Brandon Henry figured the Silver Line would be up and running by the time the 404-unit apartment building he was constructing in Tysons Corner was complete.

I never thought we would beat Metro, he said. Never, ever.

But beat it he did. The Ascent, a 25-story high-rise, welcomed its first tenants in April.

Not only is the building the first of its kindwithin close proximity of a new Silver Line station, but it is a test case for one of the most central questions about the future of Tysons: Now that the area has Metro, will people choose tolive there?

Tysons already has a citys worth of office space, shopping and jobs.But it has hardly any people. In 2010, when the county passed a nearly 250-page plan calling for the urbanization of Tysons, only about 17,000 people lived there. Thats up to21,228 according to the latest estimate. Still, there are3.39 employees there for every resident more than double the ratio in Arlington.

The countys plan for aMetro-accessible, urban Tysons calls for100,000 residents, and Henrys building is the first of more than a dozen major projects and more than 10,000 apartments or condos targeted for empty parking lots and industrial properties surrounding the Metro stations.

So far Henry, a managing director at Greystar, a South Carolina firm with offices in Tysons, likes what he sees. About 30 percent of the building is leased to a mix of people, most of whom work in Tysons. The project is leasing at a pace that he says will have the building filled in another two years.

He and the company are confident enough that next month they will begin work ona second building even closer to the Spring Hill Metro Station station, on a mostly empty lot. That building, designed by R2L Architects of Georgetown, will add another 400 units.

Greystar is attracting residents with many of the amenities that are already popular in newer buildings in Arlington and the District: common areas that offer a rooftop pool, fire pits, pool tables and numerous grills and entertaining areas. It is about a quarter mile from the entrance to the Spring Hill station.

The rapid construction of new housing surprised Stuart Mendelsohn, a real estate attorney and former member of the board of supervisors who helped shaped the Tysons plan.

View original post here:
With Silver Line, will people live in Tysons Corner?

OAKLAND -- A one-alarm blaze gutted an apartment and damaged five other units at a seven-story building in downtown Oakland on Friday afternoon, fire officials said.

No one was injured in the fire, which broke out about 12:25 p.m. on the first floor of the building in the 1300 block of Webster Street, where construction was taking place, said Battalion Chief Coy Justice.

The blaze quickly spread to a second-floor unit above the construction and then to other units above that, up to the seventh floor.

Justice said a handful of workers renovating the building's first floor made it safely out before fire crews arrived.

So did Chris Kahapea, 26, and his girlfriend Emmy Oto, 18, who live in an apartment on the third floor.

Kahapea said that when the fire alarm sounded, he grabbed Oto and the couple ran quickly down stairs to the first floor, not even stopping to grab a phone.

"I could smell the smoke and feel the heat on my arm as we ran," Kahapea said.

On the ground they joined about two-dozen residents who had been in the building with the blaze broke out. They watched fire crews douse the blaze using two aerial ladders and a few hoses.

The fire was under control by 12:53 p.m., and residents were allowed back inside.

A few minutes later Kahapea and Oto returned to the street, Oto clutching her phone tightly.

Read more:
Crews control 1-alarm blaze at apartment building in downtown Oakland

Construction is still a male-dominated industry, but two women are calling the shots at some of the largest construction projects in South Florida.

Norma Pendo Knott, senior project manager for Suffolk Construction, manages construction of Sinai Residences, a $250 million continuing care community in Boca Raton for the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County.

Katie Chesney has been project manager for Palm Beach Outlets in West Palm Beach and Toll Brothers' Royal Palm Polo single-family home community in Royal Palm Beach.

Tricia Fitzgerald leads the $4 million restoration of Beach Club Tower I in Hallandale for the Fort Lauderdale office of Thornton Tomasetti, an international engineering design and analysis firm.

Lori Douvris, project manager at Stiles Corp. in Fort Lauderdale, manages a $42 million, 261-unit apartment project, Elan 16Forty in Victoria Park near downtown Fort Lauderdale, for Greystone, a developer of multifamily housing.

While there are no data showing the growth of women in top construction roles, those in the industry say they've seen a change.

"I've seen women being promoted to management positions in construction roles that were typically male-dominated," said Ayisha Gordon, incoming president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction. "Women are in those roles; they're out in the field; they're on the site; they're building,.

Those who entered the industry a decade or more ago often were relegated to office-work roles before their management skills were recognized. Newer entrants join construction firms out of college after earning a construction management or similar degree.

The job is lucrative, with construction managers making an average of $49 an hour in Palm Beach County and $42 in Broward, according to the state. On an annual basis, that's $87,000 to $100,000.

