Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

CORDELE, GA (WALB) -

Abandoned rooms above the "Fancy Stitchin' Building" on 7th Street will soon be turned into loft style apartments.

That's because Cordele was one of several cities in its region chosen to be a part of the state's BoomTown project, an initiative intended to create jobs created through revitalization.

"I think it's a pretty good idea. Anytime you can bring anything to a small town downtown, it can pick it up a little bit and bring traffic to the downtown area," said resident Kyle Davis.

Two buildings in Cordele will be revitalized, one for retail space and the other is being turned into lofts in anticipation of new Darton State College students coming to a planned satellite campus in Cordele.

One nearby business owner says he can't wait to see the project get underway.

"I expect an increase in my business as a result of that, not only with my martial arts, but also with my vitamin sales and kickboxing classes. I expect a lot of growth from that," said GTC Gym owner Arthur Jackson.

With renovations coming to downtown Cordele, so are job opportunities.

"It would mean jobs for carpenters, construction people and things of that nature. Not to mention you have to furnish property, so your local furniture (will benefit)," said Cordele Main Street Director Monica Mitchell.

"It's not really attractive down here right now, but with the college coming to town, I think if you put some lofts downtown that will definitely pick up the area," said Davis.

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Lofts, retail space coming to Downtown Cordele

FAIRFIELD, N.J., Oct. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Increasing his range of key responsibilities for the company, Amerlux has announced the expansion of Bill Plageman's responsibilities to include Vice President of Marketing, Product Development and Customer Service, according to CEO/President Chuck Campagna. Amerlux is a leader of task-specific, energy-efficient lighting solutions for the retail, supermarket, commercial and hospitality markets.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120118/NY36894LOGO )

"As our firm continues to grow exponentially, Bill has done an excellent job in his management roles overseeing our highly valued marketing and product development departments," explained Mr. Campagna. "Our customers and specifiers will continue to reap the benefits of his industry expertise and depth of knowledge as he heads-up our customer service team."

In his latest role, Mr. Plageman will oversee a team of nearly a dozen customer service representatives that work very closely with the production, quotations and purchasing departments. He will streamline the customer service department to specialize in National Accounts and Commercial Accounts, while implementing new policies and procedures to help customers and specifiers process their orders more quickly, accurately and efficiently.

Mr. Plageman will continue to oversee product management while Senior Project Manager JR Krauza manages the day-to-day operations of the product development department. Amerlux project management personnel continue to make new inroads with innovative commercial and retail task and accent lighting employing the latest LED technologies.

Mr. Plageman will also continue to manage the marketing department while Jeff Zaro oversees digital marketing content including the new website design, emarketing and mobile applications. Graphic Designer Chrissy Dagnall will manage the design and production of all print materials including catalogs and magazine advertising.

"Bill's vast and diverse skill set continues to raise his star within our customer and corporate communities," continued Mr. Campagna. "His leadership has helped nurture our younger executives and drive fellow employees to become the best that they can be."

During his tenure with Amerlux, Mr. Plageman served for five years as Vice President of Specification Sales while building a sales team to work with high-profile architectural, engineering and lighting design firms. Since that time, he has overseen the marketing and product development departments building the Amerlux brand and growing the product line with many new LED solutions.

About Amerlux LLC

Amerlux speaks the language of light for design and construction professionals around the world by manufacturing a broad array of optically superior, energy efficient lighting solutions for the retail, supermarket, hospitality, commercial and outdoor lighting markets. Amerlux products and services include track lighting, recessed downlighting and multiples, pendants, linear fluorescents, and custom lighting systems, as well as support for energy reduction plans that can be used as a guide to state, city and local utility rebate programs for maximum energy savings and utility incentives. The company's domestic and international clients receive the support of Amerlux's highly trained specification sales force, as well as expert service from initial design to on-time delivery made possible by strategically located manufacturing, warehousing and shipping locations.

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Amerlux Expands Vice President Roles of Bill Plageman to Marketing, Product Management and Customer Service

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) October 17, 2012

There are some things that happen once every four years and that's fine, but dont let heating and air conditioning maintenance be one of them. The top energy savings tip is to have heating and air systems serviced regularly. A regularly maintained HVAC system will consume less electricity and gas. If an HVAC system has not serviced by a licensed professional since the last presidential election, then now is the time to schedule one.

