Late last year, the Portland Development Commission inked a $22,000 contract with a public relations consultant to promote the Oregon Sustainability Center in Salem.

The $62 million project -- an ultra-efficient office building mixed with classroom space -- faced an uncertain path in the 2012 Legislature. Last year, House Republicans balked when project backers sought $37 million in state funding for the center, a joint endeavor of the city of Portland and the Oregon University System. Construction costs put the building at the top of Portland's office market.

In its contract with former Oregonian columnist David Reinhard, PDC said further PR work was necessary in advance of the February session "to ensure decision makers and the public are well informed about the project goals, costs and outcomes, including statewide opportunities and economic development return."

But a few opinion pieces and letters-to-the-editor that resulted from the PR contract used figures that offered an unclear picture of the project's total cost and how it compared to other projects.

A key argument of those pieces was that the Oregon Sustainability Center would cost about the same as Oregon Health & Science University's new Collaborative Life Sciences Building.

To make that point, a Dec. 28 letter-to-the-editor and Jan. 20 op-ed in The Oregonian cited the sustainability center's $434 per-square-foot construction cost. By comparison, the life sciences building is said to cost $475 per-square-foot in those two pieces.

With land and financing, however, the price of the sustainability center shoots to $474 per-square-foot, according to project supporters at Portland State University and the Oregon University System.

That's still in line with the life sciences building, no?

The cost of the life sciences building requires a footnote.

PDC calculated the $475-per-square-foot price of the life sciences building by including the cost of land at South Waterfront, the project's location. However, that land was free, because it was donated by the Schnitzer family in 2004.

Without that extra bump from the estimated value of the land, the cost of the life sciences building drops to $464 per-square-foot, PDC confirms.

Later editorials acknowledge this difference.

"The $434-per-square-foot cost — $474 with land — seems high to some," J. Clayton Hering, a Portland real-estate expert, wrote in an op-ed Feb. 8 in The Bend Bulletin. "The more comparable Collaborative Life Science Building now being built at the Oregon Health & Science University will average about $464 per square foot."

On Jan. 20, Hering wrote differently of the two projects in an op-ed submitted to The Oregonian using facts from PDC.

"Critics talk of the building's $434 cost per-square-foot," Hering wrote last month. "The best comparison would be the Collaborative Life Sciences Building now under construction in Portland. It is 400,000 square feet and will cost about $190 million. That's $475 per square foot for a building that, like the Oregon Sustainability Center, will tap into our state strength and generate jobs and economic growth across the state."

One final note: The original PR contract states that key messages on the sustainability center would be developed "with involvement by the Portland mayor’s office, PDC, Portland State University and the Oregon University System."

Read more:
Opinion pieces on Oregon Sustainability Center use fuzzy math: Portland City Hall roundup

Newport Beach officials recently ordered a real estate investor to stop gutting the interior of an office building designed by celebrated Modernist architect Richard Neutra.

It is the latest dispute concerning the Mariners Medical Arts building, a sleek 1963 complex at 1901 Westcliff Drive saved from demolition in 2009.

Preservationist John Linnert, a Costa Mesa architect, noticed crews working on the upstairs interior in January and reported them to the city planning staff. He has kept a close watch on the building in recent years.

Newport officials issued a stop-work order because the building owner had no permits.

"He gutted the whole upstairs of the building," said Linnert, who pushed for the building's historical resource designation three years ago. "It's an abomination."

The building's owner, John Bral of Westcliff Investors LLC, did not return calls seeking comment.

Since the city red-tagged his building in mid-January, Bral has applied for permits.

State law prohibits major alterations or demolition at such buildings when the changes threaten the buildings' historic qualities. City Planner Jaime Murillo said he did not know if the interior remodel would trigger that protection.

He added that the city's building department will consult with a contract architectural historian. That consultant found in 2009 that the building was eligible for a historic listing at the national, state and local levels.

Neutra was primarily known for his geometric, airy houses, many of which were built in Southern California. He also designed landmark buildings, including the Tower of Hope next to the Crystal Cathedral and the Los Angeles County Hall of Records. He died in 1970.

Almost all of his commercial buildings have been substantially altered over the years, according to a website maintained by Neutra's son Dion, who has supported the preservation of the Mariners building.

It appears that Bral was preparing the office space for a new tenant.

Often, when tenants sign a lease they request a major overhaul. Regardless of the historical designation, so-called tenant improvements usually require city approval. Bral also replaced a gas line without acquiring permits, and the city has required him to apply retroactively.

