MGM Grand remodeling begins after nearly eight-year delay 28 February 2012

By Howard Stutz

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- So there's no confusion, the temporary hotel room in the lobby of the MGM Grand Las Vegas is not available.

Besides, there isn't a bathroom.

But the mock-up serves a purpose, said MGM Grand President Scott Sibella.

It tells guests the 5,044-room Strip resort's propertywide remodeling is under way after being delayed for almost eight years.

So does the 14-foot replica paint can at the property's main pedestrian entrance off the Strip.

The $160 million room renovation is the most visible and anticipated aspect of the property's remodeling, which will include all 3,570 rooms and 642 suites in the MGM Grand's main tower. Some 1,600 rooms have already received contemporary furnishings and color schemes. The project is expected to be completed by September.

Sibella said convention organizers and frequent guests had long been told the rooms would be redone. Plans for the room remodel were drawn up more than eight years ago, but were put on hold when the economy tanked.

"Having the model room in the lobby is a clear sign to show guests the renovation project is happening," Sibella said.

Revenues from the hotel rooms have become just as important to the bottom line of MGM Grand parent MGM Resorts International as the figures produced by the casino.

In the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, MGM Resorts officials said revenue per available room -- a nontraditional lodging industry profitability measurement -- for the company's 10 Strip hotel-casinos rose 13 percent.

The average daily room rate was up 10 percent from a year ago. Fresher rooms with new amenities means the company can charge a higher average daily rate.

MGM Resorts Chairman Jim Murren said last week that the company's revenue per occupied room is also increasing. The numbers, Murren said, show visitors are willing to spend more in both gaming and nongaming areas. He said the company is optimistic that visitation to Las Vegas will continue to grow throughout 2012.

"Our forward bookings are up and they are continuing to go up," Murren said.

The MGM Grand's remodeling is being rolled out in pieces.

Last month, the live lion habitat in the casino was closed. It was also announced that Studio 54, the nightclub that had been part of the hotel-casino for 14 years, will be replaced by Hakkasan, an upscale Mandarin Chinese restaurant and nightclub to open by New Year's Eve.

Sibella said the hotel, which turns 20 in 2013, has long needed a makeover.

The Strip may not see another new resort enter the market this decade, but MGM Grand must upgrade to match similar actions at competing resorts.

Sibella said the remodeling allows the property to recapture its magic in time for 20-year celebration.

"This property sees an average of 40,000 to 50,000 people a day," Sibella said. "That's not just our hotel guests. Everyone knows the emerald green building. It's the first building you see on the Strip when you arrive in Las Vegas by airline."

Sibella, who has been president of the MGM Grand for 14 months, said plans for the renovation are to add amenities that focus on entertainment.

New attractions include a 288-seat comedy club operated by comedian Brad Garrett, which is expected to open in March in the hotel's small retail area that connects the parking structure and main lobby. Meanwhile, new restaurants are opening, including the Sugar Factory and a Blizz Frozen Yogurt.

Plans are underway to remodel the MGM Grand's 170,000 square-foot casino, including adding an attraction or entertainment element to replace the closed lion habitat.

In the hotel lobby, MGM Grand created an interactive video wall behind the front desk. The center screen streams a live Twitter feed for guests on or off the property to post feedback or comments using the handle @mgmvideowall.

Sibella took over the MGM Grand after serving as president of The Mirage for five years, where he oversaw the Strip resort's $100 million renovation in time for that property's 20th anniversary.

"Maybe I'm getting a reputation as a guy who spends money," Sibella joked.

A couple of months after transferring to the MGM Grand, Sibella participated in the CBS reality television series "Undercover Boss," where he performed several jobs at the MGM Grand wearing a disguise.

Taking part in the television show helped him learn about the hotel-casino, which employs roughly 9,000 workers. Some 20 percent of those workers, he said, have been at the MGM Grand since Day One.

"We're excited about the changes," Sibella said. "The room remodel is just the start."

Copyright 2010 GamingWire. All rights reserved.

