Multi-Housing News - November 2008 - (Page 6)

In Search of Silver Linings Many families in the New York City tri-state area look forward to a Broadway show during the holiday season. And business travelers from all over the country like to schedule the annual Manhattan trip for December when they can be joined by their spouse and children for a long weekend. If the consumer confidence predictors are accurate (and you factor in recent lay-offs), this holiday season there will be much less travel, much less spending on gifts, and Broadway shows may also take a beating as thriftiness becomes a way of life—at least for the time being. Like the apartment industry, Broadway has been known to offer incentives. But this holiday season, one Broadway musical is using a refreshingly candid approach in its TV ads. Getting right to the point, and addressing consumers’ economic fears, its marketing message conveys: “We know it’s expensive to take the family to see a show, and you might feel you can’t afford it. But this uplifting entertainment is the antidote for financial worry. Now more than ever, it’s money well spent. Come spend with us and feel uplifted. Your family deserves it.” Luckily, there are many low-cost ways to enjoy the holiday season—even in Manhattan. However, living within one’s means is becoming increasingly more difficult, especially for many of America’s workforce—those earning between 60 to 120 percent of the area median income—and especially where housing is concerned. The Center for Housing Policy estimates that the number of working families paying more than half of their income for housing increased 87 percent, from 2.4 to 4.5 million, between 1997 and 2005. Much discussion has taken place over the years, but it remains a perennial problem not likely to get any easier in the near future. In our November issue, Executive Editor Keat Foong explores the effects of the credit crisis on workforce housing development and presents strategies for these challenging times. For example, Thompson Dorfman LLC, the developer of College Vista in San Mateo, Calif. (pictured on our November cover), has teamed with school districts in high-cost areas needing to retain teachers in their schools and community colleges. In some cases, these teachers couldn’t afford to live in the district in which they were working. So they tended to move on to other school districts with lower costs, or leave the profession altogether. Read more about Dorfman’s win-win approach on page 22 (Finance & Investment). If you’re looking for silver linings, read our guest column, “Green: Where Are We Headed?” (page 27). Daniel Gehman, a principal at TCA, reminds us that the meteoric rise of oil prices has had a positive effect by changing how Americans view public transportation. More municipalities are embracing transit-oriented development as they expand their transportation options. MHN Managing Editor Teresa O’Dea Hein looks at the latest trends in “On Track with TODs” (page 18). For example, apartments located one-quarter mile from a transit hub can generate rents that are 50 cents per square foot higher than communities further away. This amount is likely to rise as the perceived value of TODs increases. Water is another precious commodity that we’re no longer taking for granted. This realization has led to the creation of new products designed to conserve it while also saving on multi-housing operating costs. MHN is proud to support green innovation. See the winners of our first annual Green Initiative Awards competition on page 27, including new water-saving technology. Congratulations to all. MULTI-HOUSING NEWS MHN GROUP PUBLISHER & SHOW DIRECTOR Daniel J. Corcoran daniel.corcoran@nielsen.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Natasha Selhi nselhi@multi-housingnews.com ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Associate Publisher: West, Mountain and Southern States Natasha Selhi nselhi@multi-housingnews.com Account Executive: Northeast and Midwest States Douglas Runner douglas.runner@multi-housingnews.com Online Account Executive: Lis Perry lis.perry@nielsen.com 646-654-5526/fax: 646-654-5817 CLASSIFIED & GALLERY ADS Account Executive: Fatima Ruiz fatima.ruiz@nielsen.com 646-654-5763/fax: 646-792-7108 MARKETING DIRECTOR Kevin Marty kevin.marty@nielsen.com 516-682-6149/fax: 516-682-6166 ONLINE PUBLICATIONS www.multi-housingnews.com MHN Daily Newsletter MHN Property Management MHN Green Building & Design MHN Finance & Investment EXHIBIT BOOTH SALES & SPONSORSHIPS Account Executive: David Muirhead david.muirhead@nielsen.com 770-291-5432/fax: 770-777-8690 Multi-Housing World Conference and Expo Multi-Housing Forum REPRINTS The YGS Group Mike Shober 800-290-5460 ext. 129 MHN@the YGSgroup.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Diana Mosher dmosher@multi-housingnews.com EXECUTIVE EDITOR Keat Foong kfoong@multi-housingnews.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jonathan Marsland jonathan.marsland@nielsen.com ART DIRECTOR Michelle Matteson mmatteson@multi-housingnews.com MANAGING EDITOR Teresa O’Dea Hein thein@multi-housingnews.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Erika Schnitzer erika.schnitzer@multi-housingnews.com CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Christopher Hosford Lisa Iannucci ONLINE NEWS EDITOR Anuradha Kher anuradha.kher@nielsen.com MHN BLOG Erin Brereton www.multi-housingnews.com/blog Jack Kern jkern80124@gmail.com PRODUCTION MANAGER Jean Loesch jean.loesch@nielsen.com CIRCULATION Hallmark/ESP/ICN mhn@halldata.com LIST RENTALS Nikki Miller 646-654-7261 nikki.miller@nielsen.com Diana Mosher Editor-in-Chief We invite you to comment on MHN’s redesign and/or to share your own multi-housing silver lining with our readers. Diana Mosher can be reached at dmosher@multi-housingnews.com President: Greg Farrar • Senior VP, Human Resources: Michael Alicea • Senior VP, Marketing: Mark Hosbein • Senior VP, Finance: Derek Irwin • Senior VP, Entertainment: Gerry Byrne • Senior VP, Marketing, Media & Visual Arts: Sabrina Crow • Senior VP, Retail: David Loechner • Senior VP, Online: Linda McCutcheon • Senior VP, Building & Design: Joe Randall • Senior VP, Central Services: Mary Kay Sustek • VP, Licensing: Howard Appelbaum • VP, Manufacturing & Distribution: Jennifer Grego • VP, Audience Marketing: Joanne Wheatley 6 November 2008 | Multi-Housing News | Producer of Multi-Housing World http://www.multi-housingnews.com http://www.multi-housingnews.com/blog http://www.YGSgroup.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Multi-Housing News - November 2008

Multi-Housing News - November 2008
Contents
From the Editor
Perspective: The Economy
Market Pulse
Special Report: People to Watch
Market Report: Southwest
Executive Roundtable: Dealing with the Crisis
Development & Design: TOD
Finance: Workforce Housing
Green Awards/Perspective
Sell Me: Renters Insurance
Products: Recycled Content
Solutions: Security
Property Showcase: Chelsea Modern

Multi-Housing News - November 2008