"The building is such an attribute to the culture of Orange County and Southern California," said Linnert, who has closely chronicled the changes.

In 2009, he and a few other preservationists pressured city officials to halt demolition and study the building's historical significance. They prevailed and have scrutinized activity at the property ever since.

City planners are now preparing an environmental report to evaluate Bral's broader plans for the 20,000-square-foot complex. As an alternative to demolition, he has applied to add a two-story office building that would wrap around part of the structure.

In recent years, Bral has torn down an exterior stairway and replaced some exterior light fixtures that followed the building's linear lines. A representative said in 2010 that he was making routine repairs and didn't realize they needed to be completed a certain way.

mike.reicher@latimes.com

Here is the original post:
Newport Beach blocks interior remodel of Richard Neutra building

The foot-tall chunk of marble sitting in a state administrative office once was part of the Minnesota Capitol's ornamental scrollwork, one small detail on architect Cass Gilbert's century-old jewel. Now, it's mainly a reminder of this aging building's many deferred needs.

Time has eroded the marble's fine detail to the point that it's barely visible. It was plucked off the building by hand during a recent inspection of the Capitol exterior, and conservators say it's just a small example of $241 million in urgently needed restoration work that will only grow more expensive with time.

"They're big projects, they're scary projects, they're inconvenient projects," said David Hart, a Utah-based consultant to the Minnesota State Capitol Preservation Commission. "But they're projects that have to happen. It's time."

The spending would address a lack of fresh-air circulation, outdated plumbing and tangled electrical wiring so systemic that only a major overhaul will do, the commission said. The building's sprinkler system and emergency stair exits need updating. And the commission wants to improve public access to legislative offices and create more flexible meeting spaces.

The money won't come easily. Gov. Mark Dayton didn't include any funds for such a project in his proposed bonding bill. Minnesota's budget situation is precarious, and other construction projects with more vocal supporters are vying for attention, such as the Minnesota Vikings' bid for a new

stadium.

Senate Majority Leader David Senjem, R-Rochester, said the Capitol's exterior needs repair. Some of the other items don't appear as necessary, he said.

"It would be nice to have a larger meeting room, but at what price?" Senjem said.

Rep. Dean Urdahl, a Grove City Republican who sits on the commission, is aware of the tough road ahead.

He wants to spread the renovation costs over two or three bonding bills, and is hoping for bipartisan support.

"We're going to put significant

In this photo made Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012 in St. Paul, Minn., tangled wiring is shown in the tunnel system under the State Capitol. (Associated Press: Jim Mone)

money into this project this year," Urdahl said. Later, he added: "It's a question of if we don't do something, will we ever be able to catch up?"

Many states addressed expensive capitol restorations during the 1980s and 1990s, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Minnesota is one of a handful that has relied on piecemeal fixes.

In Colorado, a balcony once open to visitors was closed off because parts could break off the building's cast-iron dome. At Oklahoma's statehouse, barricades sealed off the public from cascading chunks of limestone and mortar. Oregon put off changes to make its building less vulnerable to earthquakes, though experts believe a severe one could kill people inside.

Much of the exterior of Minnesota's Capitol is headed in the same crumbling direction of that marble chunk, according to the Minnesota State Capitol Preservation Commission. The structure, which features the second-largest stone dome in the world after St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, was erected in 1905 at the hand of architect Cass Gilbert, who also designed the U.S. Supreme Court building.

Today, it's one of only a few state capitol buildings of its age that has yet to undergo a large-scale renovation. Some say the need merits the $241 million price tag, even during a lean time. The issue is coming to a head this year after a decade of planning and a century of small-scale quick fixes.

If approved, the project is slated to start this year and could take five years to complete.

According to the commission, the building has reached a "tipping point" at which certain upgrade changes must be made in one to two years or the building will be beyond preservation and instead demand constant upkeep or complete replacement.

This would mean a loss of cultural and historic value unseen in other states, said Greg Donofrio, an assistant professor of architecture at the University of Minnesota.

"The prominence and significance of Cass Gilbert as an architect is really pretty difficult to overemphasize," Donofrio said. "We have one of the first major works of a master architect right downtown in St. Paul."

Less comprehensive Capitol overhaul initiatives in the last decade were never fully implemented, and often didn't reach consensus because of clashes over money and priorities.

