Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

NEWMAN The Newman-Crows Landing Unified School Districts maintenance team and contractors are currently working on a variety of projects at each school site in preparation for the 2017-18 school year.

This years biggest project is located in the center of Hurd Barrington Elementary, where a wing housing a library, resource facilities and classrooms is being constructed by CT Brayton and Sons Incorporated.

It just had to happen, district Maintenance Director Matt Vargas said of the project. That school is pretty full right now.

He said the project is scheduled for completion in December.

While outside construction crews tackle that high-profile project, district workers are tending to a laundry list of projects while the campuses are quiet through the summer months.

At Barrington, for example, a top-down cleaning of the campus is in full swing.

Mark Chamberlin, the lead custodian at Barrington, has been doing carpet extracting, Vargas told Mattos Newspapers. Hes greatat the end of the day he is the one who makes sure all the maintenance needs are met.

Von Renner Elementary is also receiving a full cleaning as well as new carpet in some areas.

Three classrooms are (getting) new carpet this school year, commented Vargas, as well as the office which saw some water damage this past winter.

ONYX, the company responsible for the installation of solar panels above the parking lots, has also finished their work at the Von Renner site.

They just finished installing the EV (charging) stations, which will be a great benefit to any of our school staff that drive electric vehicles, Vargas noted.

Along with the standard deep cleaning at Hunt, an added project will begin immediately after the Fourth of July holiday when crews begin painting the gym interior.

Bonita has been relatively quiet this summer in terms of projects, Vargas said.

Dave Larsen, the lead custodian, is currently doing a top-down cleaning there, said Vargas. Hes also doing carpet extraction.

Summer cleaning is also in full swing at Yolo Middle School.

One project completed late in the school year, Vargas noted, was the installation of a 20-foot screen and projector in the middle school gym.

Yolo will also receive a top-down cleaning as well as a waxing of the tile floors.

Finally, Orestimba High School students will return in August to a much brighter campus.

The big project there has been the painting, said Vargas. They are about 95 percent done.

The Warriors frosh-soph baseball team and their fans will also be able to enjoy their games in a more comfortable setting next season.

Houston Manufacturing is donating concrete where new bleachers will sit at the JV field, said Vargas. Theyre also building whole new dugouts for the field.

Fernando Vasquez and Ramon Villareal, both of Newman, with Houston Manufacturing are the project leads for the work being done on the baseball field.

Thats them as a company saying they want to give back to their community and school district, Vargas told Mattos Newspapers. Theyre giving us about $30,000 worth of work out there, it is a blessing for our student athletes and our community.

Vargas says his staff works incredibly hard to ensure the school sites are ready to go at the beginning of each school year.

At all our sites, I have to share my appreciation for all our staff, said Vargas. They go above and beyond to make our sites look great and safe for all our students and faculty.

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Summer maintenance under way at local schools - Gustine Press-Standard

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To ensure that your sunroom or screen porch installation goes smoothly, a dedicated project manager will guide your home improvement process through to completion, keeping it on budget and on schedule. Because we complete a vast number of projects every year, we have perfected a systematic approach that ensures consistent results.

Contact Express Sunrooms today to make your dreams of transforming your outdoor space a reality. We are the premier source for screen enclosures, four seasons sunrooms, custom decks, pergolas, and more.

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Sunrooms | Screen Porches | Decks | Pergolas | Patio Covers

In an increasingly divisive American society, its become a common trope to say we need to reach out to each other and build bridges. But its not a bridge we should buildits a porch.

Front porches unite divisions: us and other, inside and outside, private and public. They encourage us to engage in trust-building and face-to-face conversations with our neighbors. They give us a sense of security, but they also increase our willingness to engage with others. The lessons from the front porch are waiting to be reinterpreted and scaled-up in the fabric of our increasingly dense suburban and urban futures.

Extending ourselves to understand the other is inherently challenging; being open to outside ideas means we also take on more uncertainty. Front porches (or verandahs, as they are called in some cultures) allow homeowners some sense of control over their environment while also being ready to entertain new circumstances. These sheltered spaces tap into our primal desire to reside at an elevated surveillance point in order to spot nearby threats or opportunities: This concept is called prospect and refuge, and its often cited within landscape-design theory.

