Vivante on the Coast features amenities like an indoor saltwater pool, salon, putting green, theater, lounge, sports bar, yoga and fitness facilities, bocce ball court, wine lockers, large outdoor courtyards and a 2.5-acre park with designated dog park.

COSTA MESA, CALIF. -- Vivante on the Coast, a 185-unit seniors housing community in Costa Mesa, has received $72 million in financing. The newly built community is located at 1640 Monrovia Ave. It was completed in 2013. 

Vivante contains a mix of independent, assisted and memory care units. Amenities include an indoor saltwater pool, salon, putting green, theater, lounge, sports bar, yoga and fitness facilities, bocce ball court, wine lockers, large outdoor courtyards and a 2.5-acre park with designated dog park. The facility also offers a culinary program, chauffeur service, 24-hour concierge, on-site nurses and pet care. 

The three-year loan features a 3.75 percent floating interest rate. It was arranged by HFF's James Fowler and Charles Halladay on behalf of the borrower and Nexus Cos., the borrower's affiliated developer. Financing was secured through a specialty finance company. 

"Vivante on the Coast is well positioned to take advantage of a supply-constrained market with high barriers to entry," says Fowler. "The quality of design, construction and customer service is unmatched in the market and yet its pricing is very competitive." 

The new building in Buena Park will allow Manhattan Beachwear to consolidate three of its existing locations.

BUENA PARK, CALIF. -- Manhattan Beachwear has leased a 191,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution facility in the Orange County submarket of Buena Park. The new space is located at 6300 Valley View Street, near the 5 Freeway and Route 91. It will allow the swimwear retailer to consolidate three of its existing locations. 

"We are consolidating the three locations into approximately the same square footage all in one new location," says David Trinkle, the company's senior vice president and chief financial officer. "We are also changing how we utilize the space, moving from a 'garments-on- hanger' storage method to 'flat-pack' storage in racks and adding conveyors, a pick module, sorters and 'put-to-wall' technology to store and pick our products more efficiently." 

The distribution center was built in 1976. It received significant upgrades in 2006. 

Rooney Daschbach and Eric Daschbach of Cushman & Wakefield represented Manhattan Beachwear in the transaction. The unnamed landlord was represented by Richard Ellison and Randy Ellison of the same firm. 

"The site search focused on a 15-mile radius of the company's current distribution facilities," says Daschbach. "Manhattan Beachwear has continued to grow. This facility met its requirements, and it was close to its headquarters in Cypress. The building will also have a new ESFR fire sprinkler system and 9,000 square feet of new offices built to Manhattan Beachwear's specs."

The 351,000-square-foot outpost would be situated on 26 acres along the northern side of Interstate-215 at Durango Drive, near Sunset Road.

LAS VEGAS -- Ikea has submitted plans to open its first Las Vegas location in the Spring Valley submarket. The 351,000-square-foot outpost would be situated on 26 acres along the northern side of Interstate 215 at Durango Drive, near Sunset Road. 

"We look forward to continue growing our western U.S. presence with Ikea Las Vegas," says Rob Olson, Ikea's U.S. chief financial officer. "This accessible location would provide the already 101,000 Las Vegas-area customers a store of their own and introduce the unique IKEA shopping experience to other consumers throughout Clark County and Southern Nevada." 

The new store would feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children's play area, and a 450-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties like meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. 

The Swedish home furnishings retailer hopes to open the new store in summer 2016. The next closest Ikea locations for Las Vegas include Covina, Calif., Tempe, Ariz.; or Draper, Utah.

Trip Stephens, CIO of ZOM

In the aftermath of the housing bubble a few years back, many Americans have changed their views on homeownership. Homeownership rates have dropped from a peak of 69.4 percent in 2004, to just 64.8 percent today - the lowest level the U.S. Census Bureau has reported in 15 years. 

Demographic shifts are also influencing tenure choice. People in the expanding 25-34 year age group want to live closer to work, be more socially engaged with their peers and prefer the freedom and flexibility of renting instead of owning. 

