CTV Montreal Published Thursday, August 14, 2014 8:15AM EDT Last Updated Thursday, August 14, 2014 8:23AM EDT

One block of Cartier St. is closed to traffic Thursday because of fears a building will collapse.

According to firefighters residents of an apartment building called 9-1-1 at 5 a.m. because they heard strange noises and noticed new cracks in their walls.

A scaffolding has been set up in a passageway that runs through the building, and there are bricks and other items on the ground.

Firefighters said it appears the construction work through the tunnel, which leads to the building's courtyard, was not done correctly.

Emergency officials evacuated the building and shut down Cartier St. from Ontario St. to Sherbrooke St.

The Red Cross is providing temporary shelter for the six families that will not be allowed to return home until an engineer from the city of Montreal certifies the building is safe.

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Street closed due to fears of building collapse

Albany

The city's once-gritty industrial corridor along Broadway may be shaping up as the next place in the Capital Region to find apartments in sturdy century-old commercial buildings that were built to last.

Plans involving apartment conversions at the century-old former Rodgers Liquor Co. building at 960 Broadway and the massive former Albany International headquarters, a few blocks north at 1373 Broadway, are both set to come before Albany city planners later this month.

Laura Ryder, an architect with Troy Architectural Program, said plans for the four-story brick former liquor warehouse call for 30 apartments and a restaurant. The 44,744-square-foot building is among five historic buildings in the region that were targeted by the Preservation League of New York under its Industrial Heritage Reuse Project, she said.

"The league will leverage the momentum of the latest industrial development boom computer chip fabrication within a 40-mile radius of GlobalFoundries' Fab 8 plant in Saratoga County," said league President Jay DiLorenzo, who announced the project last month at the Rodgers building. "Through this effort, we hope owners of historic industrial buildings and elected and appointed officials will begin to see these structures as developable assets instead of liabilities."

Other buildings in the project include the Sanford Clock Tower Building, 37 Prospect St., Amsterdam; Mooradian's Building, 599 River St., Troy; Lindy's Hardware, 285 2nd St., Troy; and the former Grossman's Bargain Outlet, 1410 Erie Boulevard, Schenectady.

The project provides building owners with a schematic reuse plan; code evaluation; cost estimate; list of funding assistance; and outline of approvals required.

The Rodgers building, built around 1910 as a parts warehouse for International Harvester, said Ryder, has been vacant for some two decades. The property is zoned for light industrial use, and would require a zoning variance for the apartment project to be allowed, she added.

It is premature to describe the type of apartments and restaurant envisioned by building co-owner Bill Barber, said Ryder. "We are just now getting started with the project," she said. She said Barber sees encouragement in development farther south on Broadway in a strip of nightspots anchored by Wolff's Biergarten.

To the north at the 400,000 square-foot Albany International site, developer Uri Kaufman is planning an apartment complex called Harmony Primalofts.

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New plans for old sites

The massive fire that destroyed a Far East Side apartment building under construction and sent up a cloud of smoke that could be seen across Madison on Friday caused between $3.5 million and $5 million in damages, authorities said Monday.

City, state and federal investigators are now trying to find out how the blaze started, and on Monday asked the public to send in photos of the fire in its early stages, hoping they could provide some clues.

About two dozen agents and specialists from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives National Response Team have been brought in to investigate the fire.

The four-story building, under construction on the 500 block of Apollo Way, was the site of a planned 105-unit apartment building in the Grandview Commons subdivision. No one was hurt in the blaze.

An official with FMI Development, the company building the apartments, said in a statement that the company would work with authorities in the investigation.

We look forward to rebuilding in the near future, said Dan Schmidt, a managing member of the company.

The blaze began around 7:30 p.m. Friday, radiating intense heat throughout the neighborhood as firefighters quickly took a defensive approach to containing it.

Smoke was visible Friday evening from Downtown across Lake Monona, and ash and debris scattered over several miles.

On Monday, rippled vinyl siding on houses that faced the former construction site were a testament to the heat the fire generated. Much of the building had been leveled, leaving little but an elevator shaft and a partially charred section standing.

