Two construction workers were injured when an elevator malfunctioned coming off its track and falling several feet at a West Village apartment building Wednesday morning, officials said.

The elevator became dislodged as the workers were transporting materials between the eighth and ninth floors of the building on West 11th Street around 11:25 a.m.

Officials said the cables snapped, causing the elevator car to fall before becoming to wedged sideways in the shaft, FDNY officials said.

Emergency workers secured the elevator car to prevent it from falling down the shaft and were in the process of removing the occupants, the FDNY said.

Some construction workers were using the elevators to transport materials, said FDNY battalion chief Dean Koester.

The elevator fell about five or six feet, wedged in the shaft, both workers were removed and brought to the hospital.

Building residents of the building said this wasnt the first problem since time people were have been trapped in the elevator since construction began.

We have been enduring the most appalling conditions, people have been getting stuck in the elevator, there are insane dust levels, noise and just general chaos, said Jane Stubbs. The building is a nightmare at the moment.

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Two workers injured in West Village elevator accident

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NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) About a dozen families remain homeless after a large crack in the facadeof a Brooklyn apartment building prompted an evacuation on Monday.

The massive crack can be seen in the back of the building at 3405 Kings Highway in the Flatlands section.

The entire building was evacuated Monday afternoon as the Department of Buildings and the FDNY checked the buildings stability.

Most of the residents have since been allowed to return, but those living in two rows of apartments closest to the damage were not allowed back in their apartments.

Im pretty stressed out, I didnt sleep all night, displaced resident Michael Kessler told CBS 2s Weijia Jiang.

That side can collapse, the buildings superintendent Kayhan Sengun told Jiang.

The Citys Department of Buildings posted a notice saying a construction site adjacent to the building caused the damage during the excavation process. The DOB ordered the company to stop work and make repairs. Kessler told Jiang residentsfelt shaking and vibrating at times as crews worked on the foundation of the building next door.

I felt all the rumbles, I felt every vibration when they were pounding, Kessler said.

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Brooklyn Building Remains Under Partial Evacuation Order After Crack Found On Facade

Everyone attending Monday nights Upper Moreland Township public hearing on a proposed apartment building on Davisville Road agreed the new construction would be a positive step toward revitalizing the area.

The only major point of contention between the commissioners and the developers of the Lofts at Davisville involved the number of sufficient parking spaces.

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Originally posted here:
Upper Moreland apartment plans moved forward

Everyone attending Monday nights Upper Moreland Township public hearing on a proposed apartment building on Davisville Road agreed the new construction would be a positive step toward revitalizing the area.

The only major point of contention between the commissioners and the developers of the Lofts at Davisville involved the number of sufficient parking spaces.

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UM apartment plans moved forward

National Breaking News Business Business

Activity in Australia's construction sector is strengthening, driven by higher housing prices and improved confidence in the labour market.

The Australian Industry Group/Housing Industry Association Australian Performance of Construction Index (PCI) rose 0.8 points to 52.6 in July.

An index reading above 50 indicates activity in the sector is rising and the higher the reading, the greater the speed of the expansion.

Ai Group director of public policy Peter Burn said both residential and commercial construction were building a head of steam.

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"The overall construction sector remained in positive territory despite the ongoing slowdown in engineering construction as investment in mining-related projects fades," he said.

"While house building has been strong for some time and apartment building is at healthy levels, the broadening of growth to include commercial construction is a welcome addition to the mix."

Housing Industry Association chief economist Harley Dale said a stronger construction sector is a tick in the box for the overall economy.

"Labour market outcomes, as well as economic growth will be assisted in 2014/15 by Australia's construction industry, led by what is already a strong recovery in new home building activity," he said.

More here:
Construction activity up for 2nd month

Downtown Colorado Inc. names new apartment complex best infill development

Reporter-Herald Staff Writer

Edgar Piedra of Denver-based Stripe a Lot paints numbers on parking spaces at the Gallery Flats apartment building at East Sixth Street and Lincoln Avenue in downtown Loveland on May 23 in preparation for the complex's opening June 1. Downtown Colorado Inc. has named the project the best infill development in the state for 2014. ( Craig Young )

LOVELAND -- The Gallery Flats apartment project that opened June 1 in downtown Loveland has been named Colorado's top new downtown construction project by Downtown Colorado Inc.

The five-story, 66-unit apartment building at the southwest corner of Sixth Street and Lincoln Avenue was the result of a collaboration between Fort Collins developer Brinkman Partners and the city of Loveland.

The city had identified the property, a former bank building that was temporarily housing museum collections, as the site for a "catalyst project" to help revive downtown Loveland by bringing more residents to the area.

The city sold the property to Brinkman at a discount, and the Loveland Urban Renewal Authority committed $1.5 million in public improvements, to be repaid through tax-increment financing over 14 years, according to a release from the city sent Thursday afternoon.

"We're excited to receive this award," Mike Scholl, the economic development manager for the city who facilitated the partnership with Brinkman, said in the release. "Gallery Flats has already been a great success and serves as another symbol of what's to come in downtown Loveland."

