Lancaster City Council members Tuesday approved the rezoning of the former Lancaster Family YMCA site to allow for the construction of a new medical office building and parking garage.

Council members also began consideration of a bill that would take a portion of a parking lot by eminent domain as part of plans to expand City Hall.

The rezoning changes the former YMCA site at North Queen, East Frederick and North Prince streets from a residential designation to "hospital campus."

Lancaster General Health, whose parking garage lies just across North Queen Street from the site, plans to construct a five-story, 175,000-square-foot administrative office building. Some 550 employees now working in rented space in Burle Business Park on New Holland Avenue would be shifted to the new building, hospital officials said.

A six-level, 632-space parking garage would be built adjacent to the office building, at Prince and Frederick streets, to serve the employees.

The zoning change came over the objection of Design Lancaster, a group of architects and design professionals, who urged council members to consider rezoning the area to "mixed use," to also allow residential, commercial and retail uses.

In a position paper distributed to council members, Design Lancaster warned of construction of structures that are "monolithic and incongruent with the scale and architecture of surrounding blocks." Those structures create "urban dead zones" which discourage pedestrians, the group argued.

Such was the case with the construction of Lancaster General's existing parking garage across from the YMCA site, they said.

Yet, council members and city officials noted there have been several public meetings where the group could have raised concerns prior to the vote. Also, there will be city Planning Commission and Historical Commission meetings where the building designs will be addressed.

Architect David High, Design Lancaster moderator, said his group would attempt to attend those meetings.

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Lancaster City Council approves rezoning of former YMCA site

The Hampshire Companies, a full-service, private real estate investment firm with equity in assets valued at over $2.5 billion, has announced the sale of 8 Sylvan Way in Parsippany, N.J., a 176,062-square-foot Class A office building. The sale, which sets the pace for the largest real estate transaction in 2012, was made to Cole Real Estate Investments for $53 million. The property is fully leased on a long-term basis to The Medicines Company, a provider of medical solutions to improve health outcomes for patients in acute and intensive care hospitals worldwide.

Parsippany, NJ (PRWEB) March 20, 2012

Hampshire acquired the property in 2005 when it consisted of a 100,000-square-foot, B- building partially occupied by the Chubb Institute, a job training school. In July 2007, Hampshire commenced construction to expand and completely transform the building into a Class A, headquarters quality facility. The company enlisted the renowned HLW Architects, and together, they designed a plan to take the building down to its steel and create their vision for this prestigious office space within one of Northern New Jerseys most sought after corporate addresses. In addition, Hampshire was able to preserve the propertys open space park-like setting and added as many LEED initiatives as possible.

Buzz began to circulate in the commercial real estate industry as Hampshire launched its marketing program to lease the project, which specifically targeted headquarter requirements in the region. This effort resulted in Hampshire securing The Medicines Company to a 15 year, full building lease. By December 2008, 8 Sylvan Way was the global headquarters of The Medicines Company.

Hampshires creative and decisive program was well-recognized in the commercial real estate world. It was awarded the highly coveted Economic Impact Deal of the Year Award from the New Jersey Chapter of National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NJ-NAIOP) in 2008.

This is the perfect example of how our proven system and strategy of acquiring properties, adding value and selling buildings at a market value can be successful in any market, even with strained economic climates and shrinking job markets, said James E. Hanson, II, President & CEO of The Hampshire Companies. We started this project in 2005, and despite some challenges, we stuck with our tried and true strategy, resulting in an amazing success story.

8 Sylvan Way is conveniently located just off of Interstate 287, two miles south of I-80, and bordered by US Route 202 and NJ Route 10 in Morris County. Jeffrey Dunne, Steven Bardsley, and Kevin Welsh of CB Richard Ellis represented Hampshire in the transaction.

About The Hampshire Companies

The Hampshire Companies is a full-service, private real estate firm based in Morristown, New Jersey. The Hampshire Companies is a vibrant, dynamic organization that combines creative vision and superior execution, thereby enabling it to create and enhance value in real estate investments. Additional information on The Hampshire Companies is available online at http://www.hampshireco.com.

Tiffany Miller R&J Public Relations 908-722-5757 Email Information

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The Hampshire Companies Sells 176,000-Square-Foot Class A Parsippany Building Office to Cole Real Estate Investments

One view of Domino's Farms Office Park, which is visible from US-23 in Ann Arbor Charter Township.

AnnArbor.com files

The discussions, said Township Supervisor Mike Moran, center on constructing a 42,000-square-foot office building on the 270-acre at Dominos Farms Office Park, which already serves as the headquarters for IHA.

IHA, formed in 1994, has 32 offices with 156 physicians and 727 staff members serving more than 260,000 patients. Novi-based Catholic health care group Trinity Healths St. Joseph Mercy Health System acquired IHA in 2010.

