Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

SEEK for a meaningful journey to a sanctified place and you shall find it in the countrys pilgrimage capitalAntipolo City. There situates the shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage which is enthroned as the sacred place for spiritual devotion.

This tradition which started as early as the Spanish Colonial era, still stands up to this day but aside from its religious connotation, Antipolo is also widely known for its Hinulugang Taktak National Park, mystical cave and delicacies such as suman and kasoy. Not to mention the elevated topography that provides good weather and sights of the magnificent horizons and landscapes.

Ultimately, these aspects are the main reasons why Antipolo City is still one of the ideal locations for suburban living considering its accessibility to major cities in the Metro. But for leading property developer Megaworld, its about going beyond these aspects by introducing the first-ever integrated lifestyle community concept of its newest developmentthe Eastland Heights. Also considered as the first in the industry, the idea is to set aside the work part from the usual townships and focus more on the residential homes and amenities, as well as the commercial developments and institutions relevant to the community.

Eastland Heights head of sales and marketing Karen Arcilla believes that this is where the project sets apart from the rest. Through the Megaworld brand alone, Eastland Heights is already unique from other properties in Antipolo given our track record in building communities that offer convenience, world-class amenities, and prime residential homes, she said. For this project, we are aiming to preserve the bounty of nature in the property. Preserving as much of the natural landscapes is one of our top priorities as we are offering the best of nature as an extended amenity for the Eastland community. Our goal is to create a balanced environment where the community is also encouraged to enjoy and appreciate nature, she added.

Currently accessible via Marcos Highway, this acquired property expands approximately 640 hectares with four new phases currently being developed by Megaworld. The entire land is so expansive that it covers three different barangays in the area. Whats more fascinating is that the property itself sits in one of the elevated ranges in Antipolo, which is approximately 1,000 feet above sea level.

As soon as you pass the main gate, youll notice how impressive the whole road network is. The main road, which stretches as much as seven kilometers, has four lanes and while every path is a rolling terrain, its not too steep for any vehicle to traverse.

Up north and in one of the highest points is where an existing clubhouse is located. It will feature an event pavilion, fitness gym, basketball and tennis courts. Best part is that the entire facility takes you to the front seat to witness the splendid view of picturesque backdrops such as the Sierra Madre range, urban skylines, and everything nature has to offer. Theres also a 36-hole exclusive golf course which comprises 20 percent of the entire land. Soon to rise near the main gate is the approximately 6,000-sq.m commercial complex. And perhaps, one of the forthcoming main attractions expected to be completed in the next two years is the aqua park near the main entrance. Dubbed as Springs, it will offer expansive pools of natural spring water for adults and kids; landscaped pool with cabanas and beach chairs; pool decks; pool slides; pool bars; and spa concessionaire.

When it comes to the residential areas, lot sizes ranges from 300 to as big as 2,000 sq.m with plenty of cul-de-sac sections. Currently, the pre-selling price per sq.m is at P15,000, which is equivalent to average lot prices ranging from P4.5 to P34.1 million. As Megaworld offers the most flexible payment schemes plus no down payment, Eastland Heights would be an ideal investment even for the working professionals.

Through the development of the commercial area and the entry of the institutions we will be bringing in, land values at Eastland Heights will definitely increase as construction progresses. Megaworld is also the only developer of exclusive villages in the area which offers flexible terms that can be tailor-fitted for your cash flow. We want our clients to take advantage of the pre-launch selling prices so they can maximize the return on their investment, Arcilla explained.

Meanwhile, wide and open spaces including the true essence of living in nature are very rare in metro exclusive villages these days. So being true to its center of development and tagline The best of nature, Megaworld considers environment as its extended amenity to offer a nature-inspired lifestyle community for future homeowners. Likewise, more greeneries will be retained and other open spaces as well will be converted to leisure parks with playground for future settlers to enjoy. Interestingly, Megaworld is planning for a transit system to offer eco-coasters, battery-operated/solar-powered vehicles and the likes in order to transport people within the community.

