Apartment City

CHAMPAIGN - When brothers Jeff, Steve and Mike Hartman went into the real estate development and management business together, they combined more than the initials of their first names. They also merged everything their father taught them about the construction business and all their mother taught them about family loyalty in their three enterprises, JSM Apartments, JSM Development and JSM Management. Under the JSM umbrella, the Hartmans now own and manage 700 apartments and 114,000 square feet of commercial space in Champaign-Urbana, including the new Technology Plaza apartment/retail/office complex in Campustown. And they have more developments on the way. Already started are a new apartment/retail complex on Gregory Street in Urbana, near the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, and a new retail center on South Neil Street in Champaign, where Hillcrest Lumber used to be. The Hartmans say they work well together in business, running things jointly and never undertakin...

If you work in retail — or know someone who does — here’s a scary statistic: Between 20 percent and 25 percent of U.S. malls will close in the next five years, according to predictions from financial analysts. It’s not just jobs that are at stake; sales tax revenue used to pave roads, hire police and light up City Hall is in jeopardy, too. Topping the most vulnerable list: Generic indoor malls of the 1970s and ’80s that have fallen victim to changing consumer tastes and online shopping (thanks, Amazon). But standalone stores aren ’t immune from the downturn, as we’ve seen on the Central Coast. Consider, for example, the Madonna Plaza/SLO Promenade shopping area off Highway 101. The behemoth that once was Gottschalks and later, Forever 21, is vacant (though some of the space will be occupied by a Sprouts market). Other large spaces, including Sears , HomeTown Buffet and Staples, are vacant as well. Not that all the news is glum; major chains like Best Buy, Petco and Kohl’s continue t...

At the five-unit condo at 3525 14th St. NW, a new development by Congressional Properties, units are priced from $599,900 to $649,900. (Benjamin C Tankersley/For The Washington Post) Home buyers always hope to purchase at the right moment in the housing market and in the right location, preferably one where new development will add value. Condominiums have been rising for years on streets near the Columbia Heights Metro station and the Georgia Avenue- Petworth Metro station , yet developers always seem to find new locations to squeeze in more. The five-unit condo at 3525 14th St. NW, a new development by Congressional Properties, was a small retail business on the ground floor with an apartment above, says Brian Athey, founder and president of Congressional Properties in Washington. “We like that location a lot because you can walk to Metro very easily and get to restaurants and shops, but the immediate area along 14th Street is still changing pretty quickly ,” Athey says. “We fee...

Bruce Chatterton moved to Meridian from Boise more than four years ago. The “room to grow” that is Meridian’s essence made him want to live and work there. Now the city’s community development director , Chatterton says it’s also been “fun seeing a small, somewhat quiet downtown become a place people want to hang out.” Meridian still has plenty of room to spread out, and that’s good, because its population is booming. It was the 13th-fastest-growing city in the U.S. last year. And it’s not just about Meridian. The growth is changing the whole Treasure Valley , affecting traffic, housing, health care, education and retail. The 2016 U.S. Census estimates put Meridian ’s population at nearly 96,000. The Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho (Compass) estimates today ’s population at just more than 98,000. That’s a tenfold jump since 1990.   The growth seems unlikely to look to slow anytime soon, says Compass planner and demographics specialist Carl Miller , who lives in Meri...

OMAHA, Neb.--( BUSINESS WIRE )-- Marcus® Hotels & Resorts , a division of The Marcus Corporation (NYSE: MCS), and Marriott Hotels announced today the official opening of the Omaha Marriott Downtown at the Capitol District in Omaha, Neb. The 333-room, 12-story hotel is the first new full- service premium hotel to open in Omaha in more than a decade. It also serves as a major anchor of the Capitol District, an upscale urban destination dining and entertainment district located in the heart of downtown Omaha . Marcus Hotels & Resorts is a minority investor in the property and is managing the new hotel. “We are thrilled to officially welcome guests to the Omaha Marriott Downtown located in the city’s first entertainment district, the Capitol District. Led by General Manager Steve Hilton , the hotel team has spent countless hours over the past year ensuring that the Omaha Marriott Downtown is an exceptional place to stay, meet, relax, dine and celebrate,” said Joseph Khairal...

In the 1920s, you could live on the edge of downtown off Park or Portland Avenue S. and never need to own a car. That’s because as much as a generation earlier, Park and Portland served as anchors for a swank residential neighborhood south of 10th Street, complete with tree- lined side streets , small hotels, townhouses and high-end apartments for professionals, many of them designed by leading architects. Well into the 1940s, this part of downtown was very much a neighborhood with networks of long-term residents and nearby cultural institutions , theaters and churches, as well as shops and restaurants. Today, there’s little reason to get out of your car, aside from the new Commons park by U.S. Bank Stadium. So many of the once-grand buildings were lost in the postwar flight to suburbia. In their place was left acres of parking lots and drive-though banks. But a walkable neighborhood is worth bringing back . And that’s what BKV Group hopes to do. The Minneapolis architecture, interi...

We asked four downtown dwellers to tell students and faculty coming to UConn’s new campus what to expect. Here’s what they said. Sorry, West Hartford, I Don’t Need You I' ve lived downtown for three years. My front yard is Bushnell Park. My apartment building has a ton of great dogs. I'm within walking distance of my job, my favorite restaurants and now a phenomenal ballpark. I grew up in Philly, I've lived in Boston, but Hartford is my favorite. My job takes me all over the state. So after a long day of traveling and trying some of the best food and drinks in Connecticut, it's nice to come home and walk to more of the best food and drinks. I can go several days without touching my car. It's great for me: I genuinely enjoy walking off a good plate of nachos, plus I hear this is good for the environment. A walk up the street brings me to the Yard Goats' Dunkin' Donuts ballpark, where I've enjoyed too many nights of doughnut-chicken skewers and gallons ...