Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

WEST CHESTER TWP.

A public hearing on a zoning change aimed at bringing a upscale mixed-use development to an area planned as this townships downtown didnt take place as planned Tuesday, but a handful of people still offered their take on the retail-residential-business project.

Trustees opened the hearing into a proposed 8.2 acre iLoft at West Chester project, which is planned to include 247 one- and two-bedroom luxury apartments, 19,300 square feet of retail space, an 81,600-square foot office building and a three-story, 406-spot parking garage.

But board members then immediately postponed the hearing until Sept. 23 at the request of Anderson Birkla Investment Partners principal Anthony Birkla, who wrote in an Aug. 26 letter to the township that he was eager to address concerns about the development with an adjacent property owner.

That property owner, Schumacher Dugan Construction, kicked off comments against the development during a portion of the regular meeting reserved for the comments of West Chester Twp. residents or business owners.

This residential project is practically surrounded by commercial and office spaces, said Larry Schumacher, president of Schumacher Dugan Construction. We think its going to have a negative effect on the value of all of the buildings in that neck of the woods. Its going to be I think harder to rent the space and I think just having a domestic element in the center of everything there is not at all good planning. underparked.

Schumacher Dugan is responsible for two office buildings next to the site and is planning a third office building for the area.

Following the meeting, Schumacher said he foresees iLoft at West Chester residential element as a disruption to everything thats been built in the area.

If I thought it was such a wonderful thing, I should be jumping with glee because I own more property around there than anybody else, but I dont think its so wonderful, he said.

State Sen. Bill Coley also spoke out against the proposed zone change, claiming it is procedurally deficient and does not even meet the minimum requirements of the West Chester Twp. Zoning Resolution. He went on to list what he believes are design drawbacks, parking insufficiencies or zoning violations.

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Developer delays hearing for West Chester mixed-use project

The Greenville Office of Economic Development presented some big ideas to a financial committee Wednesday and if they are approved, some big attractions could be headed our way.

We're talking about a more developed retail corridor, sports development complex, business and technology park - in total, 6 proposed projects that could really influence job creation, tax base, and the quality of life. But of course these are huge financial undertakings that would have to be approved by Greenville city council and voters.

Looking around Uptown Greenville you'll see construction projects taking shape. One is a private project that economic development manager Carl Rees says is creating 20,000 square feet of office space and 3,500 feet of retail space.

The other, a 250-space parking deck.

In the 2 years since Greenville's Office of Economic Development has been in operation, Rees has wanted to do even more.

Rees says, "These are all things that we think are opportunities for Greenville to grow jobs, grow tax base and make this a better place to live."

Rees presented six projects to Greenville's bond advisory committee on Wednesday night.

One of them - enhancing the 10th street connector that begins at the intersection of Evans and 10th and extends to Memorial Drive in the Medical District.

Rees and many on the committee believe it would be a major gateway into uptown.

The other projects include major facelifts to the Dickinson corridor, 1st street and Town Common, Frontgate retail corridor, a sports development complex, and a business & technology park.

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Greenville Office Of Economic Development Thinking Big

Sacramento, California (PRWEB) August 27, 2014

PM Environmental, Inc. continues to expand in California. Its newest office, located at 4401 Atlantic Avenue, Suite 220, Long Beach, California, will serve as the base for the company to meet the needs of its clients in Southern California and handle the demands of the growing Commercial Real Estate market in the area.

Senior Consultant, Charles Young, will spearhead the new expansion and brings over 25 years of experience in the professional environmental services industry to the team.

Real estate transactions in Southern California are on the rise with lending institutions, real estate acquisition companies and property management firms looking for financing on multifamily, retail, commercial and industrial properties, Young said. To meet these needs, the Long Beach office was chosen as a middle point for servicing projects from Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties to the north, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties to the east and Orange and San Diego Counties to the south.

Statistics bear out that the Long Beach location is at the crux California's recovering economy. The "Inland Empire", or the nearby Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area, has a predicted 4.2 percent growth in Gross Metropolitan Product from 2013 to 2020*; one measurement of a metropolitan areas economy similar to gross domestic product. This projected growth is the largest in the state and the fourth largest in the nation.