While the next five to seven years is the target project completion, significant developments particularly from the primary attractions and facilities will materialize in a couple of years. And once everything is up and running, future homeowners will absolutely relish the fact that theyre inside a vast secluded settlement where they can have their own countryside sojourn. Eastland Heights will become a landmark in Antipolo for its unique residential and lifestyle experience. We see this as a thriving, established community that prides itself on prestige and exclusivity, convenience, and wellness that families living here will be proud of. We want Eastland Heights to be the community everyone aspires to be part of, said Arcilla.

Image Credits: Alysa Salen

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Megaworld introduces first-ever integrated lifestyle community - Business Mirror

Posted: Jul. 2, 2017 12:01 am Updated: Jul. 3, 2017 1:55 pm

QUINCY Preserves has stepped forward to help homeowners do exterior restoration on properties in any of Quincy's seven historic districts.

A new Private Home Facade Renovation Funding Program will provide a $1,000 matching grant for exterior restoration other than roofing. It serves as an option for homeowners who previously did not have any local support programs to access.

Quincy Preserves President Vicki Ebbing hopes the restoration grants will help homeowners maintain historically significant homes. Grant applicants must have been members of Quincy Preserves for at least 12 months, and homes must have been built between 1830 and 1950.

Quincy Preserves was formed in the mid-1970s as an outgrowth of the Quincy Society of Fine Arts. The organization has encouraged owners of historically and architecturally significant structures to restore and maintain the buildings in their original condition.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Quincy Preserves first facade restoration project at the former Pix Photo building at Seventh and Maine. Other properties that have benefitted from the facade program are at 111 Jail Alley, 833 Kentucky and 117 Hampshire.

A donation program also has helped nonprofit organizations maintain the History Museum at 332 Maine, the Quincy Museum at 1601 Maine and Villa Kathrine at 532 Gardner Expressway. Other restoration work has helped the Washington Theater, Woodland Cemetery and the Dr. Richard Eells House.

In addition, the Quincy Preserves Plaquing Program has presented bronze plaques to the owners of more than 100 homes, churches and other significant structures.

Clearly, Quincy is blessed with many historic sites and architectural treasurers, and Quincy Preserves has played a significant role in helping to safeguard those resources.

Moreover, the grant program for private homes will expand the group's outreach into historic neighborhoods. It also will boost the local economy by matching owner investments in exterior restoration projects -- doubling the work that might be possible for property owners with a tight budget.

Quincy Preserves continues to seek out new ways to help preserve architectural gems. This latest partnership with residential owners should pay dividends for years to come.

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Private home restoration the latest Quincy Preserves effort - Herald-Whig

The homestead recently became the subject of a lawsuit filed against the historical society for its care of the home.

The Danvers Historical Societyrecently began an exterior restoration process of the Gen. Israel Putnam House restoration the family is calling "long overdue."

The restoration, which includes clearing the land, replacing an old fence and painting the homesteads exterior, was made possible by a $90,000 claim the society made to Liberty Mutual for damages to a fence that surrounds the property, according to President Thomas Page.

These plansfollownews of thenearly 370-year-old homestead becoming thesubject of a lawsuit filed by the Gen. Israel Homestead Trust against the Danvers Historical Society.

In the suit, the Trust alleges a breach of written contract to preserve the historical site on Maple Street. The claim, which was filed June 15 in Essex Superior Court, asks the house be conveyed back to the family and the trust be awarded for damages totaling more than $25,000.

"Thefamily taking the house back is the only way to ensure its survival," said Eric Emerson, a member of the family who grew up in the home. In 1991, the family gifted the house to the society for preservation.

Emersonsaid he would like for both the society and the house to "survive and thrive," but he doesn't thinkthe twocan do that if they remain together.

A hearing has been set for July 6, according to court records.

With so many unknownsfor the future of the homestead, Page said the society wants to focus its efforts on the home's condition in any way it can.

We know that [the suit is] going to be a heavy, heavy, heavy burden on the Danvers Historical Society and we are laying the groundwork to do extensive fundraising for the home, if need be, he said.

