CTVNews.ca Staff Published Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012 8:54AM EDT Last Updated Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012 10:17PM EDT

A drop in the number of condominium and apartment building construction projects in Toronto slowed the pace of Canadian house starts last month, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said on Tuesday.

In its monthly report, the CMHC pointed to a dip in urban multiples starts in Ontario, specifically Toronto, as a primary reason why fewer homes were built in September.

The CMHC says there were 19,750 starts across the country last month, setting a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 220,215 a 3 per cent dip from last month.

Mathieu Laberge, deputy chief economist at CMHC, said in a statement that Septembers housing construction numbers were largely in line with the latest figures, save for an anticipated dip in multiple-home buildings.

As expected, the number of multiples starts in Ontario, particularly in Toronto, reverted back to a level more in line with the average pace of activity over the last six months, Laberge said..

Following a period of elevated housing starts activity due to strong volumes of multi-family unit pre-sales in 2010 and 2011, the pace of housing starts is expected to moderate.

The CMHC uses a seasonally adjusted annual rate calculation to account for swings in monthly estimates. The number is calculated by taking a monthly figure and extrapolating it over a 12-month period, adjusting it for seasonal variations.

In September, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 220,215, down from 225,328 in August.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of construction starts in urban centres decreased by 3 per cent in September to 203,731 units. Construction starts in rural areas stayed relatively constant at 16,484 units.

Read the original:
Drop in Ontario housing spurs national dip

WATERLOO, Iowa --- Strong winds fueled a two-building construction fire and threatened an occupied apartment building downwind before being contained Monday afternoon.

Waterloo firefighters were called to blaze at a partially constructed apartment building near Mount Olivet Cemetery on West Fourth Street shortly after 5 p.m.

When they arrived, crews were unable to stop flames from jumping to the other apartment building also under construction, according to part-owner of the buildings, DuWayne Wessels.

As the wind grew, there was no way they could contain it, Wessels said, watching firefighters continue to spray the blackened remains of both buildings.

Aided by the bare timber and wind, flames shot hundreds of feet in the air for more than half an hour. It also snaked along about 100 yards down a treeline, threatening an occupied apartment building and a garage further downwind.

No injuries were reported as of Monday night, and the cause hasnt been determined.

Pat Treloar, director of fire services for Waterloo, said crews will stay on the scene overnight to keep embers in check and protect the scene until morning when the investigation resumes.

Holly Markovic, who lives in an upstairs apartment at 3844 W. Fourth St., said her son came to her complaining that the apartment smelled like smoke.

Then I looked out the window and saw black smoke, she said.

She heard from a neighbor that someone had already called the fire department, so she went and knocked on her neighbors doors before evacuating the building.

Continued here:
UPDATE: 2 under-construction apartment buildings burn in Waterloo

But the developer's latest project is a lot closer in - at 81st Street and Mingo Road.

When finished next year, Cascata Apartments will have 286 units. Ground was broken for the $22 million project a few weeks ago.

Scott Case, vice president of Case & Associates Properties Inc., said the company has been building in the suburbs because land is relatively inexpensive and abundant. But an opportunity presented itself in southeast Tulsa.

"We paid a little more for the land, but we feel the rents and occupancy will justify it," Case said.

Case & Associates hasn't had trouble filling its most recent additions.

Properties such as Tuscany Hills, a 316-unit companion to Nickel Creek near Tulsa Hills, and the Park at Coffee Creek, a 228-unit facility in Owasso, quickly achieved occupancies around 93 percent, Case said.

That has encouraged the company to keep building.

"We've been fortunate to lease up everything we've built, so if we can continue to fill them up, we'll continue to build," Case said.

While single-family home sales and construction have improved significantly over the past year in metro Tulsa, Case said interest in apartment rental remains strong.

"Although interest rates are at historic lows, credit can be tight and hard to get approved," he said. "A lot of Generation X saw their homes get foreclosed, so I think some people are a little wary of jumping into a home."

See more here:
Cascata Apartments being built in southeast Tulsa

City officials approved plans for one downtown apartment building and heard two new development proposals for the downtown and campus areas Wednesday night.

The Urban Design Commission gave their final approval to The Alexander Company and architectural company Iconica for an 11-story multipurpose building at 306 W. Main St.

The development would consist of 164 condominium homes, 151 hotel rooms, as well as 92,500 square feet of commercial space.

Before construction can begin, both the Plan Commission and City Council must approve the proposal, according to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4. The Plan Commission will consider the proposal Oct. 15.

The UDC also heard informational presentations for two proposed downtown apartment developments from property owner Scott Faust and Knothe & Bruce Architects, LLC.