Madison fire and police officials, along with the State Fire Marshalls Office, requested the ATFs help with the investigation, authorities said.

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ATF: Grandview Commons fire caused up to $5M in damages

Gabriel Lipsky of Rehab Builders talks about the value of restoring historic buildings for future use. The former Mesic Hardware store and George Washington School in southeast Newport News are being renovated and repurposed as Jefferson Brookville Apartm

NEWPORT NEWS Three historic buildings on lower Jefferson Avenue are getting a second life as apartment buildings, as the city continues its effort to revitalize the area.

The former Mesic Hardware store on Jefferson Avenue, a school built in 1899 and the 100-year-old Roam building, along with two new buildings, will soon be home to 64 new downtown apartments.

The Roam building, at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and 28th Street, now called the Lofts on Jefferson, opened about two months ago with 14 one-bedroom units. All but two are now occupied one that is wheelchair-accessible. Workers from MGT Construction, of Richmond, gutted and reconstructed all three floors of the building and repalced the roof, while preserving the brick exterior.

Down the street, the Mesic Hardware building is being transformed into five apartments that connect to a newly constructed building. Another detached apartment building was also built on the same side of Jefferson, across from 26th street. The 42 units should be available for occupancy in October, said Karen Wilds, executive director of the Newport News Redevelopment and Housing Authority.

About two blocks away at 815 28th Street, the finishing touches are being put on the old George Washington School. The two-story brick school, built in 1899, once housed students in grades 4-6. Now, the building's classrooms are converted into eight one-bedroom apartments, which should be ready for occupancy by the end of the month, Wilds said.

The school sits on a quiet residential street near about a dozen new homes the RHA has built as part of its program for first-time home buyers.

The school, along with Mesic Hardware and the two new buildings, will be part of a development called Jefferson Brookville Apartments; residents can access the shared amenities in the Mesic building's first-floor community room, including an indoor playground.

Both Mesic Hardware and school buildings retain their unique characters through the original ceilings, stairways and front doors, said Amanda Adams, an associate with North Carolina-based CJMW Architecture and the site's project manager.

The firm's goal with Jefferson Brookville was to restore the Jefferson corridor as a living model of an active, truly urban neighborhood as it once was, Adams said a mission the city has been trying to accomplish for years.

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Newport News' lower Jefferson historic building makeovers nearly complete | With Video & Photo Gallery

(Lennie Mahler | The Salt Lake Tribune) Firefighters battle a four-alarm fire near downtown Salt Lake City, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014.

Courts But prosecutor says man accused of arson volunteered to cooperate.

The alleged confession of the man accused of starting a fire that caused $6 million in damage to a Salt Lake City apartment building that was under construction should be tossed out of court, his attorney argued Monday.

The attorney for Dustin Jay Bowman told a U.S. District Court judge on Monday that during an interview with investigators, Bowman was not adequately informed of his rights and was coerced into confessing that he started the Feb. 9 fire that burned the 64,000-square-foot project at 550 E. 500 South in Salt Lake City.

Jaime Zenger, the court-appointed attorney for Bowman, said the admitted drug addict was intimidated by the investigators during two interviews and felt he was not being allowed to leave the Salt Lake City Public Safety Building. An agent also lied to Bowman about having a number of informants who named him as the suspect, she said.

"This entire interview was coerced," Zenger said in a hearing before Judge Ted Stewart.

Bowman confessed to local and federal investigators that he had smoked spice and then started the four-alarm fire that sent flames and smoke billowing into the night sky, according to court filings. He was arrested and charged with arson after the alleged confession.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Vincent admitted that Bowman was not adequately informed of his rights, known as a Miranda warning, by a local fire investigator who was questioning the electrician. But Vincent told Stewart there were other factors to consider, including that Bowman had contacted investigators himself and offered to talk to them.

"Over and over he said, Im here for you guys and I want to help, " said Vincent, who said Bowman was provided a written Miranda warning.

Stewart said he would take the arguments under advisement and issue a decision soon.

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Confession in massive Utah fire should be tossed, attorney says

MADISON, Wis. -

An estimate of damage caused by east Madison building fire was not yet available Saturday but the fire remained in control as firefighters remained at the scene overnight, officials said.

