March Madness was not only a headliner for basketball fans this year, but also a description for all of our hard on and off site this month.

All of our multifamily properties have been busy renewing leases and welcoming new residents to Houston while also hosting resident functions and participating in corporate competitions. At the beginning of March there was a best-decorated mini model contest in order to win a free ice cream social hosted by the resource department - Congratulations to Deerbrook Gardens for coming up with the most decorative mini model under a specific budget. Multiple properties also hosted Mardi Gras get togethers, St. Patrick Day themed functions and even some Spring Break special renewal events. All of the teams are prepared for a successful leasing season this spring!

As for our corporate office and onsite Houston team members, we have been actively participating in all of the Houston Apartment Association events this March. A team combined of Asset Campus Housing, Accounting, Corporate, and Multifamily supervisors, went out and rallied for 5 hours under the sun at the 2011 HAA Volleyball tournament where over 65 teams competed. Chief Operating Officer, Ryan McGrath, led the team in eight different volleyball games playing various colleagues in the industry and encouraged everyone to bring their "A+ Game." Last week, our team went out to support 15 Asset Plus Maintenance Professionals in the HAA Maintenance Mania Competition. Congratulations to Juan Gallo at Cypress Ridge who won 1st place in the toilet repair competition- Juan won a cash prize as well as a gold medal. Senior Vice President, Byron Plant, represented Asset Plus out on the greens yesterday at the 2011 HAA Bill Dinerstein Memorial Golf Tournament benefiting the HAA Better Governement Fund.

Needless to say, March was a very active and successful month for the entire Asset Plus team. We are looking forward to the spring and will keep you posted on all of the latest Asset news.

Not since Houston hosted the Super Bowl in 2004, has the city seen so much excitement in the Bayou City. An estimated 45,000 hotel rooms are booked for Final Four fans, alumni, celebrities and local Houstonians who want to share in this memorable event.

The Houston Local Organizing Committee has strategically planned an exciting 5 days for everyone involved in the NCAA tournament as well as all local Houstonians. For example, The George R. Brown Convention Center will be known as Bracket Town starting this Friday, where you will find all of the true Final Four fanatics participating in basketball competitions, clinics, autograph sessions and much more. Reliant Stadium will house all of the battle cries of team loyalty and where the 2011 NCAA Champions will be named.

For those of you who still don’t know which teams are in the Final Four and you don’t care, you can still enjoy the conclusion of March Madness by attending a free three-day concert series featuring artists like Kenny Chesney, Sublime and Kings of Leon. The concert series will be hosted at Discovery Green Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday afternoon and be free of charge to all attendees.

It has been an exciting journey watching 25 of our ACH properties participate in March Madness this year and we will certainly be alongside all of our 524 Angliana residents as they cheer on the KU basketball team to a National Championship!

For more information on this weekend’s Final Four activities, go to www.ncaa.com/championships/basketball-men/d1

HOUSTON, March 24, 2011 --A joint-venture between Asset Plus Companies and Diamond Realty Investments, Inc. has announced ground breaking for The Domain at Town Centre, a student housing development at West Virginia University.  Managed by Asset Campus Housing, The Domain at Town Centre is located in Granville, West Virginia adjacent to University Town Centre with scenic views overlooking the WVU campus directly across the Monongahela River.  Construction of the luxury 912-bed student housing community will be completed for occupancy by fall 2012 and the project will be leased and managed by Asset Campus Housing, the student housing affiliate of Asset Plus Companies.

The Domain at Town Centre will offer a mix of 336 units with gated access, a grand resort-style swimming pool, an outdoor BBQ kitchen as well as sand volleyball and basketball courts.

A 9,200 square-foot clubhouse will offer a premier exercise facility, tanning beds and a game room packed with amenities.  Other project amenities will include reserved covered parking, a fully equipped Internet Café, and business center with private group study rooms.

1-bedroom/1-bath, 2-bedroom/2-bath, 3-bedroom/3-bath and 4-bedroom/4-bath units will range from 601 square feet to 1,472 square feet.  All units will be fully furnished and will include full-size washer and dryers, high-speed internet and flat panel HD TVs with DVR service.  Modern kitchens will include stainless appliances, granite countertops and island seating.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Asset Campus Housing is an affiliate of Houston-based Asset Plus Companies, a property management firm specializing in real estate services for investors, developers, and owners.  ACH currently manages a student housing portfolio with more than 60 properties exceeding 40,000 beds nationwide.  Asset Plus Companies currently manages a portfolio valued in excess of $2 billion.

Diamond Realty Investments, Inc. provides equity capital for multifamily, student housing and industrial properties throughout the United States. The Company invests in both development ventures and acquisition of existing projects.

ACH March Madness: Round 2

After many of our properties' schools faced each other in round one, we are left with only 8 teams remaining in the Big Dance. Here is a look at which of our residents are still rooting on their teams!

Current 2011 NCAA + ACH March Madness Lineup:

*Bold teams are the ones that ACH is rooting for!

