MORRISTOWN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Schindler Elevator Corporation, one of the leading global manufacturers of elevators, escalators and moving walks, is proud to announce that BOMA-NJ has awarded the company the 2012 Alternate Energy First Place Award for its solar installation project completed at its North American headquarters building in 2011. Bill Rafferty, manager, Building Services, Schindler, accepted the award at a ceremony held at The Newark Club on May 23rd.

The 250kw solar system, comprised of 1,236 photovoltaic solar panels, produces 310,000 kwh of electricity per year. Each panel generates 230 watts of renewable energy, and provides approximately 11 percent of the buildings total annual power consumption, enough to power more than 90 houses for one month. Since its installation, the system has offset the generation of close to 600,000 pounds of CO2, the equivalent of taking a family sedan off the road for almost two million miles.

Schindler has a dedicated website and a lobby kiosk that provides real-time data on the energy-savings, carbon reduction and environmental impact of the buildings new solar roof. The website serves as an educational tool to help visitors better understand the environmental benefits of the renewable energy source as well as the impact weather conditions have on the amount of power produced by the solar roof versus the utility grid.

Other sustainable building improvements included:

Sustainability has always been a driving force behind everything we do for our customers, says Michael Landis, vice president, marketing at Schindler North America. As building owners ourselves, we understand that in order to adopt a truly sustainable approach, we need to show our commitment to that sustainable vision right here in our own facilities.

About Building Owners and Managers Association of New Jersey (BOMA-NJ)

A professional real estate organization with a network of over 450 local real estate professionals, BOMA New Jersey is an affiliate of BOMA International the oldest and largest association of the office building industry with 92 federated Associations in the United States and around the world. Headquartered in Washington, DC, BOMA International expands the local network to more than 18,000 real estate professionals responsible for the management ofover 9billion square feet of office space in North America.

About Schindler Elevator Corporation

Schindler Elevator Corporation is the North American operation of the Switzerland-based Schindler Group, a leading global mobility provider with approximately 43,000 employees operating in more than 100 countries. Schindler supports sustainable urban development with safe, reliable and ecologically sound mobility solutions and its equipment moves one billion people every day all over the world. In 2011, Schindler was named one of Forbes Magazines 100 Most Innovative Companies, and two of the companys products received the 2011 Architectural Products Product Innovation Award. For additional information about Schindler Elevator Corporation, visit the companys Web site at http://www.us.schindler.com

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Schindler Elevator Corporation Receives BOMA-NJ’s 2012 Alternate Energy Award

The renovation of Waylands University Center calculated at $4.9 million is the lions share of $5.5 million in building permits issued by the City of Plainview in May.

But its not the only commercial construction now under way.

The University Center renovations include an updated cafeteria, giving students easier access to food and drink stations. The long table seating will be replaced by more intimate round tables to better simulate a dining experience. While changing the seating structure will remove some seats, the cafeteria will increase the number of operating hours throughout the day, allowing more flexibility in eating times for students.

Other changes to the University Center will include the remodeling of the student lounge area. Petes Place, located in the basement, will reopen as a coffee shop, serving Starbucks products to students.

The area also will house a grill and a stage area with lighting and sound systems. The south portion of the basement will be turned into offices for student activities and student government.

The courtyard area will be remodeled, and actions will be taken to control the bird population in the outdoor area.

To accommodate the project, the University Bookstore has been moved into McDonald Hall. Other offices from the now-closed University Center have been relocated throughout the campus.

Two commercial remodeling permits for $140,000 and $125,000, respectively, were issued for 3220 Olton Road in the Village Shopping Center.

While no formal announcement has been made, officials with both shopping center owner R-K-R and Ramsowers Furniture acknowledged last week that a national sporting goods chain has signed a lease to locate there.

According to the citys report on building permits, that chain is Big 5 Sporting Goods. The company, along with R-K-R, were issued the construction permits with Randall Roberts Construction listed as contractor.

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University Center renovations boost city building permit totals

Time was, and not all that long ago, that putting money into your house before putting it on the market paid off at resale.

But the "sluggish housing market continues to push down remodeling return on investment," Sal Alfano writes in the most recent cost vs. value report issued by Remodeling magazine, with the overall average cost-to-value ratio dropping to 57.7 percent from its peak in 2005 of 86.7 percent.

Even though the cost of remodeling itself has continued to fall, that is effectively counteracted by a drop in resale values, Alfano writes.

Bottom line: There is no guarantee that any improvement will boost the sale price of a house, especially in a real estate market in which even multiple offers typically result only in an amount near or slightly above asking price.

Yes, doing the necessary improvements to a house will help it compete. If two houses are for sale on the same street for the same price and one has a new roof while the other needs one, it's not hard to figure out which might sell first. But might is the operative word in an era when little about the real estate market is a certainty.