Madison Fire Department spokeswoman Lori Wirth said crews had stayed watch overnight to battle hot spots at the site where an apartment building under construction on Apollo Way caught fire Friday night.

The fire was initially reported by drivers on Interstate 90 who saw smoke and flames at about 7:30 p.m., Wirth said.

Firefighters en route to the site saw smoke and flames come from the back side of the building on the third and fourth floors from a half mile away, according to a release.

Heat from the fire caused fire crews to move back from the building, as heat was melting plastic on the fire engine and breaking window glass.

"Because the building was under construction with no occupants ... crews adopted a defensive strategy to protect the occupied dwellings, Wirth said.

Heat from the fire caused damage to houses nearby, melting siding and cracking windows. Firefighters hosed the buildings with water to cool them and prevent structural damage, according to the fire department.

The blaze was visible from miles away and falling debris caused spot fires across the interstate. The 911 center continued to receive reports of intense heat, heavy smoke, falling debris and grass fires along the interstate and areas of the east side up to an hour after the initial call.

Crews had the fire under control by 9:37 p.m. but remained on Apollo Way to maintain control. Pallets of building materials across the estimated two-acre fire continued to smolder Saturday, fire officials said.

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Investigators ask for public's pictures, videos of massive fire

Madison firefighters remain on the scene today of a huge, scorching fire that engulfed an apartment building under construction on the Far East Side on Friday night and sent charred debris flying for miles around.

The blaze in the 105 unit apartment building in the 500 block of Apollo Way appeared to be out Saturday morning but pallets of building materials continued to smolder.

The materials are "pretty densely packed. Sometimes it takes a while to burn out," Madison Fire Department spokeswoman Lori Wirth said.

The blaze covered "between one and two acres, and that was just the fire ground," she said.

Wirth said one person driving along Interstate 39/90 near the fire reported the auto's temperature registering at 200 degrees. Another caller to the 911 dispatch center reported seeing debris from the fire falling at Ella's Deli, 2902 E. Washington Ave., about five miles away, she said.

The searing, massive fire sent billowing smoke across much of Madisons Far East Side Friday night, but no injuries were reported.

The fire, at the intersection of Lisa Ann Drive and Apollo Way, just east of Interstate 39/90 and north of Cottage Grove Road, began around 7:30 p.m. and was about 90 percent under control within two hours, Wirth said.

Firefighters could feel the heat a block away as they arrived to find the top two stories of the building engulfed in flames, Wirth said.

When the first fire crew arrived and hooked up to a hydrant, the blaze was so hot that "plastic on the engine was melting and window glass was breaking," Wirth said.

Temperatures reached more than 250 degrees, she said, andfirefighters had to hose each other down so they could do their job. "The radiant heat was really something," Wirth said.

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Fire crews remain on the scene of a massive fire on Far East Side

Madison, WI (WKOW) - -

UPDATE: MADISON (WKOW)A 105-unit apartment building, that was under construction, is severely damaged after a Friday night fire.

According to Madison Fire Chief Steve Davis the call came in just after 7:30. Station 13, Madisons newest fire station, responded. Upon arrival, Davis says the heat made it difficult to park the trucks as close as they would have liked.

Chief Davis says when firefighters arrived, the top two of the four floors were fully engulfed. No one was injured but the building suffered extensive damage and may be a total loss.

Ten nearby homes nearby evacuated. Some of those homes had siding melt from the heat but there was no structural damage.

Blooming Grove and McFarland fire departments assisted on the scene, putting out spot grassfires that started as a result of the structure fire.

The cause is still under investigation. Chief Davis says firefighters will be on scene all night, containing hot spots. It's unclear at this point who owns the building that was under construction.

*********

Dispatchers report the structure fire broke out around 7:30 p.m. near the intersection of Apollo Way and Lisa Ann Dr., in the Grand View Commons neighborhood, near the interstate.

One witness reports flames jumped the interstate and ignited grass.

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Fire damages building under construction on Madison's east side

Paul Allens Vulcan Inc. plans to sell all of its South Lake Union apartment buildings and invest the proceeds into eight new office and apartment projects, launching another flurry of construction in the former warehouse district.

