The cost of materials important to the construction of apartments rose 3.6 percent over the year that ended in September, according to the producer price index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Westfield is the latest in a string of mall developers and landlords whose firms have begun adding non-retail uses to existing retail properties.

The legislation, which still must work its way through Congress and could change, maintains many of the existing provisions that benefit the commercial real estate industry.

Kayne Anderson is the third developer to try its hand at high-end New York senior living, a niche of development aimed at serving an expected boom of well-heeled elderly.

There is a burgeoning trend among developers across the U.S. to bring the use of wood to new heights in commercial real estate.