Originally Published: February 13, 2014 12:02 PMModified: February 13, 2014 3:01 PM

Aragona Properties

The 5-story apartment building will be built on South Main Street, south of East Lincoln Avenue.

Aragona Properties

The development, which is awaiting building permits from the city, is located on South Main Street, south of East Lincoln Avenue.

Construction on a new five-story, 48-unit apartment building in downtown Royal Oak is expected to begin in the spring.

Clinton Township-based developer Aragona Properties LLC garnered financing for the project and now awaits building permits from the city, the developer confirmed today.

The development is planned for 1.5 acres of vacant land on South Main Street south of East Lincoln Avenue. Besides luxury apartments, plans call for first-floor retail space.

Paul Aragona, CEO of Aragona Properties, said construction on the $13.5 million project is expected to be complete by the first quarter of 2015.

The building would be about 73,000 square feet, according to Marty Smith, principal at Southfield-based Siegal/Tuomaala Associates Architects & Planners Inc., the architecture firm on the project.

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5-story Royal Oak apartment building to break ground in spring

This morning, Statistics Canada released the fourth quarter figures for the Apartment Building Construction Price Index (ABCPI), which tracks changes in contractors selling prices of new apartment buildings.

This not seasonally adjusted index remained unchanged from the third quarter at 146.0, and is up 1.0 percent year-over-year.

The ABCPI measures price fluctuations in seven major Canadian metropolitan areas (Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa-Gatineau, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver), and is weighted by relative importance.

Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver comprise over 85 percent of the index.

Annual price appreciation was muted throughout 2013, keeping pace with the rate of inflation:

Heres how the results stacked up by metropolitan area:

As you can see, the only cities that saw year-over-year price growth that exceeded the national average were the ones west of Toronto, with Vancouver outperforming all other metros by a fairly wide margin.

Though an immense amount of high-rises are under construction, multi-family home values seeing far less of an increase in value than single-family homes across the country.

Such results reinforce the notion that the Canadian housing markets heyday has come and gone, and that real estate is in store for a cooling period though not a U.S.-style crash.

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In 2013, The Growth In Selling Prices Of New Apartment ...

Print Create a hardcopy of this page Font Size: Default font size Larger font size Salt Lake City blaze caused $1.5 million in damage

Firefighters battle a four-alarm fire in Salt Lake City, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014. Lennie Mahler/The Salt Lake Tribune

Firefighters battle an apartment fire in Salt Lake City, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014. The apartment building that was under construction. Agency spokesman Jasen Asay told The Associated Press that the Fire Department did a walkthrough of the building on Saturday. Lennie Mahler/The Salt Lake Tribune

Posted: Monday, February 10, 2014 2:34 pm | Updated: 2:45 pm, Mon Feb 10, 2014.

Salt Lake City blaze caused $1.5 million in damage By Brady McCombs AP Writer SantaFeNewMexican.com |

SALT LAKE CITY A major blaze at a vacant downtown Salt Lake City apartment complex that could be seen for miles and brought onlookers from around the metro area caused at least $1.5 million in damage, fire investigators said Monday.

The cause of the four-alarm Sunday night blaze remained unknown, Salt Lake City Fire Department spokesman Jasen Asay said. Investigators cant begin digging through the ashes until inspectors determine if the remaining walls of the 40-foot-tall building are stable. They havent ruled out arson, but Asay says its too early to speculate.

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Salt Lake City blaze caused $1.5 million in damage

Flames and smoke from a fire engulfing an apartment building under construction in downtown Salt Lake City could be seen for miles, but it was almost completely extinguished Sunday night, the Fire Department said.

The blaze at 550 E. 500 South was under control but not completely out, Salt Lake City Fire Department spokesman Jasen Asay told The Associated Press. No one was inside the 40-foot-tall building, and no one was hurt.

Flames shot high in the air and winds flung embers, Asay said, prompting several 911 calls starting at 6 p.m. A Smith's grocery store and parking lot across the street and several nearby structures, including residential buildings, were evacuated as a precaution, he said. Some people have returned, and most should be able to get back in Sunday night, Asay added.

The spokesman estimated that more than 100 onlookers gathered to watch the dramatic flames, prompting the closure of areas surrounding the building for safety.

Sarah Preston was standing more than a half-block away.

"You could just feel the heat," she told The Salt Lake Tribune ( http://bit.ly/1eM0ylc).

Another onlooker, Kitti Smit, told the newspaper: "I've never seen anything like it before."

