Apartment Look

For most Americans, retirement is a long-awaited rest, and some locations are more comfortable than others. Caring.com's 2017 "Best and Worst States to Grow Old" study ranked all 50 states based on cost of living, healthcare, and quality of life, including senior care . The best states for retirement were Utah, Iowa, South Carolina, Washington, and Nebraska, ranked respectively, and the worst included West Virginia , Indiana, New York, North Dakota, and Wyoming.  Settling down in your golden years requires a lot of commitment, and it's imperative to weigh your options carefully. Make an informed choice by asking yourself these questions as you enter retirement. How much have you saved?  Whether you're dreaming of life on the beach or in a remote mountain cabin , the first (and less picturesque) step of retirement is practicality. Choosing your dream location often comes down to how well you can live off your savings. The table below compares Caring.com'...

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...

Vanguard Group is fast becoming a dominant investor in the U.S. real estate industry . Securities and Exchange Commission reports compiled by Bloomberg show that the company’s mutual funds and exchange-traded funds are now the leading owners of real estate investment trusts (REITs), the tax- protected investor funds that own many of the nation’s offices, shopping centers, apartments, hotels, warehouses, and data and storage centers. Including its indexed stock and REIT-focused funds, Malvern- based Vanguard owns 18 percent of Host Hotels & Resorts, whose portfolio includes Ritz -Carlton, Marriott, and Westin hotels; 15 percent of Simon Property Group , the national mall owner that counts King of Prussia Mall among its holdings; and a similar share of Prologis, the warehouse giant. Locally, Vanguard funds control 16 percent each of Brandywine Realty Trust , which owns a majority of Center City’s highest buildings; Liberty Property Trust ...

The long retail spine of Sydney Road, Brunswick, just north of Melbourne's CBD, was once a prosperous trading outpost on the way to the goldfields. These days it's a bohemian mix of variety stores, op shops, halal butchers and Lebanese bakeries. Take a side street to the west, however, and a different picture emerges. Sandwiched between Sydney Road and the Upfield train line is an area undergoing rapid and widespread transformation. Light industry is fast being replaced by mid- rise apartment buildings , their inhabitants attracted by the short commute into town and cheaper prices than in the city's south-east. The quality of these units is, on the whole, depressingly bad; think poor ventilation and bedrooms that "borrow" natural light (a weasel word for being dark and windowless). The occasional jazzy façade tries feebly to make up for otherwise cheap construction amid a chorus of greys. At ground level, carpark roller doors alternate with mean pocket garden...

The long retail spine of Sydney Road, Brunswick, just north of Melbourne's CBD, was once a prosperous trading outpost on the way to the goldfields. These days it's a bohemian mix of variety stores, op shops, halal butchers and Lebanese bakeries. Take a side street to the west, however, and a different picture emerges. Sandwiched between Sydney Road and the Upfield train line is an area undergoing rapid and widespread transformation. Light industry is fast being replaced by mid- rise apartment buildings , their inhabitants attracted by the short commute into town and cheaper prices than in the city's south-east. The quality of these units is, on the whole, depressingly bad; think poor ventilation and bedrooms that "borrow" natural light (a weasel word for being dark and windowless). The occasional jazzy façade tries feebly to make up for otherwise cheap construction amid a chorus of greys. At ground level, carpark roller doors alternate with mean pocket garden...