Construction is starting on the final $8.2 million phase of a south Richland apartment complex.

And plans are in the works to begin the first phase of a 642-unit apartment complex near Cottonwood Elementary School in Kennewick's Southridge area.

The out-of-state developers for the apartment projects are adding units that may help meet the demand for more Tri-City rental housing.

While the area's rental market has improved, thanks to about 15 new apartment projects in the past three years, real estate experts say there remains a demand for more rental housing in the growing area.

The Tri-Cities' apartment vacancy rate was 4.6 percent in March 2013, a definite improvement from the tight vacancy rate of 2 percent and less that made apartment hunting difficult for Tri-Citians in 2010 and 2011.

But developers aim for a 5 percent vacancy rate, which allows time for maintenance and repair, according to experts.

The city of Richland recently issued building permits to Bender Development LP of Hillsboro, Ore., to add eight stucco-sided apartment buildings to Belle Vista Apartments.

The second and final phase of the Belle Vista Apartments will add 106 units just east of the current complex, said Rick Simon, Richland's development services manager.

The two-story buildings at 2101 Steptoe St. will include 86 one-bedroom units and 20 two-bedroom units, according to city documents. The new residents will share the recreational building and swimming pool that is already in use by residents of the complex, which was built in 2004 and includes one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom units.

Belle Vista Apartments is one of eight apartment complexes in Washington and Oregon owned by Bender Equities, owned by Fred and Kevin Bender.

Read this article:
Apartment projects could help fulfill some Tri-City rental demand

The architectural drawings and pictorial slides on display at the public meeting Tuesday evening in the auditorium of the Buffalo History Museum had an assured and settled-in look, as if the three-story mixed-use retail and apartment building they depicted in the heart of the Elmwood Village were already standing there.

If all goes well, it will be standing there about a year from now, tucked tightly into a double lot at 766 and 770 Elmwood Ave., currently a parking lot between the Globe Market and the 7-Eleven store at the corner of Elmwood and Auburn Avenue.

The preliminaries are almost complete, but before the project goes to the citys Planning Board, the developer The Benchmark Group and the architect Karl Frizlen of The Frizlen Group needed to hear what people in the neighborhood think.

About three dozen braved the single-digit temperature to voice concerns about parking, the appearance of the building and its impact on nearby streets and businesses.

Martin J. DelleBovi, director of real estate for Benchmark, which also owns the former supermarket building across the street at 765 Elmwood that houses Spot Coffee and Panera Bread, said the new structure would include four small retail shops on the ground floor and 24 one- and two-bedroom apartments upstairs, all with balconies and underground parking.

Several residents expressed concern about how trucks and other construction activities would disrupt that block of Elmwood. DelleBovi assured them that the construction schedule had been stretched from 4 months to 9 months so that only two contracting companies would be working at the same time. Trucks, he said, would park in the Spot Coffee/Panera lot across the street.

Frizlen, who also designed new mixed-use buildings at 504 Elmwood and 448 Elmwood at Bryant Street, talked about how he made modifications to his original plan to soften the facade, which includes precast limestone and lap siding panels, to reflect the character of the neighborhood.

Several residents criticized the look of the building as too modern, too flat or too much like the building at Elmwood and Bryant.

Dan Sack took Frizlen to task for the pre-cast limestone. Its not limestone. Its made to look like limestone. Its a cheap imitation, he contended.

He also cited a wall of concrete blocks facing Grenway Alley at the rear of the building. Its a street, he asserted. Concrete block is not allowed to be visible from any street.

See the original post:
Elmwood Village residents voice concerns about proposed building on parking lot site

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) - After a massive 5-alarm fire on MLK last August destroyed an under-construction apartment building and damaged nearby homes, some of the residents were approached by a company offering a helping hand.

Representatives for water restoration companies approached them and convinced some into signing contracts for service at a low cost -- only to be slapped with bills for thousands of dollars.

One woman who contacted KOIN 6 News got a bill for $3300.

