Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Porches arent just stylish; theyre also green. Instead of sitting in conditioned space, buyers are encouraged to relax outside. And unlike some other energy-saving features, this one brings impressive curb appeal.

A metal roof covers the wide front porch of this charming country home. Yet it offers much more than just great style: this floor plan is designed for the busy lifestyles of families today. The large great room offers a gas log fireplace, a 10-foot ceiling, and a perfect place to entertain guests. The well-equipped kitchen boasts a raised bar, a walk-in pantry, and easy access to the neighboring dining room. In the master suite, buyers will love the tray ceiling, large walk-in closet, dual lavatories, jet tub, separate shower, and enclosed toilet. For more images, information, and the floor plan, click here.

Though this plan isn't particularly large 1,891 square feet, to be exactit boasts a wraparound porch, three garage bays, an open kitchen with a snack-bar island, and much more. Buyer will love the master suite's large walk-in closet and the optional game room upstairs. For more images, information, and the floor plan, click here.

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Country Porches

HANK SCHOUTEN

A luxury apartment block, with harbour-view units selling for up to $5 million, is set to rise on the site of Wellington's old market building near Te Papa.

The $50m-plus One Market Lane is an 11-storey development on the vacant site beside the former John Chambers building between Cable St, Jervois Quay and Taranaki St.

An earlier $200m apartment and hotel development planned on the same site by Donald Stott's Land Equity Group failed in 2009 when financing fell through.

Willis Bond bought the block in 2010 and has since refurbished and tenanted the old John Chambers building and scaled back previous plans.

Project director David McGuinness said there had been substantial early interest. "People are still leaving big homes in the suburbs who are looking for smaller city pads, and people from the Hawke's Bay and Kapiti are looking for Wellington boltholes."

The cheapest of the 40 apartments, lower-level 85-square-metre ones with city views, were being sold off the plans for $650,000. All apartments on the harbour side would be more than $1m, with the 310sq m four-bedroomed penthouse priced at $5m.

This is less than half the price and half the size of the penthouse in the proposed Watermark development on the same site, which reportedly sold off the plans to a London investor for $12m.

That apartment was 750sq m and was to have included four bedrooms, a swimming pool, guest suite, separate one-bedroom studio apartment, wine cellar, climate-controlled balcony and garaging for four cars. Mr McGuinness was reluctant to make comparisons, saying it was a different era, but said even the modified penthouse was at the high end.

Most apartments in the new block were going for $1m to $2m. The developers were holding back two levels so apartments on those floors might be modified or even made smaller if market demand showed a buyer preference.

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Luxury apartment block to top $50m

March 8, 2012 in Washington Voices

Lars Neises stands in one of two yoga studios he is building as part of a complex that also includes fiveapartments. (Full-size photo)(All photos)

The neighbors affectionately call it the Haystack Building, because of the rock formations around it. Its been under construction since 2009 but it wasnt until mid-January that the project finally cleared permit requirements at Spokane CityHall.

Its located just west of the South Perry Business District and is unlike other buildings in the neighborhood: its a combined yoga studio and apartmentbuilding.

Owners Rebecca Laurence and Lars Neises are building the Haystack Building at the far northern end of the property where theylive.

Lars always wanted to build a yoga studio, said Laurence about how they got the idea for the building. Most yoga studios are in old refurbished buildings. Sometimes they are not ideal. He always wanted to build the perfectstudio.

When the Haystack Building is done, it will feature two second-story yoga studios with a joint reception area and five one-bedroom apartments four on the ground level, and one at the top level. The building is nestled in the landscape in such a manner that the upstairs yoga studios have easy wheelchair access via a flat ramp in theback.

The Haystack Building is obviously not a cookie-cutter project had the builders realized how difficult it would be to get all the permits they needed, they probably wouldnt havetried.

We could have built a 42-unit apartment complex here just like that one, said Neises, pointing to a neighboring complex. That would not have been as difficult as building this building, but thats not what we wanted todo.

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Haystack Building faced myriad obstacles - Thu, 08 Mar 2012 PST

BERKELEY -- A spectacular two-alarm fire gutted an apartment building south of the UC Berkeley campus early Thursday morning, displacing as many as nine people and forcing the evacuation of nearby homes, the Berkeley Fire Department said.

And it's midterm week to boot.