Young formerly prepared Phase I and II environmental site assessments for large real estate firms and oversaw the completion of data collection, site investigation and preparation of Transaction Screen projects, Historical Property Use reports, and other commercial lending protocols.

Im happy to welcome Chuck to the West coast team and feel fortunate that he choose to bring his wealth of knowledge of the Southern California region to PM, said John Wharff, PM Environmentals Vice President and Western Regional Manager. He not only brings 25 years of transactional due diligence experience, hes a former in-house risk manager and understands risk evaluation from both sides of the desk.

According to Young, the lending community in Southern California has been active and established Risk Management policies where due diligence requirements prior to real estate transactions are essential. With the addition of the Long Beach office, PM can meet the local office requirements for RIMS related bidding requirements and minimize travel costs which are important in RFP considerations, he said.

The new location in Long Beach and addition of Young have been well received by existing clients and promises to open new opportunities to PM in the area, according to Wharff. Weve already added a research consultant to the Long Beach office to complement our expansion into this market with plans to add several more multi-disciplinary team members, he said. Our medium and long term plans call for additional offices to service this expansive region.

PMs current services in the Western market include, due diligence, site investigation, remediation, brownfield redevelopment, industrial hygiene services, compliance and architectural consulting.

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PM Environmental Continues Growing in California

Published: August 26, 2014 | Last Modified: August 26, 2014 01:10AM

By Dan Brechlin Record-Journal staff

MERIDEN Plans are being developed to convert existing office space into 16 apartments at a downtown building. Before planning is completed, officials want to know how to attract young professionals to downtown.

The building at 1-3 Colony St. was selected for the Connecticut Main Street Come Home to Downtown program. Aimed at converting commercial and office space to apartments, the program offers free architectural services and other benefits.

Although plans are in the works, Economic Development Director Juliet Burdelski said its important to find out what people want in downtown.

Part of the final report on the building is to get public feedback, so we want to know what it would take to get people downtown, Burdelski said.

Plans were developed over the last several years to revive Meridens downtown. The addition of a park at the Hub, the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield rail line, traffic improvements and new zoning regulations to encourage development are part of the effort to attract young professionals and businesses.

A community meeting will be held Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. at Middlesex Community College to discuss the projects and get feedback. Those attending will be asked what types of businesses, events and other attractions they would like to see in the area.

Representatives from businesses in downtown were invited, as were downtown landlords and property owners in addition to the YMCA and Middlesex Community College.

We would like to see a younger crowd, Burdelski said. We want to have a positive discussion with people who are down here already and people who want to come in or are looking at the possibility.

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City seeks younger perspective on buildings future

RINEYVILLE, KY (WAVE) - Nearly twenty years in the military took its toll on Jeremiah Lucas' family. A tumor removal surgery on his spine took an even bigger toll on him.

Barely able to walk from nerve damage, the Master Sergeant had never even made the trip upstairs in the family's Rineyville, Kentucky home. But when Jeremiah got assistance to travel the stairs on Monday, he couldn't believe his eyes.

[PREVIOUS STORY: Military children surprised in their own home]

Dawn Lucas wrote an essay to WAVE 3 News and Active Heroes, hoping to win a bedroom makeover for Jeremiah's two daughters. The family had moved time and time again and spent so much time without Jeremiah at home. It worked. The Lucases were among three families selected.

Every deployment, every birthday missed, this makes it all worthwhile, said Dawn Lucas.

Jeremiah couldn't even speak when he saw the transformation of his girls' rooms. New furniture. Fancy electronics. Their smiling faces. Made my kids' year," said Jeremiah. "I can't explain how excited they are and how much that means to me."

Paul Davis Restoration built a wheelchair ramp so Jeremiah won't need help getting into his house any more. That gives him the independence to come and go without help.

A new dishwasher from Charlie Wilson's Appliance makes kitchen work easier for Dawn. But it's those upstairs rooms that left their daughters gasping for words and ready to throw a party with their friends in their new stylish digs.

They ain't getting this room," Jeremiah joked. "I'm gonna keep it. But you could tell this was one veteran who will gladly cede that territory without putting up a fight.

The Lucas family says after all that moving as Jeremiah served his country, their newly upgraded home in Rineyville is their permanent home.

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Hardin County veteran and family receive home makeover

Theres not so much of a smell of smoke about the Museum at the Portage now.