Excerpt from:
MGM Grand remodeling begins after nearly eight-year delay

ROCKVILLE, Md., Feb. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Angie's List award reflects businesses' that consistently perform with a high level of customer service.

American Custom Contractors has been awarded the prestigious 2011 Angie's List Super Service Award. This honor is provided annually to approximately 5 percent of all the businesses rated on the nation's leading provider of consumer reviews on local service and health providers.

"We are thankful to our customers for submitting such positive reviews of our company, and we are incredibly proud of our staff.  Our staff is committed to providing excellent customer service throughout every project and our receipt of this Super Service Award is a testament to this!" says Vice President William Giakoumatos.

"Only a fraction of the businesses rated on Angie's List can claim the sterling service record of being a Super Service Award winner because we set a high bar," said Angie's List Founder Angie Hicks. "The fact that American Custom Contractors can claim Super Service Award status speaks volumes about its dedication to consumers."

Angie's List award winners have met strict eligibility requirements including earning a minimum number of reports, an exemplary rating from their clients and abiding by Angie's List operational guidelines.

American Custom Contractors is a professionally licensed contractor that provides exterior roofing, siding, restoration and window installation services throughout Northern Virginia, Southern Maryland and the Washington, DC metro region. Visit http://americancustomcontractors.com for more information.

Read this article:
American Custom Contractors (ACC) Earns Angie's List Super Service Award

The weekend of February 26, 2012, Real Skateboards released another round of fresh products for spring 2012 including a limited edition item. Once I heard about the product release I had to go and check things out for myself. Here's a rundown on what I found:

About the New Boards

There were quite a few great skate decks in the company's product drop. The Hood Watch line of skate decks features graphics that were made for pro skaters Justin Brock, Peter Ramondetta and J.T Aultz. Each of the decks varies in size. The small decks start at lengths of 31.25 inches and cap out at widths of 31.75 inches. The large decks all max out at 32 inches. Additional skate deck lines that were released include the Known Associates II and Sun Burns. You can check out each one for yourself online.

About the Limited Edition Item

In my opinion, the limited edition item is truly special because it comes from the heart. I know that may sound sappy, but it's true. The item was originally created as a memento exclusively for the Real Skateboards team. It consists of a Real Since Day One DVD that has been packaged inside a wood veneer box. The boxed edition includes a photo book and an autographed Gabe Morford print. The company later decided to make a few available to the public though the Actions Realized website and Ebay. You can pick one up for roughly $50. What makes it all the more heartwarming is that proceeds from the sale of the limited edition set will go towards the Johnny Kicks Cancer Foundation.

About the Cause

The Johnny Kicks Cancer Foundation is a nonprofit organization that has been working towards a cure for childhood leukemia since 2009. If you have some time, you should check out its website. A word of warning though, the foundation's back story will tear at your soul. At least it did mine. The organization was created in the memory of a young skater by the name of Johnny Romano, who succumbed to cancer in the fall of 2008.

Killeen Gonzalez has a history of following the sport and interviewing pro skaters.

More from this contributor:

Pro Skateboarders Celebrating a Birthday in March

Closure of the Skateboard Museum in Germany a Possibility

Tony Hawk Fans Have Chance to Win Meeting With Pro Skater

Billabong's Financial Woes Impacts Surfing Community

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

Visit link:
Real Skateboards Releases New Boards and Limited Edition Item

Embattled drilling technology developer Coretrack will be looking for opportunities to either merge with or buy other companies once it picks up the pieces from losing its key asset.

Chief executive Bernie Kelly said $11 million of Globe Drill equipment would be auctioned off in four to six weeks as part of its moves to wind down the subsidiary.

Coretrack is selling off the assets after inventor Warren Strange private company's Strange Investments terminated a licence agreement for the experimental GT3000 drill rig Globe Drill had been developing.

The company, chaired by former WA Liberal leader Matt Birney, has sued Strange Investments for damages and lost earnings.

Mr Kelly said Coretrack was also preparing to vacate its leased Bibra Lake headquarters.

He said the sell-off would leave the company in a position to consider merger or acquisition proposals.

