Theyre praying for the immaculate construction.

Preservationists hope a Manhattan developer set to buy one of Harlems most beautiful churches will save it.

St. Thomas the Apostle Church on West 118th Street (pictured) has sat empty for nine years since the New York Archdiocese shuttered it in 2003.

Efforts to landmark the hulking neo-Gothic structure built in 1907 failed, and the building, which was recently covered in scaffolding, has been in limbo ever since.

The archdiocese is in contract to sell the property and two others to Artimus Construction in a $6 million deal, according to papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Paul Rocheleau

The documents give no hint of Artimus plans. The archdiocese declined to comment.

Peg Breen, of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, praised Artimus Construction. If this developer is true to its track record, it could be very good news, she said.

But locals were less sure of the impending sale, which requires court approval.

I presume theyre selling it to knock it down, said Simeon Bankoff of the Historic Districts Council.

See the original post here:
Landmark church in peril

Investigators are trying to determine what caused a three-alarm fire that destroyed a newly built apartment apartment building downtown Friday night.

Indianapolis Fire Capt. Rita Burris said investigators remained on the scene Saturday and had not determined the cause or the origin of the blaze that caused $3.5 million in damage and sent black smoke wafting into the sky.

The fire destroyed a four-story, 60-apartment building under construction in the 16 Park development by the Indianapolis Housing Agency. The building was due to open this fall.

16 Park, which was expected to cost a total of $34 million, is replacing the former Caravelle Commons housing development north of East 16th Street between Central and College avenues.

Lt. Larry Tracy says one firefighter was injured and was treated for a possible broken wrist.

Caravelle Commons was a 65-unit, low-income-housing property built in 1975. The seven-acre property had become a magnet for crime, with dead-end streets and fenced-in apartment homes surrounding crowded parking lots. But the Indianapolis Housing Agency was betting the new project would jump-start more interest in the area.

We really think this is a transformational development thats really going to change that part of the neighborhood and that part of the city, said Bruce Baird, IHAs director of strategic planning and development, told IBJ last year.

IHA bought the complex in March 2009 from the Near North Development Corp., which took over the Caravelle not-for-profit complex in 2003. Near North stepped in to refinance, renovate and stabilize the property with an eye toward eventually selling it to a more appropriate owner.

See the rest here:
Cause, origin of apartment building fire undetermined

New construction at 1265 S. Lightsey Ave., Bartow, was stopped by code enforcement after the garage apartment was found to be nearly five feet too high.

BARTOW | The city has halted construction on a garage apartment on Bartow's south side because it's nearly 5 feet taller than the zoning codes allow.

Now the owner, Darlene Patrick, is seeking a second variance to allow for the additional height, and the Zoning Board of Adjustment has to decide what to do about it.

Patrick already had secured one variance from the board in February to expand the garage behind her house at 1265 Lightsey Ave. The board gave her a 4-foot variance, which allowed her to build the garage to 34 feet in height, according to city records.

But once construction got under way, Planning Director Bob Wiegers told the city's building inspectors that something didn't look right.

"It hadn't gotten far enough along where we were called to do a framing inspection on the structure," Building Official Gregg Lamb told the board during a recent meeting, "but Bob had mentioned the height, so we went out and measured, and it was 38.8 feet."

Lamb said he also recognized the construction didn't reflect the plans the city had on file for the project.

"It went from a loft on one end to a loft on both ends with a walkway in between. The plans didn't reflect that."

Patrick told members of the board last month that changes in the design created the additional height.

Wiegers said none of Patrick's neighbors has voiced concerns about the project.

More here:
City Halts Work on Too-Tall Building

A downtown luncheon on Friday was intended as a celebration of the 30th anniversary of a nonprofit organization. But it turned into a love fest between Sue Gibbens and some of the owners of small businesses that she has helped get started or expand here over the past six years.

Gibbens is the executive vice president of the Henderson office of Community Ventures Corp. (CVC), a Lexington-based nonprofit that is the largest Small Business Administration lender in the nation, helping entrepreneurs and small businesses secure loans ranging from a few hundred to many thousands of dollars.

In fact, CVC President and CEO Kevin Smith said his organization expects in a couple of weeks to have $900,000 to loan in the Henderson area through the USDA Intermediary Relending Program, which is intended for businesses in rural communities. Loans of up to $150,000 will be available.

But Gibbens, a Certified Economic Developer and the local face of CVC, is more than a loan officer. She's also a consultant, a mentor to fledgling business owners even a provider of a shoulder for a nervous entrepreneur to cry on.

"They become my best friends, my kids," Gibbens said of her clients following the anniversary celebration.

The affection was obvious as client after client owners of small businesses ranging from a power-washing service to a professional philanthropy consulting firm thanked or even hugged her during the luncheon.

Three of those clients spoke about their businesses and the role Gibbens played.

