Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Allentown's downtown hockey arena complex is designed to include an eight-story hotel with a restaurant and one floor of meeting rooms, a six-story office building with a penthouse level and a 125-space underground parking garage that will be accessible from Eighth Street.

The historic Dime Bank building on Seventh Street will house the hotel lobby, and include a "party deck" at the same level as the arena's lower suites. Guests sipping cocktails before events at the hotel will be able to congregate on a catwalk that will line up with the fourth floor of the office building.

All of it is expected to be completed using domestic steel, priced out using union labor, and ready for occupancy by Sept. 13, 2013.

The authority, which is overseeing construction of the 8,500-seat arena at Seventh and Hamilton streets, has not announced a construction company or who will run the hotel or occupy the office building.

City officials, Allentown Commercial and Industrial Development Authority Executive Director Scott Unger and Hammes Company Sports Development Inc., which is overseeing arena construction, did not return calls seeking comment Monday.

The arena, estimated to cost $158 million, will host the Phantoms, the Philadelphia Flyers' American Hockey League affiliate, as well as concerts and other cultural and sports events. City officials have said they are negotiating with a private developer on the offices and hotel.

Interest in the project is high. The Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce sold all 300 seats to its forward-looking annual business breakfast featuring Mayor Ed Pawlowski on Wednesday. That's never happened before, said Miriam Huertas, the Chamber's Allentown representative.

Here are a few new details about the project, according to the ACIDA request for proposals:

The authority has a goal of using 15 percent minority and 5 percent women construction workers and contractors on the arena project.

The hotel and Hamilton Street retail and restaurant spaces should be ready for interior finishes by May 2013, offices by June 2013.

Link:
More details of Phantoms' Allentown arena, hotel, offices emerge

Frank McGee (second from left) assisted team members as they drilled in reinforcements

The smell and sound of sawdust and power tools greets those visiting a Fishers of Men worksite.

For the last four years, the Sunday school class from P.G. Baptist Church has made it their mission to help those in need by constructing wheelchair ramps and porches for the disabled and elderly.

Since January of this year, the group has completed eight different projects.

Weve built six ramps and two porches, said group leader Tommy Hendley. We work at least one day a week on projects.

The Fishers of Men Sunday school class has an ever-growing list of projects, so, because of this, schedules are made out in advance.

We usually have lists made up three weeks out, Hendley stated. We try to do these projects on a need basis. If someone is really sick or having a hard time getting in and out, we try to help them first.

Building a handicap ramp has become a usual thing for the group of men.

We can build a ramp in a day, said Hendley. Sometimes people have the money to buy the materials, sometimes the housing coalition helps and then some of the projects we pay for ourselves.

Just last week, the group used their own funds to build a $700 handicap ramp for an individual in McDowell.

The rest is here:
Fishers of Men taking on projects to benefit community

By Beth Healy, Globe Staff

Boston City Councilor Felix Arroyo wrote a letter this week to OneUnited Bank chairman Kevin Cohee, urging him not to foreclose on a $1.1 million loan to the historic Charles Street African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Arroyo, in a letter dated March 5 and obtained by the Globe, said he was writing on behalf of his constituents and as a member of the Roxbury church. He said he urged OneUnited to take the same care and compassion that was afforded to you by the federal government when the bank received a $12 million bailout in the financial crisis.

He said the bank should meet with church officials to negotiate a mutually beneficial agreement and end these foreclosure proceedings that, if acted upon, would be an atrocity of immeasurable harm.

OneUnited has advertised plans to auction off the church property as soon as March 22.

The bank sued the church in 2010 for failing to repay $3 million on a construction loan for a nearby community center. The foreclosure threat is on the church property itself, related to a separate loan that came due in November. The bank has said its given the church ample time to meet its financial obligations.

Harvard Law Professor Charles Ogletree has offered to mediate the dispute; the banks top executives by Tuesday evening had not yet agreed to a meeting.