The necessary electrical, plumbing and mechanical updates reach a combined cost of about $43.1 million, said Wayne Waslaski, a director with the Administration Department who is working with the commission. He said they would be cheaper and last longer when done alongside interior efficiency renovations. The exterior stone restoration would cost $17.6 million.

"When you're making those major system changes, you're going to impact every room in the building," Waslaski said. He added that historic lighting and paint work restoration in public spaces is needed but could be done later.

But Senjem said funding the project in a $241 million lump is "inconceivable."

He said Urdahl's plan of funding over time might work, but that future Legislatures can't be committed to the project.

Though the building contains health and safety risks, much of the restoration initiative will rely on public support for what many inside the Capitol refer to as "the people's house."

Rich Polk of Eagan came to the building only once years ago, but recently returned while on a visit to St. Paul - one of the 120,000 people who tour the statehouse annually.

"It'd be a shame if we as a state can't maintain our Capitol," Polk said. "They'll do something. They can't just knock this down."

Read more from the original source:
Minnesota Capitol building needs $241 million restoration, experts say

BUILDING PERMITS

Boulder

Building construction permits over $10,000 in value that were approved in Boulder between Jan. 30 and Feb. 5, 2012. Listed below are: the case number; address; total project valuation; owner name; contractor (if applicable); and description.

PMT2012-00142; 1071 Tantra Park Circle; $28,000; Michael Copeland; G. Kenny Builders LLC; Modification of exterior walls on main floor to create a 166-square-foot addition to an existing single-family dwelling. No remodel square footage. See ADR2011-00223 for supplemental information and minor mod approval.

PMT2012-00185; 1675 29th St., No. 1272; Charlotte Ball; Narvaes Western LLC; Tenant remodel of 2,467 square feet of an existing restaurant space to create a new restaurant Native Foods Cafe -- no mechanical modifications proposed or authorized under the scope of this permit. Modifications to Ansul hood suppression system by separate permit.

PMT2012-00418; 890 Ninth St.; $45,000; Joseph and Jorene Sutter; Clough Construction Services; Removal of an interior load-bearing wall at kitchen and reconfiguration of walls to open up living room area and dining room, add breakfast bar. Install door at existing window location -- no increase in width of opening. No modifications to header or king/jack studs. Remodel full bath on main level -- relocate sink to opposite wall -- toilet and tub to remain in same location. Add vent hood above existing gas range.

PMT2011-05567; 2400 Arapahoe Ave; $403,523.24; Co-Arapaho FW; Tenant remodel for Performance Bicycle. Includes electrical and minor plumbing and mechanical.

PMT2012-00393; 300 Bellevue Drive; $18,000; Carol Katz; Paradigm Construction; Foundation repair on southern elevation of residence, includes the replacement of four windows, code required egress to be met as applicable.

PMT2011-05561; 4520 Broadway; $54,400; Dana and Jennifer Schwartz; Apex Builders Inc.; Unit C tenant remodel of 1,000 square feet for chiropractic office at Uptown Broadway. Office to be located in previous sales center space.

PMT2012-00081; 445 Valley View Drive; $20,000; Bettina and Robert Bepler; Modification of roof elements to create/capture 68 square feet of floor area for a full bathroom, remodel of 172 square feet on second floor -- removal/reconfiguration of interior walls to modify second story floor plan. See ADR2011-00218 and HIS2011-00240 for supplemental information.

PMT2012-00319; 4715 Arapahoe Ave.; $61,899.60; Oncocenter LLC; Wyatt Construction Co.; Tenant finish of Education and IT Skills Lab (Room 023) in Tebo Family Medical Pavilion. See PMT2011-03860 for tenant finishes throughout the building.

PMT2011-04374; 2004 Orchard Ave.; $528,318.86; MLS Trust; New two-story single-family dwelling with 3,782 square feet of finished space, 1,216 square feet of unfinished basement, 679 square feet of attached garage and 958 square feet of decks and porches. Includes electrical, mechanical and plumbing.

PMT2012-00037; 1501 Lee Hill Drive; $46,056.25; Rentprop LLC; Tenant remodel of 625 square feet to create crew quarters for medical response unit -- to include kitchen facilities, bathroom facilities with shower, partition wall to bifurcate vehicle parking/storage from crew quarters. Existing lighting to be used -- no new lighting fixtures proposed or to be installed. Install 50-gallon water heater and garage unit heater -- existing RTUs and furnaces to be utilized.