A cause of the fire was not yet known. Asay says he talked to the construction company, which he did not name, and said no work was being done Sunday, no utilities have been hooked up and there was no heating source.

The Fire Department did a walkthrough of the building on Saturday as it continued to monitor the progress of construction, Asay said, adding that it was in compliance. Investigators were interviewing witnesses and the company.

Exposed wood at the under-construction building allowed the fire to grow quickly, so crews pulled out and battled it from the outside over fears the structure would collapse, Asay said. About 60 firefighters responded. They worked to keep flames away from a large crane they feared would topple if it got too hot, Asay said.

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Salt Lake City blaze in building seen for miles

SALT LAKE CITY It was hard to miss the 4-alarm fire in downtown Salt Lake City on Sunday night, as evidenced by the crowds of people who lined the sidewalk to catch sight of a blaze that became as big a spectacle as it was an emergency.

There were so many flames coming down that we had to move, said Prescott Dunn, who filmed the fire from the Smiths parking lot across the street.

On Monday, Dunn and several others returned to the site to see construction crews begin demolishing a portion of the structure.

It puts it into perspective that something like that could happen, Dunn said.

The 64,000-square-foot building was supposed to house 61 new apartments upon completion, but after burning for hours, only its skeletal remains were left standing.

The fire last night was just giant, a lot of flames, a lot of damage done, said Jasen Asay, spokesman for the Salt Lake City Fire Department.

Because of the extensive damage, fire investigators were not able to go inside the property on Monday due to safety concerns. Construction crews knocked out the top floors of the structure to remove any obvious dangers, though, and Asay expected fire officials to enter the property by Tuesday.

Per protocol, the building had just been inspected by the city fire marshal on Saturday, leaving much room for speculation as to what happened between then and when the fire started.

The cause for this fire is still open and it could be a lot of different things, Asay said. And were not ready to get worried, or to be concerned about something when we dont have any reason to be concerned about that yet.

Investigators were expected to enter the property on Wednesday.

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Crowds return to site of apartment building consumed by flames

COURTESY OF PRESBYTERIAN VILLAGES OF MICHIGAN

Presbyterian Villages of Michigan is in the midst of the second phase of development of Rivertown Neighborhood. An independent living apartment building (upper left) is under construction and expected to be completed in July. PVM plans to begin renovating an existing building on the site to provide an alternative to nursing home care.

Presbyterian Villages of Michigan is in the second phase of development at its $43.5 million Rivertown Neighborhood near Detroit's east riverfront.

After opening an affordable assisted living complex in one of two former Parke-Davis manufacturing facilities on the Detroit campus last spring, Southfield-based PVM and Chelsea-based United Methodist Retirement Communities Inc. began construction of a $7.5 million independent senior apartment building in the fall. The four-story, 50-unit building, which is just under 50,000 square feet, is expected to open in July.

The development, and existing Rivertown complex, is at McDougall Avenue and Franklin Street, two streets south of Jefferson Avenue.

PVM President and CEO Roger Myers

"The demand for that building has been the greatest we've ever seen," said PVM President and CEO Roger Myers.

More than 300 people have expressed interest in living there, but PVM won't begin taking applications until late March, he said.

With a $2 million grant from the Baltimore-based Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation in hand, PVM is getting ready to begin renovations on a second existing building on the site in August.

The 20,000-square-foot building, adjacent to the assisted living center, will be home to the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Green Houses on its upper floors. An alternative to nursing home care, the houses will provide a home-like setting, with 10-12 private rooms for senior citizens, a communal kitchen and living areas, social programming and 24-hour nursing care. PVM plans to put a cafe on the ground floor.

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Rivertown seniors development in 2nd phase

Another image from a construction fire in Salt Lake City near 550 E. 500 South, Sunday, Feb 9, 2014.

Mindy Hatch

SALT LAKE CITY An entire apartment building under construction at 550 E. 500 South went up in flames, Sunday.

Flames from the building shot up 150 feet. Salt Lake City Fire Department responded with four alarms.

No one was in the building when the fire started. The fire was upgraded to four-alarm shortly before 6:30 p.m.

Around 6:45, nearby homes and a Smith's Marketplace across the street were evacuated. There was concern embers from the fire were landing on nearby rooftops.

The Utah Department of Transportation sent out a tweet saying 500 South was closed from 400 East to 500 East. That road closure could stay in effect throughout the night.

Almost 100 firefighters responded to the fire. The Red Cross is on scene to provide relief for those firefighters.

