Senator Aquilino Koko Pimentel III. INQUIRER.net file photo

MANILA, Philippines While it has turned its attention to the Makati Science High School, the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee plans to return later to the topic of the Makati City Hall II parking and office building to tackle allegations of over-design, as found by technical experts, according to its chairman Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III.

Members of the subcommittee, at its hearing on the Makati City transactions when Vice President Jejomar Binay was still its mayor on Thursday, indicated that the alleged over-design of the P2.28 billion Makati City Hall II building could be one reason behind its suspicions of overpricing.

Pimentel said on Sunday in a phone interview that he wanted to discuss the matter further because without proper guidelines on defining and discovering over-design, this could be a loophole that might be exploited to hide overpricing.

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano earlier said over-design could either result in waste because of unnecessary features, even if there was no corruption, or it could be a way of making money because of under-delivery, or not constructing the building according to the specifications and then pocketing the excess funds.

A team of quantity surveyors tapped by the Senate found indications that the parking building was extremely over-designed, according to appraiser Federico Cuervo, who was asked to put together the team.

Makati City officials, as well Binay, who was the mayor when the Makati City Hall II building contract was signed and implemented, have insisted that the construction of the parking and office building was aboveboard. Binay and his son, the incumbent Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin Junjun Binay, are facing a plunder complaint over the buildings construction.

Pimentel has directed the issuance of a subpoena, requested by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, for the signed, as-built and Autocad plans for the Makati City Hall II Building from its contractor Hilmarcs Construction Corporation.

This was after Cuervo told the subcommittee on Thursday that the team of quantity surveyors he was asked to put together to estimate the quantified value of the Makati City Hall II parking building faced a lot of challenges because of incomplete information.

Still, the quantity surveyors, working with what they had, found that the building was extremely over-designed, especially the foundation, said Cuervo.

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Makati City Hall II may have been over-designed to hide overprice

BUILDING PERMITS

PMT2013-02461 2079 Hardscrabble Drive; $1,317,744; DK Trust; Grant Place Builders Inc.; New three-story single-family dwelling home: to include 6,448 square feet of finished area, two-car attached garage of 759 square feet, 373-square-foot roof deck, and 1,499-square-foot porch. Home to include seven bedrooms, seven baths. Includes associated MEP. See ADR2013-00055 and TEC 2013-00022 for further information. See PMT2013-02462 for detached garage on same planset.

PMT2013-02462 2069 Hardscrabble Drive; $54,456; DK Trust; New detached two-car garage of 640 square feet. To include associated electrical. See PMT2013-02461 for house. See ADR2013-00055 and TEC2013-00022 for further info.

PMT2014-00468 1048 Pearl St.; $23,041,742.13; Ten Eleven; JE Dunn Construction Co.; New core and shell construction for Eleventh and Pearl development, of a four story, mixed use commercial/office building with new three level below grade parking garage.

PMT2014-02616 1301 Walnut St.; $12,300,000; Aplaza LLC; Wyatt Construction Co Inc.; Wencel Building New core and shell office building four stories above grade with one basement level. LUR2013-00053, TEC2014-00029 and TEC2014-00032.

PMT2014-03434 1020 Maxwell Ave.; $400,000; West Point; Coburn Development Inc.; Demolition of and the rebuilding of exterior stairways and landings; remove/replace exterior cladding, soffit and fascia. Interior remodel of kitchens and new bathroom fixtures. (Less than 500 square feet remodel per unit.) Window and door replacement. Includes associated MEPs. Includes some landscaping and grading, as well as installation of an irrigation system. Retaining walls under separate permit.

PMT2014-04552 3100 23rd St.; $123,043.44; Christophe Hansen; Melton Construction Inc.; Interior home remodel/renovation to include kitchen, two baths on the main floor. Mechanical, and laundry relocates, add basement bath, egress window to basement bedroom, new sliding glass door at dining room, and new skylights.

PMT2014-04578 1401 Walnut St.; $105,000; 1401 Walnut; Duggan Construction LLC; Interior tenant remodel to expand existing commercial/retail space into adjacent unit (also existing commercial/retail space). Scope also includes remodel of current unit and all associated MEPs.

PMT2014-04636 5303 Denver St.; $30,000; James Williams; E. Goodman Construction; Addition of patio roof over existing concrete patio located on the southeast corner of residence. Scope includes associated electrical for lighting and relocation of venting for an existing interior gas fireplace.

PMT2014-04830 5336 E. Aurora Ave.; $51,000; Jeffrey and Kendra Kohlhaas; Blue Stone Woodworks LLC; Remodel two existing baths, remove wood paneling and replace with drywall. Repair cracks in ceiling of dining room, living room, entry, and hall, and infill two sections of wall at dining room. Scope of work also includes new 200 AMP service.