Rep. Chip Shields, D-Portland, is now drafting legislation to protect victims of disaster like this. The company also target people whose homes are damaged by breaking pipes, floods or wind damage. One provision would be to prevent businesses from coming within 1000 feet of a scene without an invitation.

"I think anyone is vulnerable under those circumstances," said Canby Fire Chief Ted Kunze. "Before she know it she was being approached by these restoration companies and being pressured into signing a contract for them to do the work, to clean her apartment."

KOIN 6 News found some some companies -- also known as fire chasers -- listen to scanner to find out when and where disasters are happening.

"I just don't think it's appropriate to respond unsolicited," said Kunze, who is also the president of the Oregon Fire Chiefs Association.

Some victims who filed a complaint with the Oregon Department of Justice named a company called Servpro Restoration. A spokesperson did not return KOIN 6 News calls and emails for comment, but many of their stores do have policies prohibiting unsolicted business.

Lawmakers want to hear from anyone who has been a victim of this tactic.

Kunze said people can always call the fire department for help. "Every fire department has an incident commander," he said.

Read the rest here:
After the fire, the predators arrive

It towers over the west-end London house where Anna Hopkins lives, a massive highrise she fought for a decade.

That same fight, over the $20-million apartment building carved into a forested hillside, gave the 58-year-old rare expertise about the most complex issue at city hall development.

Now, the political neophyte is making a run for city council, stepping out of the Reservoir Hill highrises shadow with knowledge she earned the hard way.

Hopkins led a decade-long neighbourhood fight against plans to build a highrise on Reservoir Hill, along Springbank Dr. near Byron, a battle that ended in 2012 when council approved a huge building on the slope.

Unlike most rookie wannabe politicians, that experience would make Hopkins ready and able to tackle complicated development matters if she wins.

I am truly interested in land-use planning and how the process works, said Hopkins, who plans to file her nomination papers this week.

Planning is something thats very complicated, she said. But its a really big part of what I think sitting (on council) is about.

While shes moved on from the Reservoir Hill battle with Ayerswood Development Corp., its hard to forget it.

Hopkins now lives in the shadow of the building, which to the naked eye looks unusually large for the plot of land.

In May 2012, the 12-storey, 165-unit apartment tower was approved in a 10-5 council vote. The heavily wooded, steep slope overlooking Springbank Park was cleared and built upon (construction appears to be near-completion now).

Visit link:
One highrise, one house, a city hall wannabe is born

By Matt Rocheleau, Town Correspondent

A development company is seeking city approval to build a 108-unit apartment building in Allston along the same block of Brainerd Road where the company opened a 100-unit apartment building in the summer and recently began construction on another 79-unit complex.

About half of the units would be studios and the rest would be one-bedroom apartments, said company founder and chairman Bruce Percelay. He said there would also be a roof-top fitness center that connects to an outdoor roof patio, "so you can work out and then chill out."

The building would span two parcels at 75 Brainerd Road and 10 Redford St., which together comprise just over a half acre. The properties have housed a single-story warehouse building, which was recently razed, and an auto repair shop, which will soon be torn down.

State records show the developer bought the Brainerd Road property for $2.5 million in July. Percelay declined to say how much the company will spend to buy the Redford Street property or how much the project would cost.

He noted that the final plans for the project are subject to approval, and thus there is potential for change.

"This plan is our intention, but we're still awaiting city and neighborhood approval," Percelay said.

The proposed building would join a two-block area that the prominent Back Bay-based real estate company recently dubbed the Green District.

The company has taken an environmentally-friendly focus at several apartment buildings it owns and leases there, including at two new developments one of which achieved LEED Silver status and the other LEED Gold.

Percelay said the proposed project at 75 Brainerd Road hopes to achieve the highest energy efficient rating of LEED Platinum.

The rest is here:
Building with 108 apartments eyed for growing 'Green District' near Allston, Brookline border

KAPAHULU, OAHU (HawaiiNewsNow) -

When it's dry and sunny, residents along Palani Avenue go about their daily lives. But when it rains and pours, there's a flooding issue here, especially for the residents of one apartment building off Date Street.

