Construction Maison

In 2013, Randy Dillard was living with his four sons and a daughter in an apartment at 198th Street and Bainbridge in the Bronx. The windows were broken; mold and mildew streaked the walls. In the winter, Dillard’s family had to boil water on the stove to bathe; there was no heat or hot water. When the New York City Housing Authority conducted an inspection of the apartment on behalf of Section 8, the federal rent assistance program that financed Dillard ’s rental, the unit failed the test, and Section 8 stopped paying Dillard ’s landlord, demanding that he make repairs. That winter, Dillard was hospitalized for two months with a bout of emphysema; when he came out, he was served with eviction papers for nonpayment of rent. advertisement “I stood in the middle of my hallway looking around my apartment thinking: What am I going to do with my stuff?” Dillard tells Fast Company . “I told myself: I’m going to end up homeless. I’m going to wind up in a shelter.” Dillard got word of a Bron...

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...

How plunging oil prices are reversing fortunes across Texas. Read all the stories in this series. MIDLAND — Thousands have been laid off. Tax collections are plummeting. Many are on the brink of homelessness.   Rows of drilling rigs and white company trucks sit idle — there’s no telling for how long. And, yet, amid the worst oil bust in decades, the energy capital of West Texas hasn ’t slowed down much. Several oil companies have recently built  office complexes in the area, and drilling continues , albeit at a more sluggish pace. The city plans to build a new convention center, and construction of a municipal courthouse is underway. Several more hotels, apartment complexes and eateries are expected to open   this year, and a second H-E-B grocery store just came online . "For hire" signs are ample, road crews prolific . And people still complain about the traffic. “People from the outside come in expecting to see boarded-up windows, 'for sale' signs everywhere,...

The first coast-to- coast solar eclipse in almost 100 years moved across the U.S. at 2,000 mph on Aug. 21. Here are some highlights. (Erin Patrick O'Connor/The Washington Post) CARBONDALE, Ill. — At first, Bob Baer thought it had to be a hoax. A man identifying himself as an astronomer had emailed to let him know about two eclipses that would cross the United States — one in 2017, the next in 2024. Carbondale, the small southern Illinois city where Baer was a physics professor, would be the only city at the center of both. Disbelieving, Baer pulled up a NASA projection of future paths of totality — the places where the moon completely covers the sun during an eclipse. The lines crossed right over his city, like an X on a treasure map, marked by the shadow of the moon. Three years later, Carbondale residents are still incredulous at their cosmic good fortune . The city has been badly in need of a break, ever since the recession and state budget crises cut enrollment at the ...

Cass Community Social Services built 25 houses for less than $45,000 each by drawing on the help of construction and design professionals and volunteers from the community. Low-income earners were then invited to apply to become rent-to-own tenants of the central Detroit homes . tiny homes offer big chance for struggling residents" /> Copyright 2017 CNN Cass Community Social Services built 25 houses for less than $45,000 each by drawing on the help of construction and design professionals and volunteers from the community. Low-income earners were then invited to apply to become rent-to-own tenants of the central Detroit homes . Related Content DETROIT (CNNMoney) - This is Detroit, not Hobbiton. Just like the tiny homes of the hobbits in the "Lord of The Rings" series, the Cass Community Center Tiny Homes Project looks cute. But its small buildings house big hopes . Four years ago, Detroit became the biggest American city in history to file for bankruptcy, brough...

Two years ago, developer Mike Harrah joined a bid to purchase the Orange County Register out of bankruptcy. The effort ultimately failed . But the flamboyant local construction magnate with a ZZ Top beard still acquired the Register’s Santa Ana real estate , currently vacant after the publication decamped to Anaheim this spring. With the Register gone, Harrah is now embarking on an ambitious $1-billion plan for the 20- acre Grand Avenue site , proposing to build Orange County ’s tallest buildings, more than 1,000 residences, a 171-room hotel, offices and retail shops. In all, Harrah’s Caribou Industries envisions a 2.3-million-square- foot development known as 625IVE that serves as a gateway to historic downtown Santa Ana , where hip restaurants and shops are opening just a mile away. And he’s signed up prominent architecture firm Gensler to work on it. Harrah, himself, has been credited with helping kick-start the revitalization early last decade after he acquired buildings in t...