The front porchs ability to encourage interaction from a position of physical and personal safety is explored by Richard Thomass article From Porch to Patio:

When a family member was on the porch, it was possible to invite the passerby to stop and come onto the porch for extended conversation. The person on the porch was very much in control of this interaction, as the porch was seen as an extension of the living quarters of the family. Often, a hedge or fence separated the porch from the street or board sidewalk, providing a physical barrier for privacy, yet low enough to permit conversation.

We need to apply this mode of thought to the task of rekindling civility and unity in our day-to-day discourse. Whether between neighbors at home, colleagues at work, or even between opposing political parties, we can make more progress by situating ourselves within a safe spot as we reach out to build relationships with others (pitchers of iced tea optional). In an article written for Front Porch Republic, author Patrick Deneen summarizes that a front porch is exactly what is needed for even the largest political bodies:

For those who would stand and defend the future of the republic, a good place to start would be to revive our tradition of building and owning homes with front porches, and to be upon them where we can both see our neighbors and be seen by them, speak and listen to one another, and, above all, be in a place between, but firmly in place.

Though porches are a simple, cost-effective solution for community building on the neighborhood level, the concepts they embody havent gained traction in the larger urban-design sphere. This is because they have questionable utility in our busy lives. The people on the sidewalk whom you might hope to chat with are now cruising in their cars instead of strolling with their kids. In the American South, porches as places to cool off have been supplanted by air conditioning in living rooms. Avi Friedman, who rethinks home and community design in his book A View From the Porch, writes, If the telephone reduced the need for face-to-face contact and contributed to the erosion of the front porch, computers and smart phones became the porch.

If the telephone reduced the need for face-to-face contact and contributed to the erosion of the front porch, computers and smart phones became the porch.But this lack of modern utility is surmountable. To reintroduce the front porchs importance into contemporary life, we need make it the most indispensable room in the house. Turn it into your front-yard office with a desk and an outdoors electrical cord. Weather-proof it with solar- or wind-powered heating and cooling equipment. Blur it with the edge of your garden using a green wall. And, of course, make sure theres a permanent place for a pitcher of tea to offer any passersby.

No room for a wrap-around? Urban dwellers can devise porch-like vistas of their own. Whether its a brick stoop in Brooklyn or a sidewalk bench in Chicago, the same principles of safety-within-vulnerability can be applied to existing structures. Or, you could redesign new ones. Apartment tenants could lobby for street-level parking spaces in front of their buildings to be re-zoned as parklets, as we have seen happen in San Francisco. These small spaces could be greenified and have porches added for both residential and public use. Yet-to-be-constructed buildings could also designate a section of their street-facing spaces for micro-porches for exploratory engagement with public. This is often seen with bar-height stools in the front windows of coffee shops that face out to pedestrians, allowing for spontaneous, eye-to-eye interactions.

We can build community from places of personal security. But its not just literal front porches we need more ofwe need metaphysical ones, too. Brene Brown is an author and expert on feeling secure from the inside out. She suggests that if we want to feel more self-assured and comfortable reaching out to connect with others, we need to find the courage to be imperfect and practice gratitude. She argues that our self-acceptance leads to empathy, which is the strongest vehicle to connect with others.

That seems very porch-like: a place or way of being where you can relax and enjoy what is, while turning strangers into friends whose differences we can celebrate.

Learn how to write for Quartz Ideas. We welcome your comments at ideas@qz.com.

Continued here:
Building bridges has failed to unite us. America needs to embrace the front porch instead - Quartz

It is a common feature of dining out at restaurants to see a rather ironic scene. A significant number of people will, in the middle of a conversation, grab for their phones, either to snap a picture or to check what is going on out there.

It is not altogether strange to see the phones out as the cause of no conversation at all. The quiet stillness in a restaurant, or any other public venue, can be deceiving. This silence is an observable recognition that we are not talking and communicating with the persons right there in front of us.

In her book, Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age, sociologist Sherry Turkle argues that modern men and women have excelled at the art of finding new ways around conversation. We talk a lot, Turkle observes, but too little in person. Social media streams put us into a kind of conversation with others, but not one that is a stable foundation for real community. Our modern technology has rendered opportunities and real places of sociality with others less likely.

