Construction Maison

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...

Nova Classical Academy )" width="718" />(Courtesy of Nova Classical Academy ) Off West Seventh Street , a charter school and an apartment developer have bumped heads over building heights. By a vote of 6-0, the St. Paul City Council on Wednesday declined to side with Nova Classical Academy in a dispute over the height of a proposed apartment building at 763 Kay Ave. Chase Real Estate , which has opened two apartment buildings in the new Victoria Park neighborhood , has proposed a third building of four floors and 50 units. Nova, a K-12 charter school, recently appealed a decision of the planning commission, which allowed changes to the Victoria Park Master Plan to accommodate the proposed building height of up to 49.5 feet. The master plan had previously envisioned the site to someday host 13 townhomes with a maximum height of 40 feet. The Chase proposal , recently amended, calls for 50 apartments with a maximum building height of 45 feet. The structure heigh...

San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin has asked the city attorney to explore legislation to impose a vacancy tax on large property owners who leave residential and commercial buildings empty . During a supervisors meeting this month, Peskin said he continues to receive complaints about the impact of “ghost buildings” on neighborhoods. The problem is, nobody really knows how many vacant homes there are in the city and whether a vacancy tax would be legal or effective in freeing up much-needed housing. In an interview, Peskin cited a 28- unit apartment building at 1656 Powell St. that was vacated after a fire damaged some units in December 2013. It remains empty. The three-story building is in a prime North Beach location across from Washington Square Park . Four businesses on the building’s ground floor — a liquor store, a bar, a Thai restaurant and a seafood restaurant — are open, but the apartments above still have boarded-up windows and a littered lobby. Some work was done in the...

Capitalism is “a process of creative destruction” according to Austro- American economist Joseph Schumpeter . That is working out right now as new communications technologies are revolutionizing sectors like short-term housing and short- distance human transportation . I use these wordings rather than “hotel” and “taxi” because companies like Airbnb and Uber are changing the very meaning of these historic terms. Much of this is to the good, enabling society to get more satisfaction of human needs and wants from a given set of resources. But Schumpeter’s insight that economic creation inevitably is linked with destruction still applies. Innovations also destroy outdated businesses and products.  Airbnb is the one in the news right now as the St. Paul City Council considers new rules to limit the fraction of rental housing units that can be converted to short- term Airbnb units . That is an issue in many other cities. Airbnb and its small competitors also raise the same issue as Uber...

John Altschul with his dog, Ethanol. (Photo by James Mills) EDITOR’S NOTE: The is another in a series of occasional stories titled “The Grownups” about West Hollywood residents 75 years old or older who are active in civic life. He’s been called the elder statesman of West Hollywood . He possesses the leadership, diplomacy, patience, charm and institutional memory necessary to hold that honorary title. More importantly, he has the ear of city leaders, community activists , business leaders and developers that is required of an effective statesman. Although he was not involved with the formation of the city, he became a guiding force in shaping West Hollywood . And this week, John Altschul celebrates his 81st birthday. He reluctantly accepts the idea of being the city’s elder statesman, but would prefer he wasn’t quite so much on the elder side of it (wouldn’t we all!). “ West Hollywood has always been a place where everyone has been so friendly,” says Altschul. “I’ve always felt ...

'Your home is wherever you stop and that's what's really, really cool about that whole idea' Rain patters on the roof of John Salhany's 2006 Mercedes Sprinter van as he points out the half-finished ceiling of tongue-and- groove pine paneling that will eventually continue down the walls over layers of plywood and reflective insulation. Items strewn in the hollowed back include a dusty climbing rope , a road bike and a six-pack of Upslope Brewing Company 's Citra Pale Ale . All his essentials will soon have their places once the van build-out is complete, when Salhany will have a bed big enough to accommodate all 6 feet, 2 inches of him, a countertop with a sink and drawers, and maybe even a backsplash with the cutout of the mountains — amenities like that of a house. "I have a lot of friends who are buying houses right now who are just getting to that age, all on the East Coast and I'm just like, how do you guys know where you want to live?" said...

As teachers, cooks, cashiers, and bus drivers are being priced out of Charlotte, one question looms: How does a growing, thriving city in modern America keep housing affordable for its working-class citizens? By RACHEL JONES Published: 2017.08.23 06:21 AM Jacqueline Ingram (middle) works full-time at the Ross Dress For Less distribution center in Rock Hill. But in this booming region, her salary isn’t enough to comfortably buy a home for her and her kids, 12-year-old Nya and five-year-old Rejonee. PHOTOS BY ANDY MCMILLAN ONE RECENT SUNDAY AFTERNOON , Jacqueline Ingram and her two daughters explore an empty four-bedroom house for sale on a Brianna Way cul-de-sac in southwest Charlotte , filling it with their dreams along the way. “This one is mine,” 12-year-old Nya says of an upstairs bedroom with a view of the Clanton Park neighborhood . “I could put my chest over there, and my table there.” As five-year-old Rejonee sprawls out on the carpet in the room across the hall, In...