Homeowners in one Raleigh neighborhood will wake up to free groceries on Saturday, June 16.

Food Lion employees with be unloading 15 heaping shopping carts, rolling them up to peoples front porches and ringing doorbells.

Unsuspecting residents will be asked to help themselves to five items each out of the carts.

The name of the neighborhood is being kept under wraps, said Food Lion spokeswoman Christy Phillips-Brown. But doorbells will start ringing at 10 a.m.

The Saturday morning stunt dubbed Operation Grocery Drop is the latest of several marketing campaigns launched to create buzz about the Food Lion chain, which has struggled in recent years.

In January, Food Lions parent company, the Belgian conglomerate Delhaize Group, announced it would close 126 underperforming stores across its three brands 113 of them Food Lion stores, including one in Cary.

In March, Food Lion offered a double coupon promotion for two weeks in its Triangle stores. It was the first time Food Lion had offered double coupons in the highly competitive Triangle grocery market, where competitors routinely double the face value of coupons.

Last year, the grocer cut prices on 6,000 items, reorganized shelves, added shopping carts, increased staffing and made efforts to improve customer service.

Raleigh will be the first city to host the grocery giveaway, but the retailer will do it again in other locations, Phillips-Brown said.

In addition to the free groceries, residents will be given coupons for Food Lions My Essentials brand of products.

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Food Lion to give away groceries in one Raleigh neighborhood

Make your homes stand out from existing stock by offering buyers one of these small-yet-deluxe plans. An outdoor fireplace? Check. Two levels of porches? Ditto. A kitchen with two islands? Sold.

Two levels of porches, clean lines, and modern amenitieslike the snack bar that seats fourmake this small home a contemporary classic. Best of all, at just 25 feet wide, itll fit a very narrow lot. The kitchen, dining nook, and entertainment room create a hub for family living, with more living and dining space in front and three bedrooms upstairs, all of which happens in just 1,586 square feet. See more images, information, and the floor plan.

When it comes down to it, floor plans are all about the kitchen and great room. This 2,138-square-foot plan delivers a spacious cooking space with two islands and a snack bar serving the great room. Just outside, an outdoor fireplace warms the covered patio. The first-floor master suite features a foyer to maintain visual privacy. A study sits on this level. Upstairs, two bedrooms can use the future rec room. See more images, information, and the floor plan.

With alluring detail and a striking Spanish tile roof, this 1,826-square-foot home has great street presence. Enter under a portico to find the great room, bathed in natural light. To the right, a sunny dining area flows into the angled serving-bar kitchen for ultimate convenience. The first-floor master suite includes a box-bay sitting area and a splendid bath with a spa tub. Upstairs, two bedrooms share a full bath. Bonus space above the garage can be used as a study, game room, home gymwhatever your buyer desires. See more images, information, and the floor plan.

Stone accents and decorative shutters put a rustic spin on this traditional home. A covered porch offers dual benches that are particularly handy for removing muddy boots. The entry leads to the two-story great room, lit by windows topped by transoms and warmed by a two-way fireplace. The kitchen and keeping room benefit from the other side of the hearth. On the far right, the master suite shines with a 10-foot ceiling and plush bath. Two additional bedrooms are upstairs and share a full bath with private sinks. See more images, information, and the floor plan.

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Luxury in Less Than 2,200 Square Feet

06-06-2012 16:10 Interior of construction on the temporary worship center for the new Norte Church. The 320 seat temporary facility is situated beside a local home currently being rented for classroom and office space.

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Norte Church Construction - Video

Members of Wesley United Methodist Church of Macomb arent going far for this weeks mission trip.

Volunteers are continuing the churchs annual efforts to provide construction and home repair services for area residents suffering from physical or financial difficulties through a program called Streaming Waters Work Week.

Carolyn Grove, an organizer for the program, said, We take one week out of the year to donate time to people who arent capable, either physically or financially, to do repair work on their homes.

She added that the church typically handles 19 to 21 projects each year, and has served 71 McDonough County residents in the past four years. The church has projects planned for 11 different homes this year.

Weve been helping an elderly couple with roof repairs, Grove said. Roof repairs are a difficult project, and they werent able to do it on their own. Were also helping a young man whos physically handicapped weve got a group building a wheelchair ramp at his house. Thats one of the big ones were really pleased to be able to do.

That man, Aaron Chapin, said that hes grateful for the help.

Ive had this medical problem for a while, he said. Its hard for me to get up and down stairs.

Without the ramp, Chapin said he would be confined to his house.

I wouldnt be able to get in and out of the house, he said. Im just really happy they came in here and did this for me. Im really struggling right now, but this has made my life a lot easier, just having a way to get in and out of my house without getting hurt.

The program began four years ago as an alternative to traditional mission trips.