New roof or not, a house's list price must be appropriate for the market to attract buyers who likely will not only expect leak-free conditions, but also a furnace and air-conditioning that work properly.

Market observers say some sellers are still demanding prices well above what's appropriate, in an effort to turn their improvements into more cash. That, they say, is an attitude that keeps many listings sitting idle, some for a year or more.

Not to mention that it assumes the sellers' idea of improvement is in sync with the opinions of the buyers they wish to impress.

Harris Gross of Engineers for Home Inspection in Cherry Hill gets to see the results of homeowners' misguided assumptions about what it will take to sell.

Assumption: Your house has just one bathroom, and you need at least another half-bath (also known as a powder room) for buyers to even consider you.

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Home Economics: Recouping costs at resale is iffy, at best

The Menil Collection has announced a surprising choice to design the Menil Drawing Institute, the first major building on the museum's campus since 1995.

Johnston Marklee, a young Los Angeles firm led by husband-and-wife team Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee, is best known for projects that are drop-dead glamorous - and vastly different from the Menil Collection's famously serene main building, galleries and grounds.

Johnston Marklee's heart-stopping Hill House, for instance, seems to grow like a crystal from the side of a Pacific Palisades cliff. The firm's designs for the high-end Mameg + Maison Martin Margiela boutiques are the definition of Beverly Hills luxe. And Los Angeles' Helios House (designed in collaboration with Office dA) may be the world's most stunning gas station: a shiny, twisty silver canopy that's lit psychedelically at night.

The Menil Drawing Institute, Lee says, "will be very different from anything we've done before." The conceptual plan that the firm pitched to the Menil's selection committee emphasized the building's context - in particular, the unassuming scale of the little gray bungalows that make up most of the campus; and the beauty of the site's sprawling old live oaks.

After examining the proposed site and inventorying its existing trees, Johnston Marklee proposed to design a single-story, metal-roofed building defined chiefly by three oak-shaded courtyards. The trees would soften the light of the fierce Texas sun; and instead of entering the building directly from the top, through skylights, that dappled light would bounce in from the sides, through windows.

Josef Helfenstein, the Menil's director, emphasizes that the concept could still change radically. But he says he and the selection committee were impressed by the concept's adept control of light - a major challenge with drawings. Exposed to much light, they yellow and crumble; but conservators also need sunlight to do their best restoration work.

The courtyard plan also makes much of the way that visitors would enter the building. After coming in from the bright outdoors, people would move to progressively darker spaces: a gradual psychological shift, and also one that allows the eyes time to adjust.

The commission would be a coup for any architectural firm, but it's particularly significant for Johnston Marklee, a firm that's been critically praised but isn't yet well known by architecture fans. The Menil's short list included another up-and-coming firm - Mexico City's Tatiana Bilbao - and two that are internationally famous: SANAA, the Tokyo-based winner of the 2010 Pritzker, architure's top prize; and David Chipperfield Architects, which created the Menil's master plan and is known for designing high-profile cultural buildings such as Berlin's Neues Museum.

All four firms, Helfenstein says, made excellent presentations. But in the end, the selection committee voted unanimously for Johnston Marklee.

The startling selection echoes Dominique de Menil's choice of Renzo Piano to build the main museum. In the early 1980s, Piano was generally considered a young Turk, best known for throwing Paris into a tizzy with the Centre Georges Pompidou, which he designed with Richard Rogers. The enormous cultural center, with its bright colors and exposed plumbing ducts, stood in startling, jarring contrast to the rest of the old city. (Houston's George R. Brown Convention Center, an obvious descendant, looks far more at home among our shiny postmodern skyline.)

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Glam architects chosen for Menil project

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/z5ml7g/architects_data) has announced the addition of John Wiley and Sons Ltd's new book "Architects' Data, 4th Edition" to their offering.

Neufert's Architects' Data is an essential reference for the initial design and planning of a building project. It provides, in one concise volume, the core information needed to form the framework for the more detailed design and planning of any building project. Organised largely by building type, it covers the full range of preliminary considerations, and with over 6200 diagrams it provides a mass of data on spatial requirements.

Most illustrations are dimensioned and each building type includes plans, sections, site layouts and design details. An extensive bibliography and a detailed set of metric/ imperial conversion tables are included. Since it was first published in Germany in 1936, Ernst Neufert's handbook has been progressively revised and updated through 39 editions and many translations. This fourth English language edition is translated from the 39th German edition, and represents a major new edition for an international, English speaking readership.

Reviews of the Previous Edition:

"Neufert's Architects' Data was the first book I bought when I started my studies in architecture. It was invaluable for me then and it is still a useful aid in my designs."

Cesar Pelli

"With this thorough rewrite Neufert has produced yet again an invaluable reference book."

