Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

GRAND RAPIDS Despite one officials skepticism about the value of geothermal heating and cooling, the city will install the alternative energy systems at two of its fire stations.

The $274,000 project at the Leonard Street and Kalamazoo Avenue stations will be funded mostly by federal stimulus money, with $74,000 coming from the Grand Rapids Fire Department. The geothermal system, which extracts and pumps heat from underground, is expected to reduce energy costs and pay back the city's upfront expense in 7.5 years.

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Still, the payback is much longer when considering the full public investment in the systems.

My job is to be a Grand Rapids (advocate), so if in fact there are federal dollars we need to look at that payback and make an intelligent decision, First Ward City Commissioner Walt Gutowski said. Thats scary, though. You get all this subsidy and its still a 7.5-year payback. Its concerning for me that the technology has so far to go, yet.

They say geothermal is the cats meow, but (from a business perspective) its like buying renewable energy. I dont quite get that one either.

City engineer Mark DeClercq said a 2010 energy audit recommended geothermal systems for five Grand Rapids fire stations: Burton, Franklin, Kalamazoo, Leonard and Plainfield. But the fire department cannot afford to install systems in all five stations, and the stations at 1755 Leonard St. NE and 2541 Kalamazoo Ave. SE are most in need of new systems, he said.

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Allied Mechanical Services, Inc. is the contractor and GMB is the engineer. Gutowski said theres no way Id be supporting it without the federal funding.

That needs to be replaced anyway, said Haris Alibasic, director of the citys energy and sustainability office. Though a geothermal system costs more up front, after 8 years you have electricity almost free on site, he said.

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Geothermal gets cautious buy-in from Grand Rapids commissioner

Last Updated: March 16, 2012 12:23pm ET

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The Spire, located south of the Dallas Arts District, has 350,000 sf planned for its first phase.

DALLAS-Following years of planning and land acquisition, Spire Realty Group LP is ready to move dirt on its 12-acre mixed use project that is dubbed, appropriately enough, The Spire. The local commercial real estate owner and developer has pulled permits and signed construction documents to begin its first phase on this CBD project: a 350,000-square-foot office building that will also offer 35,000 square feet of retail space.

Jon Ruff, Spire Realtys senior vice president tells GlobeSt.com that the next step is finding a lead tenant for the development, which will then spur a groundbreaking. Were also turning attention to other sites in the project for development. Right now, based on the master plan, we could build approximately 3 million square foot of space, he adds. The current master plan calls for a mix of office, retail and residential, with enough space for a 500-key hotel. The 12-acre development is located just south of the Arts District, and is bordered by Ross Avenue, North Central Expressway (U.S. 75) and Leonard Street.

Ruff says that, in addition to holding office and retail space and multifamily properties, the space would also be ideal for art-related uses and venues that could tie into the nearby Arts District. The Arts District features the Winspear Opera House, the Crow Collection of Asian Art and Trammell Crow Center, the AT&T Performing Arts Center and Meyerson Symphony Center.

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Spire Readies for 350,000-SF in MXU Development

The sunroom provides breathtaking views through its decorative two-story Palladian windows, while its brick wall provides a fireplace and a multipaned door to the dining room.

With its wall of decorative arched Palladian windows rising two stories high beneath a slanted skylit ceiling, this sunroom provides sensational views year round. But now that spring is coming to the 0.62 wooded lot, the sight will be especially spectacular. Adding to the excitement, the windows also face a slanted brick wall surrounding a fireplace next to a multipaned door to the dining room.

The sunroom is an addition to this 26-year-old expanded classic colonial brick home, where the improvements include a new roof. Both inside and out, it is filled with dramatic details, including a screened porch and five fireplaces.

These distinctive features also include the dining room, which overlooks the sunroom and its wooded views. Crown molding, wainscoting and an elegant chandelier that conveys also enhance the dining room.

It is open to the front living room, where crown molding rises above a molded fireplace with a marble mantel. The living room also adjoins the foyer, which features crown molding and wainscoting.

On the other side of the entrance hall, the office displays wooden crown molding and wainscoting. Hardwood floors and multipaned windows continue throughout most of the first and second stories, varied by ceramic tile in the kitchen and sunroom.

The foyer also leads to the renovated rear kitchen, with its stainless steel appliances, granite counters and mosaic tile backsplash. The breakfast nook provides a multipaned bay window with another impressive wooded view. The kitchen area faces the family room and its slanted brick wall, which frames a fireplace.