Rebecca Goodman knew that opening Mind's Eye Studio to teach art to children in Morganfield was "a very risky business."

"But CVC had faith in me that I could do it," Goodman continued, as Gibbens helped her figure out how to research demographics such as income levels and average family size to help assess the feasibility of her venture. Gibbens also helped her obtain a micro loan.

Since opening with 17 students in 2008, Goodman's studio has grown to an average of 105 students.

Originally posted here:
Business owners thank Gibbens at CVC celebration

Cautious Optimism

By Jim Cronin

Banker & Tradesman Staff Writer

A valid subscription is required to read the article or use the tool you've selected. Already a subscriber? Please enter your information below to log in.

Don't have a subscription yet? You're missing out. Subscribing to Banker & Tradesman gives you unlimited access to all of our award winning content and data tools. Interested in subscribing? Click here now to signup for a new account, or activate your web account if you are a new print subscriber.

Our subscribers have access to the most current, comprehensive real estate and credit records available for the state of Massachusetts. We are the only body that collects all transaction data from every city and town in the state - and we deliver that vital information via our Records & Research section as fast as we can.

By becoming a subscriber, you will have access to all of our credit and real estate records dating back ten years, searchable by address, name and transaction date. This is valuable intelligence that you can use every week to make decisions and grow your business. Become a subscriber today or take a test drive with a 24-hour trial.

Subscribe to Banker & Tradesman

Get a One-Day Pass with Full Access to Records & Research

Go here to read the rest:
Boston Architects Drafting Blueprint For Recovery

Retail follows rooftops, and theres no better example than Colorado Springs fast-growing north side and northern El Paso County.

Five retail centers totaling nearly 5 million square feet are open, under construction or planned within about eight miles of each other between Colorado Springs and Monument, along or near the Interstate 25 corridor.

They range from the 30-year-old Chapel Hills Mall to Copper Ridge at Northgate, a newcomer whose developer announced in February that Bass Pro Shops would be the projects first anchor.

The attraction for developers and retailers to the north side: Annual household incomes in far north ZIP code areas ranged from an average of about $67,000 to nearly $113,000 in 2011 making them among the highest in the Pikes Peak region, according to Springs-based Norwood Development Groups marketing brochure for its InterQuest Marketplace shopping center.

Thousands of those upper-end households, meanwhile, sprang up over the past 25 years on the Springs north and northeast sides, the Tri-Lakes communities of Monument, Palmer Lake and Woodmoor, and unincorporated El Paso County areas north of town. More housing is on the way.

But as retail centers battle for tenants and shoppers, and even as the north side has grown dramatically, some real estate experts wonder if that one area of the Pikes Peak region can absorb the surge of big boxes, smaller stores and restaurants.

Is there enough demographics, enough population, enough income in order to support it? Thats the trick, said John Egan, a broker with NAI Highland Commercial Group. I worry we dont have enough density to support all of those developments up along that corridor at full capacity.

Home construction has picked up locally this year, yet the pace of building remains far behind levels of seven to eight years ago.

To get every one of them (retail centers) developed as envisioned will absolutely take more rooftops, said Patrick Kerscher, a broker with Landmark Commercial Group. Will there be portions of each one that get done? Probably. But I dont know that youll have 100 percent occupancy and 100 percent completion on all those development plans for quite some time.

How long? At least a decade, Kerscher said.

Continue reading here:
North side retail boom: Can the area handle it all?

By COLLIN CALDERWOOD ccalderwood@thehawkeye.com Randy Gearhart, chaplain and director of the spiritual care department at Great River Medical Center, is selling the Sheagren Funeral Home.

The property originally was built in 1872 by Frederick A. Smith. His daughter, Millie Smith, grew up in the home and married Edward Eastman, president of Eastman Furniture.

When her father died, Millie and Edward inherited the home, which is when it became the Eastman Estate. Millie and Edward lived out the rest of their lives in the Eastman Estate. Millie out-lived her husband by 34 years, eventually passing away in 1959. With her passing, she donated her home to the Burlington hospital.

It was Millie's wish the hospital turn the house into a nursing home, and if that wasn't feasible, the hospital could sell it. The hospital didn't want to use it as a nursing home, so they sold it, and in 1960, it became a funeral home, Gearhart said.

Advertisement

The interior of the home is almost completely restored. The back servant's quarters bedroom, ensuite bathroom, back hallway and staircase is all that's left. The most recent restoration work is the demolition of a 52-year-old addition to the home.

The funeral chapel was built as an addition to the home in 1960 and needed to be demolished to restore the home to its original status. When the addition first was built, the construction changed some of the original exterior of the house. Now that the demolition is complete, the clean up and restoration can begin.

"Hopefully, before summer is over, it will be all back to original," Randy Gearhart said.

