Half Moon Bay Planning Commissioners on Tuesday reviewed a proposed two-story building that would occupy a vacant lot downtown, across from Cunha Intermediate School.

The building, proposed by local developer Cameron Jeffs of Gibraltar Capital, would mix commercial retail space on the ground floor with upstairs residences. Four separate units would be built across two buildings, each with commercial space downstairs and a two-bedroom apartment on the second-story.

If built, the commercial space would be perfect for a new downtown restaurant, gallery or retail space, Jeffs said. Similar such mixed-use buildings can be found along the downtown corridor.

Our hope is to attract business to focus more in the downtown area, he said. Its going to enhance the gateway into Main Street.

Everything is ready for construction except for city permits, Jeffs said. The lot already has water and sewer hookups, and he estimated construction could be finished within a year.

Years ago, the property was slated to be developed for 10 homes by Kenmark as part of its larger Carnousite subdivision at Ocean Colony. That project never materialized and the company later paid a fee to back out of the project, according to Jeffs.

The new plans for the property would be less intensive, but it would still require subdividing the land into four separate lots. City staff noted that the project was compatible for the area, and recommended it be approved.

In a separate project, Jeffs is also seeking to build a 10-home subdivision at the end of Church Street. That project remains a work in progress with initial infrastructure planned in the coming months, Jeffs said.

In a separate project, the city Planning Commission was also scheduled on Tuesday night to review a new skate park that would go next to the Ted Adcock Community Center.

The Planning Commission meeting was scheduled after the Reviews print deadlines. More information will be available at http://www.hmbreview.com.

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Mixed-use homes planned for vacant lot

Mariano's in Arlington Heights, IL

CHICAGOSafeways decision to shutter the 72-store Dominicks chain put a shadow over the Chicago metro regions retail market throughout the year. However, the vacancy rate declined and rental rates responded by increasing, according to a year-end report just published by NAI Hiffman. But this progress for the most part has not impressed developers, who have largely remained on the sidelines and say new construction will have to wait until the housing market comes back.

The limited new construction during the year was instrumental in the metropolitan areas high rate of positive net absorption, according to NAI Hiffman. In 2014, the vacancy rate had dropped from 9.0% to 8.3% by the end of the year; this equates to a net absorption of approximately 6.6-million-square-feet. Furthermore, citing CoStar, the firm said that the reduction in vacancy pushed the average rental rate from $15.62 to $15.79 or 1.08% over the course of the year.

The impact of the Dominicks shutdown was lessened by other local grocers. Marianos, now the hottest chain in the region, committed to re-develop thirteen of the vacant locations and absorb more than 845,000-square-feet of space. In addition, Jewel Foods decided to take over four of the sites and absorb about 260,000-square-feet. Whole Foods, Tonys Finer Foods, Caputos Foods and Cermak Produce all committed to other former Dominicks stores, bringing the grand total absorbed to 2,015,000-square-feet. Still, more than 3,000,000-square-feet of former Dominicks remains.

One of this years bright spots was the expansion of Art Van Furniture into the metro area. The Warren, MI-based retailer opened new stores in Bedford Park, Batavia, Orland Park, Woodridge, Hobart, IN, and on Elston Ave. in Chicago. This was existing space, but the six stores occupy more than 345,000-square-feet of retail space.

"New shopping center development within the Chicago metropolitan market was limited in 2014 and that shall continue into 2015, according to NAI Hiffman. Retail shopping center growth during the mid to late 90s as well as the early 2000s was fueled by the meteoric residential housing growth statistics. And until residential housing growth kicks in there is simply no need for new bricks and mortar when overall retail vacancy remains over 5-million-square-feet of space.

The rest is here:
No Need for New Bricks and Mortar in Retail

About TOGAF

TOGAF, an Open Group Standard, is a proven enterprise architecture methodology and framework used by the world's leading organizations to improve business efficiency. It is the most prominent and reliable enterprise architecture standard, ensuring consistent standards, methods, and communication among enterprise architecture professionals. Enterprise architecture professionals fluent in TOGAF standards enjoy greater industry credibility, job effectiveness, and career opportunities. TOGAF helps practitioners avoid being locked into proprietary methods, utilize resources more efficiently and effectively, and realize a greater return on investment.