Two months into repair and restoration work at the fire-damaged former home of Zona Gale, there is a new sense of freshness.

The building was damaged by an electrical fire on April 13. The area around an upstairs window in Gales former bedroom was heavily damaged by fire, and other places in the building especially in the historic study, directly below the bedroom, was damaged by water and smoke.

The 1912 brick structure at 804 MacFarlane Road in Portage was once home to author and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Zona Gale, and was the former site of the Portage Public Library. It is now a museum of artifacts important to Gale and to Portage.

The repair work involves freshening the woodwork in the study, including cleaning all surfaces and restoring the look of the varnish in areas where it is cracked and faded with age particularly around the windows.

The water damage on the woodwork above the studys fireplace and on the fireplace itself is now gone. The ceiling plaster in the study was restored last month.

Wood restoration specialists Jerry Pauk of Spring Lake and John Dehling of Wautoma have put in more than 20 hours of work into the study.

There was residual damage of water and smoke, in the room, Pauk said, as well as years of weathering, sun and moister damage to the woodwork surrounding the windows.

Around the windows, the varnish had faded to a gray color. It was treated with oxalic acid, then sanded before finishing with a matching color of varnish.

As a woodworker himself, Hauk fully appreciates how unique and beautiful a space the study is. While the windows need re-glazing, with good maintenance of the outside of the windows, Hauks and Dehlings efforts to restore the interior woodwork should last decades, he said.

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Restoration of fire-damaged Museum at the Portage continues

PHOENIX (CBS5) -

Phoenix police said a man was caught Tuesday morning as he tried to burglarize a home being renovated by a good Samaritan Phoenix police officer and his friends.

Jesus Salas, 29, was caught as he tried to run from the Maryvale home of Linda Tims about 7 a.m. Tuesday, Phoenix police Officer James Holmes said.

Salas was holding copper pipe when officers arrived and had removed a window air conditioner that had just been installed by Officer Glenn Branham and friends he recruited to help clean out and fix up Tims' home that had been damaged by previous criminal activity.

Tims' plight and the unselfish acts of Branham, et al., were featured on CBS 5 News on Aug. 22.

[READ: Phoenix cop helps clean, renovate hoarder home]

Tims' unoccupied home was initially burglarized Aug. 17 after she was forced to move in with her daughter. Her air conditioner had been damaged by thieves who were after the copper piping.

On his own time, Branham began cleaning Tims' house. He and some friends and other volunteers he recruited replaced the stolen copper pipes, fixed the air conditioning and help clean out the house from years of hoarding. Branham spent his own money to replace the pipes, Holmes said.

On Saturday, Aug. 23, Branham and about 20 friends and family started to get the home ready for renovation.

The next day, about 7 a.m. while on patrol, Branham drove by Tims' house only to find that someone had again broken in and stolen about $1,000 of her personal property.

Read more:
Phoenix PD: Suspect in burglary of hoarder's home caught

Question: My dog ran into my china cabinet while chasing the cat. No damage to the dog or contents, but major damage to the curved glass. The cabinet is oak and from an estate sale 35-plus years ago, so it doesnt have any sentimental value, but its pretty. Any ideas where I might get new glass, or is it even worth it?

Charles Town, W.Va.

Answer: Dodsons Curved Glass in Frederick (301-662-0020) makes replacement glass. You can order it directly from the company or through a glass shop or an antiques restorer.

One advantage of going through a restorer is that someone else will take care of measuring for the replacement and installing it, a process that involves nailing thin strips of wood around the edges on the inside. One little nail you hit wrong, and the glass breaks, said David Wells, owner of Carrisons Restorations, an antiques restorer in Manassas (703-369-6318; http://www.carrisonsantiquerestoration.com). He said replacement glass runs about $100 to $200 if it has a uniform curve, which is the kind of situation Dodsons deals with. If the glass has a flat section and then curves, Wells orders it from a company in Michigan and the cost of one piece rises to $400 to $800. Wells charges $100 and up for installation, depending on how the furniture was designed. If the glass fits into a groove on one side and has a wooden stop only on the other side, the job is a lot quicker and less risky than when wooden strips secure the glass on all sides.