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Boulder building permits: Nov. 10, 2014

Also Major Corporate Moves from: Dexcom, Ergobaby, HealthSmart, Knewton, Komatsu, L-3 Comm, Molina Healthcare, RingCentral, ThinkFactory and more

The state-of-the-art development will consist of 485,000 square feet of Class A office space in three-and four-story office buildings in a campus environment on 21 acres. The first phase-which is already under construction to be delivered in May 2015-will consist of 242,000 square feet in two office buildings preleased to Netflix Inc.

The interest rate was a variable, LIBOR-based rate. The financing was provided by a syndicate of lenders led by SunTrust Robinson Humphrey with SunTrust Bank as Administrative Agent.

John Nelson of CBRE's San Francisco office arranged the financing on behalf of the borrower/developer, a joint venture between Sand Hill Property Co. and The Carlyle Group.

Komatsu will occupy a contiguous block from floors one to five at Tower I, a 280,448-square-foot, 12-story building positioned along the Northwest Tollway at 1701 Golf Rd. in Chicago's Schaumburg Area.

Michael Hull of MB Real Estate brokered the transaction on behalf of Komatsu, while David Trumpy of GlenStar Properties represented ownership in-house.

St. Joseph Heritage Healthcare completed a 191,556-square-foot long-term lease for the entire eight story Class A office building at 200 Center St. in Anaheim, Calif.

The deal is the largest office lease signed in Orange County in 2014. St. Joseph Heritage Healthcare will occupy the building for its administration services with move-in planned for Summer 2015.

The lease was signed with PRES Cos., a full-service owner and operator of office, retail, industrial, and hotel properties. The lease comes 10 months after PRES acquired the building. Since its acquisition, PRES has repositioned the property, which includes improvements to the lobby and common areas.

JLL Orange County senior vice presidents George Thomson and James Estrada represented PRES in this lease.

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Lease Up (Nov. 10) $100 Mil Construction Loan Secured for Netflix World HQs

The gig: David Wilstein, 86, is founder and president of Realtech Construction Co., one of Los Angeles' oldest and largest commercial real estate development firms. Since its founding in 1976, he has overseen more than 100 projects, including high-rise office towers, medical buildings, apartments, hotels and shopping centers.

Formative years: Wilstein grew up in Pittsburgh, where he started feeling the urge to build things as a young boy. That led to a bachelor's degree in engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. Then, a trip to California changed his life.

"I came out to L.A. and decided I liked it," he said. "I met my wife two weeks later."

Building a foundation: Wilstein soon landed a job as a civil engineer for the state of California, earning $212 a month to help design freeways. Even in the 1950s, that was not a big paycheck. He joined his father and his brother to make some extra money building a fence. That led to fixing the roof of a house and then the first of several remodeling jobs.

Scaling up: Wilstein built a duplex and then a six-unit apartment building as a contractor. When a customer of one of his home-remodeling jobs revealed that he had recently returned from Cuba with money to invest, Wilstein offered to build the man a six-unit apartment that could be sold for a 6% or 7% return. Wilstein then became a developer, building properties for investors.

"The first building I sold I made about $30,000 profit," he said. "I said, this is excellent compared to working my butt off as a civil engineer for the state."

Building an empire: Wilstein found other investors and went on building increasingly large apartment buildings: 20 units, 40 units, 200 units. His loan broker suggested he try the office market, so Wilstein built a three-story building in Beverly Hills. Taller towers followed.

"I kept raising the ante," he said.

Creating a legacy: Wilstein went on to build prominent office towers that are unofficial landmarks today, such as the 12-story Roar building on Wilshire Boulevard at Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills and the 25-story Wells Fargo Center at Wilshire and San Vicente Boulevard in Brentwood.

Far-flung empire: Wilstein built projects around the United States and overseas with partners DMJM and Celanese Corp. He erected buildings in Japan, Thailand and China. He converted a sultan's palace into a hotel in Turkey and consulted on the early stages of the massive Canary Wharf mixed-use complex in London.

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Developer David Wilstein has made his mark on Los Angeles

VOL. 7 | NO. 46 | Saturday, November 08, 2014

William J. Logue, the chief executive and president of FedEx Freight, will retire at the end of the year due to health concerns, the company announced Wednesday, Nov. 5.

On Jan. 1, Michael L. Ducker, a 40-year company veteran and current chief operating officer of FedEx Express, will replace Logue as the head of FedEx Freight, Memphis-based FedExs less-than-truckload freight transportation arm.

FedEx founder, chairman and CEO Fred Smith said Logue led FedEx Freight to significant growth, success and a leading position in the LTL sector.

