Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Compromise seen as good start, falls short of needed reforms

Good, but not good enough.

That was the reaction of neighborhood activists to reforms by a city committee to address some of the complaints about residential demolitions and infill projects.

The Development Review Advisory Committee approved the recommendations developed by a subcommittee on Nov. 20. The committee, which is comprised primarily of developers and neighborhood representatives, advises the Bureau of Development Services, which issues demolition permits.

The recommendations include a new 35-day delay for all residential demolitions, a new category for major alterations that requires a 35-day notification, expanded requirements for neighborhood notifications of pending demolitions, and replacing the 120-day delay available to neighborhood association with a voluntary 30-day extension. They will be drafted into a proposal to be considered by the City Council on Dec. 17.

We think the recommendations are a good compromise. Nobody thinks theyre perfect, but theyre pretty good, considering we were under time constraints, says Jeff Fish, a developer who leads the DRAC.

Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who oversees BDS, wants the council to consider the recommendations before the end of the year.

The activists complain the demolition and infill projects are destroying the character of Portland neighborhoods. The number of demolition permits issued by BDS is expected to increase from 279 in 2013 to more than 400 this year. Thousands of permits are also being issued each year for major remodeling projects where most of the houses are demolished.

Falling short

Some of the activists praised DRACs work.

Link:
Neighborhood groups say city demolition changes need work

Dec. 2, 2014, 8:54 p.m.

COMMUNITY concerns surrounding an empty old hospital building on Mornington Island should be removed by the end of the year.

COMMUNITY concerns surrounding an empty old hospital building on Mornington Island should be removed by the end of the year.

North West Hospital and Health Service chief executive Sue Belsham said the health service would engage a specialist contractor to remove the building on behalf of the Mornington Shire Council and in consultation with the council.

Mrs Belsham said the Department of Health and the North West HHS together would meet the estimated $250,000 cost of the buildings demolition and removal.

While responsibility for the land and building now sits with the shire council, the Department of Health and North West HHS acknowledge that they continue to bear some responsibility for its status, which was not fully appreciated at the time of transfer of the property to the council in 2000, she said.

The community is concerned over the deteriorating condition of the building, which is sometimes used as a playground by local children.

Mornington Shire Council held an asbestos awareness campaign to share health information for the children within the community, who may have been exposed to asbestos from playing in the old Lardil Street hospital.

Council chief executive Frank Mills said measures to ensure the core objective for the day remains focused towards health education.

Council decided to hold the event, a first for the shire, to educate the community [children] about health and asbestos, he said.

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Demolition to allay health fears

RESIDENTS fighting the planned demolition of a community centre have a glimmer of hope.

People in Peterlee banded together and staged a demonstration when proposals were discovered to knock down the White House, which has been empty for a few years.

In the wake of the protest Durham County Council has put the demolition on hold and will review its decision.

This could give time for a community group to establish itself and draw up proposals to take over the running of the building.

The White House has stood in Eden Lane, since 1890. The property, which was owned by wealthy merchant banker Rowland Burdon, has been used by various community groups over the years.

As part of Durham County Councils ongoing review of buildings that are no longer in use, it was decided that the White House would be demolished.

This decision was taken due to the building being empty for a number of years and its condition having seriously deteriorated following vandalism and thefts of interior fittings such as pipework.

With little prospect of the building being used, and the council having to pay for its ongoing maintenance, it was decided that demolition was the only realistic option.

However, following a meeting with local councillors, the decision will be reviewed in response to concerns expressed by some the community and local groups expressing an interest in taking over the building.

Stuart Timmiss, the councils head of planning and assets, said: Following a series of meetings with elected members in the area we have agreed to explore the opportunity of a local community group, which has expressed an interest, taking over the building.

Continued here:
Pause for thought on demolition of Peterlee old community centre

A 210m mixed-use scheme near Bolton town centre is ready for the off after Manchester contractor J Freeley demolished a former foundry.

The demolition of the 32,000 sq ft building marks the first stage in the development of the 14-acre Church Wharf scheme, a joint venture between Ask Developments and investment firm Bluemantle.

Church Wharf, near St Peters Church and the River Croal, will feature more than 340,000 sq ft of offices, over 230 family town houses and apartments, a cinema, cafs, bars and restaurants, a hotel, shops, pedestrian routes and public spaces.

There will also be a footbridge over the River Croal leading to Churchgate and into the town centre.

The former foundry, on Church Bank, was constructed in 1873 and was known as Booth Industries, later becoming The Wharf Foundry.

It was used for engineering and metal works and in its heyday was a major employer, supplying factories and mills around Manchester.

The building had lain derelict since the early 1980s and became a target for break-ins and theft.

It deteriorated into a dangerous state after parts of the roof collapsed.

Manchester-based Freeley, founded in 1983, liaised closely with the Environment Agency to agree a safe working strategy for dismantling the building, which ran alongside the river.

