On the recent episode of 'Christina on the Coast' that aired on Thursday, August 13, Christina Anstead was seen helping out her good friend, Cara, and her husband, Chris, remodel their bathroom and their main bedroom. Aesthetically, the couple's vision for their house didn't match with what she had in mind for the remodeling process and there were unexpected costs that kept cropping up. The onus was now on Christina to take all of it in her stride and renovate the space in a way that she could bring joy to her friend and her family's lives.

Cara's career as a nutritionist depended a lot on the health and wellness videos that she recorded from the confines of her bedroom. She was in dire need of a renovation that would help bring additional natural lighting to her filming space. She could also use a better backdrop for her videos and these were one of the few points that she brought up to Christina as requisites from her end. Chris didn't demand too much from the remodeling initially and was happy if the house exuded the look and style of a modern farmhouse and if Christina could incorporate more natural wood around the house during the remodeling. Later on, the couple and Christina move to the bathroom to see the changes that were required there. Their bathroom was untouched since they moved into the house. No renovations were ever made to that space and it was one of the most ignored areas of the house. The shower lever handle was held together by a screwdriver and that was proof enough that the area could use a pick-me-up and Chris expressed that he was looking forward to an improved shower situation in the bathroom. Cara, on the other hand, listed a bench in the shower as her requirement and joked that she needs it to make her life easier as shaving in the shower was getting difficult in her 30s.

Christina took all of their requirements into consideration and began work on their house with star contractor Israel "Izzy" Battres. Shortly after he began work in the bathroom, Battres discovered that the couple's house was susceptible to mold as their bathroom wall was wet from the inside as the waterproofing had gone bust. This directly affected the couple's budget that was initially set at $55K and they had to amp it up by another $10K. However, that was one of the only major challenges that were a part of this renovation and the rest of the remodeling progressed smoothly. Izzy and Christina managed to completely jazz up Chris and Cara's house and the new and improved space was worth every penny and every day that the couple had to spend away from their home during the process.

You can catch the re-run of this episode at 12 am ET on Friday, August 14. 'Christina on the Coast' airs Thursday nights at 9 pm ET only on HGTV.

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'Christina on the Coast': Christina helps friend Cara and her husband remodel their main bedroom and bath - MEAWW

LINCKLAEN, N.Y. In 2002, Ronald and Ruth Luchsinger were looking at farms in Madison County.

Not having much luck, they drove a little further south, crossing into Chenango County. Finally, while reaching the top of a hill near Lincklaen, Ronald found exactly what he wanted.

This is the place! he remembered shouting.

Nestled quietly in 123 acres of Central New York farmland was an 1885 farmhouse that had seen better days.

It was such a nice setting, vacant and unaltered, Luchsinger said.

But the farmhouse was not so good.

Cosmetically, it was trashed, he says, laughing. It was bad.

He tells a story that he celebrated his 50th birthday on the day he and his wife closed on the property. They hosted a few friends there and one told him straight out, You bought this!

But Luchsinger was undaunted. In fact, with a personal passion for carpentry and remodeling, he looked forward to the challenge.

I enjoy taking something old that does not look too good and make it look like it should, he explains.

Like it should meant creating a nostalgic feeling of yesteryear.

Our goal was to make it look like grandma and grandpas house, he said.

Over four winters, they gutted everything, reconfigured rooms and replaced the homes roof, windows, and siding.

Now, he says those skeptical friends of his, cant believe it!

Inside they kept the traditional feel of a 19th century Central New York, with original trim and wainscoting. Modern amenities like internet and new kitchen appliances were also added.

It has been a labor of love, Luchsinger admits.

The property has great potential as an agribusiness.

Ronald and Ruth use the three-bedroom upstairs bedroom as a bed and breakfast and house more guests in the top floor of an 1864-era barn he found in Tully, which he moved to Lincklaen, piece by piece.

They are booked solid for most of the summer.

The Lodge, as it is called, can accommodate six people. It is heated, has air-conditioning, and has guests until the cold weather arrives.

He believes an enterprising owner can transform the property, which has 7,000 feet of road frontage, into a brewery, apple orchard, campground, Airbnb, vineyard, farm-to-table restaurant, or wedding venue. For nature lovers the property borders Lincklaen State Forest and Mariposa State Forest.