Still, women remain rare in the roles Knott and Chesney fill, managing day-to-day activities on the construction site, making decisions about supplies and working to stay on budget.

Continued here:
Women lead top construction projects

A plan for a large new apartment building, the second to come forward since commercial properties on City Avenue in Bala Cynwyd were rezoned two years ago, will be up for review next week in Lower Merion Township.

A tentative sketch plan for a six-story, 207-unit apartment building at 150 Monument Road will be before the townships planning commission Monday, July 28.

With planners recommendation, it would move forward to the Building and Planning Committee of the board of commissioners two days later.

Also next week, an ordinance to rezone properties on Bala Avenue under a new Bala Village zoning district will get a first look. The Building and Planning Committee will be asked to consider authorizing advertisement of a public hearing on the ordinance for possible adoption on Sept. 17.

Also in Bala Cynwyd: Lower Merion School Board discusses potential bus parking in Bala

Monument KPG III LLCs plan proposes a new residential building on part of its seven-acre parcel at 150 Monument Road, to join an existing six-story office building.

A new four-story parking garage would also be constructed to serve the office building, while there will be two levels of parking, 207 spaces, in the apartment building. In all, 673 parking spaces would be provided on the parcel, exceeding the 639 required, according to the plan on file with the township.

Drawings with the plan show a center courtyard with a pool deck in the residential building. The parking garage would include about 3,900 square feet of commercial or restaurant space.

The development proposal follows by a little more than a year a first apartment project under 2012s comprehensive rezoning of the City Avenue commercial district in Lower Merion to permit redevelopment of what was seen to be an office park and retail area in need of revitalization. A goal of rezoning, while permitting greater density and building height, was to transform the district over time into a 24/7 live-work-play environment, including new residential development.

Nolen Properties plan for an 11-story, 284-unit apartment complex on five acres at 335 Righters Ferry Road was first out of the gate. It received tentative sketch plan approval in March 2013. Under that plan, which is expected to come back for more detailed preliminary plan review in coming months, the historic Miller-Bell House, a farmhouse whose core dates to 1695, would be preserved on the property. Continued...

Read the rest here:
Lower Merion planners to discuss new Bala Cynwyd apartments plan next week

Monday, July 21, 12:38 PM EDT

Compiled by Max Marbut

The project, Cathedral Manor, was sponsored by St. Johns Cathedral. The site for the building was bounded by Ashley, Church, Market and Newnan streets. The property was at the time occupied by 16 wood-frame buildings, mostly multistory rooming houses.

The 50-year loan would finance acquisition of the property and construction of the building. The loan was granted, at 3.58 percent interest, by the Senior Citizen Housing Loan Program of the Community Facilities Administration.

Monthly rental rates for the unfurnished apartments were set at $72 for the 166 efficiency units and $96 for the 70 one-bedroom units and $135 for the 11 two-bedroom units, said attorney John D. Corse, who was chairman of the building committee for St. Johns Cathedral. The rest of the apartments would be used for maintenance personnel and rental rates included utilities, he said.

Preliminary plans called for a building of reinforced concrete. Inside, the design included a hobby room, a snack bar and reading, television and lounge rooms. A laundry room also would be available and it was pointed out the building would be air-conditioned.

Cathedral Manor had been planned in Downtown, Corse said, to make shopping, recreational and church facilities convenient for the residents so theycould remain in the mainstream of the community.

By providing this housing specifically for elderly people, the church is nurturing its responsibility to the community by offering safe, convenient and economical housing.

Along with our new Sunday school building, construction of this project is an indication of our confidence in the future and vitality of Jacksonvilles downtown area, said the Very Rev. Robert R. Parks, dean of St. Johns Cathedral.

A delegation of Eighth Street business owners seeking City Commission endorsement of making the cross-town roadway part of the state primary road system so it could be improved were told by Mayor-Commissioner Haydon Burns, the Democratic Party nominee for governor, they probably wouldnt get such a state action any time soon.

Read more from the original source:
50 years ago: St. Johns Cathedral receives federal loan for apartments

Brisk leasing of upscale apartments at the newly opened Bakery Living complex in the East End is prompting developers to push up construction of a second apartment building by about a year.

It's another signal of the appetite for apartments in Pittsburgh, where hundreds of high-end units catering largely to young professionals and empty nesters are being built from the ground up in areas including the East End, South Side and Strip District.

Demand has been better than expected, Todd Reidbord, president of Shadyside-based developer Walnut Capital, said of leasing at Bakery Living's first building along Penn Avenue.