Three multipaned doors lead from the family room to the screened porch. Beneath its slanted skylit ceiling, it provides another impressive view, plus an entrance to the deck and its hot tub.

The powder room is located beside the stairs. On the second story, crown molding, chair rail and a large walk-in closet appear in the master bedroom, which also features a fireplace. The bedroom also includes a vanity sink, while the adjoining skylit master bath provides another vanity, a step-up tub with a tile surround and a separate shower. The other three bedrooms share a hallway bath.

Two more bedrooms and a full bath appear in the carpeted lower level. Wooden crown molding and wainscoting lend a rugged charm to the den and recreation room, which also features a wooden bar, a full-length brick fireplace and multipaned doors to the rear lot.

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Spectacular sunroom will shine especially brightly in springtime

MAHANOY CITY - With spring just around the corner, Mahanoy City will get some sprucing up with the sweeping of streets during the next two weeks.

In addition, borough officials will make their walks in the borough to identify properties to tell owners to clean porches and yards.

The borough has secured the use of the street sweeper from the Northern Schuylkill Council of Governments for the two weeks, with a schedule that will be advertised informing the public where parking restrictions from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. will be in effect.

The street sweeping parking restrictions for March 19 to 23 are:

- Monday - north side of Center Street, south side of Mahanoy Street.

- Tuesday - south sides of Center Street, D Street and 14th Street.

- Wednesday - north side of Mahanoy Street and both sides of Main Street.

- Thursday - north side of Market Street and south side of Pine Street.

- Friday - south side of Market Street and north side of Pine Street.

The parking restrictions for March 26 to 30 are:

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Spring cleaning to begin in Mahanoy City

At left, Nivea Wright helps missionaries check out of the MTC.

Ravell Call, Deseret News

Enlarge photo

PROVO Provo will receive a towering new landmark when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints completes its planned new nine-story building on the Missionary Training Center campus.

Construction activities for the as-yet-unnamed building are scheduled to begin in late summer 2012, with completion anticipated in late 2014.

The decision to construct the new building was announced last August, when LDS officials indicated the Melvin J. Ballard building (known to tens of thousands of missionaries who have passed through the MTC as the home of the MTC bookstore, mailroom and the Training Resource Center) will be demolished to make room for the new building.

At that time, church spokesman Scott Trotter indicated that the Ballard Building was in need of significant upgrades, and that LDS leadership determined that razing the old building and constructing a new, larger, state-of-the-art facility was a better option.

It is only recently, however, that the church publicly indicated just how much larger the new building will be. At nine stories, it will be one of the tallest buildings in Provo, ranking behind the Spencer W. Kimball Tower on the BYU campus (12 stories) and the Nu Skin headquarters (10 stories) and equal to the Provo Marriott, which is also nine stories.

In order to talk about possible neighborhood impacts of the construction process for the new building, the church will hold a neighborhood meeting on Thursday, March 22, at 6 p.m. in the Rock Canyon Elementary School gymnasium (2405 N. 650 East in Provo attendees should enter in the west door from the lower parking lot off of 2230 North).

Church representatives will be on hand to answer questions and respond to neighborhood concerns.

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MTC prepares to start construction for new nine-story building

Boston black leaders plan to travel to Los Angeles next week to push minorities there to boycott OneUnited Bank over its plans to foreclose on Roxburys historic Charles Street AME Church.

We stand here today ... calling upon the black community to withdraw every dime they have in OneUnited Bank until they have worked out their differences (with the church), the Rev. Eugene Rivers III said yesterday at a protest convened outside the banks Grove Hall branch to launch the boycott.

In a week or so, (we) will be going to Los Angeles to meet with black church leaders (there) to organize the boycott until OneUnited Bank comes to the table, Rivers said.

Boston-based OneUnited which has branches in Massachusetts, California and Florida plans to foreclose on Charles Street AME next week.

The black-owned bank is taking action because the 194-year-old congregation failed to pay off a $1.1 million balloon mortgage that came due in December.

The overwhelming majority of our community lives up to their financial responsibilities, OneUnited said in a statement.

Charles Street says it would have refinanced into a new loan, but couldnt because of a long-running legal feud with OneUnited.