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Lending a hand

JACKSONVILLE, Ark. (KTHV) Jacksonville is working to clean up it's image by cleaning out church signs along Highway 67/167. Jacksonville churches have posted advertisement signs along Highway 67/167 for decades. But over the years, flooding and weather conditions have taken their toll on those signs, creating a problem for the city.

It is one of the busiest highways in Pulaski County and the perfect place to advertise.

"We've had signs up there for over forty years in that same area. I thought, you know, everything was okay on it but evidently it's not," says Royce Lowe, Pastor of First Assembly of God Church in Jacksonville.

Lowe invested more than six hundred dollars in his church sign along 67/167 but is now being told it must come down.

"I just opened up the mail one day and I had a letter from the Arkansas Highway Department telling me that my sign had to be removed," says Pastor Lowe.

That letter cited a violation of the Highway Beautification Act, saying signs larger than eight square feet required a permit. But because of the location of his sign, he did not qualify for the permit.

"I did send a letter to the highway department asking them about what the rules and regulations were concerning the legality of signs along the interstate and then they turned around and sent a letter to the predominantly churches," says Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher.

He says a city sign committee formed in January is addressing all sign ordinances in Jacksonville in an effort to beautify and maintain the city's image. From yard signs, human signs, and banners, they are updating ordinances to prevent a city nuisance. Worn and tattered signs along the highway, for churches or not, must go.

"It needed to be addressed, it needed to be cleaned up. I've had complaints, in fact, I've had some pastors and churches complain to me before we even created this committee last year about it, wanting to know when I'm going to do something about it," says Mayor Fletcher.

Pastor Lowe says he will comply with the highway department's request, moving his sign to a different location.

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Jacksonville says worn church signs must go

CHERRY HILL A building boom continues at Garden State Park on Haddonfield Road as construction has begun on a bank, a preschool and a 617-apartment complex.

But on the western edge of the sprawling, 240-acre former racetrack sits a vacant patch of dirt and grass, not a bulldozer in sight

. And the owners of the 18-acre parcel owe the township nearly $170,000 in property taxes.

Turnberry Cherry Hill LLC, a division of Florida-based Turnberry Associates, owns the parcel, which is assessed for tax purposes at $2.3 million. The land is northwest of The Home Depot across Garden Park Boulevard.

Turnberry also owns a half-acre property along Third Avenue off Chapel Avenue valued at $49,000. It owes a little more than $17,000 in taxes on that piece of land.

Several calls to Yamila Garayzar, Turnberrys vice president of sales and marketing, were not returned Thursday.

But Bob Dwyer, an owner representative for Turnberry in this area, said the arrears will be taken care of.

The taxes will be paid, asserted Dwyer, of Land Trust Properties in Berwyn, Pa. It must be some kind of clerical error.

If the debt is not paid by June 25, the land will be offered at a sheriffs sale, township officials said.

Dwyer did not say if there are any plans in the works for the parcel.

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$170,000 in taxes owed on Garden State Park parcel

Home construction is heating up just in time for summer.

London's building sector got good news Friday, as single home starts climbed in the city and region.

In the important single-home starts category new construction climbed 10% in London and 12% in the region last month over May 2011, stated a release from Canada Mortgage Housing Corp.

"Recent gains in employment and a tightening in the resale market have turned more home buyers to the new home market," said Margot Stevenson, CMHC's senior market analyst.

"Single-family construction has picked up, but less apartment construction so far this year has brought the number of total starts down year-to date."

In the region work began on 155 single homes compared to 145 in May, 2011. In London there were 88 starts compared to 80 last May.

Year to date, the numbers were similar, with a 10% increase in London, from 320 starts to 352 from January to May, and in the region there was a 12% hike from 420 to 470, in the single home starts category.

A look at total starts, including semi-detached, row homes and apartments, showed only a slight increase last month over May, 2011, with a 1% increase in London and a seven per cent hike in the region.

Year to date, the decline was sharper for total buildings, with a 28% drop in the city, thanks to fewer apartment units being built and a 19% decline in the region.

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Home building heats up

BY DAVID ROEDERAND FRAN SPIELMAN Staff Reporters June 7, 2012 6:32PM

Updated: June 8, 2012 2:32AM

A developer wants to build a large apartment complex near OHare Airport, a sign that investors infatuation with rental housing extends beyond downtown.

JCF Real Estate of Schaumburg is proposing a seven-story, 405-unit complex on property it controls at 8601 W. Bryn Mawr. Details were contained in a zoning application filed with city officials.

The 500,000-square-foot building would replace six one-story office structures on the property.

It would be the largest apartment complex built in the OHare area in years. Apartments have been the most active residential market, as troubles in the condominium sector have caused more people to rent.

Accordingly, vacancy rates are falling and average rents rising. The real estate firm Marcus & Millichap has projected average rental rate increases of about 4 percent across the Chicago area for 2012, following two years of increases that amounted to less than 2 percent annually.