He navigated some of the worst economic conditions the industry has ever seen and delivered outstanding results while positioning FedEx Freight for long-term success, Smith said in a statement. He has established himself as an all-time great leader during his 25 years at FedEx, and while we are sorry to see (Logue) retire, he has our gratitude, support and best wishes.

The Sears Crosstown redevelopment project could get an infusion of funds for energy conservation efforts.

The Center City Revenue Finance Corp., the financial arm of the Downtown Memphis Commission, is considering issuing $14.5 million in Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds on Tuesday, Nov.. 11, and the $180 million Crosstown project could claim some of those funds.

A Qualified Energy Conservation Bond is a bond that enables qualified state, tribal and local government issuers to borrow money at attractive rates to fund energy conservation projects, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

The Crosstown team is seeking to redevelop the vacant Crosstown building, constructed in 1927, through arts, education and health care.

The Possible funds from the bond issuance would be part of the citys $15 million commitment to the project.

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Park Avenue Professional Building Sells for $1.3M

By Rick Smith, The Gazette

November 8, 2014 | 12:01 am

CEDAR RAPIDS There is a little fuss at city hall these days over how prolific local developer, the Ahmann Companies, is going to position a new office building on the former site of the Corner House Gallery, 2753 First Ave. SE.

The developer initially had planned to construct the three-story building so one of its sides, not its front, faces busy First Avenue SE. That orientation would be similar to the companys two new office buildings, which face one another and a parking lot in between them in the 1800 block of First Avenue SE.

But the city is changing its thinking. How a developer situates a new building along one of Cedar Rapidss busier streets matters more than it used to.

City Council member Scott Olson, an architect and Realtor, said this week that the city is starting to embrace a nationwide trend of planning and design that calls for new buildings to be placed close to the sidewalk on busier streets, with parking in the rear.

Such a design is thought to encourage people to walk, talk and get to know each other in both commercial and residential neighborhoods, Olson said.

The idea, he noted, is a throwback and is on display in many of Cedar Rapidss older neighborhoods where porches are in the front of houses, close to the street, garages are in the back and commercial buildings sit along sidewalks and hug the corners of blocks.

So its really going back to a design principle that happened in the past when we were more pedestrian-friendly versus car-friendly, Olson said. Were trying to encourage that type of neighborhood congeniality and pedestrian-friendly commercial development.

City Council member Monica Vernon, chairwoman of the councils Development Committee who spent a decade on the City Planning Commission in the past, has been the strongest city hall proponent of moving new buildings to the front of the property and to orient them to face the busy street.

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Local Cedar Rapids developer positions new office building

VOL. 7 | NO. 46 | Saturday, November 08, 2014

William J. Logue, the chief executive and president of FedEx Freight, will retire at the end of the year due to health concerns, the company announced Wednesday, Nov. 5.

On Jan. 1, Michael L. Ducker, a 40-year company veteran and current chief operating officer of FedEx Express, will replace Logue as the head of FedEx Freight, Memphis-based FedExs less-than-truckload freight transportation arm.

FedEx founder, chairman and CEO Fred Smith said Logue led FedEx Freight to significant growth, success and a leading position in the LTL sector.

He navigated some of the worst economic conditions the industry has ever seen and delivered outstanding results while positioning FedEx Freight for long-term success, Smith said in a statement. He has established himself as an all-time great leader during his 25 years at FedEx, and while we are sorry to see (Logue) retire, he has our gratitude, support and best wishes.

The Sears Crosstown redevelopment project could get an infusion of funds for energy conservation efforts.

The Center City Revenue Finance Corp., the financial arm of the Downtown Memphis Commission, is considering issuing $14.5 million in Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds on Tuesday, Nov.. 11, and the $180 million Crosstown project could claim some of those funds.

A Qualified Energy Conservation Bond is a bond that enables qualified state, tribal and local government issuers to borrow money at attractive rates to fund energy conservation projects, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

The Crosstown team is seeking to redevelop the vacant Crosstown building, constructed in 1927, through arts, education and health care.

The Possible funds from the bond issuance would be part of the citys $15 million commitment to the project.

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Nike Applies for Building Permits

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The Calgary Fire Department investigates a gas leak in the 200 block of 4th Avenue S.W. on Thursday, November 6th, 2014.

CALGARY The Calgary Fire Department is blaming ongoing construction for a gas leak at a downtown building on Thursday night.

Firefighters were called to the 200 block of 4th Avenue S.W. around 8 p.m.

When they arrived, crews could smell a strong odour of natural gas. They quickly activated the buildings alarm system, forcing workers who were still inside to exit.

Investigators determined a four inch gas line had been struck by a forklift being operated by onsite construction crews in the parkade area.

Firefighters were able to shut down the affected line and ventilate the building.

No one was injured, but the incident did cause the temporary closure of eastbound 4th Avenue at 2nd Street S.W.