(The man-made spring-fed swimming pond on the grounds has hosted three baptisms.)

After 18 years, the couple have decided to take on a new project, rebuilding another property near Tully.

I have run out of projects here! Luchsinger says laughing.

An open house is scheduled for Sunday, August 16, from 1 to 3 p.m.

THE DETAILS

Address: 312 Springer Road, DeRuyter, N.Y. 13052

Price: $569,000

Size: 2,064 square feet

Acreage: 123 acres

Monthly Mortgage: $1,985 (based on this week's national average rate of 3.27 percent, according to Freddie Mac, for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with a 20 percent down payment. Fees and points not included.)

Taxes: $3,323

Built: 1885

School District: DeRuyter

Kitchen: Listing says that the new Country Style kitchen will bring back memories of Grandmas house. The motif of the space mirrors the rest of the farmhouse. Traditional trim was maintained, as were the old-style Hoosier cabinets. Exposed ceiling is seen. Owner calls the kitchen very handy to work in. Kitchen features new modern appliances.

Living areas: Home underwent a four-year remodel between 2003 and 2006. New windows were added, and owner says that 90 percent of the property can be seen from somewhere inside the house. Visitors arrive in an inviting front foyer or in a back mudroom, which is very convenient if you were out working or playing outside. Home features an open-floor plan on the first floor. The kitchen, dining area and living room make for one large space. There is a den or library with access via double doors.

Bedrooms: The master bedroom is on the first floor. The room is quite spacious and features a double door closet. The three bedrooms upstairs are currently being used a bed and breakfast.

Bathrooms: There are two-and-a-half bathrooms in the house. The first-floor half-bath is just off the mudroom. The master bathroom has a shower unit and is home to the houses laundry room, which the owner considers very convenient for farm life. There is another full bathroom upstairs.

The Lodge: The Lodge is guest accommodations built inside an 1864 Tully barn. It can sleep six people. It maintains its old-fashioned feel with exposed beams and kitchenette. The space is insulated, heated, and has air-conditioning. It is open during the warm months.

Outdoors: The 123-acre farm was chosen because of its spectacular views. The back patio is a favorite. There is always a cool breeze there. Besides the farmhouse and Lodge, the property features a workshop, two-car garage, wetland pond, five-stall horse barn with tack room, seven paddocks with high tensile wire fencing, and a private campground. Owner dug out his own spring-fed swimming pond with a dock six years ago. It is ten-and-a-half feet deep and has seen a lot of action during this warm summer. It has also hosted three baptisms. The farm is bordered by Lincklaen and Mariposa State Forests and there are 33 miles of seasonal roads for outdoor recreation. Property has enormous potential as an agribusiness.

Agent: Theresa Billy / The Karim Team

CENTURY 21 Arquette Properties

Address: 104 Salt Springs Road, Fayetteville, N.Y. 13066

Phone: (315) 663-8390

Email: thekarimteam@gmail.com

Website: http://www.thekarimteam.com

MORE HOMES

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See our real estate transactions database

If you know of a beautiful or interesting house currently up for sale, please consider sending a nomination for it to be featured as a future House of the Week. Send an email with the listing to home@syracuse.com.

Do you know of any older homes in Central New York which have fallen on hard times but have a lot of potential should they be restored to their original grandeur? A fixer-upper with a lot of potential? Consider nominating them to our new feature, Save this Home, in which we will spotlight grand houses of the past around Central New York that need to be saved. Send nominations to home@syracuse.com.

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House of the Week: Remodeled 1885 farmhouse in Lincklaen evokes feeling of visiting Grandmas house - syracuse.com

ROCHESTER, N.Y. More people, of all ages, are working from home in the age of COVID-19. Local architects and designers are getting calls on how to accommodate that. Theres a demand in the market for home offices, repurposed lower levels, bonus rooms and even home gyms.

People working from home have either been working at kitchen table, or makeshift office, and now theyre getting into actually remodeling a room, said Melanie Portland, Director of Marketing for Inde Designs. She said more college kids are returning home, as well as adult children, which calls for bathroom and bedrooms in the basement, or lower levels.

More and more companies are not having employees come back to the office, and this is going to be a more permanent solution, working from home, said Chris Keil, Vice President of Greater Living Architecture. Keil said there was originally a trend of clients wanting to downsize their home, pre-virus. Now, they want to re-purpose it, or add bonus rooms above their garage.

