Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

A new survey released by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) shows common remodeling projects have increased, compared to a similar survey from 2010. The survey, released in conjunction with National Home Remodeling Month, describes the changes the remodeling market has undergone in recent years.

Remodelers report that kitchen and bathroom projects remain the most popular remodeling jobs with home owners increasingly upgrading both rooms and making major repairs as they decide to stay in their current homes longer. Nearly 50 percent of remodelers report seeing an increase in the number of home owners who undertake remodels to avoid moving compared to the 2010 findings.

Both kitchen and bathroom remodeling projects were up 17 percent from two years ago, with bathroom remodels cited as a common job by 78 percent of remodelers and kitchen remodels at 69 percent. Since 2009, bathrooms and kitchens have switched places in popularity, with bathroom remodels moving into the top spot as the most common type of remodeling project.

As the priorities of home owners shift, remodelers have to adjust to the needs of their clients, says NAHB Remodelers Chairman George Geep Moore Jr., GMB, CAPS, GMR and owner/president of Moore-Built Construction & Restoration Inc. in Elm Grove, La. And while the motivation behind a home owners decision to remodel may have changed, their desire for quality, professional results have not. Professional remodelers remain committed to the highest industry standards.

Repairs and replacements of old components and the desire for upgraded amenities were cited as the top reasons for customers to hire a remodeler. More than 60 percent of remodelers reported increased demand for repairs and replacements of old components in the past two years, while more than half of remodelers said that the desire for upgraded amenities increased. In contrast, more than 20 percent of remodelers said there was a decrease in customers remodeling to increase home values as an investment.

In addition to kitchens and baths, other popular remodeling categories included window/door replacements (44 percent), whole house remodels (35 percent), room additions (33 percent) and handyman services (31 percent).

Home owners are repurposing spaces and making more efficient use of their homes square footage, Moore says. Whether it be young families or couples aging in their homes, people want to let their house adapt with their needs as they change over time.

For more information about remodeling, visit http://www.nahb.org/remodel.

Copyright 2011 RISMedia, The Leader in Real Estate Information Systems and Real Estate News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be republished without permission from RISMedia.

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Kitchens and Bathrooms Remain Top Remodeling Jobs

CEBU, Philippines - The Office of the Building Official (OBO) is now tasked to speed up the processing of applications for building construction permits as Mayor Michael Rama wants them to be immediately released to applicants.

The mayor wants this done to prevent further delay on the start of the projects.

Although he is not totally against the city councils request to prohibit the construction of projects before the approval of building permits, Rama wants to speed up the issuance of permits within one day or a few days.

OBO head Engr. Josefa Ylanan assured that she can release the permits before the lapse of the 15-day maximum period set by the National Building Code if the applicants can submit all the necessary supporting documents.

But Ylanan said her other problem is the lack of technical personnel to review the technical descriptions of the building permit applications because OBO has only 32 personnel and cannot cope with the work demands.

Even if he wants to hasten the issuance of permits at the OBO, Rama did not assure that he will assign additional technical personnel to the said office.

Rama is pushing for the creation of a so-called One Stop Shop or an office or building where representatives from the various government agencies involved in the issuance of the necessary documents may hold office together.

Before a building permit can be secured, the applicants need to first get a locational clearance from the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) to find out whether the site is fit for the planned projects based on the zoning ordinance.

Although OBO and CPDO are two different offices, these are both situated at the City Hall building.

After the locational clearance, the applicant for building construction permit also needs to secure an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) from the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), which is situated in Banilad.

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OBO urged to hasten processing of permits

COVINGTON -- The sound of sirens woke up the Covington Square Thursday morning as Covington Fire Department firefighters raced to the scene of a fire in an office building on Clark Street adjacent to the Historic Courthouse.

The offices of Alexander, Royston, Hardman and Shinall and Carter and Associates, which are also used as the facade for The Mystic Grill in fictitious Mystic Falls during filming for "The Vampire Diaries" TV series, erupted in flames apparently after a vehicle hit a power pole behind the building. CPD Assistant Fire Chief Tony Smith said it appears the fire was electrical.

"A delivery truck was trying to deliver something at the Bell South building and pulled into the parking lot back there. Our belief, though the driver denies it, is he snatched down the wires and sent an electrical surge through the buildings and it found a weak spot."

Smith said there was a lot of smoke damage to the building and offices belonging to owners of the businesses located there -- Pete Carter and Jim Alexander -- were essentially gutted.

Smith estimated the monetary damage to be around $200,000.

