Federal Option? Currently, government workers can’t invest in real estate through their Thrift Savings Plan—but the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts wants to change that. It convinced the plan’s board to commission a study of real estate investing and has lobbied Congress to pass a bill adding real estate to the savings plan. If the study supports that addition, Tony Edwards, NAREIT’s senior vice president and general counsel, thinks Congress could give federal workers a real estate investment option as early as 2006. —L.S.
Boston Aid Like workers in many American cities, public employees in Boston find it expensive to live near where they work. Unlike many of its counterparts, though, Boston requires its employees to live inside the city limits—and skyrocketing housing costs can make things tight. But Mayor Thomas Menino is addressing this with an Affordable Housing Trust fund that will provide workers with money for first-time home purchases, rent, mortgage payments, or emergency housing needs. —L.S.
Get in Line More than 50,000 Pennsylvania residents are on a waiting list for affordable apartments offered through the Housing Choice Program. Little hope is in sight: The program will cut more than 14,000 vouchers by 2010, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Currently, 82,644 Pennsylvania households participate in the federally funded program. —R.Z.A.
Hot Spots Strategizing on which markets to enter next? Consider this: Nearly one-half of the total U.S. population growth between 2000 and 2030 will occur in Florida, California, and Texas with roughly 12 million people each, according to Census Bureau state population projections. Coming in next is Arizona, projected to add 5.6 million people, and North Carolina with 4.2 million. —R.Z.A.
Twisted View Twisting 90 degrees on its way up, Turning Torso in Malmo, Sweden, looks more like a science class model of a DNA helix than an apartment building. But this fall, residents will move into the 54-story tower, which is modeled after a sculpture of the human body in motion. The 147-unit building, designed by Santiago Calatrava, is made up of nine cubes with five floors each. The 43rd floor will house two saunas, a gym, and guest suites. Watch out for the architect’s debut project in the U.S.: a New York City apartment complex made of 45-foot glazed cubes. —R.Z.A.