A recent article in The New York Times draws much-needed attention to this question of sociality. The op-ed features a coffee shop in Toronto, HotBlack Coffee, that does not offer its customers Wi-Fi. According to the president of the cafe, Jimson Binenstock, this was to foster a public space for conservation. HotBlack Coffee is designed to be a setting for sociality and human interaction. Otherwise, he rightly argues, the cafe is simply a commodity.

The contemporary coffee shop has become, more often than not, a setting where we go to do our work, browse the Internet, listen to music, or carry out some kind of activity that entails little to no interaction with others. It can be an avenue for sociality, but typically this is not the case, nor the goal. Social relationships are thus conceived in a manner that more resembles our airports than a sphere of robust human interaction.

This lack of social interaction within the coffee shop can also be seen in other areas of contemporary American life. One can consider the issue of sociality even within the context of the architectural and cultural telos of our homes. Richard H. Thomas draws out these very implications in his 1975 essay, From Porch to Patio.

For Thomas, the design and purpose of a front porch was to connect families to the neighborhood, drawing them to see their fundamental relation to others besides themselves and immediate family members. The porch presents a vast array of opportunities to greet your neighbors or invite them in the house for continued conversation. It can also be the setting to watch children play in the street, which echoes Jane Jacobs insights regarding neighborhood safety and eyes on the street.

The unseemly porch, then, is a pretext for vibrancy and human community. As Thomas observes,

Part of the resistance toward abandoning the porch as an essential part of the home can be attributed to the primary group relationships that permeated both the large and small communities. It was important to know ones neighbors and be known by them. The porch was platform from which to observe the activities of others. It also facilitated and symbolized a set of social relationships and the strong bond of community feeling which people during the nineteenth century supposed was the way God intended life to be. (From Porch to Patio, 123).

In the early twentieth century, however, architectural design was becoming fixated on erecting homes with backyard patios. The transition was as much of an architectural change as it was cultural. Instead of the home and its inhabitants being ordered towards others, it gradually came to be understood as the sphere of the private.

Furthermore, the back patio was a context, a structural barrier for being protected from our neighbors. The consequences of such a social reconceptualization should not be understated. What something like the back patio has inculcated is a loss of the centrality of our social nature, and the need for community bolstered by strong feelings of connection.

In the opening book of his Politics, Aristotle argues that human beings are naturally social and political animals. The reasoning here is not that of instrumentality, but of essence. In other words, human beings are ontologically configured to be ordered towards sociality as essential to their flourishing, and to that of others. For Aristotle, human beings alone have the property of speech, enabling them to communicate what is just, good, or otherwise.

This truth reaffirms us being ordered towards, and in need of, others. Justice and charity are the fundamental social and political virtues, precisely because they are the only ones primarily concerned with other people. The self-sufficient man, in this context, the individual directed to no other but himself, is either a beast or a god.

Coffee shops, like front porches, are places set up to provide a partial yet real completion of human beings social yearning. Yet we must remember that our sociality is not simply given for us only to fulfill the demands of justice. Instead, we come together to talk, laugh, socialize, and commune with others in response to something more than need. It is ultimately in friendship that we come together, in speech, reveling in the goods of this life that can be shared among those we call friends.

Without this, we will remain individuals, with little attachment to our places, neighbors, and the community as such. Robert Nisbet, in his prophetic book The Quest for Community, rightly predicted that modern democracy cannot survive without a new laissez faire grounded in robust social groups and associations. This is all the more reason we need sociable coffee shops and front porches, places we can be refreshed by companionship and establish social relationships and the strong bond of community feeling.

Brian Jones graduated from the Franciscan University with a B.A. and M.A. in Theology. He is currently a PhD student in philosophy at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas . His works have been published in New Blackfriars, Crisis, Catholic World Report, The Imaginative Conservative, and Catholic Social Science Review. He is married with three daughters.

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When Socialization Shifts From Front Porches To Coffee Shops - The Federalist

The first stage of demolition work is underway at the former Hydro Aluminium Kurri Kurri smelter.

MOVING FORWARD: Hydro Kurri Kurri managing director Richard Brown and CMA Contracting project manager Mick Lawrence.

The redevelopment of the former Hydro Aluminium smelter site near Kurri Kurri has taken a significant step forward, with the first stage of demolition works underway.

CMA Contracting was appointedprincipal contractor for the project in April, and commenced works to demolish the smelter infrastructure last week.

The first stage of demolition will includemost of the buildings on site and is expected to be completed by late 2018.