Page said prior to crews arriving to the homestead June 26, the Historical Society reached outto the Emersonsto let the family know theyd be on the property and to inquire if they had any concerns.

On Friday, Emersonstopped by the homestead to see how the restoration was progressing.

He said the property looked better, but the restoration was long overdue.

"It's a little like turning in your homework four semesters late,"Emerson said, describingthe workas "window dressing."

The homestead hasn't been open for scholarly reasons since 2004.He saida long history of of financial mismanagementwithin the society resulted in the deterioration of his family's home.

The care for the property requires financial and motivational resources, Emerson said.

"The family hasboth of those,"he said. "The society may have the intention, but it doesn't have the money."

Although he expressed frustration with management of the society, Emersonacknowledged the significance of the society to Danvers.

"I'd love to see the society straighten itself out,"Emerson said."I think they can doa lot of good for the town of Danvers, which does a mediocre job at publicizing its history, at best."

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Danvers Historical Society begins exterior restoration of Putnam House - Wicked Local Danvers

For years, Jude Plum had kept tabs on the tiny old house next to his childhood home near Bryn Mawr Hospital. He remembered the hermit with the long, gray beard who died in the backyard. And how Plum had once read a line in a local history book that suggested the dilapidated little parcel on Haverford Road had once been special.

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But when the Main Line cosmetologist bought the squat eyesore out of pre-foreclosure four years ago, and removed five layers of exterior, he was shocked by what he found: a log house, formed by two stories worth of oak logs notched together at the corners all rotting, but otherwise untouched since it was built in 1704.

This oddity adjacent to the far more ordinary house where Plum grew up was, he would soon realize, among the oldest surviving houses in Pennsylvania and one of the two oldest extant homes in Lower Merion Township. He embarked on a staggering restoration odyssey, creating a showpiece so out-of-sync with its surroundings on a bustling Main Line thoroughfare, its left passersby mystified by the sight of it among the concrete clutter of modern life.

This is the beginning of our country, Plum said last week inside the refashioned abode, whose two original stone fireplaces connect like a wishbone, and whose smoky brown log walls with white chinking resemble a chocolate layer cake. I want to put it on the National Register.

The structure was taken apart and rebuilt from scratch, each log hand-hewn using a 200-year-old broad ax to chisel the flat sides to perfection. Aside from a splashy kitchen, a motion sensor-activated toilet bowl, and a few other deliberately modern touches, Plum adorned the interior with period furniture, paintings, pewter, and other accoutrements, making it feel like the museum he hopes it will one day become.

He seems to have done it right, saidJerry Francis, president of theLower Merion Historical Society, whose group, uncharacteristically, had no say over the restoration because the house had been covered for centuries. Preservationists hope to add it to the local register.

How much it all cost, Plum wont say. But the end result is impressive.

Its a restoration thats substantial, Francis said, and should last a long, long time.

The mystery and history of this house has enchanted its 71-year-old Main Line cosmetologist owner, as well as strangers who have passed it.

The house pokes onto Haverford Road (County Line Road, officially) at Mondella Avenue from an odd corner lot across a multistory hospital parking garage. Of late, it also sits in the shadow of a towering crane thats been lifting steel for a glitzy hospital expansion project.

Since the log house was unmasked, motorists have done double-takes past the corner that, for decades prior, had been little more than the peripheral vision equivalent of white noise on a daily commute.

People were calling the township, me, the [Lower Merion] Conservancy, Francis said. Its skin was removed and suddenly, this log house appeared out of nowhere.

Plum, too, was tantalized by what he didnt know. He still isnt entirely clear on the propertys history and is cobbling it together with local historians and others, he said.

Although the few historic cabins in southeastern Pennsylvania were built by Swedes, with the oldest a few miles away in nearby Upper Darby, this one appears to have been built by aWelsh Quaker, Rees Thomas, their research suggests. It was among hundreds of acres of land he bought from William Penn in 1682 on what today areLower Merion and Haverford Townships in Montgomery and Delaware Counties.