Moran called the Township discussions with IHA a pre-application meeting, and the item also appeared on the Ann Arbor Township Planning Commissions agenda on March 5.

Moran said the pre-application meeting involved discussing the concept and trying to tease out if there are any issues like utilities or stormwater construction.

IHA spokeswoman Amy Middleton, asked whether IHA is targeting a new headquarters at Domino's Farms, said in an email: IHA is presently in the conceptual stages of evaluating how best to expand services to the communities we serve. We are still evaluating options to create new medical centers and reviewing the feasibility of such initiatives.

She added: We are still early in the internal discussion process, but we have started to actively review such possibilities with local municipalities.

Domino's Farms director John Petz declined to comment.

Developed by Dominos Pizza founder Tom Monaghan, Dominos Farms Office Park is located between Plymouth Road and M-14 on the east side of US-23. It has nearly 1 million square feet of office space with enough land to continue development on the property.

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IHA considers construction of 42,000-square-foot office building at Domino's Farms

TULSA, Oklahoma -

There's a milestone to report in downtown construction. A new office building was topped out Monday - and it's also leased out long before it opens.

It's steel and concrete proof the BOK Center has done something for downtown, even though it's taken years to materialize in new development just across the street. The 5 story Northwestern Building reached its peak Monday.

Watch Time-lapse Video of Construction

The building will be a regional headquarters for Northwestern Mutual Financial, filling the top two floors. The bottom two floors will have shops and restaurants. And smaller firms, including Check 6 from Jenks, are moving into this building.

The developer says it's meeting demand for first quality office space downtown.

"Some of the companies who want to be downtown and want Class A, it makes sense for them to be here," said Bob Eggleston, One Place Tulsa developer.

Even though there's empty office space elsewhere downtown, the developer says all the office space under construction is fully leased. He's got more announcements coming on which tenants will go into the buildings.

"And this building is a perfect example of why I can speak so purely about the renaissance of our city," said Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett.

An even larger building is just behind the Northwestern Building - a new 18 story office tower. The overall development will have more than one million square feet of space, including a hotel. That's enough room for 700 people to work on what was only a parking lot before.

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Downtown Tulsa Development Reaches Milestone

The West Virginia Water Development Authority's new office, located on the corner of Bullitt and Spring streets, will have an entrance and exit accessibility from Bullitt Street and an exit-only onto Spring Street, said Jarrett Construction president and manager John Jarrett. The 1.7-acre site used to be a storage yard for Pfaff & Smith concrete.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A lot once covered in gravel that served as a storage yard for a concrete plant will soon be the state Water Development Authority's $3.2 million office headquarters.

Construction of the authority's 14,000-square-foot building, on the corner of Bullitt and Spring streets, will be completed in July, said Director Chris Jarrett. Employees will move into the 17-room office building at 1009 Bullitt St. by September.

The building has an ADA-approved elevator. One hundred parking spaces will occupy the remaining outside space.

The 1.7-acre site served for many years as a storage yard for Pfaff & Smith, whose concrete plant -- now Arrow Concrete -- lies across Spring Street. Joe Fazio's restaurant is just down the street and BB&T's operations center in the former Diamond Ice building is next door.

WDA, a non-tax-supported entity, paid $450,000 for the site, Jarrett said.

WDA currently owns a condominium-style office space in the Northgate Business Park, 180 Association Drive, but they have outgrown the building, he said. The WDA shares the space with its sister agency, the state Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council, which will rent and share space in the new office building.

The group plans to sell or lease the Northgate office space to another government agency, Jarrett said.

Three years ago, WDA switched from a paper to an automated system. Officials and the public can now track a project's success at http://www.wvinfrastructure.com.

Monitoring a construction project's success online ensures that they are completed as quickly as possible, he said. The online switch increased their staff size, Jarrett said, resulting in the need for more space.

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Water Development Authority building $3.2M offices on vacant lot

AZUSA, Calif., March 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Oltmans Construction Co., a leading U.S. industrial and commercial general contractor, today announced that it has begun construction on a warehouse building in Azusa, Calif. to house one of Southern California's premier discount outlets, The Outlet by E.L.S.

"Oltmans is pleased to have been selected by The Outlet by E.L.S. to complete its new 47,000- square-foot building at 880 South Azusa Avenue. The new location will feature concrete tilt up construction with a hybrid steel and wood roof," said James Wu, Project Manager, Oltmans Construction Co. "One of the unique features of the new site is an on-site rainwater retention basin under the parking lot. This allows rainwater to naturally seep into the ground instead of immediately going into the storm drains."

The Outlet by E.L.S., a hybrid warehouse store, gets its stock from big box warehouses and major retailers. It is currently located approximately five miles away in Monrovia, Ca. However, the building and land were sold via eminent domain to Metro Gold Line for a rail maintenance yard for the Foothill Extension. The Outlet by E.L.S. will operate in Monrovia until the new building is completed in July 2012.

