Construction Maison

We offer our predictions on communities that will rank among the city's most desirable in 2026. Plus a look at developers who are working to make those visions a reality. February 18, 2016 (page 7 of 7) 8 developers with insight who are rethinking our urban neighborhoods   BY DEBRA SMIT G reat neighborhoods — with ample green space , commerce and good housing stock — empower their residents to grow and prosper. Developers are key when it comes to weaving together the physical threads of a community, particularly in urban neighborhoods frayed by years of blight and decay. These are among the developers who are working to revitalize some of the city’s most challenged neighborhoods, striving to be restorers of streets in which to dwell. All have one eye, certainly, on the bottom line. Still, they are well aware of expectations that they give measured consideration to quality of life in the neighborhoods in which they build.   Wi...

CLOSE A quick history of how Asheville's "RAD" went from post-industrial grittiness to tourist haven. Joel Burgess/Citizen-Times The Stoneyard Apartments are proposed for 175 Lyman St. in the River Arts District . (Photo: Form & Function Architecture)   ASHEVILLE - Approval of a proposed $19 million River Arts District apartment complex has been delayed a second time after City Council concerns about high rent prices . The 133- unit Stoneyard Apartments were slated to be reviewed at Tuesday's council meeting, but Mayor Esther Manheimer asked that the public hearing be delayed to "a date uncertain." The council unanimously approved the change with no discussion. No one from the Saluda- based AltInvest development group spoke at the meeting. On Wednesday morning Sasha Vrtunksi , with the city's planning and urban design department , said the delay happened at the request of AltInvest. Chief developer David LaFave couldn 't be reached by text...

It’s been only two months since the Portland Housing Authority opened Bayside Anchor , its first new housing development in decades. But already, the low- income housing provider is poised to file plans for two additional projects , totaling more than 155 units of housing at a time when a dearth of affordable housing in Maine’s largest city is reaching crisis levels . “This is the continuation of our effort to be a part of the solution to the affordable housing crisis in Portland,” said Jay Waterman, the housing authority ’s development director. The authority is looking to build a 55- unit apartment building at 58 Boyd St. in the city’s East Bayside neighborhood . The site is practically across the street from Bayside Anchor , a highly energy- efficient PHA apartment building at 81 Oxford St. with 45 units that opened in June. A public meeting about the East Bayside proposal has been scheduled for Monday, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., at 47 Smith St. Meanwhile, about 2 miles away, t...

Whitney and Luke Bowerman dream of building cottages on one of the few larger lots remaining in Olympia’s Eastside neighborhood. They want to leave the existing trees on the Fairview Street Southeast lot , and reflect the character of the neighborhood in their design. The cottages would join a new, three-bedroom house also designed to fit the area. But the city of Olympia has made it expensive to build cottages, the Bowermans said. They estimate that city fees alone will run $30,000 to $40,000 per cottage. And the cottages will be just between 500 and 800 square feet. “The impact fees for a 500-square-foot cottage are almost the same as for a single-family home,” Whitney Bowerman said. “But you can’t rent them for as much,” Luke Bowerman said. If changes aren’t made to reduce the costs, the Bowermans said, they might have to abandon the cottage idea and build a more traditional subdivision. Out of respect for the neighborhood, they don’t want to do that. Meanwhile, Olympia is poised...