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An architects firm has drawn up far-fetched plans for a shared stadium for Liverpool and Everton - created by flattening St Johns Shopping Centre.

NWD Architects is behind the bold blueprints, which would see a new city centre ground within touching distance of Liverpool Lime Street station.

It says the left field proposals would help regenerate the precinct, which is also home to St Johns Market, and attract hotel and leisure developments.

Graham Lewis, senior architect at NWD Architects, said: We feel that the site is ideal for such a use.

Football has always been at the heart of this city and the inclusion of a state of the art stadium in the city centre will ensure that it remains so.

The site is ideal because of its links with public transport, the railway stations at Lime Street Station and Liverpool Central.

Liverpool city centre

The area is arguably in need of regeneration and such a project would, we feel, prove to be a catalyst for hotel and leisure developments in the immediate vicinity.

Such a bold development would complement the excellent retail development around Liverpool One.

The firm, based in Tarporley, Cheshire, admits its vision does not have the backing of either club, and says it merely hopes to start a debate.

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Architects reveal plans to build shared stadium for Liverpool FC and Everton FC by flattening St Johns Shopping Centre

AURORA Construction on a new, full service Hyatt Hotel and conference center in the Fitzsimons Village across from the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora began Wednesday after a groundbreaking on site.

The City of Aurora partnered with Kentucky-based commercial developer Corporex Colorado on the $90 million project nearly three years ago, shortly after Corporex opened a 153-room Springhill Suites Hotel by Marriott at 13400 E. Colfax Ave.

The new Hyatt Hotel and city-owned conference centerwill go up directly south of the Springhill Suites, on about three acres of land. The Fitzsimons Village project is about 20 developable acres of mixed use and retail space on the south side of Colfax Avenue, between Peoria to Potomac streets. Corporex is the developer for the Fitzsimons Village project.

"This is something the Corporex has always envisioned since we started working out here," said Mark Witkiewicz, chief operating officer of Corporex. "It's something that that Aurora has always wanted, too. The city is truly our partner in this project."

Aurora issued just under $28 million in bonds to help pay for the development. All of the money will be paid back to the city through property and sales taxes on the 249-room Hyatt Hotel.

The city will own and operate its first business-centric conference center, which tops off around 30,000 square feet, as well as an adjacent, 500-space parking garage.

"This hotel and conference center will only add to the betterment of the neighborhood, the campus and the city,"Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan said. "I think when we look back on it, this is what we'll say really marked a change in what's happened in this part of Aurora."

In February, the Aurora Urban Renewal Authority was authorized to slice the Fitzsimons Village project out of the original, more than 500 acre Fitzsimons Health Science District urban renewal plan and create a new urban renewal plan for what it now calls Fitzsimons Boundary Area II.

A new, 25-year tax increment financing option was then set in motion to help fund all Fitzsimons Boundary Area II projects, which will eventually include 490 apartments and a seven-story, 208,000 square foot office building by Corporex.

John Harney, president of the University of Colorado Hospital, said the hotel will help to fill a dire need for temporary patient and family accommodations around the medical campus, as well as keeping teaching seminars and business conferences on site, instead of in Denver.

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Construction on Hyatt Hotel, conference space in original Aurora begins

Projects Proposed

1. Residential and commercial project. Timothy Brandywine Investment 1 & 2, Crofton. A site plan was submitted for proposed grading and infrastructure work at the Villages of Timothy Branch. The 334-acre project calls for 1,200 residential units and 305,000 square feet of commercial space on the east side of Route 301, south of Short Cut and Brandywine roads, Brandywine.

2. Student housing. Knox Village Partners, Horsham, Pa. A building permit application was filed to construct an $8million student housing complex, called Terrapin Row, with 445 units and 12,000 square feet of retail space at 4301 Hartwick Rd., College Park.

3. Lodge. Facchina Construction, La Plata. A building permit application was filed to construct a $4.75million lodge for the Alice Ferguson Foundation, based at 2201 Bryan Point Rd., Accokeek.

4. First Watch Restaurants, Rockville. A building permit application was filed to construct a First Watch restaurant that will serve breakfast and lunch at 15606 Emerald Way, Bowie. Another restaurant is planned at the Towne Centre at Laurel, on Route 1.

Projects Approved

5. Hotel and retail. Buena Vista, Lanham. A rezoning application was approved that will change 30.6acres of industrial and residential land into mixed-use space. The property owner plans to build a hotel and retail space on the land that forms a triangle at Martin Luther King Jr. Highway, Route 450 and Business Parkway, Lanham.

6. McDonalds. McDonalds Corp., Bethesda. A building permit application was approved for a 4,000-square-foot restaurant on the south side of East-West Highway, opposite Toledo Terrace, adjacent to Home Depot, in Hyattsville.

7. Senior living. Conifer Realty, Columbia. A site plan was approved for a 120-unit apartment complex for senior citizens on 4.3 acres at 2011 Brooks Dr., District Heights. The property will offer rents capped at affordable rates.