The log facade was covered in clapboard around the time of the American Revolution, in the late 1700s, said Roland Cadle, who did the restoration through his Altoona-area business, Village Restorations & Consulting Inc.

In 1894, it was bought by Horace Cornog, whom Plum knew as a quiet recluse next door to where he and his siblings grew up in the 1950s. One day in 1954, Plum said, his mother found Cornogs dead body in the garden, put a blanket over him, and called police.

The Plum family home has remained in the family, providing Plum added incentive to buy the eyesore. A Monsignor Bonner graduate, hed already built a business from scratch, starting with a hair salon for some of the Main Lines wealthiest matrons, and adding through the years high-end wigs for women with cancer. Along the way, hed refurbished homes, too. Perhaps he could turn Cornogs old house into a cottage.

I thought it would be a challenge, Plum said.

Then came the glorious and inglorious discovery. The logs beneath its facade were sodamagedfrom water and insects, it would have been reasonable to put a match to it, recalled Cadle, the Blair County expert who ultimately rebuilt it for Plum.

Im a very visual person, said Plum. I just thought, Im gonna make this work.

Cadle, an artisan himself, also believed it had potential. If it were me, the 67-year-old told told Plum, I would jack up your roof and I would start down at the first log, and I would replace everything thats bad.

Lets go for it, was Plums response, as Cadle remembered it.

Cadle bought an 18th-century log cabin from elsewhere in Pennsylvania because its white oak was of similar vintage and wear. He trucked down the logs to replace those beyond repair in Bryn Mawr. Period window panes also were tracked down and installed. Plum, meanwhile, scavenged salvaged wood from an 18th-century Maine farmhouse to throw into the mix. He topped off the project by designing a landscaped garden and stone parking area. Cadle spent something like a year working on it, he said.

My goal, said Cadle, was that when Im done it will look like its always been there.

Plum hopes to one day donate the house to Lower Merion Township so that it can live on as a childrens museum.

Cadle thinks its mere presence amid the concrete jungle is a powerful history lesson in and of itself.

This, he said,is the house that all that came from.

Published: July 3, 2017 3:01 AM EDT | Updated: July 3, 2017 1:50 PM EDT

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Bryn Mawr man finds 300-year-old log house beneath stucco facade - Philly.com

Mies van der Rohe's Other Illinois Home, the McCormick House, to Undergo Restoration

As Mies van der Rohes adopted city, Chicago and its surrounding area are home to more of the Modernist architects projects than anywhere else in the world, from Crown Hallto Federal Centerto the Farnsworth House. Perhaps for that very reason, the McCormick House, located in the Chicago suburb of Elmhurst, is one of the lesser known projects in the architect's oeuvre despite being one of just three single-family homes in the United States completed by Mies.

Built in 1952 for Robert McCormick Jr. the owner of the land where Mies' 860-880 N. Lake Shore Drive was constructed the house was moved down the street in 1994, where it was attached to the newly built Elmhurst Museum of Art via a 15-foot-long corridor. While its relocation allowed the building to remain in good care over the next 23 years, it also obscured the homes front facade, camouflaging one of the most prized objects in the museum's collection.

But thats all about to change, thanks to an upcoming restoration that will remove the offending corridor, allowing the original architecture to shine once again.

Unlike the custom, site-specific Farnsworth House, the McCormick house was envisioned as a prototype for the suburban home, repurposing details first designed for 860-880 N. Lake Shore Drive for a single-family setting. The restoration project will highlight these elements, as the house will again be able to be approached from its original entrance. The original carport will be reconstructed, and complementary landscaping will replace existing hardscaped areas. Previously used as the museums administrative wing, the restored house will be transformed into flexible exhibition space.

Led by Elmhurst-based Heritage Architecture Studio and Berglund Construction, the project is estimated to cost between $350,000 to $400,000, and is scheduled to complete later this year.

Check out the video belowto learn more about the history of the McCormick House.

News via Chicago Tribune. H/T Curbed.

