159 passengers may have died in a crash in the Iju Ishaga area of Lagos, Nigeria. It seems that the airplanefrom a company called Dana Aircrashed into a two-story apartment building just after taking off. Witnesses say it hit a power line, but there is no official cause yet. (WARNING: STRONG IMAGES)

According to tweets and local blogs, witnesses are reporting burned people on the ground. The imagescaptured by witnesses in the area using cellphonesshow some dead bodies on the ground.

The airplane was an old McDonnell Douglas MD-83 with about 152 people on board, including passengers and crew. The MD-83aka DC-9-83started to fly in 1984, finishing production in 1999. It could carry 155 passengers while keeping a range of 2,504 nautical miles (2,881 miles, 4,636 kilometers).

There are no official casualty figures yet, according to Lagos emergency manager Femi Oke-Osanyinpolu, but it could be pretty high if you add the passengers to the people on the ground.

Firefighterstwo firetrucksand emergency medical teams, including 50 rescue people, are already in the area trying to rescue potential survivors from the plane and on the ground.

An AP reporter says that there are seats scattered across the area. It seems the apartment building crumbled as the firefighters were trying to put down the fiery flames and thousands of people looked from a distance.

The fire is pretty bad, as the airplane had just taken off from Lagos' airport and it was full of fuel.

It was en route to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, Nigeria's capital in the center of the country. Like Braslia in Brazil, Abuja is a planned city built to hold the country's administrative center from scratch. It became the official capital of the country in 1991, after construction begun in the 1980s. Lagos is still the largest city in Nigeria.

There's no official cause for the crash yet, although witnesses say the plane hit a power line. If that's true, it must have been on its way down, since the runway is not close enough to that part of the town. The weather conditions were good and visibility was 10+ kilometers (more than 6.2 miles).

Nigeria received a Category 1 status by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2010. That's their top safety rating, awarded to countries that can fly airplanes directly into US airspace. [Tondan and Opeyemi Blog, HuffPo and USA Today]

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159-Passenger Airliner Crashes Into Apartment Building (WARNING: Strong Images) [Breaking]

QUINCY -- Quincy Village plans to build a 36-unit apartment building for low income people age 55 years and older.

Construction on the apartment building is expected to begin this summer and be substantially complete in spring of 2013. All common areas will be handicap and mobility accessible. Some apartments will be designed for people with vision and hearing impairments.

"We are excited to be able to offer this new level of service to the residents of our area," stated Lou Varella, Executive Director of Quincy Village. "These well-designed, comfortable apartments will complement the continuum of care currently offered at Quincy Village and enable us to reach out to serve people with limited resources."

Presbyterian Senior Living of Dillsburg operates the 360-acre continuing care retirement community in Quincy Township near Waynesboro. Quincy Village provides skilled nursing and rehabilitation services, personal care, and independent living apartments and cottages. About half developed, the site has 173 cottages, 10 apartments, a 32-unit personal care center and 134-bed medical center.

The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency recently awarded federal low-income housing tax credits to the project.The tax credit program previously allowed development of low-income housing developments elsewhere in the county, including Hamilton Park Apartments east of Chambersburg and Sunset Court north of Chambersburg.

Enterprise Community Investment Inc. of Columbia, Md., is the for-profit partner financing the project and using the tax credits. Presbyterian Senior Living has worked with Enterprise on eight other projects, according to Varella.

Founded 30 years ago, Enterprise has raised and invested more than $11 billion in financing more than 300,000 affordable homes in communities across the nation.

Quincy Village acquired township approvals before seeking the housing credits, according to Quincy Township Supervisor Kerry Bumbaugh.

"They are set to go," he said.

Presbyterian Senior Living, founded in 1927, provides healthcare, housing and other services to more than 5,400 older adults in the mid-Atlantic region of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and southeastern Ohio. Their website is at http://www.presbyterianseniorliving.org.

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Quincy Village to build apartments for low income seniors

Updated: Thu May. 31 2012 07:19:06

ctvwinnipeg.ca

A fire led to the evacuation of a downtown apartment building in Winnipeg on Wednesday.

About 60 people were forced out from the building at 52 Edmonton Street after a fire in the building's attic area on Wednesday afternoon.

No injuries were reported, said fire officials.

Tenant Michael Potts was feeding his six-month-old boy when they were forced to leave in a hurry.

"I heard a knock on the door and I opened up the door and a guy said the roof was on fire," he said.

Brittany Hoorne and her roommate live in the suite below where the fire was burning.

"I hope my stuff doesn't get burnt up," she said.

Officials said one apartment was damaged by fire while several others were affected by water and smoke. They said Wednesday most tenants will have to find somewhere else to stay overnight.

