Chicago-based Belgravia Group today announced that construction and sales are progressing quickly at Three Sixty West, the firm’s 11-story condominium development in the city’s River North neighborhood. Located at 360 W. Erie St., the building will include 38 luxury condominiums, rising from the former site of Citizen Bar, which initially served as the development’s sales gallery. Belgravia is currently marketing the development from a model home at 39 N. Aberdeen St. in the firm’s CA on Washington condominium building in the West Loop.

Chicago-based Structured Development today announced it has entered into an agreement with the Menomonee Club to purchase its 36,000-square-foot community center at 1535 N. Dayton St., known as the Drucker Center. Structured plans to develop a new facility for the nonprofit organization on a portion of its 2.5-acre site at the southwest corner of Blackhawk and Kingsbury streets, where the developer has proposed a 200,000-square-foot mixed-use center called The Shops at Big Deahl.

Chicago-based Structured Development today announced it has entered into an agreement with the Menomonee Club to purchase its 36,000-square-foot community center at 1535 N. Dayton St., known as the Drucker Center. Structured plans to develop a new facility for the nonprofit organization on a portion of its 2.5-acre site at the southwest corner of Blackhawk and Kingsbury streets, where the developer has proposed a 200,000-square-foot mixed-use center called The Shops at Big Deahl.

Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF) announces the capitalization of Axletree, a to-be-built, 110-unit, Class A multi-housing project in the Portland suburb of Milwaukie, Oregon.

Regulation imposed by all levels of government accounts for an average of 32.1 percent of multifamily development costs, according to new research released today by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC). In fact, in a quarter of cases, that number can reach as high as 42.6 percent.

Apartment and condo development can be subject to a significant array of regulatory costs, including a broad range of fees, standards and other requirements imposed at different stages of the development and construction process. However, until now there had been no previous research done to analyze the extent of this regulation. This joint research effort surveyed NAHB and NMHC members to quantify how much regulation exists and how much it is adding to the cost of developing new multifamily properties.

Breaking down the government regulation costs showed that an average of 7 percent of regulatory costs come from building code changes over the past 10 years, 5.9 percent is attributable to development requirements (such as streets, sidewalks, parking, landscaping, and architectural design) that go beyond what the developer would ordinarily provide, and 4.2 percent of the costs come from non-refundable fees charged when site work begins.

“The home building industry is one of the most highly regulated industries, and the multifamily sector is particularly subject to these obligations,” said NAHB Chairman Randy Noel, a custom home builder from LaPlace, La. “Housing affordability is a huge issue throughout the county, and this new research only further illustrates how the layers of excessive regulation translate into higher rents and reduced affordability for consumers.”

“The current regulatory framework has limited the amount of housing that can be built and increased the cost of what is produced,” said NMHC President Doug Bibby. “At a time when states and localities are struggling to address housing affordability challenges, public and private stakeholders should work together to streamline regulations and take the steps necessary to expand housing in communities across the country.”

Although local governments generally have authority for approving the development and adopting building codes, state and federal governments are increasingly becoming involved in the process and layering on additional levels of fees and regulations.
Developers can almost certainly expect average costs to be higher now or in the near future due to the effect of recent regulations that went in place at the end of 2017, such as the new Silica Rule. Further, the survey does not account for other price-influencing factors such as the effects of recent tariffs on building materials, or the extent to which local jurisdictions empower citizens to oppose multifamily development in their communities.

The full study can be viewed here.

Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF) announces the capital raise for The Vineyards of Brookfield, a to-be-built, 146-home, age-restricted (55+) townhome community with a total project cost of $58 million in the Long Island community of Center Moriches, New York.

CA Residential LLC, the multifamily investment and development division of Chicago-based CA Ventures, together with joint venture partner K Giles LLC, today announced Eleven40, a mixed-use, transit-oriented development in Chicago’s South Loop, already is over 50 percent leased less than three weeks after welcoming its first residents. Located at 1140 S. Wabash Ave., the 26-story, 320-unit apartment tower, designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz, is steps away from the CTA’s Roosevelt station, which is served by the Red, Green and Orange lines.

CA Residential LLC, the multifamily investment and development division of Chicago-based CA Ventures, together with joint venture partner K Giles LLC, today announced Eleven40, a mixed-use, transit-oriented development in Chicago’s South Loop, already is over 50 percent leased less than three weeks after welcoming its first residents. Located at 1140 S. Wabash Ave., the 26-story, 320-unit apartment tower, designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz, is steps away from the CTA’s Roosevelt station, which is served by the Red, Green and Orange lines.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – LandSouth Construction, an award-winning Jacksonville, Fla. based general contractor specializing in multifamily, senior living and mixed-use development has broken ground on Gatlin Commons, a $35 million luxury apartment community in Port St. Lucie, Fla.