Cladding under suspicion as four die in Valencia tower blaze  Global Construction Review

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Cladding under suspicion as four die in Valencia tower blaze - Global Construction Review

Feb 15, 2024, 5:22pmUpdated 14h ago

By: News 12 Staff

The Doe Fund, a homeless services nonprofit, says construction has begun on a new building for those looking for affordable housing in the Bronx.

The new building in Norwood is said to bring over 100 apartments to Webster Avenue.

All of the units will either be affordable or supportive housing for Bronx residents experiencing homelessness. The new building will come with amenities including a gym, 24/7 security, on-site counseling and more.

The Doe Fund says the building is expected to open in 2025.

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Construction begins on new apartment building coming to Norwood in 2025 - News 12 Bronx

NYC Building Permits Spike But Only for Homes, Not Apartments  Commercial Observer

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NYC Building Permits Spike But Only for Homes, Not Apartments - Commercial Observer

Nine states have signed a joint agreement to accelerate the transition to residential building electrification by significantly expanding the use of heat pumps to meet heating, cooling, and water heating demand.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by directors of environmental agencies from California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Rhode Island. These states set a shared goal for heat pumps to meet at least 65% of residential-scale HVAC and water heating shipments by 2030 and 90% by 2040.

Participating states will collaborate to collect market data, track progress, and develop an action plan within a year to support the goals. The agreement emphasizes collaboration with key stakeholders, including heat pump manufacturers and HVAC installers.

The states also committed to promote installation of zero-emission, grid-interactive technologies in existing state buildings. States will aim to direct at least 40% of efficiency and electrification investments to benefit low-income households.

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Nine states pledge to transition to heat pumps for residential HVAC and water heating - Building Design + Construction

Construction to begin on 164-unit affordable housing property in Rosemount  St. Paul Pioneer Press

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Construction to begin on 164-unit affordable housing property in Rosemount - St. Paul Pioneer Press

FOX LAKE -- A 72-unit apartment complex addition will be going up in Fox Lake following the citys approval on Dec. 20.

Fox Lake City Administrator Kelly Crombie said construction on the complex would begin in 2024. Dennis Hermans, who built the original Fox Crossings project, will be doing the addition to Fox Crossings on Highway 33.

The addition will feature two-bedroom apartments in six- and 12-unit buildings, Crombie said.

Another big event for Fox Lake is the Clausen Park project, which will be completed this year, Crombie said.

This will be a major revitalization of our park in partnership with the state (Department of Natural Resources), Crombie said. We will have a fishing pier, new restrooms, walking trails, etc. It will be a good project.

Fox Lake will also continue to have free pool sponsorship days this summer, Crombie said. It is the second year the service will be offered to those using Fox Lakes community pool. Fox Lake businesses sponsored more than 25 days when the pool was free for use last summer.

Crombie said no new businesses are expected in 2024 in Fox Lake and there are no road projects but there will be work on planning for Highway 33 to be redone in 2027-28.

Follow Terri Pederson on Twitter @tlp53916 or call 920-356-6760

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Construction on a new apartment complex to begin in Fox Lake - WiscNews

After an ultimate-hour storm of protests failed to save Park Slopes iconic Grand Prospect Hall, the wedding and event hall that had stood for over a century was razed in a jiffy, but the apartment building that will replace it is taking some time.

The foundation has been laid to comply with the deadline to get the 421-a tax break, but nothing has risen above ground level at 263 Prospect Avenue. Department of Buildings records show a permit was issued to lay foundations in 2022 to comply with the 421-a deadline.

However, other permits, including a new-building permit for the five-story, 147-unit complex, have not yet been issued. No workers were on site when Brownstoner visited on two occasions.

Meanwhile, the site has racked up complaints from neighbors regarding lighting and debris under the scaffolding, and violations from city agencies including for construction safety. The sites owner, Gowanus Cubes LLC, has also been hit with multiple lawsuits filed by workers who allege they have been injured by unsafe site conditions.

Plans show the Hill West Architects-designed complexs 147 apartments will be spread between the ground and the fifth floor. There will be 180 parking spaces in the cellar.

To get the 421-a tax break, 20 to 30 percent of the units will be aimed at households making around 130 percent of Area Median Income if they are rentals. There is no indication of whether the building will be rentals or condos.

A graffiti-covered rendering attached to the sites construction fence shows the wide, mid-rise building will stretch along a good part of the block and have a glass-covered facade with slim vertical masonry supports or paneling. It has a modern, sleek, and reflective appearance similar to other Hill West-designed structures in Brooklyn. These include the Olympia development in Dumbo, a tower at 123 Linden Boulevard in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, and Coney Islands Ocean Drive, a development the architects site says is bringing Miami sophistication to the boardwalk area.

The new development replaces the famed 1902 Renaissance Revival banquet hall (a rebuild of its 1890s predecessor) that was demolished in 2022. Michael and Alice Halkias had owned Grand Prospect Hall for decades, but following Michaels death during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic Alice sold the building for $22.5 million.

The new owner, Gowanus Cubes LLC, promptly applied for demolition permits. While locals mounted a campaign to save the building by getting it designated by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, they were ultimately unsuccessful.

The $22.5 million deed transfer also included a number of other sites around the hall that were owned by the Halkias Prospect Hall Realty Inc., including three 19th century townhouses on 16th Street. The houses at 188, 190, and 196 16th Street were all recently demolished to make way for the new development. Plans show the lots, which sit between existing houses on 16th Street, will be used for green space.