But it will could a few more years before the smelters iconic chimney stacks disappear from the localskyline.

The stacks and water towers are part of the second stage of demolition and remediation, which is still undergoing assessment for approval.

Buildings with potential for reuse andthosestoring waste materials, and below-ground infrastructure are also part of the second stage.

The chimney stacks will be part of the second stage of demolition, which is still undergoing assessment.

The chimney stacks and water towers will be part of the second stage of demolition, which is still undergoing assessment.

The chimney stacks will be part of the second stage of demolition, which is still undergoing assessment.

Rezoning of the 1900-hectare site is also under assessment.

Hydro has applied to rezone the predominantly-rural site to accommodateabout215 hectares for employment activities, 180 hectares for residential development, and around 1300 hectares for conservation purposes.

Rezoning proposals were endorsed by Cessnock and Maitland councils in 2015 and received gateway approval with conditions in March 2016.

One of the conditions was the requirement for a flood study by Maitland City Council that takes into account the Testers Hollow area.

The flood study is expected to be complete in early 2018, andoverall the rezoning process is expected to take up to three years.

The smelter ceased production in November 2012 and was permanently closed 18 months later.

Hydro Kurri Kurri managing director Richard Brown saidwhile the start of demolition was an exciting milestone, its still early days.

A lot of preparation has to go into it its a comprehensive process.

An aerial view of the Hydro site. Video: REGROWTH Kurri Kurri

The Hydro project team welcomesfeedback and questions fromlocal residents, business owners or other stakeholders.

Phone1800 066 243, emailcommunity.kurri@hydro.comor write toHydro Aluminium Kurri Kurri, PO Box 1, Kurri Kurri NSW 2327 with our inquiries.

April 28, 2017:Demolition work at Hydro due to start in May

April 12, 2017: Call to move new hospital

August 11, 2016: Hydroprogress on public display

March 29, 2016:Hydroproposal progresses

September27, 2015: New plan for Hydro smelter waste

September 8, 2015:Smelter waste may be recycled, if feasible

August 18, 2015:Ideas sought for tribute to smelter

August 22, 2014:HydroKurri reveals plans for on-site contamination cell

July 2, 2014:Hydroassesses options for site remediation

May 14, 2014:New opportunities for KurriHydrosite

March 12, 2014:KurriHydrosite in prime position

March 12, 2013:Options considered forHydrosite

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Demolition work begins at former Hydro Aluminium Kurri Kurri smelter - Cessnock Advertiser

Posted 7 hours ago in City, Events

Drivers battle it out in the arena during the annual Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo on Saturday, July 8, in Casper. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City)

The Central Wyoming Fairgrounds grandstands were packed with fans hungry for to watch the arena floor get soaked with radiator fluid, oil and various car parts during the annual Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo Demolition Derby on Saturday, July 8, in Casper.

The popular event drew dozens of contestants with their stripped and modified hulks in a smashing spectacle of bent metal and exhaust fumes. Its the ultimate rush, said Cling Harris as he prepared his sons car for the event.

Article continues below...

Fair and rodeo events continue through the week, including the downtown parade on Tuesday morning and the start of the PRCA Rodeo on Tuesday evening.

Josh Wilson puts on his gloves before taking his 1975 Monte Carlo into the arena for the annual Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo Demolition Derby on Saturday, July 8, in Casper. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City)

Cars are lined up before the first heat on Saturday, July 8, in Casper. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City)

A car prepared for battle before the annual demolition derby at the Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo on July 8, in Casper. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City)

Clint Harris makes a few adjustments on his sons demo derby car before competition on Saturday, July 8, at the Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo in Casper. The 1984 Caprice station wagon has been in four derbys. It keeps on ticking, I dont know why, said Harris. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City)

Fans watch the action from the packed grandstands at the Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo on Saturday, July 8, in Casper. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City)

Steam and smoke belch from a demolition derby car as it dies in battle on July 8, in Casper. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City)

Merri Toellner gives her friend Mike Cook a thumbs up before the second heat of the annual Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo on Saturday, July 8, in Casper. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City)

A contestant leaves his wrecked demolition derby car at the end of a heat on Saturday, July 8, in Casper. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City)

Demolition derby fans cheer the carnage on Saturday, July 8, at the Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo in Casper. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City)