As well as demolishing the former foundry, Freeley removed asbestos from the site, made good retained party walls to adjacent buildings and boundary walls, installed new fencing, and carried out drainage and tree clearance works.

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Foundry demolition paves way for 210m scheme

I have managed to navigate most trials in middle age (job changes, children leaving home, deceased pets) with a fair amount of grace. But now I find myself strangely unnerved by an event beyond my control: My childhood home is about to be torn down.

This summer, my parents sold the 2,000-square-foot split-level they bought in a suburb of New York City in the early 1970s. The buyer, a Bronx-based developer of everything from office complexes to strip malls, plans to demolish the house to make way for something bigger and grandera five-bedroom McMansion with stainless-steel appliances, custom millwork, surround sound, and a master suite with a marble bathroom and radiant heat.

For my siblings and me, my parents decision to sell provoked mixed emotions. Its a huge relief to no longer have to worry about anyone tripping on the stairs. But its also hard not to feel depressed at the sight of the old homesteadthe center of our family lifeempty after 43 years.

When a neighbor emailed me recently to say my parents mail was still being delivered there, I was glad for an excuse to drive over and see the house one last time. But with a large piece of excavating equipment sitting in the driveway, it was impossible to ignore whats to come.

I understand why the house is being torn down. The stairs arent up to todays construction codes. The bathrooms and kitchen are small. When someone slams the door in the garage, you can feel the vibrations upstairs in my brothers old bedroom. The plumbing, windows and electric wiring havent been touched in decades. The metallic wallpaper with blue flowers in the bathroom my brother and I once shared says it all: The house is clearly outdated.

Still, I dread its rendezvous with a wrecking ball. When my childhood BFFs century-old house was bulldozed last spring (goodbye high ceilings and ornate mantelpieces), the teardown trend in our old neighborhood suddenly became personal. Was some nefarious forceMcMansion mania? Voldemort?out to destroy my childhood haunts?

Majestic old trees have become irreplaceable commodities in luxury real estate, with architects designing entire homes around them.

Im far from alone. Robert Denk, an economist at the National Association of Home Builders, says about 25% of the single-family homes built nationwide this year will rise from the ashes of teardowns.

Todays buyer doesnt want grandmas house, says Brian Hickey, chief executive of teardowns.com, which helps buyers and sellers of such properties find each other. Buyer preferences have changed, and many older homes are tough to renovate. The ceilings are too low, the basements are dreary, and the wiring is inadequate for todays technology. All of which sounds familiar.

On teardowns.coms list of most active teardown communities nationwide, I wasnt surprised to find my hometown, Rye, N.Y. Its a densely populated suburb where construction pits abound and the median price of single-family homes listed for sale is $2.8 million, according to Gail Feeney, a broker at Julia B. Fee Sothebys International Realty. For that amount of money, I guess I wouldnt tolerate a dreary basement, either.

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When your childhood home becomes a teardown

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(PRWEB) December 02, 2014

Clean-Slate Janitorial Services (http://www.Clean-Slate.ca), a Greater Toronto Area-based professional cleaning company that specializes in commercial office cleaning, retail maintenance, floor restoration, carpet cleaning, and construction site cleanup, is releasing its expert advisory on the necessity of floor buffing during the winter months.

Floors inevitably receive the most amount of wear-and-tear of any business, and when winter hits, the salt, slush, and snow only amplify the wearing down, making it more difficult to restore a business floors, says Sam Panousis, owner and operator of Clean-Slate Janitorial Services.

The combination of those three components takes a heavy toll on the floor, especially the salt. Winter means that salt will be all over the roads and sidewalks and people bring that into ones business, which really impacts the condition of the floors.

Panousis explains that it doesnt matter what type of floor the business owner hasvinyl, hardwood, or otherwisebecause all of them can and do get worn down and dull from constant use and the elements. Thats why he suggests that offices should be buffing their floors on a regular basis.

Theres really no way around it; office floors need to be buffed at minimum on a weekly basis; more often around areas with higher foot traffic, he adds.

For floors that are extremely worn down, floor restoration is suggested as an alternative to replacing the floor completely. For instance, we use a 16-step floor restoration system that is more cost-efficient and will leave floors looking like new.

Panousis observes that regardless of how harsh this winter turns out to be, there will still be snow, slush, and salt to deal with. For this reason, offices and commercial buildings need to take into consideration how they plan on keeping their floors clean, not only for aesthetic value, but also to keep those who walk into their offices safe.

The key is to find a company that offers quality office cleaning services within the GTA and have them take care of it, Panousis concludes.

To learn more about Clean-Slate Janitorial Services floor buffing and other office cleaning services, and to receive a free quote, visit the companys web site at http://www.Clean-Slate.ca or call 416-509-7454.

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