First published in 1995, TOGAF was based on the US Department of Defense Technical Architecture Framework for Information Management (TAFIM). From this sound foundation, The Open Group Architecture Forum has developed successive versions of TOGAF at regular intervals and published them on The Open Group public web site.

Details of the Forum, and its plans for evolving TOGAF in the current year, are given on the Architecture Forum web site.

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About TOGAF 9.1

TOGAF Version 9.1 is a detailed method and set of supporting resources for developing an Enterprise Architecture. Developed and endorsed by the membership of The Open Group's Architecture Forum, TOGAF 9.1 represents an industry consensus framework and method for Enterprise Architecture that is available for use internally by any organization around the world - members and non-members of The Open Group alike - subject to license conditions - see Downloading TOGAF 9.1

Learn more about TOGAF 9.1:

visit the TOGAF information site

TOGAF 9 provides a clear path for professional development and credibility to employers. The TOGAF Certification program has enabled more than 20,000 enterprise architects and trainers around the globe to demonstrate their proven knowledge of the framework. Certification is achieved through a two-part examination, following a course of self-study or an Accredited TOGAF 9 Training Course.

Link:
The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF)

Published: Thursday, January 29, 2015 at 4:35 p.m. Last Modified: Thursday, January 29, 2015 at 4:35 p.m.

A construction project on Bayou Lafourche will be postponed this year as the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority faces budget cuts.

A plan to build a saltwater control structure on Bayou Lafourche in Larose, a $4.5 million project, will be shelved until the state can come up with money for it, said Kyle Graham, Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority director.

We are committed to getting the permitting done and well seek construction dollars through one of our programs and or future dollars as funding is available, Graham said. I wouldnt anticipate it being more than a year. Were committed to finding it a home either in the future with trust fund dollars or through one of these programs like Restore or others that are coming online.

The project, in engineering and design phases, is planned to halt salt water from making its way up the bayou in low water years, which can mix with freshwater used as a drinking source.

We are deeply disappointed to hear the news from CPRA about the saltwater control structure being cut due to state budget constraints, Archie Chaisson, Lafourche Parish administrator, said in an email. This is a project we have worked on for several years. We have been assured by CPRA executives that as funding becomes available this project will be a top priority since its shovel ready.

The restoration authority is prepping for a potential $2.2 million cut in the 2016 fiscal budget, though those numbers are subject to change as the numbers are finalized.

Graham said his agencys operations are paid for through mineral revenues, and added hes anticipating $2 million to $3 million less than has been historically available due to low oil prices. Meaning there could be potentially more than $5 million less from the agencys budget.

Ancillary programs such as the restoration partnership program and the coastal innovation program, which can work to help private land owners, will be on hold, Graham said.

Also to be put on the back burner is money for levee districts, though Graham said those dollars mostly go to new ones. The cuts wouldnt affect the districts in Terrebonne or Lafourche parishes, Graham said.

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State budget cuts halting Lafourche project

When was the last time you took a good look inside the cabinets under your kitchen sink?

Its not an area of the kitchen that gets a lot of attention, since its usually out of sight and out of mind. That was the case for us for several years since we moved into our house.

Have you ever had a leak in your garbage disposal or in the pvc pipes?

If you have, then you probably know what that does to the bottom board of the cabinet. It gets all nasty and warped and just generally gross looking.

It was always one of those things where we said, yeah, we need to replace that board someday! But it just seemed like it would be more effort than it was worth.

Turns out thats not true.

It was really a pretty simple job to fix it, and it was such a breath of fresh air to be able to put our cleaning products under the sink without having them fall all over each other (thats how bad ours was warped).

So if your kitchen is in the need for some TLC under the sink, youre in luck. Ill show you how I fixed ours up.

I know my wife was awful grateful to have a clean and functional under sink cabinet again.

Heres what youll need:

Go here to see the original:
How to Replace Water Damaged Cabinet Bottom | The Domestic ...

Posted January 29, 2015 08:35 am | Op-Ed

By Martin Dyckman

Is the Florida Cabinet worth its keep, or is it simply worthless? That venerable question has been brought front and center again by the Gerald Bailey kerfuffle.

