Enlarge Paul Sakuma/AP

The housing market still has a long way to go before a full recovery is under way. The current pace of construction is barely half the rate considered healthy.

The housing market still has a long way to go before a full recovery is under way. The current pace of construction is barely half the rate considered healthy.

U.S. builders started work on slightly fewer homes in February. But they began laying the ground work for a turnaround later this year by requesting the most building permits in any month since October 2008.

The Commerce Department said Tuesday that builders broke ground on a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 698,000 homes last month. That's down 1.1 percent from January's revised level of 706,000, also the highest since October 2008.

Building permits, a gauge of future construction, jumped 5.1 percent last month to 717,000. Two-thirds are for single-family homes, which are critical to a housing recovery.

It can take up to 12 months for a builder to obtain a permit and construct a single-family home.

Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, said he expects further gains over the next few months, based on a measure of builder confidence that has increased in five of the past six months.

"Housing will add to growth all year, and beyond," Shepherdson said.

Seasonally adjusted annual rate, in thousands

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Home Construction Slows, But Building Plans Surge

ELKO The permitting of two new buildings in the Rabbit Brush Run apartment complex helped boost the City of Elkos February fees for building permits up roughly six and a half times what they were a year ago $283,887 compared with $44,505 in February 2011.

The two buildings amounted to a total of 14 permits issued, at $2.2 million in valuation, according to figures released by the City of Elkos building department.

The residential is whats helping us at this time, said Building Official Ted Schnoor.

The number of permits issued in February was 146 nearly double the 75 permits issued during the same month last year.

The 146 permits had a valuation of $4.1 million, compared with 75 permits with a total valuation of $1 million in February 2011.

Single-family dwellings amounted to $1.4 million in permit valuations, and $81,627 in permit fees for the city.

Fifty-six permits were issued for the construction of eight new homes. Five new houses in Brookwood Estates were permitted, as well as three in the Spanish Gardens II subdivision.

The residential growth is not expected to slow down anytime soon, as Schnoor estimates March will end with similar results.

The trend is continuing. ... It looks like were going to be issuing quite a few residential permits.

With a higher than average number of applications coming through, there is at least a six-week wait on permits.

Read the original here:
Going Up ...More buildings at Rabbit Brush Run apartments

ELKO The permitting of two new buildings in the Rabbit Brush Run apartment complex helped boost the City of Elkos February fees for building permits up roughly six and a half times what they were a year ago $283,887 compared with $44,505 in February 2011.

The two buildings amounted to a total of 14 permits issued, at $2.2 million in valuation, according to figures released by the City of Elkos building department.

The residential is whats helping us at this time, said Building Official Ted Schnoor.

The number of permits issued in February was 146 nearly double the 75 permits issued during the same month last year.

The 146 permits had a valuation of $4.1 million, compared with 75 permits with a total valuation of $1 million in February 2011.

Single-family dwellings amounted to $1.4 million in permit valuations, and $81,627 in permit fees for the city.

Fifty-six permits were issued for the construction of eight new homes. Five new houses in Brookwood Estates were permitted, as well as three in the Spanish Gardens II subdivision.

The residential growth is not expected to slow down anytime soon, as Schnoor estimates March will end with similar results.

The trend is continuing. ... It looks like were going to be issuing quite a few residential permits.

With a higher than average number of applications coming through, there is at least a six-week wait on permits.

Read the rest here:
More buildings at Rabbit Brush Run apartments

Spain is littered with vacant lots and half-built apartment complexes, where developers ran out of money when the construction bubble burst.

But in one Madrid barrio, neighbors are putting an abandoned tract of urban space to creative use.

Behind a chain link fence, in a dusty weed-filled lot between two soaring apartment blocks, Emilio de la Rosa is planting vegetables.

"Different types of products garlic, beans, tomatoes, lettuce," he says. "We're teaching our children where tomatoes come from not from the grocery store, but the ground."

A generation ago, this was farmland just outside Madrid's city center. But Spain's economy boomed in the 1990s, and municipalities sold off land to developers. Credit and labor were cheap, and condos went up fast.

Then the bubble burst, leaving Spain littered with half-built houses, or land cleared for construction that never began. That's allowed de la Rosa and his neighbors to obtain a one-year permit to create an urban garden, on land slated for development.

"The idea is, with this type of land OK sure, it might be built on tomorrow, but today it's not going to be, because look around at all the empty housing here," he says. "So this is a timely project. This land has spent a ton of years empty. So fine, if they want to build a commercial center here, go for it. Just give me one year to grow my seeds."

More Houses Than Families

People here joke that Spain's construction boom left the country with at least two houses for every family. More than 600,000 homes are for sale nationwide. But the real surplus could be much larger. Most aren't on the market. They're owned by banks, or developers who've gone under.

