Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

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Potential Hotel at the Masonic Center. Rendering provided by Ascendant Holdings.

The developers of a proposed 220-room, 14-story hotel to be built atop the Humphrey Scottish Rite Masonic Center are still working with city officials to secure final approval for their project. The developers are haggling with the citys Historic Preservation Commission and historic preservation staff over the fate of 20 stained-glass windows, none of which are original to the building.

Youre forgiven if youve never noticed the stained glass windows; at least one of the commissioners was in the same boat. Said Commissioner Patti Keating Kahnduring the meeting: when I drive past the building I cannot see stained glass. The building is so dark. Shes right, theyre barely visible because theyre covered by a dark plate glass. Yet, interior photos shown by historic preservation staff member Tim Askin show a number of colorful windows, most notably in a second-floor chapel space.

Ascendant Holdings, led by Eric Nordeen and Matthew Prescott, is looking to remove and relocate the windows as part of their redevelopment of the property at 790 N. Van Buren St.The hotel will be operated byPortland-based boutique operator Provenance Hotels, who has told Ascendant that the windows create an environment that is too dark to be used as food and beverage space or meeting rooms.

Ascendant will need commission approval to remove the windows and display them as art in the hotels interior, as theyve indicated they desire to. Yet the Historic Preservation Commission wouldnt have the authority to compel them to display them once theyve been removed. No one is suggesting Ascendant has any desire to pull a bait-and-switch, but the preservation staff and commission have raised concerns over setting precedent regarding future projects.

Further complicating things, two stained glass experts, including local firm Conrad Schmitt Studios, have examined the windows and, according to Nordeen, deemed them inferior. As Nordeen told the commission both independently concluded [the windows are] locally made, of inferior quality and they dont really have any secondary value. They do have value to the Masons.

Perhaps more germane to the commission than the hard-to-regulate fate of the windows is what Ascendant would replace them with. Matthew Jarosz, who chairs the commission and leads UW-Milwaukee Historic Preservation Institute, held a lengthy back and forth with project architect Ken Gowland about the merits of various window replacement options. The stained glass windows werent builtas entirely new windows, but instead installed inside the existing window frames. The rest of the windows in the building were replaced in 1996 by the masons. Nordeen suggested that replacing the stained glass windows could lead to a building with greater historic integrity.

Ultimately, the commission seemed supportive of finding a solution, but held off on making a decision. The meeting ended with Jarosz telling Nordeen, I think you need to come back and tell us exactly where you want to go with it.

Ascendant and their team, including a partnership of New Jersey-based Kraig Kalashian Architecture & Design and New Orleans-based Metro Studio, must now firm up plans of how they wish to use the windows and what theyll replace them with.

Will the masons find a home for them? Will Ascendant display them within the building, and if so how many? Will they leave any in place? Well know more soon. Should the commission reject Ascendants plans, the developer would retain the right to go to the full Common Council to override the historic commissions decision.

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Masonic Hotel Inches Forward - urbanmilwaukee

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Thermostats arent usually the first topic of conversation as summer approaches. But with heating and cooling taking up the bulk of your energy bill, its worth it to pay attention. The smartest thermostats today can learn the comings and goings of your family and tune the temperature to your households lifestyle. The savings can add up.

The idea of thermostats controlling heat dates from about 1620 when someone built a heating controller for a chicken coup. More than 250 years later, Albert Butz filed for the first thermostat patent. By the early 1900s, manufacturers sold fuel savers for homes. These clunky mechanical contraptions were complex and more of a luxury at that time.

But designs improved. Manufacturers eventually reduced the inner controls to mercury bubble switches or bimetal strips that bent at different rates to turn the furnace temperature up or down. Normally, folks adjusted their thermostats twice a year, turning them up in the winter and down in the summer. The more energy conscious adjusted the settings when they left their homes for more than a day. This saved a few of their energy dollars, but not many. Back then, energy was cheaper.

As costs rose, engineers devised programmable mechanical units. But despite being heralded as energy savers, they too seemed awfully complex for many households to manage daily. It wasnt until the mid-1980s when semiconductor technology arrived that thermostat programmability became easier and more reliable. This new breed of thermostat promised homeowners lower energy bills. They had fewer parts, battery backups and digital readouts. Digital control ensured homeowners precision and savingsif used properly.

