Construction activity took a tumble in November, sparking concerns about the health of the economy.

Construction activity took a tumble in November, sparking further concerns about the health of the economy.

The construction industry contracted for the first time since May, according to figures from the Australian Industry Group and Housing Industry Association on Friday.

The Performance of Construction Index dropped eight points to 45.4 in November - below the 50 level that separates expansion from contraction.

A slowdown in public building activity and demand for housing were also weighing on the industry, with the reduced workload forcing job losses, the report said.

The disappointing report comes after official figures on Wednesday showed a shock slowdown in the Australian economy in the September quarter, sparking debate about whether the cash rate should be slashed to a new record low.

Growth in house and apartment building decelerated in November, amid a decline in new orders, the report said.

But home building will need to re-accelerate in coming months, if it's going to help offset the slowdown in mining construction.

"Perceptions regarding Australia's short-term economic outlook have dampened recently and today's result will hardly buoy the prevailing mood," HIA chief economist Harley Dale said.

"The rate of expansion in detached house and apartment building activity slowed in November.

Continued here:
Concern grows as construction tumbles

BARBARAELLEN KOCH | The Long Island Science Center would move if apartments get built.

A five-story apartment building planned for the Long Island Science Center site went from market-rate luxury apartments to workforce housing affordable apartments earlier this year.

The plans have now seen another change.

The latest breaking news is that we intend for this to be housing for the artist community, said Marianne Garvin, the president and chief executive officer of the non-profit Community Development Corporation of Long Island.

She was speaking to members of the Riverhead Industrial Development Agency Monday night, during a public hearing on proposed tax incentives for the project, which is a joint venture between the CDC and Rochester-based, for-profit developer Conifer Realty.

The project is being called Peconic Crossing.

The building would still contain 48 affordable rental units. In order to win a lease, proposed tenants would have to meet income guidelines based on the area median income for Suffolk County, which is $73,600, according to the CDC.

However, it will give a preference to prospective tenants who are artists and can document that, Ms. Garvin said.

The project would have a common area for arts and a balcony overlooking the Peconic River that could be used for art events, she said.

The project would be modeled after the 45-unit Artspace apartment complex in Patchogue, according to Allen Handelman, Conifers vice president of development.

Read the original:
Affordable housing for artists planned for downtown Riverhead

Bryan Mitchell | Bloomberg | Getty Images

A SkyTrak telehandler holds building materials aloft at a residential housing construction site on Scotten Avenue in Southwest Detroit, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014.

September's construction outlays were revised up to show only a 0.1 percent drop instead of the previously reported 0.4 percent fall. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast construction spending rising 0.6 percent in October.

The upbeat construction data suggests some momentum in the economy early in the fourth quarter. Weak durable goods orders data has raised concerns of a sharp moderation in the pace of growth in the final three months of the year.

The economy grew at a 3.9 percent annual pace in the third quarter.

Read More Big investors pull back on housing

In October, private construction spending increased 0.6 percent, with outlays on residential projects recording their biggest rise since December of last year. Residential spending was boosted by increases in both single and multi-family homes as well as renovations.

Spending on public construction projects increased 2.3 percent in October, buoyed by a 19.3 percent surge in federal government outlays, the largest such increase since October of 2006.

State and local government investment increased 0.9 percent after two straight months of declines.

Follow this link:
Construction spending logs biggest gain in 5 months

$1.8 million TIF for apartments, height bonus for 15-story tower

By Mitchell Schmidt, The Gazette

December 3, 2014 | 8:06 am

IOWA CITY The Iowa City Council has given the green light to provide financial aid to a local developers plans for a Riverside Drive apartment complex and has approved the requested height bonus for a proposed 15-story tower.

The council approved Tuesday $1.8 million in tax increment financing rebates to Emrico Properties to help fund a $16.1 million apartment building on the former site of Hartwig Motors, 629 S. Riverside Drive, in the citys Riverfront Crossings district.

While the vote was unanimous in favor of the nine-year rebate, Mayor Matt Hayek said he was initially hesitant of the resolution.

