million in overbilling and unsubstantiated costs, according to a Los Angeles Times story.
–L.S.Start Your Engines If you live in South Florida, chances are you’ve seen a blue London cab whiz by featuring larger-than-life photos of condos, water views, and hip women. These moving billboards are part of an ad campaign for Boca Developers, a Deerfield Beach, Fla., developer that’s building seven communities in Florida.
–R Z. A.Grassroots Support A recent poll from the Rauch Foundation, a community-oriented nonprofit organization in New York, said the majority of Long Islanders acknowledge they need more affordable housing. The poll also found that Long Islanders would be open to downtown affordable housing developments and inclusionary zoning for affordable developments, according to The New York Times.
–L.S.Trapped The housing boom has put owners of affordable co-ops in the Midwest in a tough position, according to The Kansas City Star. With homeownership on the rise, government subsidized coops have become less popular, and some residents are leaving them for single-family homes—placing a higher financial burden on those left behind.
–L.S.Pollution Alert Motor oil and sediment runoff aren’t the only sources of pollution. Many commonly used building materials—like galvanized metal, concrete, asphalt, and wood products—have the potential to release pollutants into waterways, according to a new study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
–R Z. A.