PMT2011-05471; 6790 Winchester Circle; $953,925.50; KTDoublemd LLC, Golden Triangle Construction; Tenant finish for 19,500-square-foot one-story structure -- warehouse and administrative office areas for corporate headquarters for Smoker Friendly. Core and shell under PMT2011-03632.

PMT2012-00427; 1245 Fairfield Drive; $10,291; Beata Zawadzka-Gerritsen; Master bathroom and kitchen remodel. To include relocation of existing washer and dryer and installation of associated electrical.

The rest is here:
Boulder building permits: Feb. 13, 2012

ALBION —  

Certainly one of the most difficult and stressful situations a family can face is trying to take care of an acutely ill loved one in the home. Locally, over the past two decades, families in need have been able to turn to Hospice of Orleans for invaluable in-home patient care and support.

However, in cases where patients can no longer be cared for at home, Hospice’s abilities — until now — have been limited because of a lack of facilities. In such cases, Hospice has had to refer those families to nursing homes or the hospital, as Hospice itself has had no facilities to take care of those situations. Last year, in fact, Hospice of Orleans made some 20 such referrals.

That situation, though, is about to change in a very big and dramatic way for Hospice.

The construction of the new Martin-Linsin Hospice Residence, which is now well under way just behind the Hospice of Orleans office building on Route 31 in Albion, will allow Hospice to provide care and assistance for those patients and their families.

“It’s absolutely wonderful. It’s great for the community,” said Hospice Development Director Cora Goyette of the new building which will enable Hospice to care for as many as eight patients and their families at any one time.

 “There is no question there is a demonstrated need for such a residence as we had 20 families just last year we had to refer to other facilities,” Goyette said. “Most people desire to be at home but there are occasions and conditions under which that isn’t possible. Our hope is to keep families together when it is a very stressful time. It is about enabling people to live to the best of their ability surrounded by family and friends and this building will enable us to do that.”

Construction of the $2.2 million, 8,500-square-foot building, which began in November and is slated to be completed this summer, will provide a residence facility that will include eight individual suites as well as a communal family room and kitchen for residents and family.

“We took a huge leap of faith breaking ground in November in Upstate New York, but the weather has been incredible, a lot of angels, and we’re actually ahead of schedule,” Goyette said. “This building will certainly augment our in-home care and will serve the community well.”

The new residence facility name recognizes of one of the project’s primary donors, Bruce Martin of Shelby, whose wife, Margaret Linsin Martin, was cared for by Hospice. In honor of her, the new facility will be named The Martin-Linsin Residence at Hospice of Orleans.

See original here:
Hospice residence construction continues

The Memorial Health System board on Wednesday approved construction of a four-story, $60 million medical office building along North First Street.

The structure, to be used exclusively by Springfield Clinic physicians, would give more clinic doctors and patients access to Memorial Medical Center, help the clinic expand and create new areas for women’s health and cancer-treatment services.

“This building allows us to continue to grow in Springfield,” Don Waldrop, chief operating officer of Springfield Clinic, told The State Journal-Register. “The physical structure will allow us to improve our coordination of care.”

The as-yet-unnamed outpatient-care building would be constructed immediately north of Memorial’s Springfield Clinic 1st building, 800 N. First St. The 5.85-acre site now is vacant land and parking areas already owned by Memorial.

The building will include an enclosed pedestrian walkway across Dodge Street to connect the new building with the 1st building. The project also is to include a parking ramp with 590 spaces.

The Springfield Clinic 1st building, which covers 118,000 square feet, was completed in 2006. That building is full, Waldrop said. The new building would total 132,000 square feet.

Scaled back

Memorial officials hope to break ground on the project this spring, but first need a zoning change and variances from the Springfield City Council. The site now has a mixture of office and residential zoning, which needs to be changed so the entire site is zoned for offices, according to Joe Gooden, Springfield zoning administrator.

The Springfield Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to make a recommendation on the changes March 21. The city council is expected to vote on the project April 17.

Kevin England, the health system’s vice president for business development, said the project is part of a larger Memorial construction plan that health system officials have “significantly scaled back,” in part because of uncertainty about whether railroad traffic eventually will be moved off the Third Street corridor east of Memorial.

He wouldn’t reveal details of the larger project except to say that it would have been in the area of the Third Street tracks. Memorial favors consolidating rail traffic along the 10th Street corridor, England said.

Springfield Clinic could hire at least 70 more doctors and at least 100 more nurses and other support staff because of the new outpatient treatment space, Waldrop said.