In the meantime, Coretrack would be focusing on commercialising its remaining technology, a core sample testing device.

The investment group that controls the company's biggest shareholding yesterday moved to shore up Coretrack's financial position ahead of the asset sales.

Cygnet Capital took over $2 million worth of Coretrack-issued convertible notes that were due to expire yesterday and extended them for another two years.

"I basically see it as a bank loan," Mr Kelly said. Coretrack had about $3 million in the bank, he said.

The company's share price has fluctuated dramatically since the loss of the drill rig became known earlier this month.

Yesterday they recovered by 5 per cent to close at 2¢.

Go here to see the original:
Coretrack clears decks after losing key asset

Photo by Zachary Kaufman

Reazo Redinger, Old Apostolic Lutheran Church trustee and building project manager, gives a tour of the Woodland church site expected to be complete in March. Redinger, a water well driller, is one of nearly 1,000 church members who volunteered their skills and labor to construct the nearly 41,000-square-foot building.

What is the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church?

The Old Apostolic Lutheran Church has a small but visible presence in Southwest Washington, thanks to the region’s influx of Nordic immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Along with Minnesota and Michigan, the region is recognized as one of three concentrated areas of Old Apostolic Lutheranism in the United States, according to Lutheran scholars.

Church leaders estimate there are more than 5,000 in the Clark County congregation, which has churches in Battle Ground, Brush Prairie and now Woodland. There is no way to ascertain the exact number; the church doesn’t keep a roster of membership, said co-pastor Dale Schlecht.

Old Apostolic Lutheranism is a “sub-sect of a sub-sect” of Lutheranism known as Laestadianism, said K. Marianne Wargelin, a scholar of the Finnish-American experience and history doctoral student at the University of Tampere in Finland. Wargelin lives in Minneapolis, Minn., where there is a concentration of Laestadian sects, and has visited the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church in Battle Ground as part of her research on that branch of Lutheranism.

The sect is named for founder Lars Levi Laestadius, a pastor in Northern Sweden. He founded the sect in the 1840s, merging tenets of Lutheranism with cultural aspects of the Sami people, Wargelin said. The sect spread throughout Sweden, Finland and Norway. After Laestadius’s death, the sect splintered into several sub-sects, one of which was the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church. Nordic immigrants brought those beliefs to North America.

Old Apostolic Lutherans are distinct in their layman approach to the ministry, Wargelin said. Unlike in standard Lutheranism, pastors are not ordained, and no one pastor preaches every Sunday. Instead, the church has a council of pastors, she said. Schlecht said he and other pastors at the Clark County church take turns preaching.

Another distinction is the amount of conversion to Old Apostolic Lutheranism, Wargelin said. Other sub-sects of Laestadianism typically gain converts only through marriage, while many members of the Old Apostolic Lutheran congregation are not of Nordic descent, she said.

The group believes that confession should be made to another member of the congregation, she said. Standard Lutherans may ask God for forgiveness, but they are not expected to confess their sins to another.

Old Apostolic Lutherans’ lifestyle tends to shun secularism and activities such as watching television, she said. For example, the church doesn’t have a website, though church members use technology for other aspects of their life.

“They have huge churches,” Wargelin said. Members frequently have large families, believing that children are gifts from God.

They also have a strong sense of social responsibility.

“They’re kind of insular, but they take care of community,” Wargelin said. “They take care of everybody.”

— Paris Achen

In the 400-some years following the Protestant Reformation in 1517, Lutheran congregations around the world built their own churches. While the custom has faded with the demands of modernity and forces of individualism that drive American life, it lives on in Clark County’s Old Apostolic Lutheran Church.

Using nearly all donated labor and money, nearly 1,000 volunteers from the church recently erected a new church at 1500 Dike Access Road in Woodland just off of Interstate 5.

“Across the country, it’s been a long-standing practice that buildings are funded with donations,” said Dave Halme, chairman of the church’s board of trustees. “Not all of the congregations have all of the experience and skills. We were fortunate here that we had all the architectural, engineering and trade skills to build it ourselves.”