The parking garage at 707 Palani Avenue is below ground. And when heavy rain causes water to rush down the street, a lot of that water ends up in the garage, just like it did in 2012, submerging cars and the stairways to individual units.

Lance Katahara and other residents have complained to the city about the problem for years. But they've been even more nervous this year, since the city is in a $1.4 million project to try to fix the problem.

"We want this done as much as they do. We know they've been waiting a long time," said City Council member Ann Kobayashi. "And I really apologize for all the delays and the concerns, all the problems they've had to deal with."

In the meantime, the storm drains just in front of the building are covered to mitigate construction debris from the project to replace the storm drains, which means residents still have their contingency plans. Katahara brought several sand bags, which are placed on rolling pallets in the garage.

"We had sandbags before, but carrying 50-pound bags up, one at a time up that ramp, is not fun," he said.

Residents of other buildings say the flooding has plagued the whole neighborhood along the street, which runs between Kapahulu Avenue and Date Street.

Arnold Tang showed us how high the water gets in the garage of his apartment building, farther up the block toward Kapahulu.

"You see the mark? There's yellow, right here," Tang said, pointing to a mark along the garage wall. "Eight inches high."

Visit link:
Kapahulu area residents hope long-delayed project will fix flooding

In the latest addition to a relentless Downtown housing boom, developer Les Orosz is proposing a roughly $21 million, 12-story apartment building southeast of Capitol Square.

Orosz is seeking to demolish buildings at 425, 431 and 435 W. Johnson St. for the project, which will offer 148 apartments with four levels of underground parking. The development team is also exploring the possibility of mechanical valet parking, in which cars would be mechanically taken to storage spaces in a garage that would require less room than a standard garage.

The developer has been trying to assemble the site for more than a decade and is moving ahead now due to demand and low interests rates and construction costs, said architect John Sutton, who is working with architect Doug Kozel on the project.

The site is especially attractive because the new zoning code permits 12 stories there, Sutton said. That places a real value on the land, he said. Not all locations can go that tall.

The building, which would have a glass, metal and masonry exterior, fits the new Downtown Plan and Zoning Code, Sutton said.

The project, which would be geared to young professionals, would have a mix of one- and two-bedroom units with wood floors, high ceilings and decks, Sutton said.

The properties to be demolished include a two-story brick commercial building and two three-story wood frame structures used for student housing. The existing structures have no historic value, Sutton said.

Davy Mayer, president of Capitol Neighborhoods, Inc., said he has not seen detailed plans but isnt surprised to see another big housing project proposed.

The Downtown is a good place to live, he said. We want people to come here to live. When projects are within zoning, we welcome that.

Of the demolitions and the loss of lower-cost housing, Mayer said, Its always hard to lose this housing, even if its not historically significant. But more housing can ease the citys low apartment vacancy rate, he said.

See the original post:
Developer proposing another big Downtown housing project

Given the potential market for affordable apartments, particularly in urban locations, developers increasingly are interested in building micro-unit projects.

Near the Districts Logan Circle, developer Brook Rose is planning an eight-story apartment building containing 38 units, of which 32 are micro-units ranging in size from 280 to 350 square feet. Rising behind three existing rowhouses on Church Street NW, the project might not include parking if the Board of Zoning Adjustment approves in which case any tenant with a car will not receive a street parking permit.

(Roger K. Lewis for The Washington Post)

A look at some of our favorite images of the week.

The former Latham Hotel at 30th and M Streets in Georgetown might be transformed into a mixed-use building containing more than 100 micro-units. And the JBG Companies, according to a company source, is exploring several future projects in which micro-units would be included.

You might be thinking that micro-unit is just another term for efficiency apartment. Why this new, trendy terminology?

A micro-unit is, in fact, a very small apartment, typically smaller in floor area than a one-bedroom apartment and smaller than many efficiency and studio apartments. A micro-unit can be comparable in size to a hotel room.