The clinic, which employs 240 doctors and 100 nurse practitioners and physician assistants, has added about 45 doctors in each of the past two years. It continues to grow in part because smaller physician groups in the community have joined the clinic and because demand for specialized medical care in Springfield is increasing, Waldrop said.

The project would create about 1,700 construction jobs, he said.

Space needed

Springfield Clinic would move its chemotherapy infusion services and medical oncologists from its main campus at 1025 S. Sixth St. to the new building’s fourth floor. The new location will be designed to use natural light and be more relaxing for patients undergoing chemotherapy, Waldrop said.

“We don’t have the space right now to provide the ideal healing environment that we would like to,” he said.

General-surgery and colorectal surgeons would be based on the new building’s third floor, moving from the Springfield Clinic 1st building.

The first and second floors of the new building would primarily be devoted to women’s health. Obstetricians-gynecologists would move to those floors from the 1st building and the Springfield Clinic SOGA building at 350 W. Carpenter St.

Other specialists -- including endocrinologists, plastic surgeons and dermatologists –- sometimes would use the first two floors to see patients, but would keep their main offices elsewhere, Waldrop said.

The new building’s proximity to Memorial is expected to boost hospital revenue, England said.

However, Waldrop noted that Springfield Clinic doctors are not required or given incentives to refer patients to any particular hospital.

“The doctors who would be based in the new medical office building use hospital services more frequently than other doctors,” England said.

In addition to the $30 million Springfield Clinic 1st building, Memorial Health System paid $7.6 million to construct an office building for Springfield Clinic doctors next to Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital, which opened last year in Lincoln.

Memorial also paid $12 million for another office building for Springfield Clinic doctors that opened in 2009 next to another system hospital, Taylorville Memorial.

***

New physician office building

What: Memorial Health System office building to be constructed immediately north of Springfield Clinic 1st, 800 N. First St. Would be rented exclusively to Springfield Clinic doctors for outpatient treatment.

Why: To accommodate expected growth in the number of doctors and other health-care providers employed by Springfield Clinic; improve coordination of care; and provide a better healing environment for chemotherapy patients.

Cost: $60 million, to be paid by Memorial Health System.

When: Construction could begin this spring, with completion by October 2014. Approval from the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board isn’t needed because the new building wouldn’t provide hospital services.

What’s next: An advisory vote at 6 p.m. March 21 by the Springfield Planning and Zoning Commission regarding proposed zoning changes. Springfield City Council expected to vote April 17.

See original here:
Memorial to construct $60 million physician building

Randolph Construction of Pasco is building a new Army Corps of Engineers project office with energy efficiency features just downstream from Mill Creek Dam near Walla Walla under a $2.2 million contract.

Construction is expected to begin next week with the help of 20 Tri-City and Walla Walla area firms that have been awarded Randolph Construction subcontracts.

The new office, off Reservoir Road just east of Walla Walla city limits and across Mill Creek from Walla Walla Community College, will have some features for visitors who use the walking trails in the area and boat on Bennington Lake.

It will include a visitor display area and a public restroom. Site work for the 3,756-square-foot building will include an access road, expanded parking and a new pedestrian bridge.

The new building replaces a 1930s structure with later additions that totaled 900 square feet of space.

The new building has been designed to reduce energy consumption and waste, both during construction and also during use of the building, to the silver standard for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design of the U.S. Green Building Council.

The energy-saving features should achieve a 30-percent reduction in energy consumption and reduce operating costs, said Simeon Francis, Corps project manager, in a statement.

Features will include a gray-water reuse system to treat used water from faucets, showers and the water fountain for flushing toilets. A ground loop heat exchanger will use natural underground heat as a source to help heat and cool the building. Solar collection panels also will be installed.

The building is positioned to receive maximum access to direct sunlight, and lighting controls will automatically adjust interior electrical lighting based on the amount of sunlight entering a room.

No permanent irrigation will be installed because landscaping will be done with native, drought-tolerant plants.

The building should be completed in October.

Subcontractors on the project include A&B Asphalt of Benton City for new asphalt and parking area; Apollo Sheet Metal of Kennewick for plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning and ground source loop systems; Columbia Basin Rebar of Burbank to supply reinforcing bar,and Intermountain West Insulation of Kennewick to install insulation.