Read more here:
Boston City Councilor Felix Arroyo urges OneUnited not to foreclose on Charles Street AME church

Australian construction activity has declined for the past 21 months, a report shows.

The Australian Industry Group-Housing Industry Association's performance of construction index (PCI) fell 4.2 points to 35.6 in February.

A reading below 50 indicates a contraction in activity.

The index has now shown a contraction for 21 consecutive months.

All four construction industry sub-sectors experienced falls in activity, with commercial and apartment building sectors posting the largest decline.

The new orders sub-index also declined 1.7 points to 34.2.

Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) director of public policy Dr Peter Burn said the February data showed the rate of decline increased after slowing in January.

"The tentative signs of recovery that had emerged in the closing months of 2011 as interest rates were lowered, appear to have dissipated since the start of this year," he said.

"With new orders also weak in February and with market interest rates now somewhat higher, the outlook for the next few months remains flat, particularly for commercial and residential construction."

Housing Industry Association (HIA) senior economist Andrew Harvey said the index showed the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to cut the official interest rate by 25 basis points in November and again, by the same amount, in December had not been enough to halt the decline in the sector.

See more here:
Construction's 21st month of decline

IQALUIT, Nunavut - Nunavut's former fire marshal says the territorial government should have known an apartment block that was the scene of a fatal blaze didn't meet modern building codes.

Tony Noakes, who lost his job in May 2010 after he voiced related concerns, says similar problems exist throughout the territory.

"I'm concerned government hasn't implemented any recommendations I put forward in my report in 2009," Noakes, who now lives in Lyndhurst, Ont., said Tuesday. "Maybe something could have been done to save these people.

"It's not a far stretch to say there's gross negligence here."

At least two people died when a 22-unit block in the White Row apartments went up in flames on the frigid night of Feb. 27. The building was being used as a residence for Nunavut Arctic College and all the tenants but one were students or their families.

Some 83 people were forced outside in -50 C temperatures and lost everything in the fire.

Reports have said the two who died were adult children of an Arctic College student. Remains of one person were found Friday and police reported Monday that a second set of remains had been found.

An RCMP forensic team was on the site.

White Row was built about 35 years ago well before Nunavut was created and Iqaluit named as its capital. Noakes pointed to a fire inspection dated Jan. 23, 2000, that outlined a series of structural problems with White Row's 200 block.

The biggest problem was that individual units didn't have adequate fire-resistant separation walls between them, said the report. It also noted that existing drainage, waste and ventilation pipes should have been sealed off with fire-resistant drywall.

See original here:
Government knew building in fatal Iqaluit fire a trap: former fire marshal

The Portland Housing Bureau has broken ground on a Northwest Portland housing project that will bring 80 affordable apartments to an area near Union Station.

During a ceremony on Monday, the bureau announced the beginning of the latest phase of The Yards project, a multiphase residential and retail redevelopment project that will transform a seven-acre brownfield behind Union Station.

The first three phases are complete and have brought 535 new, mixed-income housing units to Portland. The first phase began about 15 years ago. The latest phase will add 80 residential units to the project, and its construction is expected to cost $15 million.

The Housing Bureau invested more than $4 million in River District Tax Increment Funds for the latest phase, and also offered a 10-year tax exemption. The project is also expected to create more than 200 construction jobs, and will result in a LEED silver-certified building.

Specifically, the new building will create six studios, 48 one-bedroom apartments and 26 two-bedroom units with 48 parking spaces. A community room, lounge area and fitness center will be built on the ground floor, and free bicycle and other storage spaces will be available.

Read the original:
Ground broken for 80-unit affordable apartment building in Northwest Portland

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - News) announced that its Architectural Glass Binder, a fixture in architects libraries and offices for generations, is now available in a digital, downloadable format at http://www.ppgglassbinder.com.

Glenn T. Miner, PPG director of construction, flat glass, said the decision to digitize the binder, which encompasses all the printed material needed to specify or design with PPG glass, reflects the companys long-standing commitment to green building and design.