Jesus Maldonado, who teaches urban planning at a university in Madrid, uses this example of open land and half-built houses to teach his students what not to do in the future. "With the already-built houses, if developers can no longer pay, they get transferred to banks, which will eventually sell them," he says. "Sure, they'll lose money on the deal. But it's better to lose a little bit even half your money than the whole thing."

Continued here:
After Spain's Construction Bust, Gardens Bloom

1:00 AM

AUGUSTA

Three families homeless after apartment house fire

A fire chased three families out of an apartment building on Hospital Street on Friday afternoon, but no one was injured.

Augusta Fire Department Battalion Chief Ed Charles said the state Fire Marshal's Office is investigating how and where the fire started in the four-unit building at 208 Hospital St.

The fire was reported at 2:43 p.m. and was burning strong when firefighters arrived five minutes later.

"I'm not sure how that got past everyone that was driving up and down the highway," he said. "When we got there, there was fire showing over the top of the roof."

Hallowell resident William Bowden, who owns the building, said he bought it four years ago and had put in a new roof and windows. Three of the units were occupied, and he planned to renovate the empty apartment so he and his wife could downsize by moving in.

"I've been a landlord for 35 years, and this is the first fire," Bowden said. "I've never had to deal with anything like this."

Bowden said he believes that residents of all three occupied apartments were home when the fire started. They all made it out safely.

Excerpt from:
Dispatches

by Emily Adams The Daily Home

Construction on Coosa Village Apartments began a few weeks ago in Sylacauga. The complex on 13th Street will house residents age 55 and older. Photo by Bob Crisp/The Daily Home

The future Coosa Village Apartments is on about 15 acres on West 13th Street.

Plans for the 53,588 square-foot complex include 56 one-story, brick units with a layout similar to duplexes.

There will be 25 one-bedroom units, two one-bedroom handicapped units and one one-bedroom unit for the sensory impaired. Plans also include 26 two-bedroom units, one two-bedroom handicapped and one two-bedroom for the sensory impaired.

Each one-bedroom unit will be about 820 square feet, and the two-bedroom apartments will be about 1,000 square feet.

The complex will include a community building, mail center and gazebo, as well as 112 parking spaces for residents and guests.

Coosa Village Apartments, Ltd. chose Sylacauga in response to the citys large population of senior citizens.

A 2010 census from the U.S. Census Bureau showed of 12,749 citizens, 3,746 are at least 55 years old, a number the census said is expected to rise.

Birmingham-based Park Lane Construction is building the complex, which is privately owned by Coosa Village Apartments, Ltd.

Original post:
Construction begins on retirement apartments

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Plans for several different apartment buildings are in the works for the city of West Lafayette and Purdue.

With construction season right around the corner, planned development projects are popping up all over the area.

Anybody who has driven down Chauncey Hill or out on Lindberg Road may have noticed a few housing construction projects well underway.

Right now, there are as many as seven different planned development projects in the works for the West Lafayette area. Tippecanoe County Area Plan Commission Assistant Director Ryan O'Gara said the economy is the reason why we are suddenly seeing these projects pop up. He says when the recession hit, plans came to a halt.

"We had developers come in, bring us their concepts, and then they'd sort of disappear for awhile and then they'd come back and actually file to rezone the site and begin the project negotiations. So basically what we've seen is clearly that's an indication that, you know, banks are probably lending again," said O'Gara.

Most of these projects are apartment and housing buildings surrounding Purdue's campus. These projects are all in different stages of the building process. For some, construction is well underway, while others are still waiting to be approved by the area plan commission.

"What we're seeing is a host of projects that are interested in increasing densities near campus and really creating a neat, urban look," said O"Gara.

Assistant Director of Off-Campus Student Services Ashley Darnell said students are not obligated to live on-campus. he says if they choose to live off-campus, these new apartment buildings will give them more options.

"Not every student is going to find that the pro's of living on-campus are better than the pro's of living off-campus and they really have to balance those out," said Darnell.

Some of the projects are located in the Chauncey Hill area, Northwestern Avenue, Lindberg Road, and around State and Grant streets.

The rest is here:
Construction thrives in West Lafayette

A developers plan to construct an 82-unit apartment building at Southeast Division Street and 37th Avenue has drawn the ire of nearby residents who say the project will clog streets and leave less parking.

The four-story building will include a small portion of retail space and three stories of apartments, with studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units.

The developer, Urban Development Group, wants to build small, affordable apartments for young people who dont need lots of space and who work in the service industry, said project manager David Mullens.

Unhappy Richmond neighborhood residents confronted Mullens during an open house Monday night at the Waverly Heights United Church of Christ. The neighbors focused on two concerns: parking and the effect on the Division Green Street/Main Street Plan, a project passed by the City Council.

Parking is an issue because construction of the building wont include new spaces. Mullens said the company would lease a lot across the street with 18 spaces that might fit 20 cars.

He also said the project will be marketed to those without cars and that incentives, including bus passes, are possible.

But some neighbors said that isnt enough.

Allowing an 82-unit building without parking is a dangerous precedent, said Jordan Lanz, who lives four blocks from the site.