Homeowners and commercial property managers depend on reliable heating and air conditioning system for comfort at home and work. This valuable equipment must be serviced to prevent major break downs later on.

More Top Heating and Cooling Energy Saving Tips

1. Install a programmable thermostat for home heating. It can save lots of energy while youre sleeping or away from home and will re-warm your house shortly before you wake up or return home from work.

2. Set your homes thermostat at the coolest level you can without making your rooms uncomfortable. For most homes, the heating bill drops by about 2 percent for every 1 degree the thermostat is lowered.

3. Lower your homes thermostat at bedtime or while youre away during the day. Setting the thermostat to 58 degrees while youre asleep (you may need an extra blanket!) can cut your natural-gas bill by up to 7 percent.

4. Seal up leaky drafts around doors and windows with weather-stripping, caulking, and door sweeps. (And dont forget to keep the damper closed on a fireplace or wood-burning stove when its not in use.) Also seal up any leaks or gaps in furnace ducts that extend through unheated basements or crawl spaces.

5. Have your furnace inspected and tuned up every year (before the heating season starts), and clean or replace the air filters on your furnace every two months during the heating season. Your furnace will run more efficiently and use less energy.

6. Make sure you have adequate insulation in your homes attic and walls, and around heating ducts that pass through unheated spaces.

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Tips To Help Lower Heating and Cooling Bills and Special Pricing for Fall Preseason Furnace Tune-up Announced by R.S ...

MINNEAPOLIS, MN--(Marketwire - Oct 17, 2012) - Allan Block Corporation, a leading provider of retaining walls, is proud to announce that the Allan Block retaining wall system is now approved by the BC Ministry of Transportation (MOT) for retaining walls up to 9 meters (29 feet) in height. Allan Block has been added with this distinction to the MOT's Recognized Product List on October 1, 2012 and is now available for the use on Ministry tall wall applications.

For over 15 years Allan Block has been approved by the BC Ministry of Transportation for retaining walls up to 5 meters (16 feet) in height. During that time over 3,000,000 m2 (35,000,000 ft2) of Allan Block has been installed in British Columbia, Canada.

The ability to provide a system for retaining walls up to 9 meters (29 feet) for the Ministry is a testament of the capabilities of the Allan Block system. Recognition by the Ministry of Allan Block's extensive full-scale seismic testing and product experience provides the owners, designers and contractors of British Columbia with confidence that they are selecting a quality product and a proven system.

The complete Allan Block product line is manufactured by Expocrete Concrete Products for all of Western Canada. Both companies are committed to providing cost-effective solutions for retaining wall structures for residential, commercial and Ministry projects and are excited with this expanded approval by the MOT. Allan Block through Expocrete Concrete Products provides training to engineers and contractors to educate them on common design practices of the industry and to provide owners with confidence that the system they are using are designed appropriately and will be installed correctly. For upcoming training from Allan Block and Expocrete Concrete Products, please visit http://www.allanblock.com.

Allan Block has millions of square feet of retaining wall products installed throughout the world, and has the resources to deliver performance and quality to every project. The Allan Block products are inspired by nature and manufactured with recycled materials in order to increase efficiency and minimize the footprint we have on the world we live in.

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Allan Block Now Approved for Retaining Walls up to 9m High With the BC Ministry of Transportation (MOT)

GOOD HOPE A major sewer line extension is in the works after officials received word the city has landed a grant to help fund the project through the Alabama Department of Community Affairs (ADECA).

The grant, a $330,000 award the city had sought but failed to obtain in years past, will fun roughly half the project, expected to total approximately $700,000.

Good Hope Mayor Corey Harbison said the new line will run east of Alabama Highway 69 through a residential area where many homeowners not currently served by a public sewer have had problems with their septic tanks.

Right now, theres probably about 100 residents that this will affect, said Harbison. The line will run from [Ala. highway] 69 off Lindsey road back to a subdivision on Buettner Drive. It's something the city has known about for a while and tried to pursue. Weve recognized that there was a problem; that people have had problems for years in this section of the city with septic tank failures, having to have their tanks pumped sometimes twice a year.