Smoke and flames from the fire could be seen across the valley, and some witnessed embers shooting out from the building for several feet. As of 7:30 p.m., the fire was under control and smoldering.

Updates will be posted when available.

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Blaze breaks out in building under construction in Salt Lake City

The systemic failure by cost-cutting apartment developers to build fire-safe apartment blocks in New Zealand's major city is being kept under wraps by secret legal settlements.

The Sunday Star-Times has learned of a number of secret settlements to homeowners involving professional fire engineers and the Auckland Council for sub-standard fire systems in multi-unit dwellings although the council denies its involvement.

While the fire safety problems are not restricted to Auckland or apartment buildings, the Star-Times understands settlements so far have related to Auckland apartment complexes.

The fire engineers are on the hook if they have certified systems that don't meet the required building consent conditions while the building consent authority is legally liable under the Building Act to ensure the consent documents accurately reflect the work carried out before issuing a code compliance certificate.

The leaky building crisis has been well publicised. But lawyers for leaky building claimants say around one in five claims for defective and shoddily-constructed apartment blocks also involve claims to fix faulty and sub-standard fire systems.

Leaky building litigator Paul Grimshaw's firm currently represents about 6000 clients with leaky properties; the majority are body corporates for apartment blocks in Auckland.

He says the problems with apartment buildings would be better described as construction defects rather than weathertightness issues.

"Leaking doesn't really cover it . . . There are fire issues, there are structural issues, there are cladding issues."

He says builders and developers have cut corners by not correctly fire rating buildings.

Inadequate fire rating means a building will burn too quickly, not slowing the spread of fire enough to allow residents to escape, or may cause the building to collapse.

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Secret fire-safety deals

In August, a subcontractor working for a contractor who was supposed to perform renovations instead gutted the interior and sold the fixtures for scrap.

VENICE - A historic apartment building on the island of Venice that seemed destined for the wrecking ball is instead headed on a course toward renovation and revival.

When completed, the building should look like it did in 1926, said Ernest Ritz, owner of Ritz Construction Corp. in Sarasota whom the owner hired to perform the extensive makeover.

The Rose Hill East Apartments, 504 Armada Road South, is one of several residential buildings in a historic district within walking distance of downtown. The renowned town planner John Nolen specifically designated the area for apartments that could be rented by the city's working population a crucial component of his vision to make Venice a diverse, walkable town.

We still need these apartments for the workforce here, James Hagler, the city's historical resources director, said.

In August, Glen Jones father of the property owner, Tracy de Chevron Villette appeared before the city's Architectural Review Board to seek a demolition permit for the building.

Without permission, a subcontractor working for a contractor who was supposed to perform renovations, instead gutted the interior and sold the fixtures for scrap.

When he sought the demolition permit, Jones presumed the Mediterranean Revival structure had no historical significance.

Expressing doubts, the review board immediately summoned Hagler.

Hagler explained that Rose Hill East, which The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers hired M.G. Worrell of Tampa to build, is of historical significance because of the John Nolen connection.

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Historic Venice apartment building to be restored

The long-awaited Penfield is officially open.

St. Paul leaders gathered Thursday morning for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the downtown apartment building at Robert and Tenth streets.

Envisioned nearly a decade ago as a luxury condo high-rise that would change the St. Paul skyline, the Penfield project was scaled back over the years to fit market trends.

What got built was a $62 million, block-long building that stands six stories tall and features 254 apartments. The project also includes a parking garage and a Lunds grocery that will open May 15. Construction took about two years.

"The Penfield is another example of downtown's development momentum," Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman said at Thursday opening. He noted a number of nearby projects in the works, from the Lowertown Ballpark to the Central Corridor that will begin running in June.

"We have a lot to look forward to celebrating this year," he said.

The Penfield has gone through various designs since its inception.

Plans in 2005 called for a $117 million, 40-story glass-and-steel tower of condominiums and townhomes. Other proposals since had included a hotel and a shortened tower at 30 stories. A development partnership, Alatus and Sherman Rutzick & Associates, backed out when the housing market collapsed during the recession.

The city stepped in and served as the developer itself, having recently developed the five-story Lofts at Farmers Market, a 56-unit luxury rental building in Lowertown that opened in 2012.

The city approved a tax-increment financing district for the building, which will recycle $15 million -- 25 years of property taxes generated by the site -- back into project development. It will be owned by the Saint Paul Housing and Redevelopment Authority and managed and marketed by Village Green Residential Properties.

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St. Paul celebrates Penfield opening; Lunds' first day is May 15