Construction Maison

The detention pond at the former ALCOA Inc. West Plant is complete, as the redevelopment continues. The Alcoa Board of Commissioners got a bird’s- eye view Monday of the new detention pond , which is located in the curve where Hall Road meets Alcoa Highway , thanks to a stationary webcam the city has trained on the construction site. Five photos taken over the course of one day — Wednesday, Aug. 16 — show how the detention pond area evolved as it was prepped for seeding, explained Andrew Sonner , assistant director/chief engineer for Alcoa’s Public Works and Engineering Department. The rectangular portion shown at the bottom of the photos is the “fore bay,” he told commissioners, which is where sediment settles before clean water continues over the berms and “meanders” toward the point of exit, where it will join Culton Creek . Commissioners learned at a briefing in July that an underground spring on the property could feed a water feature on the West Plant site ,...

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...

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...

In the final days of last summer, Drake and Rihanna made waves when they hunkered down for some R&R in what TMZ called “an oceanfront villa fit for honeymoonin’.” While that relationship didn’t last long (and Drake is now linked to Young Money label mate Nicki Minaj ), the press had a lasting effect on the other stunner in that story: the $ 29 million Malibu love nest where they stayed. “When news broke of Drake and Rihanna vacationing at one of my listings in Malibu, interest shot up,” said The Agency’s Angel Kou in an email, noting that the property rents for $5,000 per day. “People like to experience what A-listers experience, to get a glimpse of that glitz and glam.” beach front villa that Drake and Rihanna stayed in September 2016." src="http://mansion-global-app.s3.amazonaws.com/article-images/2017/08/image_l_031.jpg" /> An interior view of the beach front villa that Drake and Rihanna stayed in September 2016. Courtesy of The Agency The same desire to ...

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...

Seeking Luxury Apartments in Gainesville, FL Jan 23, 2017 Trimark Properties is an owner, developer and property management firm specializing in luxury apartments in Gainesville, FL. We are currently looking to purchase houses, developable land and small boutique apartments near UF within walking distance of the University of Florida campus. We are specifically looking to expand our portfolio of luxury apartments . Trimark’s award- winning design team is looking to either renovate an existing property or build new luxury apartments in an ideal location for UF students. We are preferably searching for properties to renovate and/or empty lots to purchase near UF Sorority Row and 13 th street, but are also open to the midtown Gainesville location near the College of Law, the downtown Gainesville area near Innovation Square, and any potential developable land or apartments near Shands. For more information on the type of apartments we are targeting, see: http://www.trimarkprope...

Trinity Meadows Race Track has been sitting vacant for more than 20 years, a place that has been victimized by time and vandals, a refuge to countless birds, yellowjackets and small critters. Trinity Meadows is where horses raced before Lone Star Park opened in Grand Prairie. It had previously been named Clear Fork Downs and later, Squaw Creek Downs . But now, as sprawl continues to encroach into Parker County, Trinity Meadows is about to be no more. Beginning the first week in September, the remaining 9,000-seat grandstand — a visual icon for motorists heading west on Interstate 20 — will be torn down. Cisco- based Wilks Development , owners of the property, said memories of the race track would live on as they transform in the property into a mixed-used development. “We looked at building an event center, that was originally our plan,” said Kyle Wilks, president of the company. “We looked at it in detail. But the more we dug into the economics ... it became very questionable. A...

If plans work out, the city will be gaining a new restaurant called the Spin-N-Win Cafe. During its meeting Aug. 7, the Highland City Council voted to increase the number of class D2 liquor licenses from 10 to 11 permits. A D2 license allows restaurants to operate video gaming terminals . The council also approved the issuance of the additional license to Surjuit “Sunny” Tut, the owner of Tut Properties Inc. and Highland Liquor and Food Mart, located at 201 Walnut St. In a letter to Mayor Joe Michaelis , Tut said he is in the process of negotiating with a chain food service provider in hopes of opening a restaurant called the Spin-N-Win Cafe. Tut said he originally wanted to open the restaurant out of his existing business. But he decided it would not provide enough space, so instead he purchased a property at 213 Walnut St. with the intent of tearing down a dilapidated home and garage on the property. He said the plan is to construct a new structure for a restaurant. The restaura...

Cathy Czerniak, community development director for Lake Forest, has proposed calling 2017 "the year of the crane." "One morning when I looked at the skyline, I saw four different cranes piercing the skyline from the central business district ," Czerniak said. The Lake Forester recently spoke with Czerniak about the state of various ongoing construction projects in town. Lake Forest Hospital The hospital is still on target to open its outpatient clinics this fall with the rest of the almost $400 million hospital to open in the first quarter of 2018. Final work on the interior of the buildings is being completed, a temporary parking lot is being removed and the height of a berm on the south side of the property is being increased. Kelmscott Park (formerly Laurel and Western) Three apartment buildings with a total of 111 units are expected to open in January, February and March 2018. Pre-leasing of apartments is scheduled to start this October. One single family ho...

More homes and yet more homes are going in, with new communities popping up . San Pablo The Silverfield Group of Jacksonville has purchased 21.85 acres at the north end of Pablo Point Drive , nestled in between Pablo Point to the south and Queen’s Harbour to the north. With mostly marsh to the east, it’s about the last bit of buildable land in the immediate area. There, they’re going to put Waterside at San Pablo , a single- family community zoned for up to 42 lots, a minimum of 90-100 feet wide. Home prices are expected to be in the $400s to $600s. Leed Silverfield said the project is still in design and engineering, but they hope to break ground early next year. Builders haven’t been chosen. He said it hasn’t been determined if it will be gated. Silverfield paid $1,175,000 for the property, buying it from the Hodges family. Ponte Vedra A new 23-lot, single- home community is going into Ponte Vedra Beach . EvenTide at 1044 Ponte Vedra Blvd . is being developed by GreenPointe Comm...