For decades, PPG has devoted a significant portion of its research and development capability to engineering products that support green building and design, Miner explained. By launching this digital glass specification binder, we are putting those principles into practice by foregoing all the energy, ink and paper use associated with printing, and by providing architects with an online tool that is always up-to-date and is available anywhere they can access the Internet through a computer or mobile device.

In addition to data sheets, product catalogs and performance data for popular PPG products such as SOLARBAN(R), STARPHIRE(R) and SUNGATE(R) glasses, the online binder contains technical documents, details for thermal stress and wind load analyses and complete product specifications.

The binder is a gateway to PPGs expanding array of electronic specification tools such as the Architectural Glass Configurator, Architectural Glass Performance Calculator and a searchable project library tool containing hundreds of product application photos. Sourcing information for PPG CFP CERTIFIED FABRICATOR PROGRAM(TM) participants, downloadable white papers and dozens of building profiles also are featured. Additionally, architects can use the binder to learn about PPG architectural coatings such as DURANAR(R), CORAFLON(R) and PPG PITTSBURGH PAINTS(R) brand products.

Visit http://www.ppgglassbinder.com to bookmark the online PPG Architectural Glass Binder.

PPG: BRINGING INNOVATION TO THE SURFACE.(TM)

PPG Industries' vision is to continue to be the worlds leading coatings and specialty products company. Through leadership in innovation, sustainability and color, PPG helps customers in industrial, transportation, consumer products, and construction markets and aftermarkets to enhance more surfaces in more ways than does any other company. Founded in 1883, PPG has global headquarters in Pittsburgh and operates in more than 60 countries around the world. Sales in 2011 were $14.9 billion. PPG shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol:PPG - News). For more information, visit http://www.ppg.com.

Bringing innovation to the surface and PPG CFP Certified Fabricator Program are trademarks and Coraflon, Duranar, Solarban, Starphire and Sungate are registered trademarks of PPG Industries Ohio, Inc.

See original here:
PPG Introduces Online Design and Specification Binder for Architectural Glass

The deal is all but done. Now it's time to sell it.

Days after they announced a multibillion-dollar settlement, BP PLC and a committee of plaintiffs' attorneys are working out details of an agreement to resolve more than 100,000 claims spawned by the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

They must persuade a federal judge that the settlement is fair and equitable, but the sales job doesn't end there because the deal already has its critics.

Some attorneys who didn't participate in the settlement talks but represent thousands of plaintiffs question whether the court-supervised claims process offers a better bargain for their clients than the $20 billion compensation fund BP established in 2010. They can urge their clients not to participate in the settlement, though pursuing a claim separately in court could involve years of costly litigation.

Anthony Buzbee, a Houston-based attorney who represents about 12,000 clients with claims against BP, said he received a phone call Monday night from a Plaintiffs' Steering Committee member who briefed him on some of the terms of the deal. Buzbee had initially expressed doubt that the settlement could benefit his clients, saying it was "hard to keep an open mind when you're not getting any information" from the PSC.

His tone had softened by Tuesday, however. Buzbee said the PSC member assured him the court settlement's terms are "much more generous" than the Gulf Coast Claims Facility's claims processing formula.

"I'm going to withhold judgment on it and wait and see what the final protocols are going to be," Buzbee said.

Daniel Becnel Jr., a Reserve, La.-based attorney who represents about 1,500 clients with claims against BP, said he doesn't need to read the fine print of the deal to know he will advise his clients to opt out of the settlement. One of Becnel's concerns is that he says the settlement doesn't account for tens of thousands of people and businesses that haven't filed claims yet.

"They're starting to catch a lot of flak from a lot of people," Becnel said. "How do you settle a case without knowing what the universe is of the entire client population?"

