Socal Multiunit Real Estate

THE GREENEST BUILDING IS THE ONE THAT’S ALREADY BUILT

By Jodi Summers

We love this website http://www.thegreenestbuilding.org/. The Greenest Building website is based on the premise of “the Greenest Building is the One Already Built,” and they have the calculators to support that claim.

The goal is to get developers to rehab existing buildings as opposed to tearing them down and building new structures.

For example, the embodied energy calculator will figure out the total energy spent in the production of a building, from the manufacture of materials to their delivery to construction.

The demolition energy calculator is to calculate the amount of energy “needed to raze, load, and haul away construction materials.”

Convert energy to gasoline, figure out BTU usage…http://www.thegreenestbuilding.org/ is fascinating.

THE HISTORY OF THE FINANCIAL BUBBLE

THE HISTORY OF THE FINANCIAL BUBBLE

by Jodi Summers

Allegedly, the first recorded speculative financial bubble occurred in the Netherlands in the 1630s when, according to Wikipedia, tulip contracts sold for 20 times the annual income of a skilled craftsman. When tulip prices came crashing down so did the economy, according to reports that have not been sufficiently documented for historians to conclude exactly what occurred.

sources:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimg944/2229214461/

http://www.inman.com/news/2008/10/23/dutch-toughen-downturn

NEARLY 25% OF SAN FRANCISCO IS UP FOR REZONING

NEARLY 25% OF SAN FRANCISCO IS UP FOR REZONING

In a bold move to accommodate San Francisco’s changing needs, the city is looking to rezone + gentrify four eastside districts. The current plan removes industrial area in favor of mixed use multiunit developments in the Mission Bay district, Showplace Square/Potrero Hill, east SoMa and the central waterfront neighborhoods. Recently approved by the city�s Planning Commission, the project is now before the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

The proposed plan - which is not unlike New York City’s west side renaissance - takes approximately two-million sf of land zoned for light industrial and rezones it for between 7,500 and 10,000 new housing units over the next 10 years. It also prohibits residential and office from further eroding the industrial base � which San Francisco defines as production, distribution and repair uses� through special permits. During the boom years of the 1990s, dot-coms and residential developers converted a good portion of the area�s buildings into loft-like office space and condominiums.

This rezoning involved years of planning and review, hearings and negotiation so that the city can better manage the evolution. Incorporating some of the most progressive ideas, the plan will purportedly provide incentives meant to spark additional commercial development (light industry, office, retail and restaurants), creates development fees to pay for the necessary infrastructure improvements, and requires residential developers to make some units affordable not only to low-income families but also to middle-income families. It is assumed that all new development will comply with San Francisco’s stringent green building codes.
Nearly 100 projects are said to be in line awaiting the rezoning. If the new zoning is approved as is, there will be a new community improvement fee. At a minimum, builders would be required to pay $8 per sf for residential development and $6 per sf for non-residential construction.

SANTA MONICA’S LANDMARK MAJESTIC/MAYFAIR THEATRE MULTIUNIT PROJECT IS GREENLIGHTED

SANTA MONICA’S LANDMARK MAJESTIC/MAYFAIR THEATRE MULTIUNIT PROJECT IS GREENLIGHTED

by Jodi Summers

Since the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, Santa Monica�s landmark Mayfair Theatre has piqued the interested of many a real estate developer. All along, the building�s owner, Karl Schober and Santa Monica�s Architectural Review Board have been negotiating the future.

�The place was trashed by the earthquake,� said Karl Schober, who owns the building. �The guts of the Theatre collapsed.�
After years of negotiation the ARB and Schober have finally agreed on a design - what remains of the old structure will become the fa�ade of a new 34-unit apartment building with retail on the ground floor, adjacent to the hugely popular Third Street Promenade.
Of the apartments, 60 percent will be one-bedroom units and 40 percent will have two bedrooms. Of the two-bedroom apartments, three will be set aside for very low-income tenants, said architect David Forbes Hibbert.
�We have tried to make a simple structure … so as not to overshadow the existing building,� Hibbert stated.

Legend had it that Santa Monica�s Majestic Theatre, originally built in 1911, was the oldest legitimate Theatre operating in Los Angeles. Designed by Henry Hollwedel the Churrigeuresco-style building at 212-216 Santa Monica Blvd. The Roccoco structure was dessimated in the Northridge earthquake, and has remained under scaffolding for the past 14 years.

When it was known as the Majestic, the Theatre was one of Los Angeles County�s premier opera houses. When the Majestic became the Mayfair Theatre, it was a single-screen Theatre that seated 602.
Details from:
http://www.santamonicalandmarks.com/landmk29.html
http://www.smdp.com/article/articles/3422/1/New-day-for-the-Mayfair/Page1.html
http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2008/March-2008/03_19_08_Rebirth_of_a_Landmark.htm