"While we are sad to leave the location where we built our business, we are excited at this opportunity to grow even more in the years to come," said Mark Charvat, co-owner, The Outlet by E.L.S. "With this new building, we will be doubling our retail space to 40,000 square feet and also expect to double our revenues and add 25-50 employees during the next five years." Along with Charvat, other owners of The Outlet by E.L.S. are his wife, Julie, and sons, Brian and Jason.

"Members of the community have stopped by the site to voice their support for the arrival of The Outlet by E.L.S. not only because it replaces abandoned buildings, but also because it is viewed as a positive influence on the local economy," Wu noted.

During the construction, Oltmans expects to recycle 70-75 percent of materials involved in the construction including cement forms, cardboard, metals, and drywall. Other green features include obtaining concrete from local sources to reduce the amount of concrete truck traffic, construction of secure bicycle storage area to encourage bicycle use and weather based irrigation controllers to control the landscape irrigation.

About Oltmans Construction CompanyOltmans is a leading U.S. general contractor providing quality services and sustainable solutions for its customers. Marking its 80th year in business, the company is based in Whittier, California. Oltmans specializes in constructing warehouse distribution centers, office buildings, worship centers, interior tenant improvements, retrofitting existing buildings and renewable energy projects. For additional information about Oltmans Construction Co., please visit our website at http://www.oltmans.com.

Follow Oltmans on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Oltmans_

About The Outlet By E.L.S.The Outlet by ELS is a premier discount outlet providing a unique mix of merchandise and excellent service that brings excitement and value to our customers. We are a unique shopping experience offering merchandise from major retailers at discount prices. From clothes to electronics and home furnishings, The Outlet serves a wide variety of customers and their needs. Visit our website at http://www.theoutletbyels.com

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Oltmans Construction Co. Begins Construction on the New Site of The Outlet by E.L.S. in Azusa, CA

The main office building of the business park Sofia Airport Center will be opened first week of September, the Bulgarian office of Tishman International announced Monday.

The Class A offices will have overall space of 17 500 sq.meters built up area and is using the latest technologies and high international standards in construction, safety, comfort and environment.

In a further announcement by the company on Monday, Tishman Bulgarian Real Property, GmbH, a member ofTishman International Companies, a leading international commercial real estate development and management company, has acquired GE Real Estate's share in the mixed-use Sofia Airport Center (SAC) located in Sofia, Bulgaria, which was a joint development of the two companies.

Under a new strategy, GE Real Estate is going back to its roots as a major real estate lender in the US with a view to expanding those activities to Europe.

"GE Real Estate is repositioning its owned commercial real estate portfolio to allow the company to focus on its root strengths," said Frank Roseen, GE Managing Director, Central and Eastern Europe. "We are divesting certain assets to enlarge our focus on markets such as the UK and Asia, and we will increase the assets that we manage for third parties," he added.

Tishman has pioneered technological innovation at SAC, and attracted a roster of prestigious international tenants, including Honeywell EOOD, the Bulgarian arm of the leading multinational corporation Honeywell; Colgate-Palmolive Adria D.O.O., a global leader in cleaning products; and the global logistics firm Logwin (Logwin Solutions Bulgaria EOOD) to the Sofia Airport Center's modern office, logistics and warehouse space in its Logistics Center, conveniently located adjacent to Sofia International Airport.

"We have had a long and successful relationship with GE in the U.S. and are proud that they were a partner with us in SAC, our international business park," said Chairman of Tishman International Alan D. Levy.

Tishman International is known for innovation, and the company's work in Bulgaria has been a model for the country's ongoing modernization and economic expansion. "We take pride in the accomplishments we have achieved to date in Europe and in the United States. Following our consistent strategy of investing in Eastern Europe, Tishman will continue to advance along the same successful model, adding value as we continue to develop SAC," he added.

The company's achievements in Sofia include the design and construction of the Sofia Airport Center to modern western standards of sustainability, earning recognition as the first LEED-certified commercial office building in Bulgaria.

The logistics center, comprised of three office and logistics warehouse buildings of approximately 28 000 sq. m., is nearly 100% leased and was recently honored as the Best Industrial Buildings and Logistic Centers in the Building of the Year National Contest, says Julian R. Edwards, Tishman's Managing Director of Europe.

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Sofia Airport Center Office Building to Open in Sept 2012

BUILDING PERMITS

Boulder

Building construction permits over $10,000 in value that were approved in Boulder between March 5 and March 11, 2012. Listed below are: the case number; address; total project valuation; owner name; contractor (if applicable); and description.

PMT2012-00358; 1990 Eighth St.; $32,215; Vanatta Limited; Silver Lining Builders; Tenant remodel of 500 square feet -- includes associated electrical, mechanical. Modify walls at existing single-occupant restroom to comply with ANSI accessibility requirements.