East

• Kentucky (524 Angliana)  v. West Virginia University

• North Carolina (The Verge) v. Washington

 West

• Arizona (Gateway at Tucson) v. Texas(Ballpark at Austin, Town Lake)

Southwest

• Kansas (The Connection at Lawrence) v. Illinois

• Notre Dame v. Florida State (Gateway at Seminole Suites, Southgate Campus Centre, The Savannahs Apartments,  University Heights)

Southeast

• Florida (Gateway at Gainesville, Gateway at Glades) v. UCLA

  Which property do you think will make it to the championship??

Asset Campus Housing + March Madness 

Spring forward and the beginning of March means only one thing for college students and sports fanatics across the nation: March Madness.  With over 25 Asset Campus Housing properties cheering on their respective universities, we decided to do a blog series that will track all of our properties and their universities through the 2011 NCAA Tournament Bracket.  

For those of you unfamiliar with March Madness, here are some quick facts:

• It is a single-elimination college basketball tournament held each year to determine the season's national champion.
• The tournament is also known as the “Big Dance.”
• The tournament was created in 1939 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
• The tournament invites 68 college basketball teams to compete in four regions. The winners of each region meet in the “Final Four.”

At last, the 2011 NCAA ACH March Madness Lineup:

East

• Kentucky (524 Angliana)  v. Princeton

• North Carolina (The Verge) v.LIU

 West

• Michigan v. Tennessee (Gateway at Knoxville)

• Arizona (Gateway at Tucson) v. Memphis (Stratum on Highland)

• Texas (Ballpark at Austin, Town Lake) v. Oakland

• Missouri (Gateway at Columbia) v. Cincinnati

Southwest

• Kansas (The Connection at Lawrence) v. Boston University

• Texas A&M (The Cambridge at CS, The Lofts, Crossing Place, Cedar Ridge, College Edge, Gateway at CS, The Heights) v. Florida State (Gateway at Seminole Suites, Southgate Campus Centre, The Savannahs Apartments,  University Heights)

Southeast

• Michigan State (Crossing Place) v. UCLA

• Florida (Gateway at Gainesville, Gateway at Glades) v. UC Santa Barbara (Capri Apartments at Isla Vista)

 Which property will you be supporting??

Asset Plus Companies believes its people are the company’s greatest asset and has assembled a team that is quite simply unparalleled in the industry. We are proud to welcome Lisa Bonner to the ACH team.

Lisa Bonner,Assistant Vice President/Regional Supervisor -ACH

With over 25 years of experience in property management, Lisa Bonner joins the Asset Campus Housing team as Assistant Vice President/Regional Supervisor. Lisa will oversee a large Texas based portfolio consisting of conventional and student living assets.  Her extensive knowledge of the multifamily industry includes: development, construction, lease-up, stabilized, acquisitions and rehabs. 

Prior to joining Asset Campus Housing in 2011, Lisa served as AVP/Sr. Regional Manager for JPI Companies/Greystar Management Services where she oversaw 4,000+ beds.  She successfully supervised all aspects of property operations and marketing for diversified portfolios.  Portfolios included conventional and student housing, third party, new construction/lease-up, stabilized and acquisition communities throughout the United States. Lisa was responsible for monitoring property performance, market conditions, and the development of specific marketing strategies to ensure goals and objectives were achieved. 

While many are scrambling to decide which self indulgence they are willing to give up for the next forty days of Lent; we would like to provide our residents with something to consider taking up during Lent- being a friendly neighbor.

Being a resident in an apartment community allows you to become neighbors with hundreds of different people- we want to encourage all of our residents and team members to make a difference in their community over the next few weeks. Here are some suggestions that you individually are capable of assisting in to enhance your community’s overall neighborhood relations:

If you participate in the Lenten season, we wish you the best of luck with whatever you chose to abstain from! To all of our residents and team members- we encourage you to continue being friendly and courteous neighbors to all in your community. Happy Mardi Gras!

In the apartment industry, we often come across properties that are in need of rehab-  fortunately for us, our team of Regional Supervisors and Property Managers have the exceptional gift of looking at these properties and immediately recognizing where we can make improvements and maximize both the property’s value and the resident’s living experience.  So we decided to host a challenge to see just how creative our property employees could be when asked to re-decorate the inside of an entirely vacant unit and turn it into a mini-model unit.  Here’s the catch, all properties had to stay under a $100 budget (receipts accompanied with photos of finished projects).

Here are a few of the photos from the contestants:

And the winner is... the Deerbrook Garden team in Humble, Texas!  Congratulations!

Asset Plus property managers, regional supervisors, regional vice presidents and the president himself were all on board this weekend volunteering their time and services to help plant over 200 Live Oak trees outside of the recently completed Fred and Mabel Parks Youth Ranch in Richmond, Texas.  With shovels and working gloves in hand, over 50 volunteers including team members from Camp Construction, Solvay Chemicals, and St. Laurence Catholic Church were able to comple the service project by Saturday afternoon.  The Executive Director at FMPYR, Linda Shultz, says that she has “been amazed and humbled by the compassion and generosity of so many people who “just want to help,”” and we at Asset Plus could not agree more, thank you to all of our volunteers who came out Saturday.

The Fred and Mabel Parks Youth Ranch was completed in November, 2010 with the help and committed services of our Asset Plus construction team.  The Youth Ranch provides a temporary home for abused and neglected children ages 12 to 17 in Fort Bend County.  An onsite crisis intervention center with counseling services are also available to those awaiting to be placed in foster care or adopted.