The first proposed building would be a five-story multi-family apartment complex with available underground parking. The proposed structure would replace current buildings at 202 and 210 N. Bassett St. as well as 512 and 520 W. Dayton St.

The building would offer 61 parking spaces as well as underground and surface bicycle stalls.

Code requirements say one bicycle space is necessary per unit, said Knothe & Bruce Architects managing member Randy Bruce. But I think the neighborhood likes one per bedroom and we are close to approaching that.

The building would also offer 20 underground moped stalls.

The second proposed building would be a 12-story apartment building at 313 and 315 N. Frances St. with the first floor being commercial space.

More:
City officials approve building proposal, hear two new development proposals for downtown area

A Madison developer is proposing two large apartment buildings near the Kohl Center and UW-Madison, continuing a surge of residential construction in the Downtown area.

Scott Faust is proposing to demolish two smaller residential buildings to build a 12-story tower at 313-315 N. Francis St. and to demolish four more residential buildings for a five-story apartment building at 202-222 N. Bassett and 510-520 W. Dayton streets. Both projects are targeted mainly to students but also would welcome young professionals.

The market for rental units is attractive, Faust said, noting it's become harder to afford single-family homes, the city has a low vacancy rate for rental units, and employees of booming Epic Systems in Verona are demanding housing in Downtown Madison.

Ald. Mike Verveer, 4th District, who represents the area, said the proposals continue "a renaissance of intense Downtown development" and have received a positive initial reception from residents.

"It's a clear sign the recession has ended in terms of Downtown Madison development, at least as it relates to rental housing," he said.

Verveer said some may bemoan the continuing loss of traditional houses Downtown, but the majority of buildings to be demolished for the projects have outlived their usefulness.

A neighborhood meeting is set for 7 p.m. on Oct. 24 at the Double Tree Hotel, 525 W. Johnson St.

Faust said he's wanted to redevelop the properties for some time but was inhibited by height restrictions in the city's Downtown design zone. Those were eliminated earlier this year as the city readied a new Downtown Plan and zoning code and map. The proposals fit the new plan and the proposed code, which will likely be adopted this month, he said.

The 12-story building would have first-floor commercial space, 42 apartments and 91 underground bicycle stalls. The building is near public parking and probably won't have parking for cars, Faust said.

The five-story building would have 71 apartments, 58 underground parking stalls and eight surface stalls, 112 bicycle stalls and 16 moped spaces.

Go here to see the original:
Two big apartment buildings proposed near Kohl Center, UW campus

2012-10-03 09:01

Cape Town - Construction workers renovating a Cape Town apartment building have found a rotting human body in a chest freezer.

They were refurbishing one of the citys most notorious blocks of flats - Senator Park in the CBD, which had become known as a prostitution and drug den, reported Eyewitness News.

The building is uninhabited at present after all the tenants were evicted and the units were welded shut to prevent squatters from moving in. The renovations started a month ago.

The Cape Times reported that the electricity supply had been disconnected when the renovations started. Workers found the freezer on the fifth floor and opened it, discovering the rotting meat which caused a "horrendous smell" in the room. They initially thought it was half a sheep, but then spotted "what looked like a sock".

Police were called in and forensics confirmed that it was a human body.

A murder docket was opened, and the body has not yet been identified.

Read this article:
Human body found in freezer

One Monday afternoon, construction workers were firing nails into the framework of what will be another new apartment building on the south edge of San Diego State. Between these new units and many others near Alvarado Hospital, there's been a boom in University-area housing.

Photo by Tom Fudge

Above: One new apartment building, and one under construction on Lindo Paseo, are an example of the increase in rental housing, aimed at San Diego State students.

"It's probably right around 2,000 beds that have either been recently delivered or will be very soon," said San Diego State architect Bob Schulz, who describes housing in terms of numbers of "beds" rather than apartment units.

A flurry of construction around the San Diego State campus seems to be transforming the long-time commuter campus into a very different campus community: One in which students live within walking distance of campus and find shopping and services they need nearby.

Schulz points out the university had no hand in planning or building the housing that's recently gone up. It's just the private sector responding to demand.

The San Diego State housing boom is driven by several trends and factors. One is a university master plan that aims to increase the student body to 35,000. There is also a growing number of students who aren't from San Diego, and a general desire to make SDSU less of a commuter campus.

Investment in housing, aimed at students, is happening all over the country. At the University of San Diego, 533 units are now being built on Linda Vista Road.

Following the collapse of single-family home prices, builders looked more and more to attached rental housing as their most valuable product.

View post:
Housing Construction Boom Transforms San Diego State

Construction is being done in four phases, with framing work being done on phase one while the foundation is being poured on phase four. Construction is scheduled to be complete in late April or early May next year.

