Construction Maison

By Katherine Shaver The Washington Post From the rooftop terrace of their new townhouse, Keisuke and Idalia Yabe take in their suburban Maryland neighborhood : a staid, 1970s- era office park of glass office buildings and concrete parking garages . The Yabes say they have found the advantages of urban living in a shorter commute and the ability to walk to shopping centers and a park. They also have what feels like the best of suburbia -- mature trees, plentiful parking , Bethesda's sought-after schools and a more affordable mortgage. From the Washington and New York suburbs to North Carolina's Research Triangle Park , traditional corporate campuses that have struggled since the Great Recession are trying to transform from sterile worksites into vibrant mini-towns. In addition to housing, they're adding restaurants, grocery stores, playgrounds and outdoor concert spaces -- anything to draw people in and make them want to stay. Although it might sound strange at first, th...

In the summer of 1995, Doug Robb and his friends snuck into Agoura High School in the middle of the night. Dressed in all black, they found the set of portable stages their alma mater used for its commencement ceremonies and wheeled them through a dirt track and onto the beds of pickup trucks they’d borrowed for the occasion. The next day, they set up the foldout stages in Robb’s parents’ backyard to play their first show as Hoobastank, a metal- influenced band they’d formed about six months prior. Robb eventually returned the stages to the school, but not before using them during a massive rager that attracted teens and 20-somethings from all over the area. Among them were the then-unknown members of Incubus and Linkin Park—bands that, along with Hoobastank, would go on to produce some of the biggest hits of the next century. What could’ve easily been just another house party thrown by bored kids in a wealthy LA suburb turned out to be the beginning of a rock-music scene that was...

WICHITA — Numerous Wichita apartments have recently changed hands . First, Lew McGinnis, an Oklahoma businessman with a history of buying and selling apartment properties here and in his home state, has purchased six more in Wichita for a dozen total. McGinnis didn't return calls for comment, but someone in his office – who declined to give her full name – confirmed that he has purchased new properties here and is now managing them as well. They include the 240- unit Barclay Square Apartments near Riverside Park; the 220- unit Cedarbrooke Apartments on East Harry just east of Rock Road; the 138- unit Eastborough Apartments on East Kellogg just west of Rock Road; the 196- unit Kingsborough Apartments near South Seneca and West 27th Street South ; the 244- unit Rockborough Apartments near Douglas and Rock; and the 239- unit Woodgate Apartments on East 21st Street North between Oliver and Woodlawn. There have been some maintenance issues at some of the complexes since McGinnis...

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...

1. If you can make it here… New York has long been the ultimate testing ground for businesses. But the city’s population density also makes it an important laboratory for startups, especially in today’s on-demand economy. Food- delivery pioneer Seamless survived the dot-com crash, paving the way for the arrival of meal-kit services such as Blue Apron and Plated a decade later. Related View this story in its original print layout Density has also been instrumental to the growth of ride-hailing and car-sharing companies. Most of them, including Uber and Lyft first gained their footing in smaller cities, then made New York their biggest market. Via, the on-demand ride-pooling service, launched here in 2013, is the exception: Its founders chose New York, figuring riders packed together on subways and buses wouldn’t need much persuading to share a car with strangers, especially when it cost just $5. article continues below advertisement App- based transportation startups have flocked t...