The church building, at nearly 41,000 square feet, will serve as the third location for a congregation that exceeds 5,000. The church already has locations in Brush Prairie and Battle Ground.

Construction took less than a year and 55,000 volunteer hours, Halme said. It’s expected to be completed in March. The church plans to hold an open house at the new site in May.

All of the design, engineering and construction was performed by members of the congregation with the exception of acoustical engineering in the sanctuary. That had to be contracted out, Halme said.

The volunteer hours saved the church about $6.5 million, he said. The total cost of the project with volunteer hours was $4.5 million, he said.

Volunteers organized the project and scheduling by dividing the group up by trade, said Reazo Redinger, project manager and member of the church’s board of trustees. Each trade was assigned a project manager, Redinger said.

Many volunteers came to work on the church after their day jobs or on weekends, he said.

“It’s been a fun project,” he said. “It hasn’t felt like work.”

Volunteer painter Jeff Muonio of Battle Ground said he’s enjoyed getting to know church members he doesn’t usually see because they attend a different church service.

“It’s been fun,” Muonio said. “It’s been interesting to see it going up.”

Muonio and volunteer painter William Tanninen of Battle Ground helped build the church’s second location in Battle Ground when they were both about 17.

“It’s kind of a satisfied feeling (to see the Woodland church go up),” Tanninen said.

Workers kept track of their hours in order to qualify for workers compensation from the state Department of Labor & In

dustries. The department offers workers compensation at a low rate of 5 cents per project-hour when a project is by a nonprofit group such as a church, Halme said.

The two-story church includes two lobbies, to cut down on congestion as members enter and exit the building; a sanctuary; two multipurpose rooms; an extensive nursery; Sunday school classrooms; and a massive dining hall. The high-ceiling sanctuary offers lower-level and balcony seating for a total of 1,000.

Two multipurpose rooms on each side can be opened to increase capacity by another 160. Two infant rooms in the nursery feature one-way glass so that parents can watch the sermon while calming or nursing babies. Those rooms connect into two toddler rooms with a small kitchen area and bathroom. The dining hall with four serving lines is large enough to accommodate everyone attending a sermon. Once a month, each church hosts a meal cooked by members.

The site was planned about 10 years ago. It took time to launch the project as church members decided where they wanted their third location, a toss-up between Ridgefield and Woodland. A church member donated the property in Woodland. Before construction could start, property had to be added to Woodland’s urban growth boundary in order to connect with water and sewer.

Halme said it’s bittersweet to see the project nearly completed.

“We have so enjoyed it, we hate to see the project come to an end the camaraderie and things,” Halme said. “When it’s an all-volunteer project, it’s a labor of love.”

Paris Achen: 360-735-4551; http://twitter.com/Col_Trends; http://facebook.com/ColTrends; paris.achen@columbian.com.

Rate this

You must be logged in to rate this.

Current Rating : Nobody has rated this article yet.

Excerpt from:
Raising a Church

It has taken more than 13 years, but a Catholic church in Aurora has completed a journey from ruin to resurrection.

After years of services in the cramped basement of an adjacent former school, Sacred Heart on Sunday moved Masses to a spacious new church on the city's east side.

A fire started by an arsonist destroyed the original century-old church in December 1998, and the predominantly Latino parish slowly raised $500,000 in reconstruction funds, largely through bake sales and post-Mass meals of tacos, tostadas and other treats. 

Those sales, along with insurance proceeds, funded the construction that began in spring on a $1.5 million sanctuary that seats 450 — double the capacity of the old facility — and drew overflow crowds Sunday.

"I'm so excited that we're actually here. It's been such a long time," Adolfo Garcia, a member of the church's building committee said. "A lot of people had lost hope for a while because nothing concrete was being done ... but we couldn't let this disappear."

Sacred Heart, Aurora's oldest Roman Catholic parish, is at Fulton and State streets in a residential neighborhood about a mile east of the Fox River.