The Architects' Journal

Key Topics Covered:

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Research and Markets: Architects' Data, 4th Edition Covers the Full Range of Preliminary Considerations, With Over ...

Beleaguered construction mogul Dan Catalfumo is fending off a fresh set of real estate woes: The company he heads defaulted on its mortgage at Ocean Mall, Riviera Beachs economic crown jewel. Catalfumos company, which rents Ocean Mall from the city, also missed its annual lease payment to Riviera Beach.

And the city doesnt just want its estimated $20,000 in lease money. Theres talk of dumping the highly contentious six-year-old lease and taking the property back.

The lease the city got into with Catalfumo is a very bad lease which did not favor the city, said Riviera Beach City Council member Dawn Pardo.

This is a great opportunity to get the lease back and do it right this time.

Catalfumo did not respond to requests for comment.

The mortgage and lease payment default are the latest in a series of multimillion-dollar setbacks for the builder, whose commercial construction empire is buckling under the weight of a string of lawsuits.

In total, Catalfumo has been hit with lender suits seeking $100 million-plus in the past 2 1/2 years, several of them naming the builder personally.

Its a sharp fall from grace for Catalfumo, easily the best-known - and most controversial - builder in Palm Beach County. The Port of Palm Beach and the West Palm Beach waterfront bear the Catalfumo imprint; so do several other landmark buildings. But along the way, he has left a trail of high-profile lawsuits against everyone from ex-fiancees to spurned business partners. As construction business has declined, his business interests have turned to specialty scooters and a boneless chicken wing operation.

Most recently, BankAtlantic won a $40.9 million judgment against Catalfumo companies. Prior to that, Seacoast National Bank secured a $32.6 million judgment against a Catalfumo company and foreclosed on its prime property at PGA Boulevard and Interstate 95.

The Ocean Mall mortgage default comes after Catalfumo borrowed millions to construct the ocean-side complex, which called for a hotel, retail outlets and community beach space. Lender Branch Banking & Trust last year transferred $11 million left on the loan to another company, GSF Trust. GSF contends it is owed a total $11.3 million for the defaulted loan.

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Construction king Catalfumo defaults on Ocean Mall mortgage

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photo courtesy of city planning board Above is a rendering of the proposed development by the Dickinson Development Corp. at the old Fairhaven Mills site. The existing Market Basket is seen in the background, while the proposed retail building is shown in the foreground with a Taco Bell at right. The existing mill structure is shown at left.

By NATALIE SHERMAN

June 08, 2012 12:05 AM

NEW BEDFORD A Taco Bell and 1-story retail space has been proposed for several sites at Riverside Landing, a prime development spot near the Acushnet River that city officials have been trying to remake for more than half a decade.

The Dickinson Development Corp. plans for the old Fairhaven Mills block come after two years without construction in the plaza, where a popular Market Basket opened in 2010 after the controversial demolition of the historic mill.

The proposal, which goes before the Planning Board Wednesday, shows an 11,723-square-foot retail building on Coggeshall Street with space for six offices, including a Verizon. A smaller, 2,600-square-foot Taco Bell franchise situated slightly to the north would include a drive-through.

The plans, which would add buildings to a strip that already includes a McDonald's, a privately owned mill structure and a 7-Eleven, are in line with what Dickinson put forward in 2007 when the city agreed to sell its portion of the 14-acre property to the Quincy firm, said acting City Planner Jill Maclean.

"This is more or less what they proposed from the beginning," Maclean said. She said the design also reserves green space for the display of public art, likely a sculpture.

"That corner will be a very attractive gateway into what is a very, very highly visible development in the city," New Bedford Economic Development Council Director Matthew Morrissey said, adding that the new businesses should add at least 60 jobs to the area.

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Developer proposes Taco Bell, retail for Fairhaven Mills site

Thursday, June 7, 2012 9:43 PM EDT

By Steve Collins Staff Writer

BRISTOL The amount of retail space called for in the revitalization plan for the former mall site is only half of what a Long Island-based developer figured it would be last year.

Instead of having 150,000 square feet of retail space, the new plan before the citys Zoning Commission would create 73,000 square feet for shops and restaurants.

But Ryan Porter, the project manager for Renaissance Downtowns, said Thursday the change makes sense for Bristol.

He said the existing downtown regulations, which Renaissance helped create, require that all ground floor space in every building be dedicated to retail establishments.

If Renaissance were to follow the dictate to the letter, Porter said, it would have to build hundreds of thousands of square feet of retail space on the 17-acre former mall site, most of it with little commercial appeal.

Thats way too much, said city Councilor Henri Martin. It has to be cut back, he said, in order to work at all.

Porter said Renaissance is aiming to make sure all of the ground floor space facing Riverside Avenue, Main or North Main streets house retail shops and restaurants.