One of architecture's greatest tales - the commission of Mies van der Rohe's seminal Farnsworth House - is set to receive the Hollywood treatment. As reported by Showbiz 411's Roger Friedman, the story of the home's construction will be taken on by actors Jeff Bridges (as the architect) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (as Dr. Edith Farnsworth), who last teamed up for 2009's acclaimed Crazy Heart.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (27 March 1886 - 17 August 1969) is one of the most influential architects of the 20th century, known for his role in the development of the most enduring architectural style of the era: modernism.

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Mies van der Rohe's Other Illinois Home, the McCormick House, to ... - ArchDaily

Isabelle Hallnews@seacoastonline.com

PORTSMOUTH Burt Wolfs grandmother, Sarah Shapiro, died many years ago. Yet he often travels from his home in Portland, Maine to visit her at her house at Strawbery Banke Museum.

Since1997, when the Shapiro House first opened, Barbara Ann Paster has played the role of Sarah Shapiro speaking with her accent, cooking on the coal stove in her restored kitchen, and telling visitors about the history of her family.

BarbaraAnn has been portraying my grandmother for 20 years. Shes done it so long that she believes she is my grandmother, and shes convinced me that she is, Wolf said, laughing.

Accordingto Paster, Wolf calls her Bubbe, which is what he called his grandmother while she was alive.

Imvery close with the family, said Paster. In fact, as some of them have gotten older, Ive had to correct them about how the family fits together because I sometimes know it better than they do.

Ibelieve (Paster is) doing a wonderful, wonderful job, Wolf said.

From1909 to 1928, the Shapiro House was home to Sarah and her husband, Abraham Shapiro. They, and many of their family members, were part of a small community of Russian Jewish immigrants in the neighborhood once known as Puddle Dock. Abraham was among the founding members of Portsmouths Temple Israel in 1905.

TheShapiro House has since been restored to resemble how it looked in the year 1919, and features historical roleplayers and artifacts.

OnTuesday, Wolf and other descendants of the Shapiro family, along with members of the museum staff, gathered at the Shapiro House to celebrate its 20th anniversary.

Todaywe celebrate the restoration of the Shapiro House as a milestone and a template guiding Strawbery Banke Museums efforts to restore other houses at Puddle Dock and recreate the neighborhood and tell the story of those who lived here for nearly 400 years,said Lawrence Yerdon, president and CEO of Strawbery Banke Museum.

Itsvery, very emotional that this story is still being told every single day, said Elaine Krasker, the granddaughter of Abrahams brother, Samuel Shapiro, and a former New Hampshire state senator. When they came here (from the Ukraine), they didnt speak English.It was a different religion, different traditions, different culture. But they became successful.

Descendantsof the Shapiro family have supported the Shapiro House since the museum first contacted them with the idea for the restoration. The family recently established the Shapiro House Endowment to ensure the houses future success.

Accordingto Wolf, the museum has made him feel more connected with the history of his family members and more appreciative of all they had to go through.

Ifwe had known when we were growing up that the house would be selected for a museum, we would have asked my grandparents a lot more questions, said Wolf.

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Family visits Shapiro House on its 20th anniversary - Seacoastonline.com

All the things we have, lined up with what they needed, Mr. Lynn said. They will represent a large part of our business.

Tech companies are nothing new for Cupertino. Apple has called the city home for decades, and Hewlett-Packard had a campus in Apples new spot, employing 9,000 people. The surrounding towns have been remade as well in the last decade, as giant tech companies have transformed Silicon Valleys real estate into some of the most expensive in the country.

But city officials and residents say this project is like nothing theyve seen before. It is even bringing tourists.

Onlookers snap pictures of the spaceship from the streets. TV helicopters circle above. Amateur photographers ask residents if they can stand on driveways to operate their drones, hoping to get a closer look at Apple Park.

I just say, Hey, go ahead, said Ron Nielsen, who lives in Birdland, a Sunnyvale neighborhood across the street from the spaceship. Why not?