Reidbord said about 75 percent of the building's 175 apartments are leased. It opened in June, with rents ranging from $1,150 to $3,200 a month.

Reidbord briefed the Pittsburgh Planning Commission about the proposed second building at a meeting Tuesday. Like the first, it would be U-shaped, five stories tall and have 175 apartments ranging from so-called micros to two-bedroom units.

It's essentially a twin of the other building, Reidbord said.

The second building would be accented with different colors than the first, including slate blue, gray, white and black. Reidbord said it also might offer more fitness amenities, including yoga and Pilates classes.

Planning Commissioner Lucy Spruill voiced concern that only four of the units would be fully accessible to people with disabilities meeting minimum requirements.

I would like to see you do more than the bare minimum, said Spruill, who uses a wheelchair.

Construction is expected to cost up to $25 million. Pending approvals, work could begin in November or December and be completed by June 2016, Reidbord said.

Go here to see the original:
Strong demand drives East End apartment developers to expedite next project

A seven-story modular apartment building called the Stack, left, is shown next to a decades-old residence in the Innwood neighborhood of New York. (AP photo: Bebeto Matthews)

NEW YORK In a city piled high with ambitious architecture, a seven-floor structure off the beaten path boasts a distinction of its own: Its billed as the first multistory, modular-built apartment building to open in the nations apartment capital.

Called the Stack, the building near Manhattans northern tip aims to show that while stackable apartments can save builders time and money, modular doesnt have to mean monotonous. Its chunky front embraces its building-block roots, but the apartments interiors defy their boxy components with varied floor plans and stylish fixtures and finishes.

Modular construction assembling a building from prefabricated sections instead of building from scratch on-site has been around for decades, but interest has grown recently around the country and in its biggest city. The worlds tallest modular building, a 32-story apartment tower, is rising in Brooklyn.

Advocates say modular building can trim costs and timetables module factories dont have to worry about bad weather and make construction more consistent. Still, the technique presents special challenges (say, driving a 750-square-foot box over the George Washington Bridge), and not all projects have proven speedy. Some have faced pushback from labor interests, not to mention an image problem: The method is sometimes perceived as cheap and, well, cookie-cutter.

Prefab and modular have somewhat of a stigma associated with it, in some peoples minds, whether its appropriate or not, developer Jeffrey M. Brown said. But this approach can really produce cool buildings.

Jeffrey M. Brown walks July 9 through a two-bedroom apartment in the seven-story modular apartment building, called the Stack, that he co-developed in the Innwood neighborhood of New York. (AP photo: Bebeto Matthews)

Some key facts about modular buildings (in stackable form):

The lay of the land

Modular apartment buildings date at least to Montreals Habitat 67 complex, built for the 1967 Worlds Fair and still a desirable address. Section-stacking construction is still a relatively rarity in the U.S.: about 1 percent of the overall market outside single-family homes, according to the Modular Building Institute, a trade association. But interest has grown in the last 20 years, as some developers embraced the efficiency of piecing together components that come complete with floors, electrical systems, appliances even towel bars to create apartments, hotels, hospitals and more. New York Citys Department of Buildings says 39 modular projects have at least submitted paperwork.

See the original post:
Modular apartments stack up in Manhattan

NYC apartment house seeks to show how modular design stacks up in the quest for cool

NEW YORK (AP) -- In a city piled high with ambitious architecture, a seven-floor structure off the beaten path boasts a distinction of its own: Its billed as the first multistory, modular-built apartment building to open in the nations apartment capital.

Called the Stack, the building near Manhattans northern tip aims to show that while stackable apartments can save builders time and money, modular doesnt have to mean monotonous. Its chunky front embraces its building-block roots, but the apartments interiors defy their boxy components with varied floor plans and stylish fixtures and finishes.

Modular construction -- assembling a building from prefabricated sections instead of building from scratch on-site -- has been around for decades, but interest has grown recently around the country and in its biggest city. The worlds tallest modular building, a 32-story apartment tower, is rising in Brooklyn.

Advocates say modular building can trim costs and timetables -- module factories dont have to worry about bad weather -- and make construction more consistent. Still, the technique presents special challenges (say, driving a 750-square-foot box over the George Washington Bridge), and not all projects have proven speedy. Some have faced pushback from labor interests, not to mention an image problem: The method is sometimes perceived as cheap and, well, cookie-cutter.

"Pre-fab and modular have somewhat of a stigma associated with it, in some peoples minds, whether its appropriate or not," developer Jeffrey M. Brown said. But "this approach can really produce cool buildings."