Ordering a new piece of curved glass involves determining not just the height of the glass and the length of the curve, but also the radius of the curve. B&L Antiqurie in Lexington, Mich. (800-840-1110; http://www.bentglasscentral.com), which bends glass sheets into custom shapes, describes the measuring process on its Web site.

Question: We have an old, wooden hot tub that we enjoyed for many years. We went on a foreign assignment about 10 years ago and, for insurance reasons, emptied the hot tub when we rented out our house. When we returned, the wooden planks had shrunk and the tub didnt hold water. We tried to fill the gaps with epoxy, but that didnt work, and we have been unable to find anyone in the area who either repairs hot tubs or carries and installs them. Can our existing tub be repaired? Or is there someone in the area who carries and installs new wooden hot tubs? We need one about five feet in diameter because ours is set into a small deck and there isnt space for something larger. We also prefer to stay with a wooden tub.

Cabin John

Answer: Assuming the wood hasnt rotted, you might want to start by trying to coax the fibers to swell up again. It can take several weeks, but if it works, its essentially free.

Preparation includes scraping off any remaining epoxy, making sure any groove joints in the stages (sideboards) line up properly and tightening the metal band or bands around the outside, after first measuring the height to make sure each metal strip is level. Then moisten the tub with water and keep it damp. Jill Peck, customer sales associate at Snorkel (800-962-6208; http://www.snorkel.com), a Seattle company that makes wooden, wood-fired hot tubs, said one way to do this is to sprinkle the tub with water from a hose or splash on buckets of water, preferably warm. Wait half an hour, and do it again. Repeat several more times. Then spread sopping-wet towels over the sides of the tub. Keep those soaked for two weeks. Try filling the tub. If youre lucky, the gaps will be swollen shut.

If that doesnt work, or if you want professional help from the beginning for tricky steps such as knowing just how much to tighten the bands, try Jack Marshall of Marshall Pool and Spa (202-244-5005; marshallpoolspa@verizon.net), which is moving from McLean to Reston next month. Marshall still repairs and sells wooden hot tubs; one company that deals only in plastic tubs recommended him and said hes the only one they know of who still does.

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How to replace curved glass on an old china cabinet

Patna: Bihar government today extended a helping hand to women falling victim of acid attack by making a provision for medical assistance up to Rs 1 lakh from the Chief Minister's fund.

This was decided at a meeting of the state cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi.

The cabinet also enhanced the amount for medical purposes from the Chief Minister's medical aid fund for BPL and other needy persons.

Accordingly, the amount for total hip replacement assistance from the CM relief fund has been increased to Rs 60,000 from existing Rs 20,000, Principal Secretary, Cabinet Coordination Committee Brajesh Mehrotra told reporters here.

The money for knee replacement has been raised to Rs 50,000 from Rs 20,000 at present.

The cabinet decided to accord "Pitripaksh fair" and "Sonepur cattle fair" the status of state fair.

Pitripaksh fair in Gaya district is for worship of ancestors and will begin early next month.

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Bihar Government to Give Medical Assistance to Acid Attack Victims

GERB has called for drastic reforms and replacement of the central banks governing council should the party win majority in the upcoming snap vote.

Lilyana Pavlova, former Regional Development Minister in the GERB cabinet (2009-2013) on Tuesday told Nova TV that the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) and the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) were the bodies most responsible for the current crisis at Corporate Commercial Bank (KTB).

There should be a change in BNBs leadership, said Pavlova, adding that controls over banking operations in Bulgaria should be improved with the help of the European Central Bank.

Bulgaria's President, political leaders and other officials agreed last month that Bulgaria should take immediate steps to join Europe's Single Supervisory Mechanism and submit itself to a peer review from the European Banking Authority. The consultations were called after the BNB put KTB under special supervision in June following a deposits run, freezing its operations and ordering an audit of its books.

In 2009, Bulgarias parliament re-elected the BNB Governor Ivan Iskrov for a second six-year term that began on October 10 the same year.

According to the results of a recent survey by Bulgarianpolling agencyAFIS, GERB would win 24.6% of the vote, followed by the Bulgarian Socialist Party with 17.8%, and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms with 7.9%.

These are the same people that re elected Ivan Iskrov ....... ie they will elect another idiot .....

The rest is here:
Pavlova Urges Top-Level Change at BNB if GERB Wins Snap Vote