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Fire forces evacuation of downtown Winnipeg apartment building

Construction continues on the Savory House, a three-story apartment building on University Drive. The project is the latest from former Starkville mayor Dan Camp. Camp owns nearly all of the properties in the Cotton District, a 95 percent student-residential and commercial neighborhood near campus. Photo by: Micah Green/Dispatch Staff

Enrollment at Mississippi State University is set to increase for the eighth consecutive year and, with no signs to indicate a change in pattern, University and Starkville developers are making strides to accommodate the continued student influx.

Construction on two new residence halls at MSU is scheduled to finish this summer. Oak Hall and Magnolia Hall, temporary names given to the nearly completed buildings, each will house more than 350 students.

Director of Housing and Residence Life Dr. Ann Bailey said she expects the new dorms to be at capacity by the beginning of the fall semester and she stressed the importance of providing students, especially freshmen, with a comfortable living experience.

Bailey said a housing experience could determine whether a new student stays at MSU or transfers to another school.

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Student housing boom: Innovation key to new developments

By KENNETH KNIGHT | The Tampa Tribune Published: May 30, 2012 Updated: May 30, 2012 - 12:00 AM

The construction of an apartment complex under way on Regents Park Drive is the first sign of multifamily housing in this New Tampa subdivision in at least a decade.

Tampa-based Bayfair Development is building 168 apartments on eight acres adjacent to the Pebble Creek Golf Club, company president and founder Michael Morris said last week.

It is the second apartment complex being built in a two-mile radius just south of the Hillsborough-Pasco county line.

The Bayfair multifamily community is expected to begin signing up tenants by late October or early November, Morris said.

"We will have a building ready for occupancy by the end of the year," he said.

The complex will have one- and two-bedroom apartments with standard appliances and a washer and dryer in each unit.

The size of the one-bedroom apartments will range from 800 square feet to 850 square feet, and the two-bedroom dwellings will top out at about 1,100 square feet.

No lease prices have been set, Morris said, "But we will be competitive in the marketplace."

The complex will be marketed to young professionals, upwardly mobile residents and empty-nesters interested in living in an active community in a suburban setting.

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Apartments touted as sign of strengthening economy

(Credit: Cherri Gregg/KYW Newsradio)

By Cherri Gregg

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) A West Philadelphia nonprofit held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday to mark the completion of the $7.5 million renovation of a historic apartment building. Its one of the first major investment this area has seen in years.

Originally built in 1912, this is the second facelift for the California Mission-style Von Lour Building in the past 20 years.

Were not talking about gentrification here, were just talking about transforming a community, says Marcus Allen, President and CEO of ACHIEVEability, a group that provides affordable housing to low income families. He says the 30-year-old organization used a combination of historic and federal tax credits and banking contributions to fund the multi-million renovation.

It has 24 units. Two of the units are handicap accessible. As part of the construction, we were able to build an elevator for if we have families with disabilities.

Allen says the goal is to help restore the area near 60th Street Station to its former glory.

This community has suffered from the building of the EL; many businesses and affluent people left the community left because of that. I think now we are in a cycle where we can begin to repay the community for the sacrifices they made.

Allen says ACHIEVEability impacted the Haddington and Cobbs Creek communities by increasing property values by more $300 million over the past three decades. The group owns a number of properties in the area and provides social services to formerly homeless single-parent families. For more info on ACHIEVEability, go to http://www.achieveability.org.

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West Philadelphia Nonprofit Unveils $7.5 Million Apartment Building Renovation

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS chats with some of the residents of Vergennes Senior Housing before a ceremony Monday marking the completion of the affordable housing complex on Armory Lane. Independent photo/Trent Campbell

VERGENNES Larry Carlson was on the waiting list for an apartment in the Vergennes Senior Housing building for more than three years. Once construction began, he checked back every week to see if he would get in. Now a resident of the newly opened facility off Armory Lane, he is thrilled with his experience.

As soon as the architect first came out, I was over to the offices and signed up. I was here every single week to check and see how the progress was coming, said Carlson.

At an open house Monday morning, Addison County Community Trust (ACCT) Executive Director Terry McKnight said that Carlsons satisfaction with the project was typical.

You can look around and see the faces of the people that now live in that building. If you talk to any of them, theyre really enjoying it, McKnight said.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., joined McKnight and representatives of Housing Vermont, ACCT, and other project contributors to celebrate the opening of Vergennes Senior Housing. The $6.2 million facility will provide 25 affordable and energy-efficient apartments to seniors.

The facility was paid for through a mix of public and private funds, from Peoples United Bank, various Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs, Vermont Housing Finance Agency, Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, Vermont Community Development Program and Efficiency Vermont.