The bank sued the church in 2010 over a $3.6 million construction loan that the congregation took out to build an adjacent community center.

OneUnited cut off funding in 2009, leaving the project unfinished and the church unable to raise money to pay off the debt.

Yesterday, U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Somerville) and Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson joined ministers in calling for the boycott.

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Bank, church fight escalates

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I received a letter from readers in Hatfield about the failure of a paint they had used on the concrete floor of their basement.

Enclosed was a sample of what was peeling from the floor.

Rather than quote from the letter word for word, I'll give you the gist of what happened:

The couple had bought a washer and dryer that had to go into the basement. A year ago, they went to Lowe's looking for concrete floor paint to pretty the place up.

They told the salesperson what they were doing, and he "highly recommended" Valspar Porch and Floor Paint. They painted the floor and it "looked nice."

The tub into which the washer drains became blocked, and it overflowed all over the floor. They quickly mopped up the water, which was on the floor no more than a few hours.

"The paint had bubbles all over the floor, which started peeling off" everywhere, the couple wrote.

They said they followed the directions. It was not inexpensive paint, was called "high performance" on the label, and now these senior citizens have to clean up all the loose paint before they can paint again.

They won't, however, until I can reassure them that it won't happen again.

Let me talk about my experience. My first rule is no matter what product I use, I assume there's always a chance it will not fully live up to the promise on the container.

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Your Place: Paint on basement floor needs repeat treatment

Reflecting on recent statements from United States Attorney Benjamin Wagner, Phototron Holdings, Inc. believes the rapid changes in the medical marijuana industry will contribute to a rise in small-scale home medical marijuana growing.

Gardena, CA (PRWEB) March 16, 2012

Phototron Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB: PHOT) (OTCQB: PHOT), the hydroponic growing systems company behind the grow your own revolution, believes the continued crackdown, which has resulted in the closure of hundreds of dispensaries and seizures of numerous large-scale cannabis grow operations, is making personal indoor growing systems more attractive to medical marijuana patients.

Medical marijuana patients have fewer options for obtaining their medication safely, and in many places are faced with having to travel long distances or get untested medication off the street, said Craig Ellins, Phototrons CEO. So patients are increasingly growing their own medication, and Phototrons indoor systems are perfect for personal use.

Phototron says that growing indoor marijuana for personal use is easier than ever and cites many advantages, including:

#1 Growing Year Round

Being able to grow in a controlled environment is one of the greatest benefits of an indoor growing system. In addition to providing shelter from inclement weather like snow, frost, humidity and heat waves, gardeners can control the weather and the number of daylight hours.

#2 Growing in Small Areas

No need to clear out a closet or a roomevery Phototron hydroponic grow cabinet is only 21 inches wide and deep, so it takes up less than two square feet of indoor floor space. That means that they can be located almost anywhere, even a kitchen countertop.

#3 Protecting Plants from Invaders

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Personal Indoor Marijuana Growing for Medical Use Not the Target of Feds, Says Phototron

JENNIFER HUFFMAN Napa Valley Register | Posted: Friday, March 16, 2012 12:30 am |

Some Napans might like a Best Buy or Costco to open in Napa County. But theres one major problem with that wish.

There are no sites to point them to, Napas Economic Development Manager Jennifer LaLibert said.

Napa just doesnt have the space for such larger tenants, according to a recent shopping center vacancy report from Terranomics, a retail brokerage firm.

At the close of the fourth quarter 2011, shopping center vacancy in Napa County stood at 3.1 percent, up slightly from the 2.8 percent mark recorded three months earlier, the report said.

With occupancy levels now approaching 97 percent, the Napa marketplace has reached a point at which vacancy levels are so low that they now threaten growth, especially for larger space users, the report noted. There are few options for tenants looking for larger blocks of premium retail space in the market.

That doesnt surprise me, LaLibert said. Larger stores such as Costco, Best Buy, TJ Maxx or Linens n Things often need acres of property to open, she said.

Best Buy has been looking in Napa for a number of years. Costco has shown an interest, LaLibert said. Without the space, would-be shoppers of these businesses are out of luck.

LaLibert noted that while the next phase of the Gasser Foundation plan for the riverfront behind South Napa Marketplace will have additional retail space, We just dont have large vacant parcels sitting around.

A large retailer would have to assemble parcels and thats not an easy feat, she said.

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Lack of sites keeping popular large stores out of Napa