Subcontractors also include J&B Construction and Landscaping of Kennewick for landscaping, temporary irrigation and pavers; Paintmaster Service of Benton City for painting and coating; RedBuilt of Richland to supply I-joists and glulams; R.P. Construction of Kennewick for framing; Monarch Machinery of Pasco to supply structural steel components and Stratton Surveying of Kennewick for surveying.

Similar stories:

2 homes at PNNL to compare energy efficiency

2 homes at PNNL to compare energy efficiency

RICHLAND — Two new homes on the campus at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland only look identical.

One will be retrofitted with the latest in energy-saving features and the other will continue to function much like an average Tri-City home.

Together they will serve as a first-of-its-kind research facility in the Northwest to measure how much energy efficiency can be gained with different technologies.

Briefs: Public Lands Day event is Saturday in Burbank

Briefs: Public Lands Day event is Saturday in Burbank

BURBANK -- Several federal agencies are helping to celebrate National Public Lands Day on Saturday at the Hood Park Nature Area.

The Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service and Bureau of Reclamation are seeking volunteers to assist in making visitor improvements to the area, located at the intersection of highways 12 and 124.

Registration is at 9 a.m. Projects planned include building a trail from the campground to the nature area and a litter patrol.

Removal vessels arrive for Hanford vit plant

Removal vessels arrive for Hanford vit plant

Two decontamination vessels that are essential to safely removing canisters of glassified radioactive waste produced at the Hanford vitrification plant's High Level Waste Facility have been delivered to the project.

The titanium steel vessels weigh 4,200 pounds and measure 2.5 feet in diameter and 18 feet tall.

Inside each vessel, canisters of treated radioactive waste will be cleaned of any radioactive contamination with acid that will etch off a fine layer from the exterior of the canister before it leaves the building.

Copper Ridge apartment complex is rising

Copper Ridge apartment complex is rising

Construction is to start next week on a $24 million apartment complex near Southridge High School in Kennewick.

The 232-unit Copper Ridge Apartments will be on the southwest corner of Southridge Boulevard and Hildebrand Road.

Darin Davidson, managing partner of the Inland Group of Spokane, said the company hopes to offer quality, affordable housing for the general work force.

West Pasco to get library with drive-through service window

West Pasco to get library with drive-through service window

West Pasco's residents can expect to have a library on their side of town by next fall.

The Mid-Columbia Libraries board voted this week to build a 5,000-square-foot branch at the corner of road 76 and Wrigley Drive, next to the Lourdes West Pasco Clinic.

Gisi Investment Services will build and own the building, as well as the land, said Kyle Cox, interim director for MCL.

See more here:
Army Corps of Engineers getting new project office near Walla Walla

By Ben Gutierrez - bio | email

MANOA (HawaiiNewsNow) - Fire heavily damaged a portable building at the University of Hawaii at Manoa Sunday, possibly destroying hundreds of financial documents for the entire UH system.

The fire continued to smolder during the noon hour, choking much of the university area and Moiliili with thick smoke. Authorities evacuated Kalo Place, immediately downwind of the blaze, because of the heavy smoke.

UH security officer Rey Gomez was patrolling on foot at the Stan Sheriff Center when he spotted black smoke shortly after 8 a.m. He described it as, "Just like a big -- like a huge barbecue, basically, coming out from all four windows, just flames coming out to the roof. I mean it was huge. First time I've seen something like that," Gomez said.

"In the back of my head I'm just thinking I'm hoping that nobody came in during the weekend to do some last-minute paperwork," he added.

Honolulu Fire Capt. Robert Main said no one was in the building at the time the fire started. He also said that the construction of the building and its contents made fighting the blaze difficult. "We do have a lot of paperwork, equipment, electronics that we're trying to deal with," said Main. "Also the construction of the building, there's a lot of open space that we're going to have to open up and get in there."

Fire crews were able to control the flames about 20 minutes after the initial call, but flames re-ignited when a hole opened in the roof, allowing more fire-fueling oxygen in.

According to UH spokesman Gregg Takayama, the building served as the fiscal management and procurement office, handling documents and financial records for the 60,000 or so students and 7,000 to 8,000 faculty and staff of all ten campuses in the UH system. According to Takayama, this included "payroll records, procurement records, accounts payable, student loan information for the entire UH system."

Takayama also said the office was in the process of transitioning to a completely computerized fiscal management system.

"There is a substantial amount of records that are on paper, and we suspect that might be items that might be lost of damaged by water, so there's substantial impact in terms of recovering the records and the man-hours that will have to be put in to reconstructing what is in there," Takayama said.

