Construction Maison

Roughly 220 children in lower-income families in Bloomington qualify for but do not have access to affordable pre- kindergarten education . In an effort to change this, Alex Crowley, director of the city’s Economic and Sustainable Development Department , said a state-sponsored initiative, On My Way Pre-K pilot program, which provides funding to programs serving 4-year-olds from families with household incomes at or below 127 percent of the federal poverty level , is coming to Monroe County next year, and it is estimated it can help about 50 children. That begs the question: What can the city and others do to make sure no children who are eligible for pre-kindergarten are left out? As part of that answer, the city is proposing investing $100,000 to support quality child care for lower-income families. “Every dollar initially invested in early education programs for children from low-income families is estimated to generate $4 to $11 in economic benefits over a child’s lifetime,” May...

Cedar Rapids residents continue fight against affordable housing project as City Council prepares to make decision May 18, 2017 at 5:40 pm | Print View CEDAR RAPIDS — Neighbors to a proposed affordable housing complex in the northwest quadrant say they are frustrated with unresponsive elected officials as the project that months ago appeared dead now appears primed to pass. CommonBond Communities, a St. Paul, Minnesota- based nonprofit affordable housing developer , wants to build the $9 million, 45- unit Crestwood Ridge Apartments at 1200 Edgewood Road NW . Neighbors have fought back but been painted as biased, city leaders won ’t give them a fair chance and an east-west divide is fueling opinions, said Boyd Severson, 65, who has been part of a core group of opposition. “People are aligning as east side versus west side , at least that is the appearance,” said Severson, who is among 769 people who have signed a petition against rezoning to allow the development. “People say our...

Here’s what you need to know to start your week in San Marcos, Buda and Kyle:The Federal Emergency Management Agency , or FEMA, has released preliminary flood maps that give updated flood risk information in parts of Hays County and along the San Marcos River in Caldwell, Gonzales, Guadalupe and Hays counties. These preliminary flood maps —known as Flood Insurance Rate Maps , or FIRMs—are an update to the existing flood maps , which use data that is more than 30 years old. An open house is scheduled from 2-7 p.m. Aug. 24 at the  San Marcos Activity Center , 501 E. Hopkins St., where representatives from the state, county and city of San Marcos, along with FEMA representatives and their mapping partners, will answer questions about floodplain and flood insurance issues . A workshop will be also be held Aug. 24 from 10 a.m.-noon at the activity center for realtors and insurance agents to learn about impacts to insurance, rating options, reform legislation and changes to the National...

It will take a supermajority of Charleston City Council votes tonight to approve a badly needed six- month moratorium on large new developments on James Island. Council members should not hesitate to lend their wholehearted support. The Town of James Island unanimously passed a moratorium in May. So did City Council, although the city Planning Commission rejected it in June. County Council inexplicably has remained largely silent on the issue. But no one should be under the illusion that a half-year ban on multi-family developments will somehow straighten out the island’s longstanding, growth-related woes in and of itself. Rather the moratorium is simply an opportunity to do what City Council should have been doing for decades — develop a workable strategy to preserve James Island ’s livability and unique character in the face of a booming population. That strategy must involve infrastructure upgrades , like pushing forward the stalled but crucial Rethink Folly Road plan in coo...

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...

Private yards, a man cave, a dog park and Package Concierge are a few of the amenities that will be offered at The Julian at South Pointe apartment complex . The 436-unit complex will lease for $1.49 a square foot when it opens in 2018, said Kim McCaslin, vice president of MR Development. Pre-leasing will start by the end of 2017. The City Council unanimously approved the detailed site plan for the project at its Monday meeting. The apartments are proposed on Harmon and Lowe roads. Only 36 percent of the units will be two bedrooms. The remainder will be one bedroom. No three-bedroom units are proposed. McCaslin said they wanted to offer new amenities at this complex that they don’t offer at the Villagio Apartments on Debbie Lane. Councilman Larry Broseh praised McCaslin for the Villagio project . “I’ve never seen a nicer setup than what you have there,” he said. McCaslin responded , “We’re hoping this one will be better.” Diamond Creek tabled indefinitely The council tabled the co...

