Clay was one of our panelists, but Mary decided to join the 300-plus folks in attendance because she finds multifamily speak a ?foreign language.? (We think that's a little self-deprecating. Mary only has about 40 years in the CRE industry and if a city can be said to have a mom, she would be ours.) ?I'm here to learn more about multifamily development,? Mary told us. ?People are just walking away from their houses.? That's because they can't afford their mortgages, she says. ?And their credit is [restored] after four years. I find that chilling.? Trust us, she's otherwise a very upbeat person.

Our sponsor Red Capital Group's Peter TenEyck and Lee McNeer(also one of our top notch panelists) work to help developers finance multifamily projects through the HUD maze. As complicated as federal financing may be, it seems right now to be a better source of financing than what the big banks are offering, Lee tells us. And HUD-financed projects aren't what they used to be. (See Hidden Creek story below.) Tenants with a mix of incomes live side-by-side and hang out in common areas with WiFi and large-screen TVs (where they sit and watch the Panthers get kicked around  in a preseason game by the Bengals. Seriously, the Bengals?)

Another event sponsor, Balfour Beatty (which, btw, has really cool new offices in South End) brought some big guns to our event this. Among them were Rich Rantala—an SVP for enhanced practices,Erin Freeman, Beth Hernandez, and Mike Flanigan. Mike tells us Balfour Beatty is going national with its concepts for student housing. Go stickbuilt, Mike says. (Industry jargon for wood-based construction.) ?It's cheaper, it goes up faster, and it's a more flexible construction process.?