Once work on the project expected to take a year is finished, Harbisons hopeful the new line will offer prospective homebuilders an incentive to locate in Good Hope.

The good thing about this is that there's a lot of raw land in between Lindsey Road and Buettner Drive where we have spots for potential future residential development, he said. But, there has to be a sewer infrastructure there if we want to have that opportunity.

The project will install a gravity sewer line, which transports sewage without the need for pumps used in low-pressure sewer systems. The city will have to fund the balance of the projects total cost, most likely by taking out a bank loan.

Albertville-based CDG Engineers & Associates, which had provided preliminary site planning and cost estimates for the expansion, will also serve as project engineer once the work gets underway.

* Benjamin Bullard can be reached by e-mail at bbullard@cullmantimes.com or by telephone at 734-2131 ext. 270.

Originally posted here:
Grant clears way for major sewer extension in Good Hope

wwltv.com

Posted on October 16, 2012 at 10:27 PM

Updated yesterday at 10:41 PM

Tania Dall / Eyewitness News Email: tdall@wwltv.com | Twitter: @taniadall

NEW ORLEANS -- Dozens of "Night Out Against Crime" events took place across the metro area on Tuesday night, from Orleans to Jefferson to St. Tammany parishes.

Many of the community-centered celebrations were held in parks, churches, community centers and front porches.

"It's good to have, it brings a lot of people out and it brings them together," said Chris Ferrand.

NOPD officers went door-to-door inviting citizens to a National Night Out Against Crime event just around the corner from Ferrand's Treme home.

"Food, talk, a little conversation. You get a chance to meet a lot of people and that shows you how close people can get together, if they want to," said Ferrand about the events aimed at uniting neighbors.

City leaders and community members packed the parking lot of St. Peter Claver Church in Treme on Tuesday night. New Orleanians teaming up to say enough is enough.

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Dozens of metro events mark "Night Out Against Crime"

The Flat-Snap micro-site is a central repository of data on the appliance industry leading product. It contains data to aid manufacturing companies in selecting the best connector for their applications.

Bradenton, FL (PRWEB) October 17, 2012

ETCOs patented Flat-Snap wire termination connector is an industry leading solution. It is currently being used in a multitude of manufacturing applications primarily in the appliance industry. Some of the uses include wire termination on heating elements found in dishwashers and electric ranges as well as electric range eye connectors. ETCO wants to show that this type of product can be used in nearly any type of appliance connector application.

Engineered with manufacturing operation safety and simple end user repair access, the flat-snap connector consists of two ears that lock into place once applied to a male connecting unit. Manufacturing line workers and automated systems simply snap the connector into place and pull slightly to ensure the connection is tight. Once in place, it is nearly impossible to move or shift it off the main male unit. The connector is comparable to the faston terminal series of connectors currently available on the market and comes in a variety of metals including brass, tinned brass and a high temperature copper alloy for the aforementioned appliance heating assemblies.

ETCOs Director of Marketing, Sam Francois states, This Flat-Snap micro-site is in response to the overwhelming industry interest to ETCOs Flat-Snap product. He continues, Visitors can use the site to download pdf datasheets and get current manufacturing quotes for the Flat-Snap product. ETCO is initially making the new line of Flat-Snap products available to a limited number of manufacturers and plans to rollout variations of the product for custom manufacturing applications.

About ETCO

Founded in 1947, ETCO is a privately owned company. The Company manufactures precision stampings and rubber and plastic molded products used principally by major automotive and appliance manufacturers. ETCO also has major customers in a variety of other industries in the USA and over 30 countries throughout the world. ETCO has factories and a research complex in Bradenton, Florida and a factory and engineering center in Warwick, Rhode Island.

For more information on ETCO, visit the Company website online at http://www.etco.com

Sam Francois ETCO, Inc. 941-756-8426 Email Information

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ETCO Incorporated Launches New Flat-Snap Connector Product Micro-Site

WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. builders started construction on homes in September at the fastest rate since July 2008, a further indication that the housing recovery is strengthening and could help the economy grow.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that builders broke ground on single-family homes and apartments at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 872,000 in September. That's an increase of 15 percent from the August level.

Single-family construction rose 11 percent. Apartment building increased 25.1 percent.