"Our guys did a good job containing the fire and holding it where it was at," Smith said. "Those old buildings don't have firewalls and things like we have in modern construction, and our guys held it in check where it was not able to get into other units on the Square."

Smith added that because of the Automatic Aid agreement between CPD and Newton County Fire Service, their men were also on the scene.

"That cooperation as a whole led to our being able to hold the fire in check like we did," he said.

Traffic was cut off from the Square during morning rush hour from about 6:45 until about 11:15.

"They were able to have the Concert on the Square (at noon). We tried to have a minimum of disruption for most of the businesses in there," Smith said.

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Covington Square office building, Mystic Grill destroyed by fire

SANTA ROSA Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa today announced it selected Irvine-based Hammes Company to develop an on-campus, state-of-the-art medical office building as part of the new $284 million hospital just north of Santa Rosa.

The Sutter Healthaffiliated hospital said it conducted a local and nationwide search.

Hammes Company was selected as our real estate partner due to its proven track record of maximizing value, accelerating construction schedules, offering competitive physician rental rates and working with local vendors, said Mike Purvis, chief administrative officer of the medical center in a statement.

Sutter is constructing the $284 million acute care facility at the interchange of Mark West Springs Road and Highway 101. It will include all-private rooms, which will provide the highest quality of care for the community, according to Sutter. Completion is expected in 2014.

The development of an 80,000-square-foot medical office building will be a vital component of the new campus, according to Sutter. Hammes Company will lead all development, leasing and capital financing initiatives for the medical office building project.

Hammes Companys role as our developer will include leasing of the new medical office building. We are excited to strengthen relationships with the areas top healthcare professionals who plan to join us at our new campus, Mr. Purvis said.

The medical office building will house ambulatory services and physician offices for lease. The Hammes team has a long track record of working collaboratively with physicians in the development of high-quality medical office facilities that are cost-effective and operationally efficient, according to Sutter. Overseeing the project will be Jim Kobayashi (949-705-0900,jkobayashi@hammesco.com).

When completed, Sutter said it will pursueSilver levelLEEDcertification of the building by the U.S. Green Building Council. The medical office building is being constructed toCalifornia GreenBuilding Standards Code(CALGreen) requirements, established in 2011 to cut construction waste, reduce environmental impact during construction and increase energy efficiency.

As work ramps up, we look forward to building on our significant track record of development success with leading health care systems such as Swedish Health Services in the Northwest, Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare in the Midwest, St. Lukes Episcopal Health System in the South and Sentara Healthcare in the Mid-Atlantic, said Kevin Kraiss, senior vice president of Hammes Company.

We recognize the critical importance of the new medial campus to Sutter Healths mission and we will provide flexible, competitive development solutions in order to deliver an attractive environment for both physicians and patients.

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Sutter selects developer for Santa Rosa medical office building

Crews began demolishing the former Tompkins Fabric building in Syracuse's Franklin Square Thursday to make way for a new, three-story office building.

Demolition of the building at 438 N. Franklin St. is expected to take four to six weeks.

Developer Anthony Fiorito said construction of the $7 million office building that will replace it will take about eight months and will begin as soon as its first office tenant is signed. He said he is negotiating with three potential tenants.

The building, on the northeast corner of North Franklin and Genant streets, will have a brick facade to match other buildings in the historic square, a former industrial center that has been turned into a mix of office and apartment buildings over the past couple of decades.

Fiorito also owns One Franklin Square apartments next to the site.

William Ryan, Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miners chief of staff, got the demolition started by hopping into an excavator and knocking a hole in the side of the building.

Contact Rick Moriarty at rmoriarty@syracuse.com or (315) 470-3148.

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Demolition of Tompkins Fabric building begins in Franklin Square

By Scott Hamilton - Fri May 11 10:45:02 GMT 2012

A pedestrian passes the Bank of England.

A pedestrian passes the Bank of England. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

May 10 (Bloomberg) -- David Blanchflower, a professor at Dartmouth College and a Bloomberg Television contributing editor, talks about the Bank of England's stimulus program and U.K. inflation. He speaks with Manus Cranny on Bloomberg Television's "Last Word." (Source: Bloomberg)

Britains economy may have shrunk more than previously estimated in the first quarter after the statistics office reported a deeper slump in construction.

Building output plunged 4.8 percent in the three months through March, the Office for National Statistics said today. That compares with a 3 percent drop in the first estimate of gross domestic product on April 25, which showed the economy contracted 0.2 percent. The revision on its own would shave 0.1 percentage point off GDP, the statistics office said.