Founded by in the late 19th century by residents with ties to France and Luxembourg, the church has faced difficulties throughout its history, including an earlier fire as well as a more recent string of financial woes.

In 1980, the Rockford Diocese considered closing Sacred Heart. In 1987, another proposal to merge the debt-ridden parish with another Aurora church was scuttled when parishioners raised funds and closed the parish's school to save money.

Then came the 1998 fire that gutted the classic brick structure with the tall spire. The blaze was so intense that only one stained-glass window could be salvaged. It's now on display in a hallway in the new building.

A 15-year-old boy was arrested, but the Rockford Diocese declined to press charges.

Today's congregation is multiethnic, though predominantly Mexican-American. About 80 percent of the congregation is Latino and three of Sunday's four Masses were in Spanish.

"It's marvelous. Especially after 13 years our people were longing and waiting for this moment," said Monsignor Arquimedes Vallejo, wearing purple and white vestments to mark the first Sunday of Lent. "They made a lot of sacrifices. This was a field here. Now it's a most beautiful place." 

The new Sacred Heart is a single-story brick structure with a functional design that includes a slanted roof supporting a modest metal spire. The relatively narrow interior is about the length of a half city block with a spacious, open feel. 

It's well-lit with track lighting and suspended fixtures salvaged from another church. Twelve stained-glass windows also allow streams of sunlight to brighten the interior. The altar area has separate stained-glass images of Jesus and his mother, Mary, along with a large crucifix and seasonal black and purple draping.

The remaining problem is parking, but the congregation hopes to raise an additional $350,000 to level a nearby property and upgrade existing lots. It also wants to renovate the church's rectory and former convent.

Sunday's early Spanish language Mass drew more than 500 people — a mixed crowd of young and old, including families with children who later adjourned for First Communion classes. 

A midmorning Mass in English filled about 40 percent of the space. The 11:30 a.m. third Mass, also in Spanish, attracted more than 600 people who crowded side aisles and a separate entryway.

The parish is described as the least affluent in the Rockford Diocese.

"Despite the poverty, we are rich in faith and in people giving of themselves, their time and their talent," said Sue Niemiec, a longtime churchgoer active in parish affairs. "Maybe the way we do things isn't the most elegant. But we get it done and a lot of people help and it's wonderful."

Bishop Thomas G. Nolan, the chief of Rockford's Diocese, is expected to join numerous dignitaries for an official consecration Sunday.

In the meantime, Vallejo said he's pleased with the new home but was quick to put the move in perspective.

"It's a different place, but the same Jesus," he told congregants at the second Mass.

More:
Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Aurora reopens

HOUSTON, TX--(Marketwire -02/27/12)- Wood Partners, L.L.C., the nation's most active multifamily developer, announced today it will begin construction of Alta Woodlake Square, a $32.4 million luxury apartment community in the Westchase District.

The 256-unit development at 2630 Tanglewilde Street will be a three-story building featuring studio, one- and two-bedroom apartment homes.

"We love the location. We're at the southern entrance to one of the nicest neighborhoods in town," said Todd Gaines, Wood Partners development associate. "The site is minutes from major employment centers in the Westchase District, the Galleria and the Energy Corridor, which makes it very attractive for a multifamily project."

The community is adjacent to the revitalized Woodlake Square shopping center, which features a completely renovated Randall's Flagship grocery store, a Walgreen's drug store and a number of other high-quality retail tenants.

"Architecturally, we worked with AmREIT (which owns the shopping center) to complement their design, while still maintaining a residential feel," said Gaines.

Houston continues to experience strong demand for multifamily properties and robust job growth. A report by the Houston Association of REALTORS notes a "surge in consumers relocating to Houston from around the U.S. According to the Texas Workforce Commission's latest report, the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown Metropolitan Statistical Area gained 66,300 jobs in the 12 months ending September 2011. That represents an increase of 2.6 percent."

The units at Alta Woodlake Square, which received the National Green Building Standard certification, will feature granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, under-mount sinks, subway tile backsplashes, vinyl plank flooring in kitchen and living areas. A washer and dryer are included in each unit, as well as garden tubs in the bathrooms.