Rig owner Transocean and cement contractor Halliburton also may challenge the deal in part because it seeks to assign certain claims BP has made against those companies to the PSC. Halliburton lead trial lawyer Donald E. Godwin said Tuesday that Halliburton is not currently in settlement discussions with BP or the PSC and that the company is preparing for trial.

Read more from the original source:
BP Settlement Architects Hope to Win Over Skeptics

Company Release - 3/6/12

SAN DIEGO - American Assets Trust, Inc. (NYSE: AAT - News) (the "Company") today reported financial results for its fourth quarter and year-end December31,2011 and provided full year guidance for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2012.

Financial Results and Recent Developments

During the fourth quarter of 2011, the Company generated funds from operations ("FFO") for common stockholders and unitholders of $16.3 million, or $0.28 per diluted share/unit. For the year ended December31,2011, the Company generated FFO for common stockholders and unitholders of $57.3 million, or $1.05 per diluted share/unit, and FFO As Adjusted for common stockholders and unitholders of $60.3 million, or $1.11per diluted share/unit. FFO As Adjusted reflects adjustments to FFO for nonoperational items directly related to the Company`s initial public offering ("IPO") on January 19, 2011. Unitholders refers to holders of units of our operating partnership.

Net income attributable to common stockholders was $0.3 million, or $0.01 per basic and diluted share, for the three months ended December31,2011. For the year ended December31,2011, net income attributable to common stockholders was $2.9 million, or $0.08 per basic and diluted share.

FFO and FFO As Adjusted are non-GAAP supplemental earnings measures which the Company considers meaningful in measuring its operating performance.Reconciliations of FFO and FFO As Adjusted to net income are attached to this press release.

Portfolio Results

The portfolio leased status as of the end of the indicated quarter was as follows:

During the fourth quarter of 2011, the Company signed 44 leases for approximately 186,900 square feet of retail and office space, as well as 112 multifamily apartment leases. Renewals accounted for 79.2%of the comparable retail leases, 100% of the comparable office leases and 53.6% of the residential leases.

Retail

Read the original:
American Assets Trust, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2011 Financial Results

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Michael Baker Jr., Inc., a unit of Michael Baker Corporation (NYSE Amex:BKR), has announced that Matthew C. Lamont, RA, NCARB, has joined the firm as architecture operations director for Bakers Phoenix, Ariz., office. In this position, Lamont will provide leadership in all aspects of operations and business development for Bakers architectural practice in the region.

A LEED-Accredited Professional, Lamont was previously a principal-in-charge of a major design group and has been involved in a number of high-profile projects for clients such as Charles Schwab, TGEN, Qwest, and Phelps Dodge. His specialized technical and leadership experience includes major commercial mixed-use, high-tech/mission-critical, military/government, healthcare, multi-family and educational facilities.

Bakers Ronald W. Kretz, AIA, vice president and deputy service area manager for Bakers Architecture Group, said, The addition of Matt to our leadership team will be crucial to our success, particularly in the Southwest where we see solid opportunities. His experience specific to the markets we serve will prove to be valuable while his deep understanding of design/build and sustainable architectural design will help to build Bakers portfolio of such high-profile projects.

Lamont holds active architecture licenses in Arizona, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah. He is a member of the Arizona Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, National Trust for U.S. Historic Preservation and the Urban Land Institute. Additionally, he is an Advisory Board MemberU.S. Veterans Initiative. Lamont earned his Bachelor of Architecture Degree from the University of Southern California.

Michael Baker Corporation (www.mbakercorp.com) provides engineering, design, planning and construction services for its clients most complex challenges worldwide. The firm's primary business areas are architecture, aviation, defense, environmental, geospatial, homeland security, municipal & civil, oil & gas, rail & transit, telecommunications & utilities, transportation, urban development and water. With more than 3,200 employees in over 100 offices across the United States, Baker is focused on creating value by delivering innovative and sustainable solutions for infrastructure and the environment.

Original post:
Lamont Named Baker Phoenix Architecture Lead