PMT2012-00567; 1315 Ninth St.; $23,000; Tom Hoyt; Carl Scott Construction LLC: Addition of 18-square-foot bay window and installation of 196-square-foot covered deck both off rear of residence. Interior remodel through separate permit PMT2012-00566.

PMT2012-00687; 5050 Pearl St.; $30,000; City of Boulder; Installation of a ballasted roof mount grid-tie 224.64-kilowatt photovoltaic system at a 5-degree tilt. Array to remain below parapet walls. See engineer's letter and drawing for specific information. Building B3 requires structural enhancements prior to array installation.

PMT2012-01004; 400 Terrace Ave.; $29,638.80; Donald Lieberman; Basement finish of 360 square feet to create a recreation room and full bathroom on existing rough-ins (rough-ins accounted for under PMT2006-00330).

PMT2012-00662; 2727 Pine St.; $53,984; Baxt Family; Sand Construction; Tenant remodel of chiropractic office including relocation of non-bearing walls, upgrade bathroom to meet accessibility requirements, install ramp for accessibility, associated finishes, electrical and plumbing work.

PMT2012-05533; 2955 Fourth St.; $350,000; Matthias Brehler and Lucille Sylvester; Smiley Inc.; Addition and remodel of existing home. Electrical, mechanical and plumbing included. Permit request does not include fences or walls.

PMT2012-00102; 736 18th St.; $271,255.28; Seven Thirty; Two-story addition with finished basement to existing duplex. One unit will have five bedrooms with four bathrooms and the other unit will have four bedrooms with three bathrooms.

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Boulder building permits: March 19, 2012

California has slashed public university budgets, yet construction is booming at campuses statewide. The University of California system has $8.9 billion in building projects under way at its 10 campuses and five medical centers, including about $200 million at UC Merced.

With less money to operate the new buildings once they're finished, universities are straining maintenance and energy budgets. At least one new UC campus building is sitting empty because the university can't afford to run it.

University officials say all this construction was in the pipeline before the 2008 economic downturn squeezed state spending for higher education. Some is being paid for by part of a $10.4 billion bond voters approved in 2006, from which more than $3 billion went to public higher education.

Some is being underwritten by private donations, government research grants and student fees. About $1 billion came from bonds issued in 2009 under the federal stimulus program which the universities will have to repay and $325 million in bonds the UC system issued that year on its own.

More importantly, these officials say, the money for construction is kept in strictly separate capital, not operating, accounts. It can't be used for expenses such as salaries or enrollment.

Cost to taxpayers

David Kline, spokesman for the California Taxpayers Association, said that by insisting on continuing to build in spite of the financial downturn, the universities are missing the point.

The cost of construction is ultimately bankrolled by taxpayers, Kline said. That's because California's public universities and colleges are paying $1.1 billion a year in interest on those construction bonds, the legislative analyst's office reported in August.

"People discuss bond money as if it's free money that isn't coming out of the taxpayers' pockets, and that's exactly where it is coming from," Kline said.

The universities also have to clean, light, heat, cool and maintain these new buildings, the burden of which comes out of operating budgets that were cut by $1.4 billion this year, including $650 million at UC.

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California colleges plow ahead with construction

ESSEXVILLE An office fire Saturday night damaged an Essexville building belonging to the construction company Quality Built Buildings and Diversified Environmental.

The blue two-story building is located at 300 Atlantic St. and both businesses are owned by Tom Vermeesh.

Im speechless, Vermeesh said after arriving on the scene of the fire.

According to Vermeesh the building contained a garage, a bathroom and two offices, one upstairs and one downstairs. He confirmed the fire occurred in the office portion. Both the firefighters and Vermeesh also confirmed it did not spread to the garage with Vermeesh adding no one was in the building at the time of the fire.

Five engines from Bay City Fire Rescue and Essexvilles Hampton Township Fire Department responded to the fire. Assistant Chief Robert Phillips said firefighters were on the scene within five minutes of first call from the buildings neighbors about it and had the fire extinguished within 40 minutes of arriving. Phillips added the interior office portion of the building had suffered substantial damage but that the building itself remained structurally sound.

According to Phillips the cause of the fire remains unknown at this time. He said an official investigation into the fire is going to be handled by the fire marshal and the county sheriff.

Vermeeshs employee Ken Vink was with Vermeesh on the scene Saturday night. Vink said he is in the building almost everyday for business reasons and confirmed he had been in the building earlier in the day before the fire. He noted that at that time the building had smelled like gasoline but added this is normal because of the garage and the vehicle maintenance that is done within it.

The garage contained a pickup truck, a boom lift and a Bobcat skid loader at the time of the fire. After firefighters opened the buildings garage doors none of the vehicles appeared to be damaged.

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Fire damages Essexville construction company