One-bedroom apartments rarely are smaller than 500 square feet, while efficiency apartments usually range in size from 350 to 450 square feet. Micro-units commonly encompass 250 to 350 square feet. Its worth noting that under District regulations, the floor area of a dwelling in a multi-unit building generally must be at least 220 square feet.

Clearly, compactness characterizes the micro-unit trend. But other attributes differentiate micro-unit development from conventional apartment development.

As a Google-based mosaic of images shows, micro-unit interiors can be more inventively configured and elaborately designed than many efficiency apartments. Intended to accommodate one and perhaps two individuals, micro-units often include built-in furniture and storage systems, plus a complete bathroom and efficiently configured kitchen. With greater-than-average ceiling height, a micro-unit can feel relatively spacious and offer a sleeping loft floating above a small portion of the space.

Excerpt from:
More developers want your next home to be a micro-unit

EDMONTON - Apartment buildings are sprouting up across Edmonton at a rate not seen in recent memory.

There are 46 apartment developments under construction in the region, according to commercial real estate firm CBRE. Those projects will add about 5,000 new rental units to the market.

An average year prior to the building boom would have been 1,000, said Bradyn Arth, an associate with CBREs national apartment group Edmonton office.

The last time Edmonton saw similar volumes of apartment construction was in the late 1970s and early 1980s, according to Bradley Gingerich, senior vice-president of CBREs Edmonton group.

The biggest story is new construction, said Gingerich. Its really unprecedented.

Sales of apartment buildings are also high as investors look to capitalize on the regions razor-thin vacancy rate and population growth.

We just see tremendous activity in the market on resale as well as new development, Arth said.

Sales volume involving existing apartment buildings totalled more than $301.5 million in 2013, up 35 per cent year-over-year. There were 51 buildings which changed hands, involving more than 2,200 suites.

Landlords are responding to Edmontons tight vacancy rate and rapidly growing population. The number of people moving to Alberta for work has pushed down the vacancy rate to 1.2 per cent in Edmonton during the last three months of 2013, according to CBREs fourth-quarter market report. Thats even lower than the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.s fall rental market vacancy rate of 1.4 per cent. A year earlier, it was 1.7 per cent.

Net migration into Alberta reached 86,939 in 2012 and is projected at 95,600 in 2013 and 68,100 in 2014, says the CMHC.

See original here:
Apartment building boom in Edmonton area will add 5,000 rental units

Green Bay -

Green Bay fire crews are investigating what caused a fire in an underground parking garage at an apartment building on Green Bay's east side.

The fire broke out about 8 a.m. Thursday at the Nicolet Apartments in the 200 block of Huth Street.

Heavy black smoke could be seen pouring from the building, and evacuated residents looked on with worry as crews worked to control the fire.

"Terrifying, I guess because all of my stuff is in there. My car is down there where all the smoke is coming from," said resident Amanda Delveaux.

Delveaux says she got out before crews arrived.

"The fire alarm was going off, so I looked outside to see if there was smoke or anything. I didn't see anything, but started to pack a bag and grab my cat. So then my apartment started to fill with smoke and I got out right away," she said.

No one was hurt. Officials say they were able to contain the fire to the parking structure, and flames did not spread to the apartments above. Investigators believe the construction of the building helped prevent the situation from becoming something much worse.

"The structure had concrete, a concrete ceiling, and all the little holes that would poke through during construction were properly sealed up. That's why it wasn't able to spread," said Lt. Nick Craig, Green Bay Metro Fire Department. "A lot different than an older building that doesn't have the fire precautions built into it."

The American Red Cross said displaced residents were evacuated to Green Bay Preble where volunteers assessed their needs. The Green Bay Metro Fire Department says residents may be able to return to their apartments sometime Thursday. An engineer will check electrical wiring to make sure it's safe.

Link:
Green Bay Apartment Fire Contained to Parking Garage