Architects and designers are saying the demand for supplies has gone way up, increasing construction costs. The services also came to a halt when COVID-19 hit, and architects had to work remotely with clients for conferencing.

Manufacturers, lumber yards, steel manufacturers, were all shut down for a number of months (when COVID-19 hit), said Joseph ODonnell, President of Greater Living Architecture.

Kitchens, sinks, flooring, lighting, everything really came to a screeching halt, now theres a very, very tough supply for those items, said ODonnell.

He said its hard to know what the future holds in terms of a second wave, and how that would affect their business if schools had to close again. But all they can do, is prepare for anything.

Were kind of a wait and see right now, said ODonnell. The idea of re-purposing a space for home-schooling is something on his radar, and something hes already received calls on. He said the at-home learning experience consists of educational, social and physical components.

Kids arent socializing with peers at home, theyre with their parents and siblings and not getting a social experience. What weve seen people consider is creating small group learning in a neighborhood [pods], where kids can go to house one day a week to safely be with friends and have that social interaction, said ODonnell.

In addition to accommodating children, Keil said its common that two spouses are working from home, requiring not just one home office, but two. Home offices have been part of plan for some time now, but now two home offices are in demand. People need their own spaces, its hard to share space on conference calls and stuff, he said.

Keil said if you are looking to add a space to your house, a permit is required. He said youd have to work with designers to come up with a plan, and youd also have to meet with a contractor. Drawings would have to be submitted to your town for approval.

Continued here:
Re-purposing the home in the age of COVID-19: offices, gyms, bonus rooms - RochesterFirst

SPRINGFIELD A citizen committee is recommending that 15 projects receive a total of approximately $1.5 million to improve historic properties, parks and open space, and community housing.

Robert McCarroll, chairman of the Springfield Community Preservation Committee, said the projects were chosen from among 25 applications for 2020. The grants are funded annually by a local property surtax approved by voters in 2016.

You can see they are peppered across the city, which is one of our goals, McCarroll said. I think its a good broad section.

The funds can be used for purposes including the acquisition, creation and preservation of open space, recreational land, historic resources and community housing.

The recommendations will be forwarded to Mayor Domenic Sarno and the City Council in September, McCarroll said. Any project funded will need council approval, but the projects first need to be recommended by the citizen committee.

The following 15 projects are recommended for funds:

The committee is scheduled to meet again Sept. 1 to finalize the grant amount for the Trinity House project.

The city has approximately $2.1 million in community preservation funds this year, including this years allotment and unused funds from the past year, McCarroll said.

Ten other applications were considered but were not recommended this year. Some were ineligible or deemed low-priority, and others were encouraged to apply in a future year, McCarroll said.

Last year, the committee recommended projects for funding totaling $1.7 million, approved by the council last September.

Local organizations, nonprofit groups and city departments annually apply for the funds.

Related Content:

Go here to see the original:
15 projects recommended for community preservation funds in Springfield - MassLive.com

When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency began mandating that landfill operators install low-permeability bottom liners and final covers, the idea was to mitigate leachate and precipitation and ultimately protect groundwater. These design features have proved to accomplish those goals, but some drawbacks have been discovered over time.

Liners and final covers extend the time during which gas is generated while slowing the speed of the generation, and they extend the waste decomposition time.

When waste is encapsulated or entombed in these engineered structures, gas production could go on slowly for decades up to 70 or 80 years, as reported in a technical article written by SCS Engineers Bob Isenberg and Darrin Dillah.

But Isenberg and Dillah found that if that same dry tomb they modeled in their paper were made into a bioreactor where moisture is introduced into the waste the gas would be produced for about 20 years, and then it would stabilize.

Why are people paying attention to gas production rates and the moisture content of landfill waste?

Gas is generated when you have moisture, and quick gas generation stabilizes waste, says Dillah. The quicker you stabilize the waste, the quicker you can get out of post-closure care requirements. Conversely, by entombing waste, you extend the natural stabilization process, and you extend the time period for post-closure.

The first landfills are about to reach the 30-year mark since Subtitle D began mandating bottom liners and final covers the prescribed post-closure care period.