In the aftermath of his resignation as commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Cabinet Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam resembled to a remarkable degree the three monkeys who see, speak and hear no evil.

When Gov. Rick Scott told them Bailey had retired voluntarily as commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, they didnt seem the least bit curious about why he left without a days notice or even a goodbye.

Then they were shocked shocked! when Bailey told the media that Scott had put a gun to his head by claiming he had the Cabinets votes to fire him. Bailey got only a couple of hours to clean out his desk. All that was missing from his summary humiliation was an armed guard marching him to the door.

But if Scott is telling the truth for once, we have a clue about why the Cabinet may have been so incurious and so quiet.

Scott claims his aide informed their aides that he wanted Bailey out.

If so, and they didnt pass the word on, there are three aides who should be looking for new jobs.

If the aides did tell their bosses, that makes Atwater, Bondi and Putnam silent partners in what smells like a rotten deal.

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C omments ( to add a comment go here )

(Bloomberg) -- Cory Laws considered selling his house and moving to an updated property with his girlfriend. But he likes his neighborhood, so he decided to spend as much as $100,000 to remodel the Herndon, Virginia, home.

I bought the house for me and my two girls at the time, but theyre adults, said Laws, 61, whos already rebuilt one room and added mahogany floors to his basement to turn it into a guest apartment. Were morphing the house into our haven.

Laws is among U.S. property owners providing a boost to the $300 billion home-improvement industry. Spending on renovations may rise to a record this year as homeowners with low interest rates decide to stay put and remodel their existing homes, stimulus programs encourage energy-efficiency upgrades, and surging demand for rentals spur landlords to invest in their properties, according to a report released Thursday by Harvard Universitys Joint Center for Housing Studies.

Home improvements and repairs now generate about 1.8 percent of U.S. economic activity, slightly below the average over the past decade. As owners gain equity in their properties and rents continue to rise, investment in improvements to the nations housing stock is likely to strengthen, the center said in its study.

Homeowners in U.S. metropolitan areas, where incomes and property values tend to be higher, account for the majority of improvement spending, according to the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based center. From 2011 to 2013, spending rose 5 percent among urban homeowners, while falling 0.2 percent among non-metro households.

Especially in hot real estate markets such as Washington, D.C. -- where prices are rising and completed sales increased 8 percent in December from a year earlier, according to data provider RealEstate Business Intelligence LLC -- people are deciding to renovate rather than move, said Andreas Charalambous, principal of Forma Design.

Charalambous said his Washington-based interior architecture and design firm just completed its best year since its 1994 founding.

And its getting better, he said. People feel more comfortable with whats happening in the economy.

Owners in Washington spent the most on improvements, at $5,000 on average, in 2013, the last year the Harvard housing center studied. Boston homeowners followed, spending an average of $4,900. New York was the largest remodeling market, with more than $12 billion in total expenditures. Spending in Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia ranged from $4 billion to $7 billion, according to the report.

Shares of home-improvement chains Lowes Cos. and Home Depot Inc. have been rising. Lowes has soared 47 percent in the past year, and Home Depot has surged more than 33 percent.

Read more here:
Bloomberg the Company

Cory Laws considered selling his house and moving to an updated property with his girlfriend. But he likes his neighborhood, so he decided to spend as much as $100,000 to remodel the Herndon, Virginia,home.

I bought the house for me and my two girls at the time, but theyre adults, said Laws, 61, whos already rebuilt one room and added mahogany floors to his basement to turn it into a guest apartment. Were morphing the house into our haven.

Laws is among U.S. property owners providing a boost to the $300 billionhome-improvement industry. Spending on renovations may rise to a record this year as homeowners with low interest rates decide to stay put and remodel their existing homes, stimulus programs encourage energy-efficiency upgrades, and surging demand for rentals spur landlords to invest in their properties, according to a report released Thursday by Harvard Universitys Joint Center for Housing Studies.

Homeimprovements and repairs now generate about 1.8 percent of U.S. economic activity, slightly below the average over the past decade. As owners gain equity in their properties and rents continue to rise, investment in improvements to the nations housing stock is likely to strengthen, the center said in its study.