The building data may add to concerns about the economy as the Bank of England grapples with a double-dip recession and inflation remains above its target. Policy makers hadnt seen the revision before they decided yesterday to halt their quantitative-easing program at 325 billion pounds ($524 billion), according to statistics office officials.

Todays figures will intensify the dilemma facing the Monetary Policy Committee, said Samuel Tombs, an economist at Capital Economics Ltd. in London. Policy makers have to balance sticky inflation and very weak economic activity, he said.

The pound remained weaker against the dollar and the euro after the data was published. It traded at $1.6103 as of 11:30 a.m., down 0.3 percent on the day.

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U.K. Economic Slump May Be Deeper as Construction Revised

VICTORIA, May 9, 2012 /CNW/ - British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (bcIMC) announced today that Golder Associates Ltd. (Golder) has finalized a lease agreement to anchor its new LEED Gold office building at Broadway Tech Centre, an integrated office and warehouse development in Vancouver .

Construction of the new 196,000 sq. ft. four-storey office building, the eighth building at Broadway Tech Centre at 2920 Virtual Way, is scheduled to commence later this month, with Golder taking occupancy of three full floors, totaling 135,000 sq. ft. of office space, in January 2015 . The building will also include 15,000 sq. ft. of service-oriented retail space and a 5,000 sq. ft. daycare facility.

"This eighth building completes the first phase of Broadway Tech Centre, and we now look forward to beginning the next phase of development," said Mary Garden , Vice President, Real Estate, bcIMC. "We are pleased to have established a strong new relationship with Golder, and we welcome this international firm to join other long-term tenants at our world-class sustainable business campus."

Located at the corner of East Broadway and Renfrew Street, immediately adjacent to the Renfrew SkyTrain station, Broadway B-line Transit stop and Central Valley Greenway (bikeway connecting New Westminster to Vancouver ), Broadway Tech Centre is easily accessible from downtown Vancouver and the surrounding municipalities of Burnaby, North Vancouver and Coquitlam. With the completion of this latest building, the 1.1 million sq. ft. campus will include 930,000 sq. ft. of office and 150,000 sq. ft. of production/distribution space, along with a daycare facility, service-oriented retail space, on-site caf, outdoor sports courts for basketball and volleyball, full-service fitness facility, tenant conference room, significant landscaped areas and gardens and ample secured underground parking.

"Golder is very excited to be relocating its Greater Vancouver main office to Broadway Tech Centre," said Neil McQuitty, Managing Principal (British Columbia), Golder. "Not only will this allow us to consolidate and expand into one building, but the central location, immediate access to public transportation and on-site amenities in this sustainable campus development will be great for our employees."

Broadway Tech Centre has been recognized by the Urban Development Institute (UDI) for excellence in Urban/Office Development and by the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects. The project also won the 2002 National Association of Industrial and Office Properties NAIOP) Comprehensive Development Award.

"In launching the final building planned for the first phase of Broadway Tech Centre, Golder will be joining an already stellar list of existing tenants," said Tony Astles, Executive Vice President, Bentall Kennedy, the developer of the project. "Given the tremendous success of the project to date, planning and rezoning for the next phase of Broadway Tech Centre is already well underway."

About bcIMC

bcIMC is an independent investment management corporation that manages a globally diversified investment portfolio of $91.1 billion as at December 31, 2011 . Based in Victoria, British Columbia and supported by industry-leading expertise, bcIMC invests in all major asset classes including infrastructure and other strategic investments. bcIMC's clients include public sector pension plans, public trusts, and insurance funds. With real estate holdings valued at $14.4 billion as at December 31, 2011 , bcIMC is one of Canada's major property owners and developers. bcIMC's Canadian real estate portfolio includes offices, retail malls, residential and industrial buildings, hotels, and interests in real estate management companies. For more information, please visit http://www.bcimc.com.

About Golder

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Golder Associates Ltd. to Anchor bcIMC's New Leed® Gold Office Building at Broadway Tech Centre, Vancouver

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/zqjf9m/databook_india_c) has announced the addition of the "Databook - India Commercial Building Construction Industry Business and Investment Opportunity (2006 - 2015) - Market Size & Forecast, Key Trends, Drivers, and Risk" report to their offering.