I think a lot of landfill operators will find they cannot show they reached the stabilized point where gas generation and leachate quantities are minimal and where they can say there will be no impact on human health and the environment, so the 30-year period could be extended, Dillah says.

Time is money. Post-closure care can cost $100,000 or more a year, depending on the size of the site. Shortening that period could save thousands to millions of dollars in some scenarios, Isenberg estimates.

Despite the potential for dry tomb-related delays in ending post-closure periods, no one is looking at changing the bottom liner and final cover to speed gas generation and waste decomposition. But a small number of operators are exploring new approaches, from techniques to deal with leachate to the timing of the placement of the final cover. EPAs research, development and demonstration rule is allowing landfill operators to try some of these approaches.

One technique of interest is the recirculation of leachate in a controlled manner, either by spraying or injecting it into the waste. Another approach, though not as common, involves allowing stormwater runoff into the waste.

Operators typically try to divert rainwater from landfills and create ditches, channels and ponds to manage runoff. But if its done carefully, one might be able to allow some stormwater runoff into the waste. This can be tricky, however, because if a 100-year storm hits, it could create problems, Isenberg says.

Another method is to delay the installation of the final cap until several years after the landfill is filled in order to add moisture from rainfall. Some operators are looking at this approach as it relates to settlement.

As Isenberg explains it, decomposition produces gas as a byproduct, and as gas is generated, mass is lost, which triggers settlement. Pennsylvania allows operators to wait until five years after landfills are filled to install caps in order to allow settlement to take place.

These techniques come with drawbacks. For example, recirculating leachate costs money and requires manpower. And it has to been done carefully.

If you inject too much leachate, you can slow down the gas generation due to saturation of the waste, Isenberg says. Or you can create localized settlement problems, slope instability, or odors.

In the case of delayed cap installation, operators must anticipate and predict settlement so that when the cap is installed, they have positive drainage and stormwater is controlled.

Another method to avoid the dry tomb impact is to accept wastewater sludge and other wet types of waste. Adding these materials to municipal solid waste increases moisture content and accelerates decomposition.

But wet waste has to be introduced carefully and with engineering controls, because this type of material may be weaker and could create stability problems or odor issues. Technique is important: Its advisable to distribute wet waste around the landfill, though more in the middle or the interior than on side slopes.

Engineers advise that operators establish a percentage of wet waste that will be accepted based on engineering evaluations, looking at stability, gas generation, and leachate in order to avoid saturation.

Jeff Murray, landfill practice leader for HDR, says technology like landfill liner systems and leachate and gas collection systems have proved effective in protecting human health and the environment.

When the solid waste regulations were developed nearly 30 years ago, perhaps their performance was uncertain and was supported by the dry tomb approach, Murray says. But with available disposal capacity at a premium, we should be having a discussion to provide more flexibility for closure time frames that allow solid waste to degrade more fully and to settle so that airspace can be recaptured, incorporating proper planning and controls.

This approach, Murray says, could extend the life of some landfills by up to 30%. In addition, it could reduce the time to reach functional stability after closure, potentially shortening the post-closure care period, and it could reduce the long-term liability and risks to human health and the environment.

Isenberg says dry tombs are fine for protecting groundwater, but there are approaches to accelerate decomposition to reduce post-closure in a safe manner.

You have to understand gas, leachate and settlement, Isenberg says. This requires working with engineers to design the system, contractors to build the system, suppliers of equipment and materials, and regulators to ensure compliance. We just have to think outside the box or think outside the tomb.

See original here:
Conundrums of Dry Tombs and Possible Solutions - waste360

Located at Cholsey near Wallingford, Oxfordshire, New Barn Farm Quarry is the latest quarry operation to be opened by Grundon Sand & Gravel (GSG)

A 6 million investment:With Grundon purchasing the site in July 2015 and gaining planning permission in November 2018 an estimated 2.5 million tonnes of sand and gravel is expected to be extracted over the next 18 years. Once quarry operations are complete a 20-year conservation and restoration programme will be put in place.

GSG have invested 6 million in the 66-acre site, which included a state-of-the-art Sand Plant and Water Treatment System which will provide gravel and a variety of sands for the building, construction, leisure and landscaping sectors, including two local concrete plants as well as selling directly to the general public.