The 872-apartment, five-building portfolio is located within blocks of Amazon.coms headquarters. Based on recent apartment sales in Belltown and Capitol Hill, analysts say theyd expect Vulcans portfolio to fetch more than $400 million.

Vulcan put the apartment buildings on the market this summer to be bought together or individually, spokeswoman Lori Mason Curran said Friday. We are expecting final offers in the coming weeks.

Alcyone, Alley24 and Stack House are across from the Cascade Playground, while Rollin Street Flats and Borealis sit on busy transit corridors. Another Vulcan apartment project called The Martin, a 188-unit high-rise in Belltown, is already under contract to a buyer whom Curran didnt identify.

Big investors such as insurance companies and pension funds have shown a huge appetite for property in South Lake Union because of Amazon.coms job growth and the areas rising rents. In December 2012, Amazon bought its 11-building campus from Vulcan for $1.16 billion.

On Thursday, a San Francisco company paid about $508,000 a unit for The Gatsby Apartments in Capitol Hill, records show. In April, Joseph Arnold Lofts in Belltown went for about $515,000 a unit, according to commercial real estate brokerage JLL..

Vulcans portfolio could fetch anywhere between $450,000 to $600,000 a unit, said Seattle apartment broker Kenny Dudunakis of Berkadia. That could mean total proceeds between $392 million and $523 million.

Plans to sell the apartment properties were first reported Friday by the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce.

Curran said the proceeds will pay off debt and be invested into developing three blocks near Lake Union, a full block at Westlake Avenue and Denny Way and a few parcels in between.

If all the proposed Vulcan projects get built, they would add more than 1,650 new apartments, nearly 1.3 million square feet of office space and 86,000 square feet of retail to the neighborhood, according to a Seattle Times analysis of Vulcans filings with the city.

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Vulcan will sell SLU apartment projects, build more highrises

The Rodin Museum is a beloved Philadelphia icon, a taut little neoclassical temple designed for the Parkway by one of the city's master architects, Paul Philippe Cret. The City Branch rail bed is a cultural treasure of a very different sort. Some envision the exuberantly overgrown right-of-way as a ribbon park that could link the Reading Viaduct to the Art Museum.

The two have sat side-by-side for nearly a century - both artifacts from the city's manufacturing heyday - mostly ignoring each other. But now their fates have become intertwined by a proposal for an apartment house over a one-block section of the rail bed, which runs in an open trench behind the museum. The building's south facade would be just 60 feet from the Rodin's back door.

It is a project that manages to be at once both dismaying and intriguing. Commissioned by David Blumenfeld's Cross Properties, the mixed-used building promises to fill in one of the remaining gaps in the booming neighborhood north of the Parkway. Yet the six-story apartment house would drastically alter how we experience these two important historic structures.

The case is more difficult than usual because Cret's museum is among Philadelphia's most recognizable works of architecture. It derives its charm from the serene and aristocratic way it resides on its Parkway site, surrounded by greenery like an isolated country villa. While there are many high-rises nearby, the specific location of Blumenfeld's building could put an end to the fantasy and make the diminutive Rodin look hemmed in by a giant.

The impact on the jungly landscape of the rail bed, which has been dubbed the "low line" by the group that wants to turn it into a trail park, could be equally profound.

Two stories below street level, the trench also benefits from the perception of isolation. Walking its two-mile length, you experience the city at a distance, occasionally glimpsing snippets of the skyline above its massive stone walls. Once capped by the apartment building, the pit behind the Rodin would be reduced, at best, to a dim tunnel. At worst, the corridor would be cut into two useless pieces, rendering the park idea stillborn.

For all that, Blumenfeld's proposal does offer the city something in return.

The building would immediately establish a strong urban presence on Hamilton Street, between 21st and 22d Street. It would be part of a growing line of grand residences stretching from Pennsylvania Avenue - where Cret built his last project at No. 2601 - to the new Granary Apartments on Callowhill Street, behind the Free Library.

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Changing Skyline: Building plan may hem in the Rodin