Many are also less inclined to own a car. A growing segment of these younger renters are also drawn to top-tier U.S. cities, which offer higher paying jobs, more attractive public spaces and cultural venues and 24-hour lifestyle environments. 

These trends are driving a surge in demand for higher density, urban apartments, many of which will be developed in mid- and high-rise formats due to land scarcity in the best urban locations. 

Check Your 'Walk Score' 

How are developer's capitalizing on this notable shift in demand? It's all about location. When developers decide to build a high-rise, they are looking for an extremely attractive location, because the first reason people are deciding to live there is less about what's inside their unit and more about what's in the local area. 

Even in the building itself, it's more about the project's amenities than their individual units. A site's "Walk Score" is an emerging metric for both developers and consumers alike. 

The reputable Seattle-based firm (www.walkscore.com) employs a proprietary scoring system to rank neighborhoods and housing sites in terms of their proximity to retail, restaurants, services, employment hubs, public transportation and other desired goods and services. 

The best urban sites typically score above 90 in terms of walkability. More than 30,000 web-based marketing sites now provide Walk Score data to guide their users in making relocation decisions and housing choices. 

Less Is More 

Locational priorities and social trends are also driving developers to make changes in the unit size and mix of units within new high-rise projects. The average square footage is trending down, as tenants are spending more and more time outside of their living spaces. 

Developers are shifting to a higher mix of studios and one-bedroom units as opposed to the larger percentage of two- and three-bedroom units in earlier generation buildings. 

The desire for more social interaction is also driving amenity area design and resident services. Developers are now designing lounges that are arranged more like hotel lobbies than traditional clubrooms, where residents can meet and comfortably socialize. 

Having those kinds of areas, both indoors and outside - such as pool decks, outdoor fireplaces, lounges, bars, game areas - are all features that are critically important to the new urban luxury renter. Residents in higher end properties now also benefit from an on-site concierge and 24-hour guard service. 

Going Green 

Today's renters are more environmentally conscious now than ever. Successful developers are incorporating more environmentally friendly materials and energy saving appliances into their projects. LEED certified projects are increasingly prevalent, and are now mandated in some jurisdictions. 

While such designations are cost additive, recent surveys reflect that many consumers are willing to pay more for environmentally sustainable products, including their housing. Going Green Today's renters are more environmentally conscious now than ever. Successful developers are incorporating more environmentally friendly materials and energy saving appliances into their projects. 

LEED-certified projects are increasingly prevalent, and are now mandated in some jurisdictions. While such designations are cost additive, recent surveys reflect that many consumers are willing to pay more for environmentally sustainable products, including their housing. 

While the LEED designation is more prevalent in high-rise construction than in frame/low-rise formats, developers of lower-density projects can still follow state green guidelines, if available, or the National Association of Home Builders' National Green Building Program, to get in on the trend. These various green initiatives are spawning an array of new or improved project features, including Energy Star appliances, LED and compact fluorescent lighting, high SEER (seasonal energy efficient ratio) air-conditioning units, remote control thermostats and low-flow water fixtures. 

Changing attitudes about car ownership and gasoline consumption are also driving the addition of bike storage and repair stations, shared car availability and electric car charging stations to project amenity offerings. 

Today's multifamily investor is also more environmentally sensitive. Most of ZOM's capital partners require some level of green building standard in their new projects, and many institutional buyers are also adding green standards to their checklists. 

Developers see an increasing number of investors that are willing to pay more for a project if it is a green building. The real estate investment community sees it as both a more socially responsible investing approach and also perceives that their tenants will be increasingly drawn to such environmentally responsible projects, and perhaps willing to pay more rent to live there.  

Click here to read more of this article by Trip Stephens, CIO of ZOM.

The Club Ambassador Apartments enjoys close proximity to a few of the area's elementary and middle schools.

RENO, NEV. -- The 224-unit Creekside Apartments in Reno has received a $13 million refinance. The community is located at 4600 Mirea Loma Drive. 

Financing includes a 10-year term and 30-year amortization schedule. The loan was arranged by Ory Schwartz of NorthMarq Capital through the firm's seller/servicer relationship with Freddie Mac.