8. Casino. MGM National Harbor, Las Vegas. A site plan was approved for a 1million-square-foot entertainment and casino complex south of the Wilson Bridge, along the Potomac River, National Harbor.

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Prince Georges County development projects

Exterior view of H&M Store in New York. (Provided by H&M)

H&M, a Swedish international apparel brand known for its discount prices on trendy clothing for young men and women, will open two stores in Sarasota County within a year, a move that baffles some retail analysts, but shows that there may be enough business to support more than one mall in the region.

H&M will open its second store in Sarasota County inside Westfield Groups Sarasota Square Mall.

The chain committed to its first store inside the Mall at University Town Center, a $315 million mall opening at Interstate 75 and University Parkway on Oct. 16.

This is a surprise to me. H&M is the type of retailer that, usually, would wait to open a second store until after they can see how the first in the market was doing, said Jeff Green, a Phoenix-based retail analyst. Westfield must have offered them a very good deal.

The second store will take over a 21,000-square-foot space inside the Westfield Group mall, officials confirmed Thursday morning. Westfield has been preparing for months for H&M. Building permits filed with the county show that several of the malls tenants, including a Verizon Wireless store, Bond Jewelers and the mall management offices, have moved to make room for the new H&M space.

Construction is ongoing, and the retailer is set to open in the spring 2015, well after the opening of the Mall at University Town Center.

H&M has grown in size and popularity in the U.S. during recent years and has expanded into Florida.

The first store to open south of Tampa on the Gulf Coast was in Naples during 2012. Tampas Westfield Citrus Park also will see an H&M soon.

The chain has 2,500 stores in 53 countries worldwide.

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H&M to open in Sarasota Square mall

Shares of Apogee Enterprises, Inc. ( APOG ) rose 1.8% as the company reported second-quarter fiscal 2015 adjusted earnings of 35 cents per share, which increased 67% from the prior-year quarter and also came ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 27 cents per share. The year-over-year growth mainly resulted from a strong architectural market. Earnings also benefited from an IRS 48C energy-efficiency investment tax credit, with startup and commercial production of coatings on the new architectural glass coater, as announced last month.

On a reported basis, earnings were 57 cents per share, improving a whopping 171% from 21 cents in the year-ago quarter. Apogee's earnings included a benefit of 22 cents from tax credit in the reported quarter, while the prior-year comparable quarter had no one-time items.

Total revenue increased 30% year over year to $231.9 million, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $213 million.

Operational Update

Cost of goods sold increased 30.7% to $182.6 million in the quarter. Gross profit improved 28% year over year to $49 million. However, gross margin decreased 30 basis points (bps) to 21.6%. Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses rose 16% year over year to $33.8 million. Operating income was $15.5 million, which grew 66% from $9.4 million earned in the year-ago quarter. Operating margin rose 140 bps to 6.7%.

Apogee Enterprises, Inc - Earnings Surprise | FindTheBest

Segment Performance

Revenues from the Architectural Glass segment increased 20% year over year to $84.2 million. Operating income in the quarter grew four-fold year over year to $3.3 million, aided by higher volume and improved pricing.

Revenues from the Architectural Services segment rose 41% year over year to $59.4 million on the back of strong project timing and cost flow. The segment reported an operating profit of $1.8 million, reversing the year-ago quarter loss of $0.8 million. Growth in bottom-line resulted from strong project timing, cost flow and improved project margins.

The Architectural Framing Systems segment's revenues increased 55% year over year to $76.7 million, with an organic growth of 28% excluding the Canadian acquisition. The three U.S. businesses in the segment reported double-digit growth, with strong performance from the window business. The segment's operating income grew 44% year over year to $7.4 million.

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Apogee Beats Q2 Earnings on Strong Architectural Market - Analyst Blog

Source: Apogee Enterprises.

This article originally appeared as part of ongoing coverage in our premium Motley Fool Hidden Gems service... we hope you enjoy this complimentary peek!

Glass-solutions specialist Apogee Enterprises reported its fiscal second-quarter earnings yesterday afternoon, and the maker of architectural glass and framing products gave investors another solid quarter of growth. With the stock responding favorably to its report, Apogee shareholders hope that the company can sustain even further growth both for the rest of the year and in future years.

Growth investors have counted on Apogee to deliver solid numbers, and the company had plenty of good news to report. Revenue for the quarter came to almost $232 million, up more than 30% from year-ago levels and well ahead of the roughly $218 million investors had expected to see. Operating income soared 66%, and even after adjusting for the positive impact of a tax credit, earnings per share came in at $0.35, which topped last year's figures by 60%.

Source: Apogee Enterprises.

Boding even better for the future was the fact that Apogee saw its backlog soar by 58% to more than $480 million. CEO Joseph Puishys noted that all three of Apogee's architectural segments produced huge amounts of revenue growth, and backlogs for all three as well as the optical technologies segment were up from the first quarter. Architectural glass sales rose 20%, while architectural services soared 41%, and architectural framing revenue topped the list at 55%, but with about half of that figure coming from Apogee's acquisition of Canadian storefront business Alumicor.