Drone operators want that coveted aerial shot while pedestrians want to get an eyeful of the curved glass building before the headquarters become hidden by a man-made forest.

The campus is one of the last major projects started by Steven P. Jobs, the visionary co-founder of Apple, who died six years ago. Just a few months before his death, he went before the Cupertino City Council and laid out his vision for a futuristic circular house of glass that would foster creativity and collaboration. Two years later, the Council unanimously approved the plans for the campus.

The main center features the spaceship ring, the Steve Jobs Theater, a 100,000-square-foot gym and a visitors center in a woodland setting with two miles of running and walking paths. An orchard, a meadow and a pond are inside the ring.

The entire project shows off Apples obsession with details. The custom windows were made in Germany and are considered the worlds largest panels of curved glass. One pair of glass doors is 92 feet high. The finish on the underground concrete garage, said David Brandt, Cupertinos city manager, is so shiny it is almost like glass.

Mind-blowing, mind-blowing, mind-blowing, the mayor, Savita Vaidhyanathan, said about her visit to the site. I saw the underground 1,000-seat theater and the carbon-fiber roof. The roof was made in Dubai, and it was transported and assembled here. I love that its here and that I can brag about it.

Many of the public views will soon be going away. Apple Park will eventually have 9,000 trees, filling in much of the big open spaces. The public will instead have access to a visitors center with a cafe, a store and rooftop observation views.

It will be a separate glass structure and be set in an old-growth olive tree grove, said Dan Whisenhunt, Apples vice president of real estate and development.

Not all of these changes have thrilled everyone. Residents of Birdland, an 877-home neighborhood, have been particularly vocal. They have complained about early-morning construction rigs that beep and rumble along major streets, unpredictable road closings, unsightly green sheeted barriers and construction potholes that result in punctured tires.

When her car was covered with construction dust, Sheri Nielsen, Mr. Nielsens wife, contacted Apple. The company sent carwash certificates.

Mr. Whisenhunt said the company strove to answer every complaint it received, and if the issue is serious enough, I will personally visit to see what is going on.

In the design phase, he said, Apple hosted more than 110 community gatherings for feedback. Birdland was addressed in late 2012 and early 2013 and was given information about what would be happening over the next three years of construction. Apple published community mailers five times and sent them to 26,000 households.

Homestead Road, the thoroughfare that separates Apple Park from Birdland, became its own subject of debate. Cupertino officials wanted to construct a tree-lined median to calm traffic. Apple offered to cover the costs.

But homeowners objected. Residents complained that the island would eliminate one lane, backing up the heavy traffic even more. When 20 or so neighbors approached a Sunnyvale town meeting in solidarity, the city ended up siding with the residents.

The price of property in the neighborhood has also become a source of some worry. Sunnyvale and Cupertino, like many other Silicon Valley towns, have had an extended real estate boom, as the tech industry has expanded. Prices in the area really started to rise, real estate agents and residents said, after Apple released its plans.

A three-bedroom, two-bathroom, 1,400-square-foot ranch-style house that cost $750,000 in 2011 has doubled in price. Since Apple said it was moving into the former Hewlett-Packard site, prices have moved up 15 to 20 percent year after year, said Art Maryon, a local real estate agent. Today, bidders usually offer 20 to 25 percent over the asking price.

Birdland is already drawing Apple employees, replacing homeowners who have cashed out to move to quieter regions. Those who remain are realizing that life will not be the same when all 12,000 of the Apple workers go in and come out on a daily basis. People in the neighborhood dread the increased traffic and expect workers to park in front of their homes since there will be fewer available spaces in the company garage.

Apples answers to concerned residents will continue, Mr. Whisenhunt said.

When you tell people what is upcoming, some of the anxiety they have calms down a lot, he said.

And yet, he acknowledged, you dont make everyone happy.

A version of this article appears in print on July 5, 2017, on Page B5 of the New York edition with the headline: Apples Eye-Catching New Home Disrupts Silicon Valley.

