Santa Monica Daily Press: Developer skips out on affordable housing

No housing here, folks.

Really interesting case of affordable housing requirements not being fulfilled by the developer despite a relatively good track record. How easy it is to let relationships between government and developers cloud implementing affordable housing policy.

U2 Guitarist’s Plans Don’t Find Green Harmony

What do you guys think?

Urban Planning a Messy City: Billboards, Blight, Parks and Traffic

Curbed LA's review of '09. Woah, LA.

Eminent Domain

This kind of reminded me of Estalano's class :)
Atlantic Yards Project Clears Legal Hurdle

Global Housing Prices 1970-2009

Interesting McKinsey Global Institute tracking of global housing prices. What was happening in the UK and Germany?

LEED Lofts at Cherokee Studios

Some of us were lucky enough to get a tour of the Lofts at Cherokee Studios today. They're still under construction but will be opening soon. Here's some text from their website:

Cherokee Lofts is the most advanced and distinctive building of its kind in Los Angeles. It will be the "greenest" LEED Platinum* Certified mixed-use development in the state of California. The building honors the significant musical and Hollywood history of Cherokee Studios, and MGM and Republic Studios before it, and all the artists who recorded music on the site from Frank Sinatra to David Bowie to Dave Mathews. Cherokee Studios represents the premiere in green design, form, and function in the epicenter of the entertainment capital of the world.

http://www.loftsatcherokeestudios.com/

Some quick facts:

-construction vehicles used biodiesel

-all paints voc free

-building materials made from recycled products

-tank less water heaters

recycled aluminum screening on the balconies can open and close like windows

the orientation allows sunlight to travel all the way through the units

great views of the hills from this unit

Take home points from the ULI-LA's Future Build LA

The first half of the conference is over and it's been good! Here are some of the most talked about issues:

1. Occupancy Ratings!! This is a key issue in real estate development financing. And guess what the numbers say, there is a direct correlation between LEED certified buildings an occupancy. Tenants, both commercial and residential, stay for longer periods of time with less turn over. This translates into less risk for financing, which means banks are more willing to lend money for these projects. And in this economy, banks need stability.

2. The ranking from least lending risk to highest is: 1. Public, institutional, and educational buildings. 2. Owner occupied, single family housing. and 3. Multi-tenant. Because of this ranking, the most common LEED buildings are in the first category.

3. LA has the highest absolute number of LEED office buildings in the country. Although, they still represent less than 1% of the buildings in LA.

4. Life cycle and upfront investment. Developers and owners realize that the greater upfront costs related to designing a LEED or carbon neutral project will pay for themselves over the long haul. This concept has been discussed for a long time, but the numbers are now starting to come through that prove this.

Combine these points with the insecure economic climate and LEED buildings keep gaining more and more attention.

Finally, two website for your reference: www.josre.org and www.dsireusa.org

As New York Adds Housing for Poor, Market Subtracts It

James T. Hadden, a barber, on Lenox Avenue in Harlem, where he lives. He pays $1,300 a month
for a one-bedroom apartment in an area where, he says, there is frequent gunfire.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/nyregion/15housing.html?_r=2&hp