The cause of the fire is still undetermined. Damage is estimated at $600,000.

More details coming up on Hawaii News Now at 5.

Copyright 2012 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

See the original post:
Smoldering UH building fire chokes Moiliili with smoke, destroys fiscal office

HACKENSACK — An office building parking garage with a cratered steel support beam, corroded metal decking and cracked concrete walls has been closed by the city to avoid a repeat of a 2010 parking garage collapse, officials said.

It was the first time the city wielded new regulations meant to force building owners to maintain their parking structures.

Structural deficiencies that city officials discovered this week at the 5 Summit Avenue garage were similar to those that caused the three-story garage at 300 Prospect Ave. to crumble, city Construction Official Joseph Mellone said Friday.

“Our engineer went up on the back of a pickup truck with a flashlight to see how bad it was, and he put his hand right through the steel beam,” Mellone said. “It was that bad.”

The building manager, however, said the management was addressing what she described as minor issues when the city took over.

“We had an engineer come in and he said there are no unsafe conditions,” said Marjorie Reilly. “We’re baffled. The city shut it down anyway.”

The Summit Avenue building, a two-story office complex built over a two-story garage at the corner of Essex Street, was one of 64 mid-rise, high-rise and commercial complexes the city contacted in the weeks after the Prospect Towers collapse, urging them to submit engineers’ reports outlining the structural integrity of their parking garages before another one collapsed. No one was trapped in the Prospect Towers rubble, but more than 300 residents were displaced.

The Summit Avenue building management replied with a letter from an architect – not the structural engineer the city had requested – asserting that the parking garage was in solid condition and needed only cosmetic repairs.

Reilly said the building was working on the painting and scraping called for in that report and did not hear from the city again for a year.

“We were under the impression that they were satisfied,” she said.

Read the original here:
Structural problems prompt shutdown of Hackensack parking garage

At the February/March turn of the month Veidekke Entreprenad will start work on building the first of Diligentia`s new commercial buildings in the new Masthusen city district in Malmö. It will be an office building with space of around one hundred employees with shops on the ground floor. The value of the contract is approx. SEK 110 million excluding VAT.

"We are currently developing the new city district of Masthusen in Malmö`s Västra Hamnen. It is to become a city district that is alive around the clock. The assignment of building the first commercial building requires a professional project group. That was why we chose Veidekke," says Andreas Ivarsson, market area manager for Diligentia in Malmö.

The block will be built in accordance with Breeam Communities guidelines, which entail that one considers sustainability in its entirety. This includes the social environment, accessibility, and that the buildings should use as few resources as possible.

The office building is to be heated using geothermal heat, and will have a floor area of approx. 9,300 m2 whereof approx. 7,000 m2 are offices and 1,800 m2 shops. The building will be six storeys high and have a dark brick and limestone façade. Takeover will take place in December next year.

"Town planning with important players such as Diligentia requires Veidekke to involve our partners early so that everything gets off to a good start. This applies to both choosing our own employees and our choice of suppliers and partners," says Ulf Sterner, regional manager of Veidekke Entreprenad.

For more information, please contact:
Andreas Ivarsson, Market Area Manager, Diligentia Malmö, Telephone: +46 40-20 63 41, andreas.ivarsson@diligentia.se
Ulf Sterner, Regional Manager, Veidekke Entreprenad, Telephone: +46 70-3244563, ulf.sterner@veidekke.se
Max Ney, Communications Manager, Veidekke Sweden, Telephone: +46 70-440 20 21, max.ney@veidekke.se

Veidekke is one of Scandinavia`s largest contractors with 6,100 employees and a turnover of NOK 16.3 billion (2010). Activities include building and construction projects, residential developments, asphalt plants, gravel and aggregates and road maintenance. Our values are professional, honest, enthusiastic and pioneering. Our goals for health, safety and the environment, HSE, have equal status with our financial goals.  Veidekke is characterized by a decentralized organizational model with a strong corporate culture and a high degree of employee involvement. Over half the employees are co-owners, holding almost 20% of Veidekke`s shares between them. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and has never declared a loss since it was founded in 1936.

This information is subject of the disclosure requirements acc. to §5-12 vphl (Norwegian Securities Trading Act)

This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of Thomson Reuters clients.

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Source: Veidekke ASA via Thomson Reuters ONE
HUG#1583726

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