Not long ago, we put a lot of effort into encouraging customers to install programmable thermostats, said Matthew Babbitts, energy services project manager for Clark Public Utilities. The energy savings, however, depended more on how well customers used the thermostats, not the technology alone.

Consumer behavior kept energy savings lower than manufacturers, utility companies and the government expected. Studies, including one by Energy Star, showed programmable thermostats fell short of their promise. Consumers seemed frustrated or confused. Many never programmed them. Others resorted to turning them up and down manually as with older mechanical styles.

Home automation championed the next wave of thermostats. Several facets of the home heating and cooling, security and lighting are now linked to the internet. For the first time, homeowners held home remote controls in their hands. Although these connected thermostats communicated over the internet, they gathered no data about energy use. Later, smart thermostats, that also connected to the internet with cables or Wi-Fi, did crunch and present the data of a homes energy use.

In 2011, Nest Labs introduced its first smart thermostat with learning capacity. Today, the Nest Learning Thermostat and ecobee3 can learn your household habits and adjust heating and cooling accordingly. Any Android or iOS device, as well as any Wi-Fi enabled laptop, can remotely control them. However, they approach learning your household habits differently, which is something you should check out before deciding which is better for you. (If youd like voice control, for instance, the ecobee3 pairs with Amazons Alexa.)

Recently, we started offering a $50 mail-in rebate for the Nest Gen 3 and the Ecobee3, said Babbitts. Customers can control these models remotely, gain better energy savings with little effort, and see where their energy dollars go.

To qualify for the rebate, customers must have an electric furnace or a heat pump and own the home where one is installed. Just download and fill out the Smart Thermostat Project Information Form from the utility website and return it with a receipt to the utility.

Homeowners using natural gas may also qualify for a learning thermostat through the Energy Trust, said Babbitts. Anyone with questions can call the energy counselor hotline at 360-992-3355 during business hours.

Energy Adviser is written by Clark Public Utilities. Send questions to ecod@clarkpud.com or to Energy Adviser, c/o Clark Public Utilities, P.O. Box 8900, Vancouver, WA 98668.

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Energy Adviser: Save with a smart thermostat - The Columbian

MARTINSVILLELike many property owners, the city is finding out that houses dont always sell for what theyre worth, or even what is being asked for them.

While seated as the citys Redevelopment and Housing Authority, Martinsville City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to sell a house that was damaged by a ruptured sewer line for $15,000.

Tax records show the property, at 310 Hairston St. near Starling Avenue, is valued at $48,700. The city bought the house from its unidentified owner for $33,000 to fix the line, which ran under the structure.

The eight-inch-in-diameter line running under the vacant house ruptured earlier this year, resulting in city crews having to pump sewage out of the basement through a nearby manhole every couple of days. Nobody apparently knew the line was there. City officials hired a cleaning service to clean up inside the house, installed a new underground line around the home and connected the building to the new line, according to City Manager Leon Towarnicki.

The city then put the house on the market for $20,000. Towarnicki told the council that it received one offer for $12,500. He said Assistant City Manager/Community Development Director Wayne Knox negotiated with the bidders and convinced them to increase their bid to $15,000.

The house is being sold as is, where is, like is, Councilwoman Kathy Lawson said with a chuckle while making the motion to sell it.

The unidentified new owners plan to live there, renovate the house and install new heating, cooling and plumbing systems, Towarnicki said.

Although the house was sold for less than the city requested, at least it returns the house to the tax rolls so revenue can be generated from it in the future, he said.

Neither he nor Knox could be reached Wednesday for further comment.

Also Tuesday, the council recognized Patrick Henry Elementary School student Treylan Beamer for his recent accomplishments in the Elks Lodge National Hoop Shoot basketball free throw competition.

Beamer won local, district, state and regional competitions in the age group for eight- and nine-year-old boys. He then advanced to national competition in Chicago at the end of April, placing fourth.

That was a remarkable achievement, a proclamation that Mayor Gene Teague presented him reads, considering over 40,000 players participated nationwide in the competition.

The council learned that a community job fair planned June 14 will include shuttle service for area residents needing transportation to it.

Lisa Fultz, executive director of the West Piedmont Workforce Development Board, said more information about the fair will be announced soon.