Poll shows few Americans check doctors vitals before letting them check theirs

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Americans consider insurance and a good bedside manner in choosing a doctor, but will that doctor provide high-quality care? A new poll shows that people dont know how to determine that.

Being licensed and likable doesnt necessarily mean a doctor is up to date on best practices. But consumers arent sure how to uncover much more. Just 22 percent of those questioned are confident they can find information to compare the quality of local doctors, according to the poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Today, 6 in 10 people say they trust doctor recommendations from friends or family, and nearly half value referrals from their regular physician. The poll found far fewer trust quality information from online patient reviews, health insurers, ratings web sites, the media, even the government.

Continue reading here:
World in Brief

NEW YORK In a city piled high with ambitious architecture, a seven-floor structure off the beaten path boasts a distinction: It's billed as the first multistory, modular-built apartment building to open in the nation's apartment capital.

Called the Stack, the building near Manhattan's northern tip aims to show that while stackable apartments can save builders time and money, modular doesn't have to mean monotonous. Its chunky front embraces its building-block roots, but the apartments' interiors defy their boxy components with varied floor plans and stylish fixtures and finishes.

Modular construction assembling a building from prefabricated sections instead of building from scratch on-site has been around for decades, but interest has grown recently around the country and in its biggest city. The world's tallest modular building, a 32-story apartment tower, is rising in Brooklyn.

Advocates say modular building can trim costs and timetables module factories don't have to worry about bad weather and make construction more consistent.

The technique presents special challenges, say, driving a 750-square-foot box over the George Washington Bridge, and not all projects have proven speedy. Some have faced pushback from labor interests, not to mention an image problem: The method is sometimes perceived as cheap and, well, cookie-cutter.

Pre-fab' and modular' have somewhat of a stigma associated with it, in some people's minds, whether it's appropriate or not, developer Jeffrey M. Brown said. But this approach can really produce cool buildings.

Modular apartment buildings date at least to Montreal's Habitat 67 complex, built for the 1967 World's Fair and still a desirable address.

Section-stacking construction is a rarity in the United States: about 1 percent of the market outside single-family homes, according to the Modular Building Institute, a trade association. Interest has grown in the past 20 years, however, as some developers embraced the efficiency of piecing together components that come complete with floors, electrical systems, appliances even towel bars to make apartments, hotels and hospitals.

New York City's Department of Buildings says 39 modular projects have at least submitted paperwork.

Among New York's next modular moves is a Manhattan micro-unit apartment building plan that won a city contest last year; the project is under way.

Original post:
N.Y. building shows how modular design stacks up as cool

By JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) - In a city piled high with ambitious architecture, a seven-floor structure off the beaten path boasts a distinction of its own: It's billed as the first multistory, modular-built apartment building to open in the nation's apartment capital.

Called the Stack, the building near Manhattan's northern tip aims to show that while stackable apartments can save builders time and money, modular doesn't have to mean monotonous. Its chunky front embraces its building-block roots, but the apartments' interiors defy their boxy components with varied floor plans and stylish fixtures and finishes.

Modular construction - assembling a building from prefabricated sections instead of building from scratch on-site - has been around for decades, but interest has grown recently around the country and in its biggest city. The world's tallest modular building, a 32-story apartment tower, is rising in Brooklyn.

Advocates say modular building can trim costs and timetables - module factories don't have to worry about bad weather - and make construction more consistent. Still, the technique presents special challenges (say, driving a 750-square-foot box over the George Washington Bridge), and not all projects have proven speedy. Some have faced pushback from labor interests, not to mention an image problem: The method is sometimes perceived as cheap and, well, cookie-cutter.

"'Pre-fab' and 'modular' have somewhat of a stigma associated with it, in some people's minds, whether it's appropriate or not," developer Jeffrey M. Brown said. But "this approach can really produce cool buildings."

Some key facts about modular buildings (in stackable form):

THE LAY OF THE LAND

Modular apartment buildings date at least to Montreal's Habitat 67 complex, built for the 1967 World's Fair and still a desirable address. Section-stacking construction is still a relatively rarity in the U.S.: about 1 percent of the overall market outside single-family homes, according to the Modular Building Institute, a trade association. But interest has grown in the last 20 years, as some developers embraced the efficiency of piecing together components that come complete with floors, electrical systems, appliances - even towel bars - to create apartments, hotels, hospitals and more. New York City's Department of Buildings says 39 modular projects have at least submitted paperwork.

HOW THE STACK WORKS

Read more here:
NY building shows how mod design stacks up as cool - Quincy Herald-Whig | Illinois & Missouri News, Sports