Melissa is an online reporter in Calgary, Alberta. Click to read bio.

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Downtown office building evacuated over gas leak

November 6, 2014 - 19:08 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Property Development Company CJSC announced the launch of the construction of Kamar multifunctional business center in Yerevan by laying its foundation stone on November 6. The business center, designed in accordance with the most advanced international technologies, will be the first in Armenia to be certified by BREEAM, a global leader in the design and assessment of sustainable buildings. The development of the unique A Class office building will comply with the modern energy efficiency and environmental standards, thus considerably elevating the overall standards of the commercial real estate in the country.

Property Development Company CJSC, the owner of the building, has approached to the project with ultimate responsibility and care, highly prioritizing the buildings in this historical area. For several years before the start of construction works, the company has been organizing various public discussions with experts and beneficiaries to identify the most appropriate solutions and to insure high level of transparency throughout the entire process.

Artashes Kazakhetyan, CEO of Property Development Company, said: The initiative started at least 5 years ago. All these years, we have been studying these historical buildings in detail to come up with the best ways of preserving them. Right at the beginning of the project the company organized an open architectural contest for the development of the concept by involving the best and most recognized engineers and architects from various countries. Committed to preserving the values of our history, we have stored every single stone from the old building. We further developed an architectural and engineering solution that highlights the historical importance and overall design of this part of the city. The main problem is that the complex should combine innovative solutions with the old constructions. Finally, we want to make sure that this building complies with the best international standards of energy efficient and green business center construction.

The total value of the project is about $37 million. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will provide a $9 million loan and secure another $9 million loan from DEG (Deutsche Investitions und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH). The rest of the investment will be provided by Property Development Company CJSC.

Arman Barkhudaryan, IFC Senior Investment Officer said: Modern office buildings help spur economic activity and improve the efficiency of local suppliers, many of which are micro, small, and medium enterprises. Strengthening Armenias business infrastructure and promoting green technologies will also provide an important model for future energy-efficient building projects, while helping contribute to long-term growth.

Yerevan's chief architect Tigran Barseghyan expressed hope for the construction to be completed in accordance with the schedule. In 2 years, the Armenian capital will get a model building to serve as an example in implementation of other projects involving construction in the city center.

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Kamar business center construction launches in Yerevan

Planning

Arizona Gila County is planning to build the Tonto Creek Bridge in Punkin Center. The two-lane bridge is being designed by Kimley-Horn & Associates. The project is valued at $20 million. Gila County Public Works Division, Attn: Steve Sanders, Project Manager, 1400 E. Ash St., Globe, 85501. DR#09-00598998.

District of Columbia Douglas Development is planning to convert the former Hecht Co. warehouse, located at 1401 New York Ave. NE, in the Ivy City neighborhood, into a mixed-use development. The project will involve the creation of over 300 residential units, a 1,000-space parking garage and 250,000 sq ft of retail space. It is being designed by Antunovich Associates. The project is valued at between $10 million and $15 million. Douglas Development, Attn: Douglas Jemal, President, 702 H St. NW, Washington, 20001. DR#13-00701795.

Idaho Hale Development Inc. is planning to build Allumbaugh Place, a planned unit development in Boise. It will comprise 100 two-story buildings. The project is valued at $10 million. Hale Development Inc., Attn: David Hale, Owner, 1402 W. Grove St., Boise, 83702. DR#11-00658760.

New Hampshire Three Daughters LLC, a developer, is planning to build an apartment complex in Rindge. The project entails three single-story buildings, containing 16 apartments. The project is valued at between $1 million and $3 million. Three Daughters LLC, Attn: William Coponen, Principal, 581 NH Route 119, Rindge, 03461. DR#14-00660120.

New Jersey AB Monmouth LLC, a subsidiary of Amboy National Bank, is planning to build an extended-stay hotel at the site of a partially built condominium complex in Wall Township. The project entails building a 199-room hotel to be called The Monmouth at the intersection of Route 70 and Route 35. The project is valued at between $5 million and $10 million. Amboy National Bank, Attn: Stanley Koreyva Jr., Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice Pres., 3590 U.S. Highway 9, Old Bridge, 08857. DR#14-00658338.

North Dakota Enbridge, a pipeline company, is planning to build the Sandpiper Oil Pipeline. The 616-mile-long pipeline will be 24-in.-dia between the company's Beaver Lodge Station south of Tioga, N.D., and Clearbrook, Minn., and 30-in.-dia from Clearbrook to Superior, Wis. The project also includes the installation of a new pump station and tanks in Clearbrook. Enbridge will use its own forces. The project is valued at $2.5 billion. Enbridge, 1100 Louisiana St., Houston, Texas, 77002. DR#13-00571579.

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Pulse: Project News From Dodge