Homeowners in U.S. metropolitan areas, where incomes and property values tend to be higher, account for the majority of improvement spending, according to the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based center. From 2011 to 2013, spending rose 5 percent among urban homeowners, while falling 0.2 percent among non-metro households.

Renovation decision

Especially in hot real estate markets such as Washington, D.C. where prices are rising and completed sales increased 8 percent in December from a year earlier, according to data provider RealEstate Business Intelligence LLC people are deciding to renovate rather than move, said Andreas Charalambous, principal of Forma Design.

Charalambous said his Washington-based interior architecture and design firm just completed its best year since its 1994 founding.

And its getting better, he said. People feel more comfortable with whats happening in the economy.

Owners in Washington spent the most on improvements, at $5,000 on average, in 2013, the last year the Harvard housing center studied. Boston homeowners followed, spending an average of $4,900. New York was the largestremodelingmarket, with more than $12 billion in total expenditures. Spending in Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia ranged from $4 billion to $7 billion, according to the report.

See the rest here:
Remodels boom as homeowners choose upgrades over new houses

Michael Straessle

Michael Straessle has written professionally about the construction industry since 1988. He authored What a Strange Little Man, among other books, and his work has appeared in various online publications. Straessle earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in professional/technical writing.

Board and batten siding has been around for a long time. The most notable advantage for this type of siding is the ability to add insulation between the siding and the outside wall of the house. Patience is the key to installing board and batten siding because it does take a little longer to install. Once it is installed, it guarantees a look that will have passersby admiring the design. The amount of material needed for a specific project will depend on how large the project is. Another item to consider when installing board and batten siding is to seal them before installing them.

Board-and-batten siding is a vertical siding that consists of alternating boards, usually 6 to 8 inches wide, with battens 2 to 3...

Vinyl siding can add real beauty and a finished, clean look to any house. It comes in an amazing array of styles...

Board and batten siding is a rough style of planking that is often applied to barns and shedlike structures. The alternating vertical...

How to Install Wood Siding. ... How to Install Board & Batten Siding; How to Install Plywood Siding; DIY Wood Lap Siding...

Vertically oriented, wide planks, called "boards," form the base layer of board-and-batten siding. Siding installers fasten narrow planks, called "battens," over the...

Photo Credit Goodshoot/Goodshoot/Getty Images Hemera Technologies/AbleStock.com/Getty Images ... Board-and-batten siding is made up of wooden boards installed ...

Board and batten shutters are the simplest shutter type to make. Plank boards are combined to cover half the width of the...

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How to Install Board & Batten Siding | eHow

April 24, 1953 Jan. 22, 2015

Ronald Harvey of Buffalo, who worked for many years in the home construction and remodeling industry, died Jan. 22 in Erie County Medical Center. He was 61.

Born in Buffalo, he was a graduate of East High School. Mr. Harvey continued his studies at Erie Community College and began working in the field of heating and cooling, installation, carpentry and home improvement.

He was employed by Vastola Heating before to going to work for Dwight Hill Home Improvement for more than 20 years. While employed there, Mr. Harvey used his talents in carpentry, roofing and siding, masonry, woodworking, installing drywall and many other construction and remodeling projects. In addition, he was responsible for completing various interior and exterior renovations at the townhouses in the Ellicott Mall on the citys near East Side.

Mr. Harvey was eventually promoted to supervisor at the company and was responsible for overseeing the companys lead abatement projects with the city.

Mr. Harvey also worked for Ellicott Community Redevelopment Foundation for over 10 years and was responsible for renovating apartments, electrical and plumbing maintenance, as well as various groundskeeping duties. Periodically, he performed inspections at apartments owned by the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority. Mr. Harvey was a member of Local 200 of the Service Employees International Union, and was most recently employed by Thompson Construction Co.

He and his wife of 11 years, the former Ellen Wade, have been together for 32 years. In addition to her, he is survived by a son, Ronald Jr.; three brothers, Milo Jr., Rodney and Myron; and a sister, Anita.

A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday in Mount Olive Baptist Church, 701 E. Delavan Ave.

Originally posted here:
Ronald Harvey, worked for various construction companies