Approximately half the units will be outfitted with a technology package including an in-wall iPod docking station and speakers mounted in living rooms.

The common areas will feature two courtyards with a zero-entry pool, barbecue grills, and outdoor kitchen with TV, water fountain, state-of-the-art fitness center and club room with kitchen and bar area.

Leasing for the project is expected to begin in March 2013, with the first move-ins the following June.

About Wood Partners
Wood Partners is a national real estate company that acquires, develops, constructs and property manages multifamily communities.

Go here to see the original:
Wood Partners Announces Start of Construction on Alta Woodlake Square Apartment Community in Houston

Developer Holland Residential plans to break ground late this spring on a 40-story apartment tower in downtown Seattle, Vice President Tom Parsons said Monday.

The site, now a parking lot, is at Ninth Avenue and Pine Street, across the street from the Paramount Theater. Holland, one of the region's most active apartment developers, has signed a contract to buy the property from Seattle-based Security Properties, which won city approval for the tower in 2009.

Seattle is seeing an apartment-construction boom, with more units in the pipeline than at any time in the past 20 years.

But the Ninth and Pine tower, at 40 stories, would be by far the tallest.

Security, also a major apartment owner and developer, put the site up for sale last year. John Orehek, Security's president and CEO, said a year ago that despite the boom, rents still hadn't risen enough to cover the construction costs of a high-rise.

But Parsons noted that he and his team in 2008 completed a downtown high-rise condo, Fifteen Twenty-one Second Avenue, for their former employer, Opus Northwest. "We understand the 400-foot tower," he said.

Plus, "there are some sites in Seattle that are long-term great real estate, and that is absolutely the case with Ninth and Pine," he said.

The Washington State Convention Center and the Convention Place transit-tunnel station are steps away, and the site is within walking distance of downtown shops and offices.

Documents filed with city planners indicate Vancouver, Wash.-based Holland wants to modify Security's plans, increasing the number of apartments from 336 to 386. It also has proposed fewer parking spaces, more bicycle parking and less ground-floor retail space to allow for a larger lobby.

Holland already is building three projects with more than 600 apartments in South Lake Union and First Hill that are scheduled for completion within the next 12 months. It has two more South Lake Union complexes with an additional 300 units in the pipeline.

Eric Pryne: 206-464-2231 or epryne@seattletimes.com

See original here:
Work on 40-story downtown apartment tower set for spring

The sounds of cranes and bulldozers can be heard again in San Diego County as builders expect to finish nearly five times as many apartments this year as they did last year, the most since 2004, according to a local real estate analyst.

In the past few months, developers in Riverside County got the bureaucratic wheels turning for an apartment boom of their own to start in 2013, according to permit filings and local observers.

Apartment ownership became attractive in recent years as former homeowners with bad credit and younger people determined to preserve job mobility created enough demand to let landlords raise rents. Those fundamentals plus low interest rates made apartment buildings a prime target for institutional investors looking for safe investments in both counties.

"It's a nice rebound," said Russ Valone, founder of MarketPointe Realty Advisors, a homebuilder consultant.

San Diego County builders will deliver 1,991 apartment units this year, a big jump from the 400 units delivered last year, according to MarketPointe. San Diego County hasn't seen so many apartments completed since 2004, when builders produced 2,273 apartments.

In North County, a 108-unit apartment complex in San Marcos and a 198-unit project in Escondido should be ready for renters before the end of the year.

Apartment construction doesn't have as wide a ripple in the economy as single-family houses ---- more people can be housed at lower cost in an apartment complex ---- but the new buildings offer a beam of hope to long-suffering building-trades workers.

No apartments are under construction in Southwest Riverside County, but builders are scouting locations and securing permits, said Paul Runkle, a senior vice president with CBRE Inc. who is a multifamily specialist with an office in Temecula.

Last year in Riverside County, builders applied to put up 1,061 apartments, double the number of permits in 2010, according to the Construction Industry Research Board, a nonprofit.