"We're moving right along," said Sandra Lewis, executive director of the Day Center.

Construction was originally planned for 2011; however it was delayed until the total $7.1 million for the project was raised.

Hudson Villas is being supported through a combination of private donations from local foundations and grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

"We're pretty much building this debt-free," said Brian Darrough, Hudson Villas property manager.

The 36,000 square-foot complex will have 60 apartments, including four one-bedroom units for couples with the rest being single-room units.

"This is designed for people who need extra support to remain in housing," Lewis said.

The building, located in a gated area, will be staffed 24 hours a day and there will be case managers on site to provide assistance to residents and make sure they do what they have to do in order to remain in their apartments.

"Our goal is to do everything we can to help them stay housed," Lewis said. "This is for people who haven't had success in the past because of a lack of support and that's what we're going to provide them."

The complex is designed where anyone can pay market rate for a unit, $355 all bills paid; however, most of the tenants will be selected by the Day Center or recommended to the Day Center by other agencies.

Originally posted here:
Construction begins on apartments for the homeless

COLUMBUS Jane Evans Novicki remembers visiting her grandmother at the L-shaped apartment building that stood at the corner of 14th Street and 28th Avenue.

Rose North Evans lived in the two-story brick structure for less than a decade after moving there around 1947 and Novicki was just a child at the time but the building had a character to it that was hard to forget.

The biggest thing that everybody remembers about those places is that they had those Murphy beds, Novicki said, recalling nights spent on the bed that tucked inside the wall.

There were also card games, and many of them.

There was a bridge game going at all times in those apartments, Novicki recalled. They played lots and lots of cards.

Novicki guesses there was a card table in each of the 12 apartments during her grandmothers time there. The games would bring together the buildings tenants, including Edgar Howard, a former U.S. congressman, lieutenant governor, judge, attorney and long-time editor and publisher of The Telegram who lived around the corner from Evans in apartment 10.

Novicki remembers Howard as the man who smoked up a storm while living there with his daughter Mary.

The building, named the Whitmoyer Apartments at the time, was known for its prestige, which attracted some of the citys most prominent residents after its construction in the 1930s.

Evans was the daughter of James North, whose brothers Luther and Frank were the famed Indian scouts.

In its day, that was the place in town if people lived in an apartment, said Bud Fleischer, whose aunt Grace Schmid owned the property for 41 years. It was the elite.

Read the rest here:
Historic apartment building becomes vacant lot

By Alan Thomas athomas@mainlinemedianews.com

The Zoning Hearing Board of Tredyffrin Township heard an appeal from Strafford Station Apartments LLC regarding a proposed 10-unit apartment building and also from three residents seeking relief relevant to impervious coverage and setback restrictions Thursday night.

The board sitting for the appeals consisted of chair Nicholas Deenis, also Arnold Borish, Tara LaFiura and board solicitor Stacey Fuller. Decisions on the apartment plan and on a Yellow Springs Road project will be rendered at next months meeting, according to Deenis.

The application of Strafford Station Apartments, LLC was explained as a new, 10-unit building on the Strafford Station campus that will include community and fitness rooms and be restricted to residents who are age 55 and over.

The relief being asked for includes a variance from the maximum height requirement in order to construct the building with a roof peak 43 feet above ground level, a variance from a limit of six dwelling units, and a variance from the parking requirement of two-and-one-half parking spaces per dwelling unit. The developer and owner of the Strafford Station Apartments, Francis Iacobucci of Havertown, wants to provide 1.5 parking spaces adjacent to the building with additional spaces close by.

Iocobucci said that he could not find any 55-plus apartments in the area. A traffic study saw no significant traffic increases caused by the retirement-targeted project.

The application of Philip and Kamila Jodzio of Yellow Springs Rd, Malvern, was also continued until next month.

The Jodzios want to keep an existing carriage-house on the property for use as a non-commercial guest house while building a new house with a pool. The property and the requested relief from impervious limits are a problem because of steep slopes. Two neighbors had questions about storm water runoff and wanted more time to study the plan, although storm-water mangement measures are included in it.

The impervious coverage created by construction of the home and pool while considering the slopes would total 22.7 percent where the maximum impervious coverage permitted is 15 percent.

Applications of Joe and Roseann Murray of Friendship Rd, Paoli for 30 inches of relief to allow for the construction of a front-yard addition and an application of Ann and James Harris, of Mt. Pleasant Ave, Wayne, to allow for the construction of a garage that will encroach into a side-yard setback by seven-and-a-half feet, were both approved by the board.

Read more:
Tredyffrin zoning board hears Strafford Station Apartments appeal