Lanz said after the meeting that hes worried other developers will construct similar buildings on Division Street with little or no parking for tenants.

The city has encouraged high-density housing along public transportation corridors. Lanz acknowledged that but suggested such developments should be smaller or not clustered in the same neighborhoods.

View post:
An apartment building proposed for Southeast Division and 37th concerns neighbors

A deck collapsed overnight at an apartment complex on Corby Avenue rendering two apartments uninhabitable, Thursday, March 15, 2012.

Two Santa Rosa families were evacuated from their Corby Avenue apartment building Thursday morning after an upstairs deck collapsed in the early morning hours, fire personnel said.

No one was injured, and the families were never at immediate risk.

But the wood-construction deck served as the only entrance and exit for one of the families, and their apartment has been red-tagged as uninhabitable by the Sonoma County building department, Santa Rosa Fire Battalion Chief Jack Piccinini said.

Those living in the apartment below them also were told evacuate because the damaged deck is right above their entry, he said.

Piccinini said he hoped the deck could be shored up quickly and the families permitted to return. The American Red Cross is providing emergency housing for a few days in the meantime, he said.

The roughly 10-by-15-foot deck apparently had been rotting out without anyone noticing until a large portion of it gave way around 4:30 a.m. Thursday, upsetting plants, a barbecue, a bicycle and the like, and creating a racket that awakened those sleeping inside, Piccinini said.

One point of the deck is collapsed, he said. It's still attached to the building, but it's sagging dramatically.

The residents were told to stay inside and stay safe until the morning, when firefighters returned to guide them out safely after they had collected enough belongings to get them through a couple of days.

Read more from the original source:
No one injured in deck collapse at Santa Rosa apartment building

Arlington, VA (PRWEB) March 15, 2012

Just off Route 50, within blocks of the Courthouse Metro station, Insight Property Group LLC has kicked off construction of Grayson Flats Arlington, a 67-unit luxury apartment building scheduled to deliver in October of 2012. Buvermo Investments of Bethesda, MD is the equity partner in the $25 million development.

The four-story Grayson Flats will be the first completed development project for Insight. Founded in 2009 by longtime multifamily industry veterans Richard Hausler and Michael Blum, the Tysons Corner, VA-based company has acquired over 500 existing apartments and has over 1,000 more multifamily units in its current development pipeline.

In addition to Grayson Flats, current Insight development projects include two buildings scheduled to break ground later this year: one in downtown Silver Spring, MD and one near the Huntington Metro station in Alexandria, VA. Two more projects -- another development in Arlington and one on H Street, NE in Washington, D.C. -- will follow shortly thereafter.

Grayson Flats is being built on a 1.67-acre site at 1200 North Rolfe Street, which Insight acquired in 2010. The company demolished an existing 55-year-old apartment complex and is replacing it with the new high-end Grayson Flats. The site abuts Fort Myer and has a park-like setting, yet is conveniently located just off the Route 50 ramp and a few blocks from Courthouse Metro. It also is near a variety of eclectic shops and restaurants on Wilson Boulevard.

Transportation and transit are key selling points for the project. Grayson Flats residents will enjoy quick and easy access to the entire Rosslyn-Ballston corridor, the Columbia Pike Corridor, Routes 50 and 66, the George Washington Parkway, Key Bridge, Georgetown, the Pentagon, and major employment centers throughout the Washington, D.C. region. Not only is Metro within walking distance, but there is Metrobus service next-door and bike-sharing stations nearby.

Grayson Flats is one of a handful of projects to break ground in the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor over the past year, said Sarah Davidson, Managing Director/Partner of Insight Property Group. As a smaller boutique project, its a contrast to the 150-plus unit developments prevalent in the area. It offers spacious floor plans, green space, courtyards, balconies and terraces, an ideal setting for dog owners, and a fantastic location.

Lessard Design, Inc. and Preston Partnership designed a modern, amenity-rich building that will offer apartments larger than typical Ballston/Rosslyn offerings. The homes will average 1,100 square feet; the largest units, with two bedrooms, two and a half baths, and a den, will offer over 1,450 SF of living space. Selected residences will have their own 400 SF rooftop terraces and all homes will have large transom windows that create light-filled spaces.

Grayson Flats will offer a variety of outdoor amenities including a courtyard with open cabanas, fire pit and bocce lawn, and a rooftop deck for residents with views towards downtown Washington. Other shared amenities will include garage parking under the building with elevator access to all levels, a fitness center, lounge with a kitchen, bar, cyber caf, Wi-Fi, and a billiards area. In addition to being pedestrian-friendly, the building will provide bike storage and an electric car charging station.

Each individual apartment will have a balcony or terrace, hardwood flooring, stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, and full-size washer and dryer, as well as high-end cabinets, fixtures, and lighting.

Read the original post:
Insight Property Group Starts Construction of 67-Unit Luxury Apartment Building in Arlington, VA