Excerpt from:
City council agrees to sell Hairston Street house | News ... - Martinsville Bulletin

Memphis, Tenn.-based American Residential Services, a privately held national provider of air conditioning, heating and plumbing services, announced a partnership with Nest Labs to include the Nest Learning Thermostat as a standard component of most of its middle- and upper-tier residential HVAC system installations. ARS also will offer professional installation of Nest thermostats as an optional upgrade when performing service and preventative maintenance in previously installed systems.

The benefits that a smart and connected home offers are very compelling, said Luis Orbegoso, president and COO of ARS. We are delighted to be recognized as a Nest Pro Elite partner across our network of more than 70 service centers.

The Nest Thermostat learns the temperatures a homeowner prefers and then programs itself. Nests algorithms allow customers to monitor their energy history daily, in addition to receiving an easy-to-understand monthly report. It also will alert homeowners in the event it detects certain problems with the homes HVAC system. Independent studies have shown that the Nest Thermostat saves homeowners on average 10 to 12 percent on heating and 15 percent on cooling costs.

While Nest products are designed so that homeowners can choose to install themselves, Nest wants to make it easy for those whod prefer to take advantage of the benefits of a pro installation, said Gene LaNois, who heads Nests Professional Channel. ARS shares our passion for enabling the thoughtful home, and were excited that they will be incorporating the Nest Thermostat into their installation offerings.

The Nest Thermostat and other Nest products are available at all ARS Network branches that provide HVAC services and installations.

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ARS Partners with Nest Labs to Provide Learning Thermostats to Customers - Contracting Business

By Kelsey Bajada, Morning Star Builders

Photo: Courtesy Of Morning Star Builders

This second service kitchen is both well designed and functional.

This second service kitchen is both well designed and functional.

GHBA Remodelers Council: Make way for the service kitchen

Service kitchens, or second kitchens, are making a way in today's custom homes and remodel projects. There are many benefits to building a second kitchen, such as hiding kitchen messes, limiting food aromas, creating a cooking space that is separate from the entertaining area, and adding twice the amount of cooking space, appliances and storage.

The kitchen is the hub of the home and is used more than any other room in the house. So, it comes as no surprise that homeowners strive to make this space look and feel beautiful, as well as functional. Thus, the importance of a service kitchen becomes evident. With the addition of a second kitchen, the main kitchen becomes the focal point of the home, leaving the "mess" of a well-used kitchen behind the scenes.

It's crucial to point out that second kitchens are not only a viable option for new-construction homes, but also homes in the remodeling process. But, how do you convert one kitchen into two? You might be surprised how far a creative designer/builder and experienced project manager can get you. Often, a service kitchen can be created using unused hallway space, a rarely occupied formal dining room, or even your current pantry area.

The layout of a second kitchen can vary according to your unique, personal needs. It can be as simple as added counter space or storage and a second dishwasher. Or you may be looking for a full second kitchen, complete with a second dishwasher, oven, microwave, sink and more.

Designer and owner of Chairma Designs, Cindy Aplanalp, said, "Sometimes the doorway between the (two) kitchens is fun, like a brightly painted barn door or a cleaver pocket door with an interesting, obscure glass to let light pass, while still hiding the mess". The possibilities are endless.

Whether you are building a new-construction home or remodeling your current home, don't discount the second kitchen. This supplemental space can provide your home with the added convenience, function and beauty you've been looking for.

This article was provided by a member of the Remodelers Council of the Greater Houston Builders Association. The Remodelers Council is dedicated to promoting professionalism and public awareness of the remodeling profession through education, certification and service to the Houston community. For information on this article, please contact Lorraine Hart at lorraine@idealconsulting.net. To join the council or to find a professional remodeler in your area, please visit http://www.ghba.org.

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GHBA Remodelers Council: Make way for the service kitchen - Laredo Morning Times

BY RICH GRISET STAFF WRITER

People are concerned about having the ground-floor master bedroom [as an] option for aging parents. With baby boomers eyeing a future where theyll age in place and millennials renovating older homes, the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies is anticipating healthy growth for the U.S. home improvement market through 2025.

The centers recently released report Demographic Change and the Remodeling Outlook also states that boomers will continue to drive the remodeling market, and that the amount spent on improvements and repairs by homeowners and renters reached an all-time high of $340 billion in 2015, eclipsing the previous peak in 2007.

Kermit Baker, director of the Remodeling Futures Program at the center, says that the study was conducted to see how demographics will shape the future of the countrys remodeling market. For the past few decades, boomers have been the key drivers of the housing and home improvement markets. Baker says that trend will continue for the foreseeable future.

