Apartment Look

A Cedar Ridge Apartments tenant shows a respirator she claims she sometimes needs due to alleged mold issues at the south Sacramento apartment complex . Code Enforcement is continuing to inspect the complex to determine if there are violations. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MOTT Nancy Avalos watched as her 5- and 8-year-old daughters danced and chased each other. Their laughter filled the living room. “My daughters don’t want to move out,” Avalos said in Spanish. Her voice broke. “I feel like I’ve let them down.” Avalos moved to Cedar Ridge Apartments six years ago. After sharing a living room of an apartment together, the single mother wanted to give her three daughters room to play and moved to a place they could call their own. But now the family is moving out of its two- bedroom apartment , after Avalos’ monthly rent rose from $802 to $1,086. For Avalos and her neighbors, sharp rent and utility bill increases hit the past two months as the property owner, Torrance- based Cedar Ridge Apa...

Mountain View's rent- control program has already survived political and legal trials -- but what about the business test? An increasing number of apartment owners appear to be cashing out rather than working under the new restrictions. If the trend continues, some say it will lead to a cascade of redevelopment spearheaded by large corporate buyers . This scenario would result in older apartments being phased out and replaced with new housing that is exempt from rent control. Those looking at the data with a more critical eye point out that sales of apartment buildings are up throughout the South Bay, and that the number of buyers indicates a healthy interest in investing in Mountain View housing , regardless of rent control. To take one example, Fremont residents Ann and Paul Lethers decided in June to sell their 18-unit complex on Del Medio Avenue in Mountain View, which they created from separate purchases of two adjacent nine-unit buildings. They say they h...

Council Member Laurie Cumbo (@cmlauriecumbo) Hundreds of Crown Heights residents and community activists laughed and jeered at a recent community forum as a lanky man wearing a paper mask of Mayor Bill de Blasio joked about bringing affordable housing to their neighborhood. The event was punctuated by moments of levity but mostly dominated by anger from residents who feel their elected representatives have sold out their interests to the real estate industry , with a focus on the proposed redevelopment of the vacant Bedford Union Armory . The de Blasio administration , with a developer, is proposing a combination of affordable and market rate rental apartments , condominium units, and recreation space for the massive site. City Council Member Laurie Cumbo , who represents the district, did not attend the August 2 forum focused on the project -- she was just days from giving birth to a son -- and when representatives of her office tried to speak, they were shouted down. The ev...

remaining Edgewater Medical Center buildings scheduled for demolition should be completely torn down by the late fall, developers said." /> The remaining Edgewater Medical Center buildings scheduled for demolition should be completely torn down by the late fall, developers said. View Full Caption DNAinfo/Linze Rice EDGEWATER — The contractor hired to remove years worth of asbestos from the abandoned Edgewater Medical Center said his company halted work after not being compensated by developers.  "We stopped work because we were not paid," Daniel Suchta, owner of DDS Environmental, told DNAinfo. Suchta's comments are at odds with those of the local alderman and lead developer, MCZ Development , who told residents at a meeting this month that work stopped in April because electrical work needed to be completed before demolition could continue. The medical campus at 5700 N. Ashland Ave. is slated to become 141 apartments, 78 parking spaces, single-family ...