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Apple Disrupts Silicon Valley With Another Eye-Catcher: Its New Home - New York Times

Washington Business Journal

Building a block: Inside the massive effort to build The Boro in Tysons Washington Business Journal In Tysons, six construction cranes and enough concrete to fill 50 Olympic-sized swimming pools are laying the outline of what will be The Boro, a massive mixed-use development from The Meridian Group and Kettler. The $485 million construction project ...

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Building a block: Inside the massive effort to build The Boro in Tysons - Washington Business Journal

CHARLESTON, W.Va. The goal is to reopen Building 3 at the State Capitol Complex in Charleston later this summer.

We hope to have all of the agency tenants in place by August, said Diane Holley-Brown, spokesperson for the state Department of Administration.

In all, the building will house more than 500 employees from the Department of Commerce, the Division of Tourism, Workforce West Virginia, the Office of Economic Opportunity, Division of Labor, the state Development Office and the Division of Personnel.

The University of Charlestons Laidley Field lot will be used as an overflow parking lot to employees working for those agencies.

Were now going to be having them in a state-owned building on campus, so were going to have a lot more people on campus. Thats for sure, Holley-Brown said.

Crews with Paramount Builders, the contractor working on the project, are finishing the final tasks.

The floor plan of the newly renovated building is very open, Holley-Brown said. Theres more partisans rather than closed office spaces, but we have the furniture that are being installed and once that furniture is in place, a wiring will be completed.

The project has been 10 years in the making. The initial proposal for the building were presented in 2007.

The Division of Labor moved in June 16. The Department of Commerce will move in July 7-9. The Division of Personnel moves in Aug. 1. Tourism and Workforce West Virginia will settle in after that.

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Construction on Building 3 nears completion - West Virginia MetroNews

When Eric Dzhakhpevych found a construction job at Moscows Luzhniki Stadium, he entered the jobsite each morning past a statue of Vladimir Lenin below an unlit fluorescent light that curved into the words Dobro pozhalovat the Russian phrase for welcome.

But for many of the migrant workers renovating Luzhniki Stadium, where soccer fans will gather to watch the opening match of the 2018 World Cup, the entrance can lead to dangerous jobsites managed by exploitative employers.

Dzhakhpevych, 31, left his home country of Kyrgyzstan for construction work in Moscow. His boss at Luzhniki Stadium promised to pay Dzhakhpevych and his coworkers when they finished a two-month job insulating ceilings. But at the end of the gig, their employer disappeared without paying.

They said they would pay tomorrow, then they said it would be next week. And then a month went by, Dzhakhpevych said. But they still never paid us. The people we worked for just ran away.

Stories of frequent wage theft at Russias World Cup sites now threaten to tarnish the worlds most popular sporting event. Russia has already spent $11.4 billionon World Cup infrastructure in 11 host cities that required new stadiums or extensive renovations on existing venues like Luzhniki Stadium. The projects have attracted thousands of workers from throughout Russia and the former Soviet republics, many of whom have experienced severe labor violations.

At least 17 workershave died working on Russias World Cup sites, according to researchers with the global trade union Building and Woodworkers International in Geneva. A new reportby Human Rights Watch also documented widespread instances where construction workers laboring at Russian stadiums, many of them migrants from Central Asia, were cheated out of wages by construction companies.

Theres a pervasive system of worker exploitation on Russian construction sites, said Jane Buchanan, associate director of the European and Central Asia Division at Human Rights Watch.

Dzhakhpevych came to Russia hoping to send home enough money to pay his fiances family a kalym,a traditional dowry,throw a nice wedding when he returned and finish building his house. Dzhakhpevychs home consists of a two-story structure with open windows that the elements blow through in the Kyrgyz city of Osh, about 2,350 milessoutheast of Moscow.

A university graduate with a law degree, Dzhakhpevych says he can earn four times more on Russian construction sites than he did back home. But despite the potential benefits of working in Russia, many migrants meet few of their goals.

