The Greater New York Chapter of the Institute of Real Estate Management held their monthly luncheon recently at the New York Helmsley Hotel featuring keynote speaker Adam Weinstein, president & CEO, Phipps Houses Group who spoke about "Trends in Affordable Housing in NYC." Phipps Houses is the nation's oldest and one of its largest not-for-profit developer/owners of affordable housing. It is a multi-faceted real estate organization, involved in the construction of new housing, rehabilitation of existing apartment buildings, residential and some commercial property management, and community building, all in New York City and its environs. Weinstein also spoke about Phipps' newest development project in which they have partnered with the Jonathan Rose Companies. Via Verde, or the Green Way, will be an 18-story, 202-unit, working-class apartment complex in the Melrose section of the Bronx. Located at Brook Avenue and East 156th St. in the South Bronx, it is to include low and moderate-income housing bound together by courtyards and roof gardens that would be used for everything from harvesting rainwater to growing vegetables and fruit. Construction is expected to begin mid-2008. IREM chapter president James Hayden, CPM, said, "I really enjoyed learning about Via Verde. It is the most fascinating development project. The planned use of environmentally sensitive technologies, combined with a green roof, solar and rainwater harvesting systems and the geothermal ground loops for heating and air conditioning will surely change the future of the housing."