Derby cars smash through a heat during the annual Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo Demolition Derby on Saturday, July 8, in Casper. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City)

Cars battle to the end during a heat in the annual demolition derby on Saturday, July 8, in Casper. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City)

Josh Wilson takes in cheers from the crowd after an impressive performance in his 1975 Monte Carlo during the annual Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo Demolition Derby on Saturday, July 8, in Casper. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City)

Tagged: Cars, Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo, demolition derby, wrecks

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Demolition Derby (GALLERY) - Oil City

The elder brother of the Manchester United star was on target as the Castle Lords dismantled the amateur side in an exhibition match

Mathias Pogba netted twice as Sparta Rotterdam made light work of PPSC 22-1 in a friendly encounter on Saturday.

Lukaku: Who could reject Man Utd?

Alex Pastoors men went into the break leading 12-0 after Thomas Verhaar, Loris Brogno and Ragnar Ache all registered hat-tricks.

Slovenian Dalibor Volas wason target twice while Paco van Moorsel also found the net.

At the beginning of the restart, the Eredivisie outfit rang the changes but did not soft-pedal on the non-league side.

Ache got his fourth goal before making way for Pogba in the 62nd minute. Stijn Spierings and Rick Drongelen registered twice each,with Craig Goodwin, Ryan Sanusi andIlias Alhaft allon target.

Guinea internationalPogba got his name on the scoresheet just after two minutes of coming on, and the former Patrick Thistle striker got the 22nd goal for his side in the 84th minute.

There was still time, however, for their amateur counterparts to get a consolatory goal via Eretreffer to end the tie 22-1.

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Pogba's brother scores twice in 22-1 demolition of PPSC - Goal.com

DIXON Little remote controlled cars spun, rammed and flipped over on a dirt track Saturday, all for a good cause.

The inaugural RC Demolition Derby is one of the biggest fundraisers the Rotary Club of Dixon has hosted in a while. It brought out hundreds of people who not only volunteered but enjoyed watching the event.

The goal really is to have fun, said Kevin Johnson, president of the Rotary club. We also hoped to raise some money.

He estimated that they raised between $5,000 to $10,000 with the food vendors and dunk booth. The money will go toward scholarships for Dixon High School students and other local organizations.

The idea came from watching demolition derbies, but Johnson realized that could lead to some injuries, which was not the idea at all. He saw RC demolition derbies on the internet and thought that might be something that would work.

Mike Hamilton, Dane Besneatte and Steve Beeman dug a track at the Chamber of Commerce parking lot, which has some dry dirt areas.

The goal is to do as many moves as possible and not have your car flip over, Johnson said.

Children from the community came out with their cars. Some practiced for days to learn how to control them. The total number of participants was 53 people.

Natalie Nielsen, 7, of Folsom came to spend a few days with her grandmother and joined the event.

I wore out my battery last night, so when we came down today it was dead, she said.

But that was quickly fixed with a new battery and her gold and purple polka dot RC car was ready to go.

Her grandmother, Debra Dingham, who also was at the event as a representative for Remax Gold Johnson Group, couldnt keep a smile off her face.

I am having so much fun, she said. I think watching the kids is my favorite part. They are having such fun.

She pointed out the center of the track with the pit of death, which no car should be able to get out of but they were leaving.

This is a first on so many levels, Dingham said.

The U.S. Army brought a climbing rock for the first-time derby, which will not be the last, she thinks.

Its going to come back next year, bigger, she said.

The grand prize for person with the most points was $1,000 and they had nine $100 prizes, she said.

Volunteers came out to serve food. Women from the Kiwanis offered to paint faces and any tips went toward the clubs fundraiser.

This is going to double each year and just get better and better, Dingham said.

Reach Susan Hiland at 427-6981 or [emailprotected]

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RC Demolition Derby brings community together - Fairfield Daily Republic

Carr Properties contends nighttime activity will minimize disruption to office workers, drivers

By Bethany Rodgers

Published: 2017.07.06 02:56

The Apex building in downtown Bethesda is slated for demolition and redevelopment.

Bethany Rodgers

Montgomery County is weighing a developers request to conduct round-the-clock demolition of the Apex building in downtown Bethesda starting as soon as August.

Working during nights and on weekends would speed up the demolition process, enabling crews to level the 150,000-square-foot building in roughlytwo months instead of four, according to developer Carr Properties. The company described its plans in an application for a temporary noise waiver for the hours from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weekdays and 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. on weekends.