Downtown Merchants Association coordinator Jessica Kohn said one resounding issue is brought up at each monthly meeting of downtown Auburn business owners . “A huge hurdle is employees not having designated parking spaces for them,” Kohn said. “Unless business owners lease parking spaces , that’s really the only way they’re guaranteed a space. Certain business owners tell their employees to catch a ride or walk.” On average, 125 employees work at businesses downtown each day, she added. Not having them park their personal vehicles downtown frees parking spaces for customers. Yet the rallying cry from people who work, shop and eat in Auburn is that there is simply not enough parking space available to everyone. “In all the parking studies we’ve done, we’ve always been told that what Auburn needs is not one huge deck with 1,000 cars or 2,000 cars. It’s several little spaces,” interim city manager Jim Buston said. “Because our town is not that big; our town is smal...

The Town Council gave its unanimous approval for a development agreement and the concept plan for the proposed Copper Ridge senior living development at its regular session on Aug. 18. The proposal would develop the vacant 12.24-acre site that wraps around the Bashas’ shopping center. The new development would be built along Avenue of the Fountains from LaMontana Drive to Westby Drive and north along Westby to Palisades Boulevard. The project is planned for three phases, the first of which would be a 132- unit age restricted (62 and older) complex at Avenue of the Fountains and Westby. The initial phase also includes a 19,000 square- foot community clubhouse , parking and a park/drainage detention facility along Westby. Phase II includes a two-story, 80, 000 square foot assisted living facility with 60 living units and 52 memory care/physical rehabilitation beds. A commercial component would make up Phase III at opposite ends of the site. A 12,000 square- foot commercial retai...

Westbrook will not charge fees based on a development’s impacts to the school and sewer system. The decision is a reversal from last fall, when the Westbrook City Council expressed interest in the idea and planned to charge impact fees on all building projects with permits issued since Oct. 3. The fees were popular among residents and officials concerned about the pace of growth in the city at a time when hundreds of housing units were proposed for Westbrook. City staff spent months developing the formulas for the fees, which are designed to pay for new capacity needed as a result of a development. Under the system proposed, for example, the owner of a new three-bedroom house would need to pay a $3, 245 school impact fee to offset the future costs of adding children to local classrooms. But when the final proposals for those fees came before the City Council last week, the group rejected them. A majority of councilors said they were worried the fees would discourage families and b...

Of Earls and Ladies Today, the face of London is the Muslim son of a bus driver. Sadiq Khan, the city’s directly elected mayor , in many ways represents how the city sees itself: multicultural, liberal and socially mobile. But much local governing authority is devolved to the councils that run London’s 32 boroughs, which can look very different from that. Of the Kensington council ’s 50 members, 46 are white and 37 are Conservatives. The cabinet, led by Ms. Campbell, is entirely white. One of her fellow councilors is Lady Catherine Faulks . Another is Mr. Feilding-Mellen, the stepson of the Earl of Wemyss and March. Another is Prof. Sir Anthony Coates , known locally as a man of letters — the letters being those he lists after his name to highlight his credentials. Continue reading the main story Timothy Coleridge, one of several councilors who attended Eton, Britain’s most exclusive private school , has served on the council since 1986, as did his father before him. Two years ago, h...

The Rhinelander City Council spent little time Monday paying a number of bills related to now- completed streetscape project , and approving a request from the golf course advisory committee to hire an outside consultant to evaluate Northwood Golf Course at a cost of $10,000, but the proposal with the lowest price tag - $230 to light the alley between 28 and 38 North Brown Street - prompted a long debate. Ultimately, the council voted to light the alley for one year, at a cost not to exceed $230, but the vote was not unanimous. The situation with the alley was previously discussed at the July 25 public safety committee meeting . Interim city administrator Keith Kost brought the idea forward after Downtown Rhinelander Inc. (DRI) previously suggested installing lighting in the alley because revelers from nearby bars frequently use it as a place to illegally relieve themselves. The project envisions a mural being painted on one of the walls, with the only cost to the city being...

Jennifer Johnson was freezing cold and so was her 5-month-old baby. It was January, and the heat in her apartment wouldn 't go above 60. When the wind blew outside, her drapes fluttered inside . She called the maintenance department at Lakecrest Park Apartments in Roosevelt Park . The man who answered was rude, then crude, then hung up on her. Desperate and shivering, Johnson called the police. The result? Inspectors were called who issued citations, city leaders changed the ordinance to allow stricter enforcement of building codes and the apartment complex's East Coast owners became "cooperative" with city officials . And what about the apartment's management and maintenance department she dealt with? All fired. It's unusual for officials of any city to move so quickly to step into a tenant-landlord dispute. But with only a few large apartment complexes in the one-square-mile city, inspectors and leaders decided change was needed fast. A lease nightmar...