"I will be a very reluctant supporter of this," Hayek said. "The thing that gets me over the boundary, the ledge, to be able to support this is the catalyst factor."

The four-story, U-shaped building would include a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments and eight three-bedroom apartments. Twelve of the 96 units in the building will be geared toward workforce housing and 71 parking stalls will be included beneath the building with parking for another 105 vehicles behind the complex.

Stressing sustainability, the building proposes solar panels on the roof and recycling centers on each floor.

City staff estimate the sites property value to increase from about $50,000 per year to about $320,000 annually with the building.

More here:
Iowa City Council approves requests from two developments

Attorneys for the River Gate apartment building being planned near Ohio University's South Green have asked to be joined to an administrative appeal of a variance granted to the development by the Athens Board of Zoning Appeals.

Attorneys for the Summit at Coates Run apartment complex, which is located off of Richland Avenue, have appealed the variance in Athens County Common Pleas Court.

If granted, joining the case as an appellee will allow River Gate attorneys to defend the development and the variance it was granted. In the original filing, Summit attorneys only listed River Gate LLC as an "interested party" while the appellees listed included the Board of Zoning Appeals, Code Director John Paszke and the city of Athens.

In early October, Coates Run LLC attorney B. Lafe Metz requested the court reverse a variance granted in September for construction of the River Gate apartment complex.

The proposed $15 million, 3.5-story apartment building is slated to replace the building that now contains the New Life Assembly of God church at 10 S. Green Drive. The proposed development is currently undergoing Title 41 city site planning review.

Homestead U, LLC, of Columbus, which owns River Gate LLC, originally requested a variance allowing a 4.5-story building, with 82 percent lot coverage, which refers to the footprint a building makes on its property site. Maximum lot coverage allowed by city code is 60 percent.

That variance was rejected. After redrawing plans, Homestead U brought the proposed building down to 3.5-stories, matching code requirements, and requested a variance for 77.5 percent lot coverage. That variance was granted by the Board of Zoning Appeals.

Metz, Coates Run's attorney, argued in the appeal of the zoning board's decision, that the board erred by inexplicably reversing course on standards it had set by rejecting the first request for variance.

In asking to be joined to the appeal, River Gate LLC attorneys David W. Fisher and Richard C. Brahm cited Ohio Supreme Court rulings holding that an applicant who appears before an administrative board such as the Board of Zoning Appeals is a necessary party to an appeal of a decision granting relief.

They cited several examples of the state's high court ruling that property owners are mandatory parties to any such case.

Read more:
Developer of proposed River Gate apartments wants to join variance fight

CLIFFSIDE PARK A four-alarm fire that ripped through an apartment building under construction earlier this month has been ruled accidental, The Record reported.

Fire Chief Brian Martone told the newspaper the boroughs investigation revealed that unspecified construction work sparked the massive blaze Nov. 18 on Walker Street, the former location of a Marburn Curtains warehouse.

The Walker Street fire was stated by exploding propane tanks, however, officials arent sure what caused the explosions, according to the report. High winds allowed the fire to quickly spread to a nearby rowhouse on Palisade Avenue.

Residents in about a dozen nearby buildings were forced to evacuate as fire crews battled the flames. About 100 firefighters from departments around the area responded to the scene.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Originally posted here:
Four-alarm apartment blaze in Cliffside Park ruled accidental, report says

Throughout the traditionally working class suburb of Brunswick in Melbourne's inner north, apartment developments are popping up everywhere as urbanites scramble for their own slice of inner-city living. These buildings are modern and comfortable, though many are cut from the same commercially oriented architectural cloth. But among them stands a beacon of green and thoughtful design. The Commons by local firm Breathe Architecture is a beautiful five-story apartment block with sustainability emanating from every square foot, from the bicycle rack to the communal veggie garden on its roof.

Around seven years ago, Jeremy McLeod, who started Breathe Architecture in 2001, had grand plans of creating Australia's flagship sustainable apartment building. But the onset of the global financial crisis didn't exactly make things easy, as he had trouble securing a loan and finding a developer with whom his priorities aligned.