There was some thought that that [trend] was going to wane a little bit, Baker says. It looks like were not quite there yet. The baby boomer generation is still so large, and by and large wants to remain in their current home.

Baby boomers have been refitting their homes in order to care for aging parents, and in anticipation of a future when they themselves arent as mobile. Dan Bawden, 2017 chairman of the National Association of Home Builders Remodelers organization, agrees. There is an ever-increasing demand for aging-in-place work, Bawden says. He adds that boomers often make modifications to their own homes after seeing their parents age. They often take a look around their own home and go, If I broke my leg in a car wreck, could I get into my own house? Could I get into the bathroom?

Bawdens company, Legal Eagle Contractors Co., specializes in remodeling homes for the elderly in the Houston area. As aging-in-place home remodeling is more of a necessity (instead of, say, remodeling a kitchen for younger homeowners), Bawden says his company managed better than most during the economic downturn a few years ago. He adds that hes seen many more intergenerational projects such as adding in-law suites to facilitate having peoples aging parents move back in with them.

Kathy Corbet, owner of Willow Lawnbased Kathy Corbet Interiors, says shes seen this trend take place locally.

People are concerned about having the ground-floor master bedroom [as an] option for aging parents, says Corbet, a member of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry Central Virginia.

Now that the economy has come back, Corbet says boomers are finally getting around to projects they had been putting off, such as remodeling kitchens and master bathrooms. She says many boomers and millennials are trying to incorporate amenities that theyve seen at restaurants and hotels into their homes, like adding an independent coffee bar in the kitchen.

An increase in the countrys older housing inventory, as much as a million homes a year, is also expected as aging baby boomers move into retirement homes. Meanwhile, as homes appreciate and regain value lost due to the 2007-08 recession, homeowners can borrow against their equity to undertake larger projects.

Bawden says boomers are still trying to keep up with the Joneses, adding features to their homes like outdoor kitchens and living areas, and redoing indoor kitchens. Baker says energy-efficient features are continuing to gain popularity, and that home automation electronic systems that control everything from home temperature to appliances has become popular in the past couple years.

People are just much more used to their smartphone as a way to manage their life, Baker explains.

The Harvard report also states that millennials are poised to enter the remodeling market, but arent quite there yet. Given the cost of land and other factors, new starter homes are expensive to build and are often located in the outer suburbs and exurbs places millennials dont tend to gravitate toward. For both of these reasons, its expected that millennials will buy more affordable, older homes and remodel them.

Still, Baker says millennials have not entered the remodeling market as much as had been anticipated.

They have been so late in forming households, having children, buying homes, Baker says. Were not going to see a ton of growth from younger households quite yet.

Whenever they do start buying homes, Bawden says theres plenty of inventory in need of his services.

Theres a lot of housing stock that needs to be remodeled, and a lot of cities have older neighborhoods that are becoming gentrified, Bawden says.

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Boomers fueling uptick in remodeling | http://www.chesterfieldobserver ... - Chesterfield Observer

Albany's Landmarks Advisory Commission will offer two free events on Saturday, May 20, for residents and visitors who want ideas and tips for remodeling or restoring their historic kitchen and for those who want to learn more about Albanys historic homes.

The first event is a Historic Kitchen Talk & Tour from 12:45 to 3 p.m. Participants will gather at the Albany Regional Museum, 136 Lyon St., for a brief presentation about historic kitchen design.

After the presentation, participants will drive or bike to four historic homes with kitchens dating from the 1900s to the 1950s.

The second event is a Historic Kitchen Contractor Fair from 2 to 5 p.m. at Calapooia Brewery, 140 Hill St. NE. Contractors and vendors with historic building and kitchen expertise will be available to share their knowledge and answer questions about restoring and renovating historic houses and kitchens.

Preregistration is required for the Historic Kitchen Talk & Tour. To register, call 541-791-0176 or email shawna.adams@cityofalbany.net by 5 p.m., Friday, May 19. Preregistration is not required for the Contractor Fair at Calapooia Brewery. Participants can take part in one or both events.

The events are partially supported with funds from the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office and National Park Service.

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Historic Kitchen Talk and Tour planned - Albany Democrat Herald

American Bureau of Shipping has pre-leased offices in CityPlace2 in Springwoods Village.