Golden Harvest Gravel:The opening of the new quarry also sees GSG launch an exclusive new Golden Harvest Gravel into its gravel range. Blending shades of gold, bronze, and cream, it is an exceptionally durable hard flint, and is ideal for areas with high footfall, such as driveways and car parks, as well as landscaping areas. It is available in 10mm and 20mm grades.

Andy Bright- GSG General Manager, commented, We are delighted to add New Barn Farm Quarry to our quarry portfolio. We believe it will prove a valuable resource for the local housebuilding and construction industries throughout the wider Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Buckinghamshire region, underlining our reputation as a leading supplier of sands and aggregates.

We are also pleased to have brought new jobs to the area and look forward to welcoming local people through our gates for their own gardening and landscaping requirements.

PowerX Equipment The next generation in Aggregate & Mineral Processing:The plant has been designed, supplied and commissioned by PowerX Equipment who are the next generation in aggregate and mineral processing. Whether a client is looking to incorporate a single item of equipment or create an entire, integrated plant solution, PowerX Equipment design, supply and install; Aggregate Washing, Crushing & Screening, Water & Silt Management Systems, Bulk Materials Handling, Recycling and Materials Processing equipment to meet expectations and achieve profitable outcomes.

The Processing Plant:As well as supplying the wash plant and MS water treatment system PowerX also installed a 400m long feed conveyor including a feed hopper situated adjacent to the current dig. Here material is loaded into the hopper and is conveyed to a hopper fed radial conveyor next to the processing plant. From this, the material is either fed direct to the main plant or stockpiled adjacent to it.

With the plant operating at 200tph material is fed via a hopper to the inclined primary conveyor and then onto a Terex Washing Systems 4.9 x 1.5m triple-deck rinsing screen. Here the rinsed fractions of 10mm/20mm/+20mm are split and sent to radial stockpilers.

Twin sands production:The main product, sand then falls through the bottom deck of the rinsing screen and is then pumped up to the single hydro-cyclone of the AMP compact sharp sand plant. Silt from the thickener is also delivered and measured back into the feed of both the sharp and soft sand processes consistently maintaining the concrete specification.

Consisting of a high-energy 2.4m x 1.2m dewatering screen and one 200/150centrifugal pumpfor sharp sand, the plant specification is completed with one 625mm diameter conical bottom hydro-cyclone hydro vortex.

The soft sand production is dealt with by an AMP compact soft sand plant which consists of a high-energy 2.4m x 1.2m dewatering screen and one 150/100 centrifugal pump and is completed by four 250mm polyurethane cyclones to reclaim the material above 20m.

Arranged in a cluster with equal feed, each cyclone has a knife valve with chutes and rubber lined distributor box. Both sand plants are of modular design to allow complete flexibility.

Both sands are then delivered to their respective stockpile by radial conveyors.

Added benefits with the PowerX Equipment Design:John Collins Technical Director for PowerX, comments, The main difference with this plant compared to most S&G plants, is that the plant design ensures that all the silt is deposited back into the sand product which means they dont require silt ponds.

They have a fresh water pond and a thickener and the silt from the thickener is measured back into the course sand to keep that within the concrete specification and then into the fine sand and this is effectively the main difference with this and other S&G plants.

Having originally been told by other suppliers that it could not be done, the plant operated correctly within a set of parameters will operate all day long. On the flipside of this, it is not something you can do anywhere, because if the material you are washing is really dirty there is a limit to how much you can put in the sand.

The as raised material at New Barn Farm only has an average silt content of 6-8% so it allowed Grundons that benefit to lose that silt straight back into the sand without them going out of specification.

Water Treatment Plant:The wash plant at New Barn Farm incorporates a MS water treatment system featuring a 12m diameter 3m high 340m volume capacity thickener which provides a minimum of 380m/hr flow rate with a low flocculent consumption. An 8m diameter 3m high clarified water tank provides a 150m capacity with a technical room housing the flocculent system. A flocculent mixing plant and flocculent sampling plant make up the system.

Ed Fagan - Head of Projects, Engineering and Design Grundon Sand and Gravel, commented, We are extremely pleased with the design and performance of the plant which has enabled us to eliminate the requirement for silt ponds and ensure production is as efficient as possible. The PowerX team were very professional in their approach to the project showing great attention to detail and a strong emphasis on H&S throughout the project programme.