This report is a data-centric business intelligence offering of Emerging Market Intelligence (EMI) in the commercial building construction sector. It details market size, future growth, drivers, and trends across key segments in commercial building construction. A detailed segmentation provides a comprehensive understanding of the commercial building construction market by value, volume, construction markets (office, retail, hotel, restaurant, public entertainment, and sports facility), and construction type (new construction, re-development, and maintenance & repair). In addition, it details macro-economic fundamentals and benchmarks the commercial building construction industry in India with key global markets along with risk assessment through proprietary EMI Construction Industry Attractiveness and Risk Index, which gives unique investment insights.

Scope of the report:

- Market Coverage: This report is focused on the commercial building construction industry in India

- Sector Coverage: This report provides market size and forecast across key commercial construction markets (office, retail, hotel, restaurant, public entertainment, and sports facility) by value and volume; and by construction type (new, redevelopment, and maintenance & repair).

- Data and Insights: This report provides market size and forecast for a period of 10 years from 2006-2015. It contains data centric commentary (does not contain analyst commentary) on key trends and drivers. It also details macro-economic and business/consumer related fundamentals. For all commercial building construction segments, market size and forecast has been provided in both value and volume terms.

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/zqjf9m/databook_india_c

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Research and Markets: Databook - India Commercial Building Construction Industry Business and Investment Opportunity ...

AP Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan. File photo

With the Supreme Court giving its nod reopening the probe into non-filing of proper accounts of election expenditure, vis-?-vis paid news against the former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, the Election Commission has fixed a fresh hearing for May 17.

Most probably the EC will decide to have a daily hearing as Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi is demitting office on June 10, informed sources said.

The issue was first exposed by The Hindu. Campaign advertisements in support of Mr. Chavan, who contested from Bhokar in the October 13, 2009 Assembly poll, were issued in Hindi and Marathi newspapers, camouflaging them as news items. An Independent and BJP representatives have complained to the EC that Mr. Chavan had not included the money spent on such advertisements in his election expenditure accounts and thus violated the EC rules. On November 3, 2011, a Bench of Justices Altamas Kabir, S.S. Nijjar and J. Chelameswar temporarily stopped the EC from going into Mr. Chavan's poll account, following his appeal against a Delhi High Court order, which had allowed the probe.

However, on May 2 this year, a Bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and J. Chelameshwar said the EC could go ahead with the probe but the findings should not be made public.

The EC had begun proceedings against Mr. Chavan on April 2, 2011 on complaints that he had shown it a poll expenditure of merely Rs. 11,000 despite his having paid money to various newspapers for favourable coverage of his campaign.

Mr. Chavan challenged the EC action in the High Court, which, however, ruled that the Commission was well within its rights to probe his account.

The complainants, who sought disqualification of Mr. Chavan, referred to Chapter III and Section 10A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. If the Election Commission is satisfied that a person has failed to lodge an account of election expenses within the time and in the manner required by or under this Act, and has no good reason or justification for the failure, the EC shall, by an order published in the Official Gazette, declare him disqualified. Any such person shall be disqualified for three years from the date of the order.

Mr. Chavan argued that there was no mention of his seeking votes in any of the advertisements. The election expenditure was submitted to the authority concerned in time and prima facie this was approved by the District Election Officer (Returning Officer). He had no role to play in the news stories, Mr. Chavan claimed.

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With SC clearing decks, EC to resume paid news probe against Chavan

By Jim Donovan

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) Ignoring a mold issue in your home will only prolong the problem and allow it to get worse. Since mold exposure can cause health problems, it is important to take steps to eliminate it from your house and hire a reputable company for the job.

In this weeks Angies List report, Jim Donovan shows you what you need to look for when choosing a professional for the job.

Are you concerned you might have mold in your home? There are a couple things experts will look at.

There are generally two types of test one is a lift test where a sample is taken from a suspected area of staining that is not quite for sure that it is mold. The other is an air sampling it is to determine the level of spores that are in the air in a particular area of a home, or crawl or attic, said Ron Porter, a mold removal specialist.

But mold remediation can be expensive, so if the mold is visible, that initial diagnostic test can be skipped but you dont want to skip the final testing.

Do the remediation and then do the post test because the post test is going to be very important to make sure that the remediation was done properly, said Angies List founder, Angie Hicks. Also, make sure the company you hire explains who will be testing your samples.

Its important for consumers to confirm that the company they are hiring do the testing is going to send the sample out to a third-party, an independent third-party for analysis because you want separation between those two activities. You dont want the company selling you remediation to be analyzing whether you need it, said Hicks.

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Common areas: Mold is most commonly the result of water damage found in crawl spaces, basements and attics and is usually identifiable by a musty odor.

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Angie’s List: Getting Rid Of Mold In Your Home