Sanders secured $380,000 for the project in a HUD grant.

This is exactly the kind of housing we should be building, Sanders said. Not only does it meet the significant need for quality and affordable senior housing , but it does it in a very energy-efficient manner.

Nancy Owens, president of Housing Vermont, acknowledged the importance of creating affordable housing.

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Seniors enjoying new city housing: officials point to project as a model

Syracuse, NY -- An $8.1 million apartment building for homeless veterans is planned to replace the vacant former Jewish Community Center on East Genesee Street in Syracuse.

Housing Visions, a non-profit that builds homes for low-income residents, is teaming up with the Veterans Administration on the project, which will be called VanKeuren Square. It will be at the T-intersection with Fellows Avenue on the city's East Side.

The plans are to demolish the 132,293 square foot brick building and replace it with a two-story structure with 50 apartments, said Ben Lockwood, the non-profit's director of development. The building will have 44 one-bedroom and six two-bedroom apartments and total 45,000 square feet.

Housing Visions is funding the project with a mixture of low-income tax credits, state homeless housing assistance and a city loan, Lockwood said. The majority of tenants will be referred by the VA, which will provide 25 housing vouchers lasting 15 years.

Housing Visions is paying more than $100,000 in back taxes and will pay about $25,000 a year in taxes, more than the current tax levy on the property. The taxes will go up slightly each year as rents increase, Lockwood said.

The project is part of the VA's goal to eliminate homelessness among veterans, Lockwood said. The VA will provide services to the veterans to get back on their feet.

Housing Visions has previously built veterans housing on East Fayette Street and at the former Cherry Hill public housing site.

"Absolutely, there's a pretty acute need in the community," Lockwood said.

Housing Visions hopes to close on the property in July from its last owner, an arm of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. It will take about 30 days to clean up asbestos and lead before demolition.

The new project has final planning and zoning approval from the city. Lockwood says he sees no obstacles in getting final approval for the demolition and construction.

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New 50-unit apartment building for homeless veterans planned for East Genesee Street in Syracuse

BY MATTHEW BRUCE Correspondent May 18, 2012 8:26PM

A rendering of the proposed Boulevard at Central Station apartment building in Tinley Park. | Supplied photo

storyidforme: 30720624 tmspicid: 10272743 fileheaderid: 4733890

Developers of a nearly $35 million mixed-used project proposed for downtown Tinley Park introduced their vision to the villages plan commission Thursday.

The development team laid out construction plans for The Boulevard at Central Station, a five-story building that would include 167 apartment units and 24,500 square feet of commercial space.

The project, to be located along South Street between 67th Court and 174th Street, would include one-, two- and three-bedroom units that eventually can be converted to condominiums if market conditions dictate. The majority of the apartments would be two-bedroom units.

The estimated cost of $34.8 million makes it essential to get the project rolling while interest rates are favorable, officials said.

We need to start this year. We want to start this year, project attorney David Sosin told the plan commission. Of course, one of the key issues for a developer are interest rates, which are wonderful right now. Next year, we dont know.

Bob Hansen, the main developer, said in April he first approached village officials in 2002 with the idea to build on the vacant strip. Fluctuations in the real estate market changed the plans over the years, with developers submitting six major plans to village officials, Sosin said.

This plan has been in the works for quite some time, as you know, he said. Weve weathered the worst downturn in residential housing in memory. ... We think were there today, and really ready to go with the plan.

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Plan for downtown Tinley apartment project ‘really ready to go’

An unknown buyer has paid over $90 million for an unfinished penthouse apartment, setting a new mark for the priciest home in New York City. The developer of a new high-rise building under construction on157 West 57th Street would not reveal the exact price for the 11,000-square foot, two-story penthouse, but did tell The New York Times that it was below the elusive $100 million mark that real estate watchers expect to be broken any day now. It breaks the previous New York City record of $88 million paid by a Russian billionaire to buy a Central Park West apartment for his daughter last year. On a per-square foot basis, however, this is a much better deal. The latest sale went for about $8,000 a square foot, while the Central Park West pad went for more than $13,000.

The new building, called One57, will eventually rise to 90 floors over Midtown Manhattan, making it one of the tallest residential buildings in the world. With more than half apartments still be to sold, it's possible that the $100 million mark could be surpassed on one of the lower floors before construction is even finished. Two other New York apartments have gone for more than $50 million in just the last week suggesting there is plenty of one-percenters looking to pay top dollar for a new pad.The buyer of the One57 penthouse was not revealed, but the developer said that the family was not from anywhere in the former Soviet Union and it is someone that people would recognize.

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$90 Million Apartment Sets a New Real Estate Record