"It started with a big dream," McLeod tells Gizmag, resting against the wall outside apartment 101, the home he shares with his partner. "As is usually the case with such a big plan, parts of this was stripped away over time, but I still think we came away with something epic."

McLeod isn't the only one who would describe The Commons as such. Since the completion of building late last year, awards have rained down on him and his team. The Commons was recognized at the Victorian Architecture Awards as the year's "exemplar of apartment living." It then took out the Multi-Density Residential and Best of the Best Categories at the 2014 Sustainability Awards and went on to receive both the Award for Residential Architecture and Sustainable Architecture at the 2014 National Architecture Awards earlier this month.

The Commons is located just off Sydney Road, Brunswick's bustling thoroughfare lined with everything from bakeries to dressmakers to beer-soaked bars frequented by patrons from all over the city. Nestled in hard up against a train line, the building houses 24 two-bedroom apartments, whose residents enjoy a ten-step wander to bike path connected to the city's network, 20 steps to the train platform and a block to trams bound for the city center.

"One of our main design approaches was this exercise in reduction, we took out everything that wasn't necessary, starting with the car park in the basement," says McLeod, gesturing toward the buffet of transport options. "We built a storage room for 72 bikes instead."

Further to discouraging residents from engaging in the gas-guzzling exercise of inner-city driving, this also saved around A$750,000 (US$638,000) in construction costs. As much of the soil in the area is contaminated, making way for a basement car park wouldn't have been your standard excavation job. Leaving it be meant that money that could be directed toward the other sustainable elements of the design.

A 360 mm (13.8 in) thick, acoustically insulated wall on the western side shields the building from the rattle of trains that run well past midnight. Its outer skin is made from corrugated opaque fiberglass with a corrosive-resistant gel coating. Built into the wall is 75 mm (2.95 in) ventilated cavity, drawing air through perforated copper panels to flush hot air out of the top. On the north, balcony side, dangling chains host climbing wisteria vines that sprout healthy green leaves to shade the apartments in the summer, before shedding them in the winter to let in warmth from the sun.

None of the apartments feature air conditioning, instead relying on the building's thermal efficiency and simple ceiling fans to keep cool in the summer. Heating is provided by way of two gas hydronic boilers, and each apartment is fitted with a "kill switch" at its front door enabling residents to cut power to all outlets and appliances (bar the refrigerator) when leaving home.

McLeod's exercise in reduction is evident all throughout the building, enhancing the raw, minimalist aesthetic. Recycled bricks make up the foyer walls on the ground floor, while untouched concrete complete with pencil scrawled during the two years of construction lines the staircase up to the second floor.

Link:
The Commons: Inside Australia's most sustainable apartment building

A plan to tear down an aging Main Street plaza in Williamsville and replace it with a three-story retail and apartment building has been given the endorsement it needs after nearly two years in the pipeline.

The Williamsville Planning Board approved site plans last week for the mixed-use project at Main and Hirschfield Drive, which will include retail on the first floor and upscale apartments on the second and third floors.

Architectural designs still need to be approved by the Village Planning Board. But the go-ahead given last week coupled with site plan approval from the Amherst Planning Board in August paved the way for demolition and construction to begin by next spring or summer.

This is exactly the type of project were looking for in the village, said Williamsville Trustee Christopher J. Duquin. Its mixed-use, set to the street, commercial under residential, and parking in the back.

Since the project was proposed in March 2013, it has generated some opposition. That includes the owners of two nearby businesses Main Street News & Tobacco and Alterations by Lena who area concerned that the new development will squeeze them out of their already limited street parking.

Im worried about the overflow from them, said Ben Galletti of Main Street Tobacco and News. If you dont have somewhere to park, people arent going to come in.

Duquin and Williamsville Mayor Brian J. Kulpa have invited opponents of the project to the Village Board meeting Tuesday to discuss the project. However, the project doesnt need approval from the board, and the discussion will be more of an opportunity for officials to explain how this venture fits into the broader picture for Main.

At the end of the day, we think we filled the planning objective of both the Village of Williamsville and the Town of Amherst for the redevelopment of properties in this section of Main, said Sean W. Hopkins, the attorney representing the developer.