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Grundon Sand & Gravel enjoy the benefits of a new PowerX Equipment Wash Plant and Water Treatment System. - Hub 4

WARE Town Meeting on Monday will decide whether to appropriate $418,500 to demolish a privately owned building downtown at 112-114 Main St.

The Board of Selectmen last month ordered the owner to tear it down by Oct. 1, and also scheduled a special Town Meeting for Aug. 17 to appropriate funds should the owner refuse to do so.

Town officials say the building has become a public safety hazard and it could collapse onto the roadway, potentially causing injury or death. Built in 1890, it was condemned nine years ago when a section of roof collapsed.

Town Manager Stuart Beckley on Friday said the engineering firm Tighe & Bond was paid $1,700 to estimate the cost to demolish the three-story brick building.

The Town Meeting packet published Friday includes a letter, addressed to the buildings co-owner, Daniel Barenboym, from a different engineering firm, Consulting Structural Engineer Inc., that says the cost to rehabilitate the building would far exceed the cost to demolish.

Barenboym has objected to the demolition order. He told the Selectboard last month he plans to fix the building and could take legal action against the town to prevent its demolition.

Included in the $418,500 demolition cost is $150,000 for removal of hazardous materials possibly including but not limited to asbestos. Preparation prior to demolition will cost $12,000, the Tighe & Bond estimate says.

The Ware Finance Committee was scheduled to meet earlier this week to possibly make a recommendation on the funding request, but lack of a quorum caused their meetings cancellation.

Mondays special Town Meeting will convene outside at the high school football field, 237 West St., starting at 6:30 p.m.

See the article here:
Estimate is $418.5K to demolish condemned Ware building; Town Meeting will debate expense Monday - masslive.com

Earle Kimel|Sarasota Herald-Tribune

VENICE The owners of a home built by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers in 1927 received the blessing of the Venice Architectural Review Board Thursday to demolish it and replace it with a newer structure.

Homeowner Jack Sullivan, who was present in City Council chambers as the city conducted its first hybrid in-person/online meeting, told the board that when he and his wife, Genice, bought the structure at 233 Pensacola Road from the Federal National Mortgage Association in January 2014, the intention was to restore it.

It would cost in excess of $300,000 to renovate this house, said Sullivan, who has already sunk money into a variety of improvements.

Major flaws now includea leaky roof that needs to be replaced and soft floors, indicating dry rot.

Its a bottomless pit, he later added. We bought it from the resolution trust because nobody wanted it.

Instead of speaking during the presentation by his contractor, Gregg Hassler, and attorney, Jackson Boone, Sullivan spoke during public comment, after several speakers urged the board to deny the request.

Curt and Tommye Whittaker, who own a home at 613 Venice Ave.that was built by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers in 1926, both said the home should be kept.

Curt Whittaker said that, at the least, Hassler should have provided estimates of the cost to rehabilitate the home instead of simply saying the house was beyond reasonable repair and that it was time to go.

Hasslernoted that he had participated in the restoration of other structures built when the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers commissioned John Nolen to design the city of Venice notably Lunas Restaurant on Nokomis AvenueNorthand the dental office of his son, Gregg Hassler Jr., on Milan Avenue.

In contrast, there were too many structural problems in the house at 233 Pensacola Road, he said.

Boone, who attended the hybrid meeting via Zoom, while his father, Jeff Boone, and Hassler were in council chambers, noted that there were other considerations, such as the fact that the structure's position on the property placed it roughly three feet from the alley.

While the home is one of the original ones built by the Brotherhood and it is listed as a contributing resource to the 2010 inclusion of the John Nolen Plan for Venice being listed as part of the National Register of Historic Places, it is not historic on its own merit.

Ultimately, the review board voted4-2 to approve of the structure's demolition.

It continued until Aug. 27 a public hearing on the Sullivans proposal to replace it with a two-story home similar to those built on the opposite side of Pensacola Road, in the Courtyards of Venice.

Hassler was the developer of that project.

Among other things, the applicant must produce revised elevations and a revised site plan, delineating how pool equipment will be screened from public view.

Overall, the hybrid meeting went smoothly, save for occasional dropouts from the microphones in council chambers.

The Venice Planning Commission will convene as part of a hybrid meeting on Aug. 18, and the Architectural Review Board will meet Aug 20 as part of a hybrid workshop, before the Venice City Council hostsa hybrid session Aug. 25.