The accidental fire -- blamed on a set of water heaters -- flared up at 4:13 a.m. at a three-story, six-unit building on Dwight Way near Fulton Street. It took nearly four hours for a squad of 32 firefighters to methodically extinguish it, with tactics quickly shifting to a defensive fight from the outside after the roof and upper floor collapsed and made it unsafe to be inside, said Deputy Fire Chief Gil Dong.

The occupants escaped safely, Dong said. Additionally, residents from adjacent apartments and homes were evacuated amid fears that parts of the fire-ravaged building might break off onto adjacent structures.

Imran Khan, a 26-year-old mechanical engineering graduate student, lives behind the charred building and was forced to flee with cell phone in hand and a blanket around his waist.

"A noise awoke me and then I saw the building on fire through my window," Khan said, holding a pair of blue jeans in his hand. "I grabbed my pants, but did not have time to put them on."

Later in the morning, Khan and other tenants were escorted by firefighters to retrieve things like laptop computers and shoes, but were not immediately allowed to reinhabit their

Khan had a more forgiving midterm schedule, with an exam set for 5 p.m. Thursday, but he could be forgiven for not seeing that silver lining.

"We'll see how it goes the rest of the day," he said.

A team of fire investigators probed the blaze, which displaced at least nine occupants. Dong said not all of the units in the building were rented out.

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Fire guts apartment building near UC Berkeley

BERKELEY -- A spectacular two-alarm fire gutted an apartment building south of the UC Berkeley campus early Thursday morning, displacing as many as nine people and forcing the evacuation of nearby homes, the Berkeley Fire Department said.

And it's midterm week to boot.

The accidental fire -- blamed on a set of water heaters -- flared up at 4:13 a.m. at a three-story, six-unit building on Dwight Way near Fulton Street. It took nearly four hours for a squad of 32 firefighters to methodically extinguish it, with tactics quickly shifting to a defensive fight from the outside after the roof and upper floor collapsed and made it unsafe to be inside, said Deputy Fire Chief Gil Dong.

The occupants escaped safely, Dong said. Additionally, residents from adjacent apartments and homes were evacuated amid fears that parts of the fire-ravaged building might break off onto adjacent structures.

Imran Khan, a 26-year-old mechanical engineering graduate student, lives behind the charred building and was forced to flee with cell phone in hand and a blanket around his waist.

"A noise awoke me and then I saw the building on fire through my window," Khan said, holding a pair of blue jeans in his hand. "I grabbed my pants, but did not have time to put them on."

Later in the morning, Khan and other tenants were escorted by firefighters to retrieve things like laptop computers and shoes, but were not immediately allowed to reinhabit their

Khan had a more forgiving midterm schedule, with an exam set for 5 p.m. Thursday, but he could be forgiven for not seeing that silver lining.

"We'll see how it goes the rest of the day," he said.

A team of fire investigators probed the blaze, which displaced at least nine occupants. Dong said not all of the units in the building were rented out.

Read more here:
Two-alarm fire guts apartment building near UC Berkeley

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. & SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Proving that it is easy to be environmentally friendlier without sacrificing style, affordability and functionality, Sprint (NYSE:S - News) and its no-contract brand, Boost Mobile, joined with LG Mobile today in announcing the upcoming availability of LG Rumor Reflex on the Sprint 3G Network.

LG Rumor Reflex marks the fifth device from Sprint with eco-friendly attributes and the second from Boost Mobile. As the fourth device in the Sprint and LG Rumor family, and the successor to last years popular LG Rumor Touch, LG Rumor Reflex boasts a large 3-inch WQVGA touchscreen, full QWERTY keyboard, 2-megapixel camera and camcorder, built-in GPS and MicroSD card slot supporting up to 32GB of memory.

LG Rumor Reflex in a Titan Grey color will be available Sunday, March 11, in all Sprint retail channels, including http://www.sprint.com and 1-800-SPRINT1 for $29.99 with a new two-year service agreement and $50 mail-in rebate via reward card1 (excludes taxes and surcharges). The device will be offered later in White.

The device will be available on Boost Mobile without a contract Thursday, March 29, for $79.99 (excluding taxes) at Boost Mobiles exclusive retail stores, select independent wireless dealer locations across the country, and at http://www.boostmobile.com with free shipping.