Two adjacent southbound lanes of Wisconsin Avenue will shut down at night and one will close during the day to protect passing motorists while the building is being razed, the application states. The companys plan also calls for traffic signage and flaggers to help pedestrians navigate the closures.

Carr wants to replace the existing structure at 7272 Wisconsin Ave. with office and apartment towers that could soar 300 feet into the sky. The company has also agreed to construct a shell for a future Purple Line station beneath the complex, and despite the legal entanglements that have delayed the light-rail project, the Maryland Transit Administration is holding Carr to a late 2018 deadline, according to the June 19 waiver application.

Sticking to this schedule requires an expedited demolition process, Carr argues in its request for a noise waiver effective from Aug. 1 through Oct. 31.

Stan Edwards, Montgomery Countys chief of environmental policy and compliance, said the countys noise waivers are good for 30 days and can be reissued for two 30-day periods. After that, the developer has to submit an entirely new application, he said.

The county publishes a notice of a noise waiver request and gathers public comment for at least 10 days before deciding whether to grant it. In this case, the county will allow extra time so that more people can offer feedback, Edwards said.

Carrs application describes proposed tools and methods for the razing process and states the noise levels from a 50-foot distance should stay below 85 decibels, or about as loud as a blender or food processor, according to the American Speech-Language Hearing Association.

In the interests of minimizing noise, crews will not set off explosives or swing wrecking balls to flatten the Apex and instead use hydraulic pulverizers and shears mounted on excavators. Theyll also save jack-hammering for daytime hours.

Carr also has forged an agreement with neighboring retailers not to do weekend demolition on the side of the property that faces their establishments. And nearby office workers, drivers and pedestrians will suffer less disruption if the razing takes place at night, Carr argues in the application.

The only residences within a 500-foot radius of the site are the Darcy condominiums on Woodmont Avenue and the Seasons apartments on Bethesda Avenue, Carr has determined.

Edwards noted there are hotels near the Apex site. But hes hopeful that the location of the demolition will help dampen the commotion.

Its surrounded by lots of big buildings, and that will serve as a good noise buffer, Edwards said, although he added there definitely will be a lot of people who will hear it.

News that Carr had applied for a noise waiver was first reported by local blogger Robert Dyer.

Waiver Application Form-Apex Demo byBethany on Scribd

Noise Suppression Details byBethany on Scribd

Plus: Thousands of students chow down on free lunch; slight uptick in preventable bus crashes

Stolen credit cards were used to buy merchandise at nearby stores

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Apex Developer Proposes 24/7 Demolition in Downtown Bethesda - BethesdaMagazine.com

Mayors of Detroit have had a unique way of measuring success: By the number of homes they've torn down.

One of former Mayor Dave Bing's signature programs was his pledge to demolish 10,000 homes. When his successor, Mike Duggan, hit that goal last year, he hosted a celebration complete with a sign reading "10,000" on the west side home that was razed.

Duggan has demolished about 11,500 homes and wants to raze another 2,000 to 4,000 per year, making it the nation's largest blight-removal program. The city has received more than $250 million for the effort from the federal government's Hardest Hit Fund of the Troubled Asset Relief Program and through Michigan State Housing Development Authority.

Demolitions are popular among neighbors in a city that's lost more than 1 million residents in 60 years, and where blighted and burned homes can remain nuisances for decades.

But demolitions are also controversial. The Hardest Hit Fund was created to provide mortgage relief to help homeowners who owed more than their homes were worth after the 2008 housing collapse. Steering money toward demolitions denied to it underwater homeowners.

And Duggan's program is the focus of multiple investigations. The federal government has filed subpoenas into bidding practices and demolition costs. A separate grand jury has reportedly subpoenaed as many as 30 contractors and city agencies (Duggan says he's not a target). State officials are advocating fines because contractors mishandled asbestos from razed homes.

What's more, a recent blight survey by Loveland Technologies, a private company that maps the city, questions whether demolition is even keeping pace with blight in Detroit. Vacancies in neighborhoods targeted for demolition have actually increased 64 percent in four years, the survey found.

Originally posted here:
Can Detroit find salvation through demolition? | Crain's Detroit ... - Crain's Detroit Business