Taylor Design, a solution-oriented architecture, environments and strategies firm, has announced that Jen Leonard has joined the firm as Strategies Practice Leader. In this role, she will focus on bringing her human-centered design experience to Taylor Design collaborating across its Irvine, San Francisco and San Diego offices, and inspiring new ways of approaching design challenges.

To further support its growth, Cypress West Partners, one of the Western US’ leading owners and operators of healthcare real estate, has added Ryan Borzouei as Director of Asset Management and Acquisitions and Casey Immel as Director of Leasing. The new hires are part of a strategic leadership move to support the firm’s continued growth plans.

The American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists® (AAEES) presented the Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA/Agency) grand prize awards in three categories for the Regional Water Recycling Plant No. 5 Battery Storage Project at the annual awards luncheon held on April 13, 2017, at the National Press Club in Washington, DC

The Justice Department announced today that Energy & Process Corporation (E&P) of Tucker, Georgia, has agreed to pay $4.6 million to resolve the government’s lawsuit filed under the False Claims Act alleging that it knowingly failed to perform required quality assurance procedures and supplied defective steel reinforcing bars (rebar) in connection with a contract to construct a Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear waste treatment facility.

As Congress prepares to come back from its spring recess tomorrow, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), a senior member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (OGR), noted that OGR Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) announced during the recess that he would give up his seat, possibly before the end of this Congress.  Norton issued the following statement

CBRE’s John Read announced that his National Retail Partners – West (NRP-West) team along with Reg Kobzi in CBRE’s San Diego office completed the sale of BeachWalk, a 54,973 square-foot coastal retail center in the city of Solana Beach, Calif. Situated along Highway 101, the property is steps to the Pacific Ocean, walking distance to the Cedros Design District and Amtrak Train Station, and less than a mile from the world famous Del Mar Fairgrounds, site of the Del Mar Racetrack. The sale price was $33.25 million

Calling all construction managers, building inspectors and disaster recovery specialists!  FEMA is seeking applicants for 100 reservist positions for Public Assistance (PA) Site Inspector Specialists in various locations.

Today, at Earth Day Texas 2017, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the 38 small businesses that will collaborate with national lab researchers through the Small Business Vouchers (SBV) pilot. SBV facilitates access to the DOE national labs for American small businesses, enabling them to tap into the intellectual and technical resources they need to overcome critical technology challenges for their advanced energy products and gain a global competitive advantage. Eight DOE national laboratories will receive funding to partner with 38 competitively selected small businesses across the country.

Existing-home sales took off in March to their highest pace in over 10 years, and severe supply shortages resulted in the typical home coming off the market significantly faster than in February and a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Only the West saw a decline in sales activity in March.

Department of Housing and Community Development Director Polly Donaldson announced today that the District received two responses to the Solicitation for Offers (SFO) for the development of six vacant and blighted properties in Historic Anacostia (Ward 8).

Granger MacDonald, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Kerrville Texas, today issued the following statement regarding reports that Canada is looking at China to boost lumber exports as an alternative to the U.S

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) – ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee – issued the following statement regarding today’s action by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and state regulators against Ocwen Financial Corp. The CFPB alleges that Ocwen, one of the nation’s largest nonbank mortgage servicers, for years “engaged in significant and systemic misconduct at nearly every stage of the mortgage servicing process,” according to the bureau.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released a white paper GSE Reform: Creating a Sustainable, More Vibrant, Secondary Mortgage Market which provides a detailed picture of a reformed and revitalized secondary mortgage market. It also attempts to shed light on two critical areas that have tested past reform efforts - the appropriate transition to the reformed system and the role of the secondary market in advancing an affordable housing strategy.

Some people think about it, while others would rather not. But if you’ve ever wondered what happens to all the water that leaves your home after the dishes are done and the toilet is flushed… now is your chance to find out.

Despite moderate improvements over the first quarter of 2017, all four indexes of the National Multifamily Housing Council’s (NMHC) Quarterly Survey of Apartment Market Conditions remained below the breakeven level of 50. The Market Tightness (41), Sales Volume (30), Equity Financing (42), and Debt Financing (41) all indicated continued softening conditions in apartment markets even as demand for apartment residences remains strong.

Kiel Weaver, staff director for the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans, is leaving the Committee to join the office of House Speaker Paul Ryan. Beginning May 1, Kiel will serve as the Speaker’s adviser on energy and environment issues. Bill Cooper, staff director for the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, and Rob Gordon, staff director for the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, are also departing the Committee.

The Boulder Group, a net leased investment brokerage firm, has completed the sale of a single tenant new construction Dollar General located at 812 N Walnut Street in Avoca, Iowa for $1,213,220.

Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors, a nationally-recognized real estate brokerage and advisory firm specializing in retail property sales, announced today that the firm has completed the sale of a brand-new construction single-tenant corporate Starbucks with a drive-thru located in Bakersfield, Calif. The purchase price of $2.65 million represented a cap rate of 4.09 percent and $1,432 psf. According to CoStar, this sale achieved a record low cap rate for a single-tenant Starbucks in Bakersfield and a record high price per square foot in the city.