Even though the house is not listed with any realtors, the couple has listed the house on historicproperties.com for $749,000.

"It's a huge home, and we have put a lot of money in and work into it. When we list it with a realtor, the price might come down $100,000. It just depends on the rest of the restoration," Gearhart said.

Read the original post:
Home sweet funeral home

Nov. 28, 1915 - June 15, 2012

June 17, 2012 12:09 am

By Len Barcousky/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

G. Edmond Mariani would tell his daughters he was down to his last 35 cents when he and their mother started the masonry restoration business that still bears the family name.

"He said he would never allow that to happen -- to be that poor again," daughter Charlotte M. Amatangelo, of Scott, recalled.

Mr. Mariani, the co-founder of Mariani & Richards, died Friday at his home in Scott. He was 96.

He was the son of the late Giusto E. and Stella Gambogi Mariani. Born in Pittsburgh's Friendship neighborhood, he grew up in East Liberty.

Mr. Mariani was a graduate of Peabody High School and Duquesne University. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army Air Forces, entering as a private and rising to the rank of major. As part of his service, he was sent to study statistics at Harvard before being assigned to military bases in Florida.

He and his late wife, Josephine, started Mariani & Richards in 1950 with limited funds and limited knowledge of the masonry repair and waterproofing business, according to their daughter.

"He always said they got on a streetcar and rode down to the Carnegie Library to research French drains," Mrs. Amatangelo said, referring to the trenches that carry water away from structures.

See original here:
Obituary: G. Edmond Mariani / Founder of masonry restoration business

ROXAS WANTS TO RETAIN ROBREDO TO AID SPEAKERSHIP BID

06/18/2012

Infighting in the stables of President Aquino erupted anew with the endorsement of Aquino himself of Sen. Panfilo Ping Lacson for a Cabinet slot when his term expires next year possibly to the post of Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), a prospect that the camp of Aquino trouble shooter Transportation and Communications Secretary Manuel Roxas wants blocked.

Highly-placed sources from the House of Representatives said that Roxas, president of the Liberal Party, is extremely opposed to the plan of President Aquino to give Lacson a Cabinet post.

The camp of Sec. Roxas is against Lacson because he is not their ally. They want to keep (Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse) Robredo in his post as the latters departure may jeopardize whatever plans that Roxas may have in mind for the coming elections. The post of Robredo is very strategic in terms of harmonizing relations with local governments and national police force, the source said.

The same source said that while Aquino, LP chairman, wants Roxas to remain in his Cabinet, the secretary and former senator is reportedly eyeing the post of House Speaker in place of Feliciano Belmonte by running as congressman of Capiz in the 2013 elections.

There are serious talks in Capiz about his comeback and challenge the speakers post of the next Congress. If Secretary Robredo will be replaced, the replacement must be their ally, the source said.

But the source explained that the last say would be from Aquino who is allegedly weighing his options so as not to hurt leaders of the LP in case he appointed Lacson to a contested post.

The President is weighing intelligently all his available options so as to ensure that his forces are consolidated and united. The last say will be the Presidents. After all, it is his prerogative, the source said.

Roxas has been locked in a bitter battle with Vice President Jejomar Binay since the past elections. Roxas protested Binays victory before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal.

Go here to see the original:
Noy backing on Ping sparks LP infighting

CEBU, Philippines - The Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas has indicted a former barangay captain in Tuburan for alleged irregularities committed in the construction of a multi-purpose building project.

The anti-graft office found probable cause to charge former Poblacion I barangay captain Severo Evales for violation of the Republic Act 9184 otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act.

It appears that respondent Evales, through manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross negligence gave unwarranted benefit, advantage or preference to the pre-selected winning bidders by providing directly or indirectly said bidders with copies of the program of works in the project, Graft investigator Luanne Ivy Cabatingan said in her resolution recommending the filing of the case in court.

Cabatingan said the respondent restrained competition within the three bidders for the construction of the multi-purpose building.

The case stemmed from a fact-finding investigation conducted by the Public Assistance and Corruption Prevention Office (PACPO) of the Office of the Ombudsman.

Based on the investigation the barangay council passed a resolution requesting Evales to sell a portion of his lot for the project.

Tuburan Municipal Engineer Leo Montecillo prepared the program of works and bill of materials amounting to P450,000. Evales approved it. A separate program of works for lightning materials was prepared and approved by respondent with a total material cost of P22,789.50.

The bidding was conducted and the notice of award was issued to XLA General Merchandise being the lowest bidder.

Another program of works for construction materials was prepared and again approved by respondent with a total material cost of P147,651.60.

During the bidding, the notice of award was issued to DLJ General Merchandise having a lowest bid proposal. World Trade Enterprise got the contract for the supply of hollow blocks amounting to P15,455.

Continued here:
Ex- barangay chief in Tuburan charged