The redevelopment project is proposed by Dr. Lawrence N. Teruel, an Arizona physician whose father for years had owned this property located directly across from Williamsville South High School.

The proposed L-shaped brick building would come up to the sidewalk and anchor the corner of Main and Hirschfield with 18,600 square feet of retail space on the first floor and parking in the back for 98 vehicles.

See the rest here:
After two years in the pipeline, Williamsville plaza plan is approved

mitsu yasukawa/staff photographer

Xchange, an apartment complex going up near the Secaucus Junction rail station.

* Rentals lead way, thanks to tight mortgage standards, flat incomes

Powered by a surge in multifamily construction, home building in New Jersey is on track for its strongest year since 2006.

Builders have taken out 23,738 building permits through October, up 18 percent from the same period last year, according to data released this week from the U.S. census and more than 60 percent of the permits have been for multi-family units. The multifamily percentage is the highest since 1964, said Patrick O'Keefe, an economist with CohnReznick, an accounting firm in New York and Roseland. As recently as the 1990s, multifamily projects accounted for about 15 percent of the home construction in the state.

O'Keefe expects builders to start more than 27,000 housing units in the state this year coming close to the long-term averages above 30,000 a year, after dipping to lows averaging around 13,000 a year during the housing bust.

Rentals are leading the way, especially along the Hudson River. Bergen and Hudson counties have accounted for about 30 percent of the state's home-building activity so far this year, heavily weighted toward multifamily construction.

Rentals are in demand because tight mortgage standards and flat incomes have pushed homeownership out of reach for many. In addition, many households especially millennials and downsizing baby boomers like the flexibility of renting. And after watching home values plummet during the housing bust, some people are "skeptical about the wisdom of using a house as your primary investment asset," O'Keefe said.

While multifamily builders are moving forward, single-family builders are being more cautious, and not building houses they may not be able to sell, O'Keefe said.

In one example of multifamily construction in Bergen County, builders recently began work on a 195-unit apartment building on Route 4 in Englewood, the first major project in the city since before the recession. And multifamily projects have recently been completed or are under construction in Fort Lee, Edgewater, Elmwood Park, Fair Lawn, Wood-Ridge and Bloomingdale, among other North Jersey towns.

Visit link:
Multifamily housing may give N.J. a banner home-building year

Melbourne (PRWEB) November 27, 2014

City Edge Apartment Hotels is proud to announce the construction of City Edge Box Hill, Melbourne which will start soon and be completed by early 2016. The address of the hotel will be 1 Elland Avenue Box Hill. The building will consist of 9 levels of which City Edge will take up levels 1, 2 and 3, making 49 apartments. In addition to this there will be a cafe at ground level and secure undercover parking in the basement.

The new City Edge Box Hill will be constructed according to the exacting specifications of City Edge that includes the floor plans, finishes, interior & exterior design and colour scheme. The new hotel will be the benchmark for all other City Edge hotels. The company is not taking any bookings yet, booking will start in late 2015.

Talking about their range of hotels, one of the representatives of City Edge Apartment Hotels stated, for savvy business travellers, City Edge boasts the best value accommodation Melbourne has to offer. Choose from six convenient locations, including the Melbourne CBD, and different apartment types - studio one bedroom two bedrooms - always at the most competitive rates in Melbourne. Not only does City Edge offer everyday discount rates all year round - deals and other benefits are also offered. Stay at a City Edge Apartment Hotel and be assured of an enjoyable, affordable and comfortable serviced apartment.

About City Edge Apartment Hotels City Edge is a well-known for their budget accommodation in Melbourne. Their business is apartment hotels and provides serviced apartment accommodation for rent for the informed traveller at reasonable prices. The company claims to provide best accommodation deals in Melbourne and has been serving its customers for over two decades and it is known for its reliable, efficient and friendly apartment accommodation solutions. It provides the apartments for both short and medium term stays. For more information, please visit: https://www.cityedge.com.au

Original post:
City Edge Apartment Hotels Announces the Construction of their New Hotel - City Edge Box Hill