There would also be retail facing the piazza slated for construction as part of the first construction phase, which may begin next spring.

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Retail re-vision: Renaissance reduces plans for shops and restaurants by half

ORLANDO, Fla., June 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Want to recognize an environmentally conscious Florida builder or developer, one whose projects prove that responsible growth and environmental protection can co-exist? Then remind builders to enter to win Florida Realtorsannual Environmental Award, popularly known as the ENVY, before the July 6, 2012, deadline.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110314/DC64568LOGO )

Florida Realtors introduced the ENVY Awards more than 20 years ago, but the issues of growth management and environmental preservation continue to concern all Floridians today. The award may be given in two categories: one for residential development and one for commercial development.

The 2010 ENVY winner for residential development was Oakland Park, a traditional neighborhood development between the historic towns of Oakland and Winter Garden in Central Florida. The community includes about 258 acres stretching from the shores of Lake Apopka to Oakland Avenue.

Judges cited Oakland Park for the care it has taken to preserve the area's natural elements, including the existing tree canopy and sensitive environmental areas. "The developer's restoration of the Lake Apopka shoreline, complete restoration of Lake Brim and incorporation of the West Orange Trail into its design are exceptional," said one judge.

It is now time to honor another environmentally responsible development. The 2012 ENVY Award winner will be announced during Florida Realtors annual Convention & Trade Expo, held Aug. 8-12, at the Marriott World Center in Orlando. Environmental and planning professionals will judge the contest, awarding a handcrafted Lucite trophy to the ENVY winners for residential and/or commercial development. In addition, the winners will be featured in statewide news coverage.

ELIGIBILITY: All Florida commercial developments are eligible. Also, all planned residential developments with a minimum of 30 residential units in Florida qualify. Residential developments must be currently available for marketing and must include a model home.

JUDGING CRITERIA: For each criteria category, applicants should explain how the project goes above and beyond current environmental preservation and/or building code minimal requirements. Please include photos, site plans and other documents that will help illustrate your points to the judges. Provide narrative that will clearly demonstrate and explain the development's environmental features, environmental or preservation activities and design aspects to help the judges better review your project. Explain what makes your project stand out from the rest what are you the most proud of? Why should your development receive the ENVY Award? These are the things the judges want to know.

Commercial: (1) Preservation of natural flora and fauna; (2) Architectural compatibility; (3) Design in scale and context with surrounding environment; (4) Open space and access/usability of surrounding environment; (5) Common area access and usefulness; (6) Streets, pedestrian and bicycle access; (7) drainage as a design feature; (8) Marketability; and (9) Tell us what makes your project stand out from the rest what are you the most proud of?

Residential: (1) Preservation of natural flora and fauna; a) highlight any restoration areas or efforts; b) include any corridors/buffer zones; c) highlight wetlands areas; (2) Landscaping/compatibility with surrounding environment; (3) Design in scale and context with surrounding environment; a) highlight and explain any specific "green" standards and/or certification standards endorsed by the project such as standards from the Florida Green Building Coalition, LEED-ND (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-Neighborhood Development) standards or National Home Builders green building standards; (4) Open space and access/usability of open space; a) highlight green space and unusual features; (5) Family recreation and common areas; a) highlight special areas; (6) Streets and safety features; (7) Drainage and stormwater design features; a) highlight any unique stormwater plans; (8) Marketability; and (9) Tell us what makes your project stand out from the rest what are you the most proud of?

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Realtors®' Environmental Award Deadline Looms

Principal Mooring Analyst

GL Noble Denton

Updated: Jun72012

Job posting bookmarked!

Role Purpose

GL Noble Denton offers world-class services enhancing the safety, integrity, reliability and performance of our clients' assets in the oil & gas industry. We develop and deliver innovative solutions throughout the asset lifecycle from conceptual design to asset decommissioning; provide a challenging, diverse and rewarding environment for our employees. To support our ambitious growth plans we seek the talented individuals who share our determination to be the very best.

The GL Noble Denton team provides expert marine and engineering consultancy services related to offshore oil and gas assets. Services cover risers and moorings, integrity assessments, decommissioning studies, transportation and installation projects, project execution services and general naval architectural based consultancy.

This position requires a talented forward thinking engineer who is keen to further develop their career in a flexible working environment. The position provides excellent scope to pursue areas of particular interest. Due to increased workload exciting opportunities now exist for a senior mooring analyst to join the team to lead and deliver projects and to help further grow the business. You'll be involved in a wide range of consultancy services covering risers and moorings, integrity assessments, decommissioning studies, transportation and installation projects, project execution services and general naval architectural based consultancy.

Other key accountabilities will include:-

Technical / Professional Expertise

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Principal Mooring Analyst