LG Rumor Reflex is compatible with Boost Mobiles $50 Monthly Unlimited plan with Shrinking Payments. For every six on-time payments, the cost of Boost Mobiles Monthly Unlimited plan will shrink by $5, eventually getting down to as low as $35 a month for unlimited nationwide talk, text messaging, web, email and calls to 411. Payments do not need to be consecutive to qualify for the next savings milestone.

Sprint believes it is important to keep evolving our handset portfolio with not only iconic devices but also with quick-messaging phones for customers looking for easy communications, said David Owens, vice president Product Development, Sprint. The availability of LG Rumor Reflex for both Sprint and Boost Mobile customers showcases our consumer choice through our multibrand strategy. Customers appreciate the ability to select a great phone and choose between a contract or no-contract option.

Eco-friendly Attributes

Earlier this year Sprint announced its environmental scorecard now requires all phones go through the UL Environment certification process, setting an industry-first standard to help improve reparability and drive more sustainable packaging. This device has also received the coveted UL Environment Platinum Certification, the highest level of environmental performance recognized by sustainable requirements established by UL Environment and Sprint.2

LG is committed to being a leader of change in the mobile industry and is continually working to find new ways to weave recyclable alternatives throughout our product lineup, said Tim OBrien, vice president of LG Mobile. We are proud of our continued collaboration with Sprint to develop budget-friendly and environmentally conscious devices that dont compromise function or design.

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Be Green in More Ways than One With LG Rumor Reflex from Sprint and Boost Mobile

by Eric HagenStaff Writer

A 30-year-old St. Paul man has been accused in Anoka County District Court of separate thefts and burglaries in Andover over an eight-day period.

Christopher Michael Krolick has been charged with five different felonies including theft, second-degree burglary and three charges of fifth-degree controlled substance possession.

According to the criminal complaints, an Andover resident on the 15000 block of Thrush Street N.W. called police at 7:56 a.m. Feb. 23 to report a theft that had occurred at her residence. She told police that she recently moved into the home and was having new carpet installed. After the project was completed, she discovered that several pieces of jewelry and an envelope containing $1,500 in case were missing.

The owner of the carpet installation company called police at 8:05 a.m. that same day to report that one of his employees named Krolick had confessed to the theft, according to the complaint.

Deputies responded to this owners home where Krolick was taken into custody. He allegedly admitted to police in a post-Miranda statement that he stole the $1,500 in cash and two pairs of earrings. The estimated aggregate value of the stolen items is between $2,000 and $2,100.

Eight days later on March 2, the sheriffs office received a call that a man was using a ladder to climb into the upper level window of an Andover home on the 14500 block of Bluebird Street.

Deputies allegedly caught Krolick carrying a full can of gasoline out of the garage.

After Krolick was arrested, deputies found a large quantity of Oxycodone, Diazepam and Ritalin pills in his pants pockets, according to the complaint. Some of the Ritalin pills were taken from a prescription bottle from inside the house.

In a post-Miranda statement, Krolick allegedly admitted that he did not have permission to enter the home and that he took gasoline and pills from the home.

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St. Paul man accused of burglaries in Andover

Take it inside! Thats what the City Council of Yuba City said yesterday when it passed an urgency ordinance immediately banning residents from growing medical marijuana outdoors, according to the Appeal Democrat. Phototron, the leading online growing systems manufacturer, says this move isnt the end of the worldand that its solutions offer growers an easy and elegant transition to growing cannabis indoors.

Gardena, CA (PRWEB) March 08, 2012

As the various layers of government crack down on outdoor marijuana growing, even in states where medical cannabis is allowed by law, many are turning to indoor growing in order to get affordable access to the medicine they need, said Craig Ellins, Phototrons CEO. The Phototron allows you to grow indoors easily and with very little investment, since it requires no additional lighting, plumbing or electrical upgrade Everything you need is self-contained with the Phototron. You simply plug it in and grow.

Growers no longer need to invest in setting up large hydroponic systems that take up an entire room or even smaller setups, like the standard 4 X 4 trays that require 16 square feet of floor space. They also dont need auxiliary components like a water reservoir, coolers, fans and other things that take up additional space.

Phototron says that there are many other advantages to consider, including:

#1 Grow 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, snow, frost, humidity and heat waves, gardeners can control the number of daylight hours.

#2 Grow in Small Areas

Would-be gardeners with space limitations like apartments and condos, can still garden indoors. All of the Phototron grow cabinets are only 21 inches wide and deep, so they take up less than 2 square feet of indoor floor space. That means that they can be located almost anywhereeven a kitchen countertop.

