August Acorn Recap

Here is a quick recap of the top 5 articles featured on The Acorn this month, in no particular order:

Let’s face it, Raleigh has the better Major League Soccer bid

• Bottom Line: Even Charlotte things the team belongs here…
• “Both cities can check a lot of boxes for MLS. Both give the league another foothold in the Southeast. Both are drawing the oh-so-coveted professional millennial demographic. Both have large and growing Latino populations. But, of course, there’s no possible way that both cities will be awarded MLS teams.”

Yes, you CAN finance mixed-use development

• Bottom Line: An in depth discussion of the options available to small scale developers to finance mixed use projects.
• “One institution that’s become notably more accommodating is the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. — the government-sponsored lending agency also known as Freddie Mac. In October 2014, Freddie Mac launched a “Small Balance Loan” (SBL) program, aimed at issuing mortgages of up to $5 million each on multifamily properties.”

7 Books On Real Estate To Read Before Summer’s End

• Bottom Line: The Power Broker is on my Audible wish list, but at 66 hours long, I am honestly scared to download it.
• “From an architect designing the Chicago World’s Fair to cutthroat billionaires of New York, eccentric characters in the real estate industry make for thrilling and fascinating reads. We put together a list of some of our favorite books to read during your last vacation or during the cozy days of approaching winter.”

The arts drove Durham’s downtown renaissance. But did artists’ success seal their own doom?

• Bottom Line: Does growth and investment necessitate displacement?
• “On the other side of the issue, arts organizations who move into more affordable neighborhoods “need to be participating as citizens. … We need to know our neighbors and advocate for their rights,” Ritchie of The Carrack said. That means advocating with government and attending neighborhood events. “There’s not a magic formula,” Ritchie said. “It’s about building trusting relationships.””

101 small ways you can improve your city

• Bottom Line: Creating a more vibrant city doesn’t have to be a monumental task. Check out #40… Walk [Your City] was started in Raleigh!

The Acorn is a weekly commercial real estate newsletter focused on the Triangle region of North Carolina. It goes out every Tuesday and features no more than 5 articles, events, or updates pertinent to our market. Click here to subscribe.

This article originally appeared on Medium.