"Some developers are now exploring development," Runkle said. "You wouldn't have heard that from me in the third quarter (summer) of 2011."

Few builders constructed rental units in the mid-2000s, as easy loans freed prospective renters to become homebuyers. But as the foreclosure crisis took hold and unemployment rose, former homeowners with ruined credit still needed a place to live, and they turned to apartments or house rentals.

Meanwhile, a younger generation saw friends and family trapped in houses they couldn't sell and chose to rent to preserve their mobility, Valone said.

"They're one of the first generations to see significant drops in real estate values," he said. "They don't have that 'I have to buy because real estate always goes up' attitude."

The twin forces created strong demand for apartments, which pushed down vacancy rates and raised rents.

As of the end of September, the most recent data available, vacancy rates in San Diego County fell 1.10 percentage points to 3.4 percent, and the average effective rent rose 2.2 percent to $1,287, according to Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services.

"The apartment fundamentals are at a point now where they're the best they've ever been ---- potentially ever," said Brian Hansen, a director at Wood Partners, the company putting up the complex in San Marcos.

That strong demand means apartment-complex owners can be assured of a steady income, even if the sale value of apartment buildings remains unchanged. Investors, especially institutional investors like pension funds, worried about volatile stock and commodity markets and turned to top-quality apartment buildings as an option, said Darcy Miramontes, an apartment building broker with Jones Lang LaSalle, a commercial real estate brokerage.

At the same time, interest rates have been very low, making it easier for developers to attract investor money at low cost so they could start construction, Miramontes said.

"Apartment buildings are the darling of the commercial investment market," Miramontes said.

Southwest County lags San Diego County in the overall economic cycle. High unemployment there forced parents and children to double up on housing, reducing demand. But there's also a shortage of rentals, creating an opportunity for builders, said Bill Blankenship, CEO of the Building Industry Association in Riverside County.

And the worst of the foreclosure crisis may be ending as the economy starts to rebound.

"We're at the bottom of a cycle and coming out of it," Runkle said.

Call staff writer Eric Wolff at 760-303-1927, follow him on Twitter @ericwolff.

See original here:
HOUSING: Apartment construction rebounding

The health inspector arrived with bad news: no dogs on the outdoor patio.

It was an especially difficult moment for Chris Simms, founder of the Lazy Dog Cafe, who prided himself on offering a Fido-friendly atmosphere.

His menu caters to humans, but his chain of restaurants had long welcomed dogs — illegally in Los Angeles County, though he didn't know it.

But a chance encounter between one of Simms' managers and a customer, L.A. County Supervisor Don Knabe, dining in Cerritos, has resulted in new, relaxed public health rules announced Monday.

"I'm just ecstatic just to be able to have dogs out on our patio," Simms said. "It's going to make a lot of our guests very happy.... It gives you hope that the government is truly representing us."

The old rules banned dogs from outdoor restaurant patios enclosed by a fence, but dogs were allowed to sit near sidewalk tables.

"This is good news for both pets and owners," said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of the county Department of Public Health.

"This empowers restaurant owners" to invite dogs onto outdoor patios, he said. "I think it's going to mean enhanced business for some restaurants."

He added: "I'm hoping my dog will invite me out for lunch."

The new county rules allow each restaurant to decide whether to allow or continue banning canines from outdoor patios. County officials said patrons should ask the restaurants' permission before taking dogs onto the patio.

They also suggested that dogs be walked before entering the restaurant so they will be relaxed while the owner is dining.

The county said pet dogs must enter the patio through an outdoor gate and not be taken inside the establishment. Dogs will not be allowed on chairs, seats or tables.

The new rules go into effect immediately throughout Los Angeles County except in the cities of Long Beach, Pasadena and Vernon, which have their own public health agencies.

Simms, the founder of the Lazy Dog Cafe chain, which first opened in 2003, said he has not had any problems inviting dogs to his outdoor patios in restaurants in Orange, Riverside and Ventura counties.

ron.lin@latimes.com

See the original post:
Dogs win a place on the patio at L.A. County restaurants