#3 Protected from Invaders

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Indoor Growing More Attractive as Municipalities Including Yuba City Ban Outdoor Growing

To hear Sharon Litwin's interview with Lake Douglas on WWNO radio, clickhere.

Hard to believe that Daylight Saving Time begins on Sunday. Already its spring, although the trees and flowers have known that for weeks.

With the season come thoughts of planting and gardens, both private and public. But not everyone has the artistic vision to design an elegant outdoor space nor a green thumb, even in this area of lush foliage. So for someone like me, who practices her own horticultural version of Darwins Theory of Evolution (if it lives, it lives; if it dies, it dies), its probably best to go sit some other place and be the beneficiary of a real landscape architect's skills.

We are lucky in our city to have a number of sites to choose from. So imagine my surprise to learn that, in New Orleans, the identification of landscape architecture as a formal academic occupation is fairly new. The history of our 200-year-old citys outdoor design landscape made me think such skills must be the outcome of a profession long taught.

Not so, says Lake Douglas, Associate Professor in theRobert Reich School of Landscape Architecture at Louisiana State University.

Numerous examples of early professionally designed outdoor spaces exist around town; theNew Orleans Botanical Garden, one of the few remaining examples of public garden design from the 1930s Art Deco period,is one. It was built by William Weidorn, a professionally trained landscape architect from Cornell University brought down to work on City Park. But it wasnt until several years later that another Cornell University graduate and ardent believer arrived in Louisiana, bent on creating a formally accredited university academic program.

'Doc' Reich, as we call him now, came to Louisiana in the 40s and started the program, Lake says of Robert Reich, for whom the LSU School of Landscape Architecture is named and who died in 2010. He remained on faculty teaching until he died. Students actually went to see him in assisted living, where he worked with them up to age 97.

Today landscape architecture projects can range from those as modest as private garden designs to those addressing issues of such huge scale as coastal erosion or managing environmental disasters.

Currently involved in a grass-roots effort to increase this citys inventory of public green spaces through the creation of the Lafitte Corridor Greenway, Lake uses several already-constructed projects to demonstrate to his students excellent examples of thoughtful and successful local landscape architecture.

You can look at improvements to the Audubon Zoo, which used to be thought of as an animal ghetto and now is one of the most impressive zoos in the world, he says. And then theres the new Big Lake area of City Park, a project made possible through the Trust for Public Land. When you pass by it you can see people walking, running, skateboarding from 7 in the morning until 7 at night. Its wonderful.

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Landscape architects shape city's green spaces

Needham could fix its two aging and overcrowded elementary schools by reshuffling populations among five town schools, according to a pre-feasibility study.

Dore and Whittier, an architectural firm hired by the Needham School Committee to study Hillside and Mitchell Elementary Schools, presented four options for the two schools at a School Committee meeting on March 7.

According to Massachusetts School Building Association standards, the two schools house nearly twice as many students as they should.

The buildings are also in need of renovation. In 2010, the MSBA rated Mitchell a two on a scale of one to four, where a four denotes poor conditions and a one denotes good conditions. Hillside earned a ranking of three.

Dore and Whittiers four options are intended to solve those overcrowding and aging problems.

One [option] involves looking at Hillside and Mitchell and what we can do with the populations as they currently exist, said Dore and Whittier principal Donald Walter. That plan would either keep the current populations at each school; put kindergarten and first grade at Hillside and second grade through fifth grade at Mitchell; or put grades kindergarten through third grade at Mitchell and fourth and fifth grade at Hillside.

The second option, said Walter, involves repurposing Hillside and either combining the two school populations at the Mitchell site in two buildings, or in one building.

Essentially you would have two buildings under one roof. You would still have Hillside and Mitchell, but they would share some of the core facilities, said Walter. That option would concentrate upwards of 900 students at one site, far more than Needhams current biggest elementary school, Newman, which houses 641 students.

Option three would move High Rock, Needhams sixth grade school, to Pollard Middle School or to DeFazio Park. It would move Hillside to Newman and part of Newman to High Rock, renovate or rebuild Mitchell and repurpose the Hillside site.

Option four would install full-day kindergarten--long on Needhams wish list--lump grade five with grade six at Pollard or DeFazio, then relocate Hillside to Newman, part of Newman at High Rock, renovate Mitchell and repurpose Hillside.

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Architects present four options for overcrowded Needham schools