In addition to its past success, Apogee sees a bright future ahead. The company raised its earnings-per-share guidance for the full fiscal year, although the boost only reflected the one-time tax credit that Apogee earned rather than any intrinsic success in the company's operations. An increase in revenue guidance to growth of 20% is at the top end of Apogee's previous range, though, reflecting solid sales prospects. Even the optical technologies business, which hasn't seen the same growth as its other counterparts within the company, should recover enough to let the segment perform similarly to how it did last year.

For his part, Puishys is optimistic about the future. He specifically noted that Apogee's backlog is the largest in six years, boding well for the company's next fiscal year. The CEO was also proud that Apogee has been able thus far to overcome some higher labor costs in order to grow its business more quickly and meet increased demand. Reopening a previously closed facility and expanding existing capacity show the confidence Apogee has that conditions will remain good for the foreseeable future.

Source: Apogee Enterprises.

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Apogee Enterprises' Growth Is as Clear as Glass

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of home furnishings retailer Pier 1 Imports (PIR) hit a 12-month low after the company's second quarter results fell below analysts' consensus estimates and it reduced its fiscal 2015 earnings per share outlook.

WHAT'S NEW: Pier 1 Imports reported Q2 EPS of 10c on revenue of $418.6M, missing analysts' consensus estimates of 14c and $426.02M, respectively. Same-store-sales for the quarter were up 4.5%. The retailer lowered its FY15 EPS outlook to 95c-$1.05 from $1.14-$1.22. Analysts' consensus estimates for FY15 EPS prior to the earnings report was $1.13. The company sees FY15 SSS in the mid-to-high single digits and gross profit, as a percentage of sales, are expected to be 40.5%-41.5%. Pier 1 Imports CEO Alex Smith said that he foresees online sales to surpass $400M in 2016.

WHAT'S NOTABLE: During the company's conference call, Pier 1 Imports said that it expects to see improving merchandise margins in coming quarters with fewer coupons. The company noted plans to continue returning cash to shareholders in the form of dividends and share buybacks.

ANALYST REACTION: This morning, Wells Fargo analyst Matt Neemer downgraded Pier 1 Imports to Market Perform from Outperform. He feels that the stock will be a difficult one to own in the medium term as the retailer moves towards a multi-channel approach. Neemer believes that the company has a difficult journey ahead as it cuts broad-based discounters, and he feels that consumers will take time to get accustomed to the new messaging. He cut his price target range to $15-$16 from $19-$20 for the company. Barclays analyst Alan Rifkin downgraded Pier 1 Imports to Equal Weight from Overweight due to slow revenue growth and heightened promotions. He feels that that the "soft" revenues could continue. He believes that the company's elongated online profitability pipeline and increased promotions are certain to be a burden on the business in ways that the company had not initially thought. Rifkin said that growing the top line will be even harder in the absence of promotions. He reduced his price target for shares to $14 from $18. Argus analyst Christopher Graja downgraded Pier 1 Imports to Hold from Buy due to the company's lower than anticipated Q2 earnings. He feels that in terms of the home furnishings market, companies such as Williams-Sonoma (WSM) , Home Depot (HD) and Lowe's (LOW) are more "resilient" for shareholders. Pier 1 Imports was also downgraded to Hold from Buy at BB&T and to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer this morning.

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Pier 1 Imports Falls to 12-Month Low After Weak Q2, Lowered Outlook

WORK to replace ageing water pipes in Worcester will restart on Monday (Sept 22) seeing Sansome Walk closed until mid-November.

This is the final phase of Severn Trent Waters work to help prevent bursts in Worcester city centre.

The company has already installed 3.7 km of modern water pipes and has 1.3 km left to go as part of the 1 million project.

The essential work on Sansome Walk is expected to be completed in mid-November.

Jonathan Tait, Severn Trents programme manager, said: "Over the summer, we wanted to give the people of Worcester a break from the water work which has been carried out, now were starting again and were focussed on getting the job finished quickly.

"The old ones have to be replaced because theyve become weak and prone to bursts."

During the work National Grid will also be taking the opportunity to replace their gas pipes in Sansome Walk.

Mr Tait added: "To allow us to complete the work safely we will unfortunately need to close the road, but access will be maintained to residents and businesses in Pierpoint Street from Foregate Street.

"Were really sorry for any inconvenience this may cause and well do all we can to keep it to minimum. Wed like to thank our customers in Worcester for the patience and understanding theyve shown throughout this essential piece of work."

John Smith, Worcestershire County Council cabinet member with responsibility for highways said: "We are working with Severn Trent Water who are carrying out a series of water main renewals in the Arboretum area, including along Sansome work.

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Road closed as 1 million pipe replacement project in Worcester restarts

Trim Installation How-To with Gary Katz (Part 1/2)
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Trim Installation How-To with Gary Katz (Part 1/2) - Video

IKO Blueprint for Roofing - Introduction
If you are a professional roofing contractor, consider joining IKO #39;s Shield Pro Plus Contractor Program that has been developed to help increase sales, becom...

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IKO Blueprint for Roofing - Introduction - Video