JCFs OHare site is near several suburbs. Analysts have said suburban rental markets are tight because many towns discourage construction of rental homes.

Top executives of JCF could not be reached Thursday. The plans indicate they wish to charge higher than average rents for a building with features common to downtown high-rises, such as an on-site restaurant, a rooftop deck, a fitness center and an indoor pool.

Parking will be provided for more than 400 cars, with most of the spaces being enclosed within the building.

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Apartment complex planned for site near O’Hare

EAST ST. LOUIS With a striking resemblance to some of the resort condo buildings that dot America's coastal beaches, a $22 million senior citizens apartment building is nearing completion in East St. Louis' Emerson Park neighborhood in the 1000 block of North 15th Street.

The four-story apartment project, called Jazz at Walter Circle, now dominates the city's skyline just north of Interstate 64.

The 74-unit mixed-use building scheduled to open late this year is already a source of pride in a city that has seen few new developments recently.

"One may say, 'Why (in) East St. Louis?' I say, 'Why not East St. Louis?'" said Elizabeth Tolliver, executive director of the East St. Louis Housing Authority.

She and other authority members dared to dream big when planning Jazz at Walter Circle a couple of years ago. The development is a public-private partnership between the East St. Louis Housing Authority and private developers, and it is the first in the nation to combine public housing development funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development with New Markets Tax Credits.

The federal New Markets Tax Credit Program was established in 2000 as part of the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000. The goal is to spur revitalization of low-income communities. The program provides tax credit incentives to investors for equity investments in certified Community Development Entities, which invest in low-income communities.

Recipients typically banks and community development groups offer the tax credits as an incentive to investors in projects in qualifying Census tracts. They are worth 39 cents on the dollar.

Jazz at Walter Circle is owned by Eco Jazz Inc., a special purpose nonprofit affiliate of the Housing Authority that was created as a developer of record for the project. Walter Circle will be the name of a new street that is being developed just off 15th Street to serve the residents of the apartment project.

Tolliver noted that Emerson Park has been a stable neighborhood for several years in an otherwise often-troubled city. So the site for the Jazz at Walter Circle project seemed logical, she said. And it's just across the street from the Emerson Park MetroLink station, making for easy access, she said.

The project's name honors East St. Louis' history as a jazz capital. Among other lesser known jazz musicians, the city produced the legendary Miles Davis.

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Senior citizens' apartment nears completion in E. St. Louis

No restaurant meal quite matches the tenor of spring and summer like al fresco brunch. Usually a little fancier and more expensive than breakfast, it also should be lazier and with less agenda. Dining outdoors just feels less formal. And theres implicit permission to imbibe, no matter how early.

Inspired by the season, I sought out regular restaurants that serve brunch every weekend which meant not just the ones that hit the big holidays. Daily breakfast places werent in the mix, either. A patio was a requirement, and was often the star. Here are four of my Boise patio brunch favorites:

DOWNTOWN AT THE MARKET

RED FEATHER LOUNGE 246 N. 8th St., Boise, 429-6340 Brunch: 8:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Brunch is not just breakfast with booze here. Red Feather serves the harder-to-find Saturday brunch as well as Sunday, the cocktails are of high design, and the menu is no obligatory punch list of morning standards. This is the place to go with friends to start your birthday or the morning after a great rock concert.

On Saturdays, the petite, umbrellaed patio is flush with the noisy pulse of the Capital City Public Market. Our dining group drank down sweet heirloom tomato Bloody Marys ($4 small/$9 large) and a carafe of mimosas ($6.50). A few feet away, a busker played Oasis Wonderwall twice in a row. Moments later, a man in a Superman costume strutted through the crowd on stilts.

Like the rest of the Red Feather menu, brunch is aimed locally and will satisfy the foodie with items like duck eggs with spicy braised kale and goat cheese ($8). But the food is not too proud to please broader palates. The pancetta-duck egg pizza ($11) is outstanding to share the yolks become a sauce, and the crust itself is only a breath or two away from the best pizza in town at Casanova or Tonys. Like a western incarnation of fried chicken and waffles, the crackling chicken on a biscuit ($9) is matched with incredibly rich cream gravy and a hidden layer of sweetness. One item in particular is a revelation. The oatmeal souffl ($5) is part buttery oatmeal cookie, part pillowy custard, and will change the way you think of sweet breakfast food.

Small details are attended well. For a dish like the grapefruit brulee ($2), with a torched pane of sugar, the challenge is to keep the fruit cold and it was. And out on the patio, in the cool building shadow at high noon, our server overheard two guests at the next table say they were a bit chilly. Without a word, he returned with fleece blankets.

BUFFET-STYLE

MURPHYS SEAFOOD & STEAKHOUSE 1555 Broadway Ave., Boise, 344-3691 Brunch: 10 a.m. 2 p.m. Sunday

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Brunch on Boise's patios