Read the rest here:
Venice Architectural Advisory Board approves demolition of home built as city was founded - Sarasota Herald-Tribune

A request to demolish the Liberty theater building, a fixture in downtown Libertyville since 1937, has been denied by the village, but the owners plan to argue economic hardship as another way to get their wish.

Rhyan Holdings LLC, a family business that has owned the building at 708 N. Milwaukee Ave. for more than 50 years, contends the theater is not financially viable and the property would be more marketable with the building gone.

Rhyan has maintained that stance since it applied for permission to demolish the building a year ago. But no proposal for a replacement structure was offered, and having only an open lot to consider in a designated historic district was among the reasons the village rejected the demolition request.

As expected, the village board on Tuesday night upheld the recommendation to deny the request from the advisory historic preservation committee.

"I would like to see it preserved," said Trustee Rich Moras. "I also realize there would need to be a good economic reason to do so. The challenge I see with what's proposed here is we're only looking at half the equation."

After two public hearings last fall, the committee found that while the building isn't an architectural gem, it has enough historical and cultural significance that demolition would be detrimental to the public interest.

Building owners in a historic district need to secure a certificate of appropriateness to change or demolish a structure.

The village board decision to follow the recommendation sets the stage for the next act for the old movie house. Despite Tuesday's decision, the board agreed demolition can be considered later in the context of an application for a certificate of economic hardship.

"A certificate of economic hardship is justified," Rhyan's attorney David Meeks told the board. The green space would be a "temporary hold" while a buyer for the site is sought, he said.

"The property is in such condition my client feels it prudent from an economic and structural standpoint to take the building down while he works through the process of finding somebody to bring something that will be very enjoyable to the community," Meeks said.

The certificate of economic hardship would be reviewed by the historic preservation commission, which would issue another recommendation to the village board. Justification would include information such as real estate taxes, mortgage balance, appraisals, operating and maintenance expenses, and anything else needed to show whether the property can yield a reasonable return for current or future owners.

An alternate use for the property does not have to be presented, according to John Spoden, Libertyville's community development director. However, he noted, one of the reasons the commission recommended denying the demolition request was it didn't know what would replace the theater.

The theater had operated in recent years as the Liberty 1 & 2 Theaters but closed in late January. The building and 1.17-acre property is listed for $1.95 million.

Mayor Terry Weppler said a viable buyer was in hand but "backed away" at the last minute when the coronavirus pandemic struck.

Excerpt from:
Historic Libertyvlle theater to remain standing, but demolition push continues - Chicago Daily Herald

JAY The town has entered into the demolition process of the sewer conversion project.

Sewage started being sent July 29 from North Jay residences and business to the Livermore Falls Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Selectmen voted 4-1 on Monday to approve a change order for $65,515 for partial demolition of the North Jay Wastewater Treatment Facility, full demolition of another building and other aspects of the project.

The town had a new pump station and force-main system installed to connect the North Jay sewer system to the gravity sewer collection system near Jay Plaza in Jay Village. All of Jays sewage that typically would be treated now is being done in Livermore Falls.

Jay voters approved the project in September 2018 with the end result of abandoning the North Jay plant because it is expected to be more cost efficient than continuing to upgrade the facility. The project is still under budget, according to Sewer Superintendent Mark Holt.

Of the $65,515 change order, $55,130 is for partial demolition of the package treatment unit, which includes removing the panel where the door is located and a wall panel to the right of it so that a garage door can be installed in a subsequent step. The walls are 16 inches thick and full of rebar, Holt told selectmen.

Five or six interior walls will also be cut out.

There is a good possibility that the remainder of the unit could become a compost facility for sludge from the Livermore Falls plant, Holt said. The University of Maine in Orono has shown interest in such a project. Holt has asked a representative if a feasibility study, cost estimated and preliminary design could be done, he said.

Other parts of the change order include removal for an 8-foot by 8-foot chlorination building, ductwork modification in the chemical room, and add vents to two manholes.

Selectperson Judy Diaz opposed the change order while Selectpersons Gary McGrane, Tom Goding, Vice Chairman Tim DeMillo and Chairman Terry Bergeron supported it.

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Excerpt from:
Jay enters demolition process of the North Jay sewage treatment plant - The Bethel Citizen