Dzhakhpevych and four friends from Kyrgyzstan found work at Luzhniki Stadium insulating ceilings for a company called Stroi Kachestvo. Their boss paid them each just $60 a week to get by. When they finished the job, Stroi Kachestvo owed the group about $2,000, according to Dzhakhpevych. He says the employer promised to pay them several days later, but instead their boss disappeared and his phone number stopped working.

Russian labor law requires employers to provide foreign workers with a signed contract specifying the terms of the job, but many fail to comply. The practice leaves migrants with few options for holding unfair employers accountable.

Foreign workers laboring on Russian construction sites commonly become victims of wage theft. But Dzhakhpevych says the reasons migrants get tricked by Russian bosses even a trained lawyer like himself are complex.

Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Tajiks theyre mostly Muslim, Dzhakhpevych said,and they take a person for their word. So when a boss promises them something, they believe it and do the work. And at the end of the job, they don't get paid.

Workers at five of Russias World Cup stadiums have gone on strike over unpaid wages. Other workers said they were forced to labor in freezing winter temperatures without adequate protection. And in one case, workers from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan were even arrested and deported from Russia for complaining about problems with their contracts.

Many workers at Russias stadiums said their bosses threatened to fire them for speaking about the working conditions. And workers arent the only ones who face retaliation. A researcher with Human Rights Watch was arrestedand threatened by police for investigating labor conditions at a stadium in the Russian city of Volgograd.

The atmosphere of control and intimidation and secrecy was something that we had neverencountered before in Russia, Buchanan said, so there is a real concern about what those responsible for the World Cup have to hide.

Soccers governing body, FIFA, has regularly inspected labor conditions at the stadiums for the first time ever in the lead up to a World Cup. FIFA has admitted publiclythat there have been problems, but FIFA hasnt stated what sorts of specific labor violations they found. In response to an interview request, FIFA sent a brief email maintaining that the working conditions at Russian stadiums areparamount.

The construction companies that have abused Russias World Cup construction workers, despite the inspections by FIFA, often violate a number of Russian laws. Public records revealed that Stroi Kachestvo, the company that failed to pay Dzhakhpevych, was located in a Moscow office building with no phone number. The company listed a starting capital of just $200, a common practice of Russian shell companies.

Workers who do experience employment-related abuses in Russias soccer stadiums have few avenues for demanding payment from their bosses. Advocates say that exploitation of migrant workers in Russia often persistsbecause, simply, many Russians just dont want foreigners in the country.

People think that immigration is bad for the economy, that immigrants take away their job or that maybe migrants can be terrorists, said Varya Tretyak, director of a program that provides legal aid to migrants at the Moscow nonprofit Civic Assistance Committee.

On a summer afternoon in the committees offices, Tretyak investigated a construction company that owed $2,000 in unpaid wages to a worker from Uzbekistan. Tretyak did a quick online search and learned that the construction company wasnt properly registered.

Tretyak used this information when she called the workers boss to intimidate him to pay. When the boss answered the phone, an accusatory tone replaced Tretyaks friendly demeanor. But the employer insisted he had never heard of the worker. Tretyak hung up the phone and vowed to take legal action if he still neglected to pay after several more calls.

Construction workers at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow say that wage theft is so common throughout the Russian construction industry that a culture of complacence has evolved. When a problem occurs, migrants usually just move on to another jobsite. The immediate pressure to send remittances back home, and the necessity to put a roof over your head, usually outweighs the time it would take to hold employers accountable.

Exploitation at construction sites often traps many migrants in Russia for far longer than they planned. Dzhakhpevych again, a trained lawyer simply left Russia.

We have a proverb that says, its good to be a guest, but its better to be at home, Dzhakhpevych said. Here in Russia you just go to work in the morning, come home at night to sleep.

Dzhakhpevych left Russia without saving enough money to finish his house in Kyrgyzstan. And, he saidvia email, he hadnt even gotten married, yet.

Dzhakhpevych said he'ddecided one thing: He planned to go back to Russia soon to find work at another construction site.

Nataliya Vasilyeva contributed reporting to this piece.

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Many migrant workers building Russia's World Cup sites are getting stiffed - PRI