Owner and developer Gowanus Cubes LLC is run by brothers Angelo and George Rigas, according to city records. Their father, Gregory Rigas, is behind other Brooklyn projects, including a tower two blocks away at 574 4th Avenue, the Real Deal reported when Grand Prospect Hall changed hands.

PropertyShark shows the family is tied to dozens of properties across the borough, and appears to be behind ARC Electrical & Mechanical Contractors Corp.

The contracting firm has been awarded city contracts through competitive bidding, but has also faced a number of lawsuits. Gregory Rigas had his master electricians license revoked for bribing a public official, court records show.

[Photos by Susan De Vries unless otherwise noted]

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Park Slope's Grand Prospect Hall-Replacing Build Hits Snags - Brownstoner

firefighters mop up a vegetation fire near the intersection of Interstate 8 and Interstate 15 Monday. Photo via @SDFD X

Firefighters extinguished a half-acre brush fire Monday before it reached any structures north of Interstate 8 and east of Interstate 15 in San Diego.

San Diego Fire Rescue Department said the vegetation fire was reported at 11:48 a.m. New Years Day at 4510 Alvarado Canyon Road, near the College area, with firefighters arriving on the scene at noon.

San Diego Fire Department stopped the fire before it reached an apartment building under construction, according to fire officials. Mop operations were being completed.

No injuries were reported and no structures were damaged.

Units assigned included one division chief, two helicopters, five engines, three battalion chiefs, two brush rigs and 42 personnel.

City News Service contributed to this article.

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Crews Quickly Put Out Brush Fire Near Apartment Building Under Construction - Times of San Diego

After four years of municipal review, neighborhood opposition and litigation, construction on a controversial apartment project in the Fruit Belt across from the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus is ready to begin.

Symphony Property Management is preparing to start work this month on The Lawrence, a $50 million venture that will bring 132 residential units to Michigan Avenue when it is completed in two years. The company secured $38.15 million in lending for the project through Northwest Bank late last month, plus additional financing from Tompkins Community Bank, enabling BRD Construction to begin work.

The News' Buffalo Next team covers the changing Buffalo Niagara economy. Get the news in your inbox 5 days a week.

This achievement positions us to break ground in January 2024, realizing our vision of creating an unparalleled living experience in downtown Buffalo, said Symphony owner Timothy Leboeuf.

Plans call for a 129,000-square-foot complex at 983 Michigan Ave., consisting of a five-story wing on Michigan and a four-story wing on Maple, stretching parallel along both streets, with a small connector between them. The complex would include a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom market-rate apartments, with 78 underground parking spaces and 55 more spaces on the medical campus.

The project is designed to provide additional housing options for the area, and is partially aimed at medical students and employees of the medical campus institutions. It will include some fully furnished units with concierge amenities, and will also cater to the needs of long-term visitors of the medical campus.Construction will take 18 to 24 months.

But its been a long and bumpy road to get to this point. I was confident we would get this deal in the ground once we got the approvals from the city, LeBoeuf said. I didnt expect it to take another three years.

Timothy LeBoeufs Symphony Property Management and two affiliates have applied for demolition permits to take down a pair of dilapidated houses on Michigan Avenue and Maple Street.

First proposed in summer 2019, the project quickly met with opposition from some Fruit Belt residents and advocates, who complained about development encroaching on the historic lower-income neighborhood and potentially pushing community members out. They said it would not be affordable to those who live in the neighborhood, and was also too big and imposing, because it violated the Green Code height limits.

The developer responded by tweaking the project plan several times, lowering the height on Maple, shuffling units from one street to the other, pulling back part of the facade, and adding parking, among other changes. Resistance continued, but eventually, what was then a $25 million project won 13 zoning variances including for height and width and then Planning Board approval in June 2020.

Fruit Belt resident Elverna D. Gidney and retired University at Buffalo professor Lorna Peterson quickly sued to block the project, claiming that the city agencies had improperly approved many of the variances and failed to consider proper standards, tests and environmental impacts.

A state judge ruled that Peterson lacked legal standing to sue since she doesnt live in the Fruit Belt, and then eventually dismissed the entire case. Gidney and her attorney, Arthur Giacalone, appealed, but the state Appellate Division upheld the lower court ruling.

Meanwhile, Symphony still needed to acquire one more city-owned property on Maple, on top of 15 parcels it already owned, and the city was now demanding a much higher price after seeing what properties were going for. That was resolved in 2022, with Symphony paying $125,000 for 244 Maple.

Finally, Symphony earlier this year had to demolish a couple of dilapidated houses at 995 Michigan and 240 Maple, which stood in the way.

It didnt hamper the company, LeBoeuf said. Id say we learned a lot through the process, faced each challenge that was thrown at us and are ready to start building.

Reach Jonathan D. Epstein at (716) 849-4478 or jepstein@buffnews.com.

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Construction to begin on Lawrence apartments in Buffalo - Buffalo News

A report from Realtor.com reveals that Austin, Texas was one of the three U.S. cities with the most dramatic drops in rent prices in November 2023 compared to the same month in the previous year. Shonda Novak explains the reports findings in the Austin American-Statesman.

After hitting record highs in 2022, Earlier this year, local housing experts predicted that 2023 would bring some relief for renters due to slower job growth mainly in the tech sector and a tide of new apartment supply that was expected to exceed demand. However, Austin rents are still around 25 percent more expensive, on average, than in 2019.

Experts expect rents to continue to decline as more multifamily construction makes its way onto the rental market. Multifamily (new construction) completions, the vast majority of which are used for rentals, picked up 16.1% year over year in the Austin metro area year to date (January-October).

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Austin Rents Fall as Apartment Construction Accelerates - Planetizen