American Bureau of Shipping has pre-leased offices in CityPlace2 in Springwoods Village.

HFF arranges construction loan for Springwoods Village office building

HFF has lined up a construction loan for CityPlace 2, a 327,000-square-foot office building in CityPlace district of Springwoods Village.

A venture of Patrinely Group, USAA Real Estate Co. and CDC Houston is developing the 10-story building, which will be occupied by American Bureau of Shipping upon its completion in 2018. The building will have24,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor.

HFF's Wally Reid, Cortney Cole and Trent Agnew arranged thefive-year, fixed-rate construction permanent loan through Galveston-based American National Insurance Co.

RELATED: Marriott CityPlace hotel coming to Springwoods Village

CityPlace 2 will be the first office building to be completed in the 60-acre CityPlace mixed-use development. Plans call for 4 million square feet of office space, 600 mid-rise apartment units, a 337-room Marriott CityPlace hotel, and more than 400,000 square feet of retail space.

Springwoods Village, near Interstate 45, the Grand Parkway and the Hardy Toll Road, is home to Exxon Mobil Corp., Southwestern Energy Co. and the future two-building campus of HP.

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HFF arranges construction loan for Springwoods Village office building - Chron.com

Dive Brief:

Last year, Amazon permitted the Mary's Place shelter take up residence in a hotel it owned. That hotel will be demolished, according to Business Insider, in order to make way for two new Amazon buildings, one of which includes the new homeless shelter. The company said it will spend tens of millions of dollars on designing the new facility and will not charge the shelter rent. Mary's Place will pay its own staff costs.

Amazon has been dominating the Seattle commercial real estate market, with most of its activity in the South Lake Union part of town. By the close of 2016, Amazon had acquired a total of 8.5 million square feet across Seattle, and the company is expected to fill up to 12 million square feet by 2022. Last year alone, Amazon absorbed 69% of the 2.5 million square feet of downtown office space that came online.

Adding to the tech hub activityin Seattle are companies like Facebook and Google, who have established a presence in the South Lake Union area as well.Facebook is adding to its Seattle stock with the lease of two buildingsworth $246 million. Those should be finished with construction in the third quarter of 2018. Facebook already has a Seattle office that can accommodate 2,000 workers, but the new digs will allow the company to double that number.

Google also announced a Seattle expansion into four buildings. Google's portion will total 607,000 square feet, but the buildings will also feature ground-floor retail and residences on the upper floors.

In addition to direct employment and construction benefits, these tech hubs can also transform the surrounding community and spur the development of everything from new housing to transportation options. However, as The Times noted, they can also lead to gentrification a consequence that cities, and in Amazon's case, the company itself,aim to help counteract.

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Amazon's new Seattle office building to include space for a homeless shelter - Construction Dive

Under the plan to remake Tysons, the tallest buildingsup to 400 feetshould be located closest to the Silver Line stations.

Last week, theBoard of Supervisors approved changes to a future office building next to the Greensboro Metro station to raise its stature by 65 feet or up to 27 stories.

Located at the highest natural elevation in the county, this building will help to shape the look of the future skyline for Tysons.

The 400,000 square foot office is one of the six buildings that make up the Tysons Central development. Originally approved in 2013, the overall project will bring up to two million square feet of office, residential, retail hotel space next to the Greensboro station.

The boards action also allowed for other minor changes to the office, known as building A. It decreases the total amount of retail space previously approved by 35,000 square, converting this to office space instead.

The future building will be located on a 1.1-acre site north of Leesburg Pike, just steps away from the Greensboro stations escalators. Today, two retail buildings occupy the site, including a Mens Warehouse and Big Screen Store.

The building also includes construction of three of the six public parks planned for Tysons Central. The three parks includes a half-acre plaza that connects to the escalators for the Greensboro station, and more than quarter acre sky park.

The plaza will include seating, landscaping, bike racks, and public art. The elevated sky park, which will be located on the roof of the ground-floor retail, will connect to the plaza via a grand staircase. This staircase will be built so that it provides amphitheater style seating for performances or events on the plaza.

Developer Folger Pratt say they anticipate starting construction on the office building in 2018. It will join the Lumen, a 32-story, 398-unit apartment building, that broke ground last November on site next to the future office.

Rendering of the Lumen building in Tysons.

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First Office Building for Tysons Central Grows in Height - Fairfax County Government NewsCenter