Applications for building permits, a sign of future construction, jumped nearly 12 percent to an annual rate of 894,000, also the highest since July 2008.

"If there was any doubt that the housing market was undergoing a recovery, even a modest one in the face of the terrible 2008 decline, those doubts should be erased by now," said Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG.

Construction activity is now 82.5 percent higher than the recession low hit in April 2009. Activity is still well below the roughly 1.5 million rate consistent with healthier markets. Still, the surge in construction suggests builders believe the housing rebound is durable.

"Today's data reinforce the view that while housing is not going to be the driver of economic activity that it was in the middle of the prior decade, neither will it be the anchor on activity that it has been in recent years," Greenhaus said.

Construction activity rose in three of the nation's four regions. The biggest increases came in the West and South. Housing starts increased by nearly 20 percent in both regions. Construction of new homes and apartments rose 6.7 percent in the Midwest. Housing starts fell 5.1 percent in the Northeast.

Builder confidence reached at a six-year high this month, according to a survey by the National Association of Home Builders. The group's index of builder sentiment rose to a reading of 41. While that's still below the level of 50 that signals a healthy market, it has steadily climbed over the past year from a reading of 17.

Sales of new and previously owned homes have been slowly improving this year, and home prices are starting to show consistent gains.

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US housing construction jumps to 4-year high

By Martin Crutsinger, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - U.S. builders started construction on homes in September at the fastest rate since July 2008, a further indication that the housing recovery is strengthening and could help the economy grow.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that builders broke ground on single-family homes and apartments at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 872,000 in September. That's an increase of 15 per cent from the August level.

Single-family construction rose 11 per cent. Apartment building increased 25.1 per cent.

Applications for building permits, a sign of future construction, jumped nearly 12 per cent to an annual rate of 894,000, also the highest since July 2008.

"If there was any doubt that the housing market was undergoing a recovery, even a modest one in the face of the terrible 2008 decline, those doubts should be erased by now," said Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG.

Construction activity is now 82.5 per cent higher than the recession low hit in April 2009. Activity is still well below the roughly 1.5 million rate consistent with healthier markets. Still, the surge in construction suggests builders believe the housing rebound is durable.

"Today's data reinforce the view that while housing is not going to be the driver of economic activity that it was in the middle of the prior decade, neither will it be the anchor on activity that it has been in recent years," Greenhaus said.

Construction activity rose in three of the nation's four regions. The biggest increases came in the West and South. Housing starts increased by nearly 20 per cent in both regions. Construction of new homes and apartments rose 6.7 per cent in the Midwest. Housing starts fell 5.1 per cent in the Northeast.

Builder confidence reached at a six-year high this month, according to a survey by the National Association of Home Builders. The group's index of builder sentiment rose to a reading of 41. While that's still below the level of 50 that signals a healthy market, it has steadily climbed over the past year from a reading of 17.

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US home construction surges 15 per cent in September to 4-year high, building permits also up

A man in an apartment building south of the Rosedale subway station got in touch the other day. He told me there was a condo tower being built across the ravine; the lights from the construction site were powerfully bright, profoundly annoying, and aimed right into his building; hed made some calls, but he couldnt get anyone to do anything.

I decided to take a look. I hate it when people cant get anybody to do anything.

Also, the man who got in touch is Larry Krotz, a consummate professional freelance writer, and he also makes films, and we once had books out at the same time, and I trust him.

As I neared his address on a recent evening hey, who goes to see bright lights during the day? I saw the construction crane, and the lights on it, but I also noticed the brightness of the street lamps, and the one didnt seem worse than the others.

Oh, well, keep an open mind.

Larry and a handful of his neighbours were waiting for me in the lobby; smart people, hard-working professionals. They gave me a short history of the problem, which at that point didnt seem to me to be a very large problem.

Larry said, Construction started a couple of years ago. In July of last year, the crane went up and they started building. Some days the lights on the crane were on at night. The tenants lived with that.

But, as the building began to rise, the crane was also rising, and then the problem got worse when new and more powerful lights were added to the base of the building under construction.

Those, I hadnt seen while walking.

Stephanie Woodside said, Theyre very bright, and shining into all the apartments on the north side. I asked the obvious question:

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Fiorito: Darkness in Rosedale