Gallery Flats won the Governor's Award for new construction, infill or redevelopment projects given by Downtown Colorado Inc., a private nonprofit group that promotes development of downtown commercial districts and town centers.

The award will be conferred at a dinner and reception at 5:30 p.m. Sept 11 at the Lincoln Center in Fort Collins during the organization's Vibrant Colorado Downtowns Conference.

Link:
Loveland's Gallery Flats project wins downtown award

Everybody knows Alfred Hitchcocks Rear Window is set in Greenwich Village. But few realize the massive Hollywood set on which the thriller takes place is based on an actual New York City location.

The address given in the film which opened 60 years ago this week is 125 W. Ninth St., a red brick apartment building where the wife murderer played by Raymond Burr lives in a rear apartment with a fire escape that Grace Kelly climbs to look for evidence.

Sean Gullettes West 10th Street home looks onto the courtyard that inspired the film.Photo: Zandy Mangold

As was customary in crime films back then, the address is fictitious. But film historian Donald Spoto, a longtime resident of the West Village, traced that address a few years ago to 125 Christopher St. as Ninth Street is called west of Sixth Avenue.

Its not an easy building to get into theres no doorman, and the super didnt answer the doorbell. But around the corner on West 10th Street, The Post was welcomed into a Federal-era townhouse on the other side of the courtyard for a rarely seen rear view of 125 Christopher and the neighboring buildings that inspired the movies set.

Yes, this is where Jimmy Stewart lives in Rear Window, says the tenant, actor-director Sean Gullette. Architecture is one of the building blocks of making films, and Hitchcock was brilliantly inspired by this view.

Even with a vista partly obscured by trees absent from Hollywoods version, its recognizably the same point of view seen from the apartment of Stewarts wheelchair-bound photographer-turned-voyeur.

Granted, the backyard fence is taller than the one Kelly, Stewarts fashionable girlfriend, scales in high heels Gullette thinks the fence may have been rebuilt fairly recently. But even in 1954, the set designers rearranged things to accommodate the intricacies of Hitchcocks plot and camera moves.

Sixty years later, its easy to imagine where Raymond Burrs apartment would have been and where Miss Lonelyhearts (Judith Evelyn) lived just below, and the fire escape where another couple slept in an era when few working-class people had air conditioners.

A building at 125 Christopher St. (inset) provided Rear Window director Alfred Hitchcock (on-set with Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly) with an imaginary stage for murder. The Post photographed it from a nearby West 10th Street townhouse that shares the same point of view as Stewarts apartment.Photo: Courtesy of Everett Collection; Zandy Mangold

See the article here:
Inside the real Greenwich Village apartment that inspired Rear Window

Charlottesville, VA (PRWEB) August 05, 2014

Modular Building Institute is pleased to announce that the August 2014 Modular Building of the Month is the iconic Broadway Stack, located at 4857 Broadway in New York City. This seven-story modular multifamily housing unit was manufactured by Deluxe Building Systems, Inc. of Berwick, Pennsylvania and designed by architecture firm Gluck+ of New York. It is one of the first modular apartment buildings to be completed in Manhattan and is a move towards more affordable housing in the city.

Modular construction was chosen for this project because it shortened the construction timeline by as much as half and cut the budget by nearly 20 percent. Offsite manufacture of the Stack allowed for an overall streamlined construction process modules arrived on site with fixtures like towel bars, cabinets, and countertops already installed. Any mechanical, electrical, and plumbing was already in place, with only connections between the modules to be completed. Manufacture of the 56 modules began at Deluxes Pennsylvania plant, while at the same time a construction crew on site began to prepare the foundation, basement, and first floor in Manhattan. After site prep and manufacture, installation of the modules took a mere 19 days, an eight-person crew, and a crane. The Stacks developer estimates he saved 6 to 8 months of construction time and 15 to 20 percent of the approximately $7 million in construction costs.

Its speedy construction and cost-savings for the developer is a potential solution to NYCs growing housing problem. The Stack is being marketed as housing for moderate income families. Additionally, six of the 28 apartments were reserved for affordable housing for families who met certain income and household size requirements. Architect Gluck+s website reads [The Stack] is a pilot project for developing a quality and economically viable housing solution to strategically rebuilding and filling gaps in outmoded housing infrastructure. Future projects like this one may even have a shorter timeline as these processes become more conventional.

Founded in 1983, the Modular Building Institute (MBI) is the only international non-profit trade association serving modular construction. Members are manufacturers, contractors, and fleet owners in two distinct segments of the industry - permanent modular construction (PMC) and relocatable buildings (RB). Our Mission: As the Voice of Commercial Modular Construction, it is MBI's mission to expand the use of offsite construction through innovative construction practices, outreach and education to the construction community and customers, and recognition of high quality modular designs and facilities.

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August 2014 Modular Building of the Month Announced by MBI

In the wake of an apartment fire in North Whitehall that killed 61 cats and two dogs, the township is going to explore whether to require annual inspections of rental properties.

The July 15 blaze at the three-story apartment building at Route 309 and Game Preserve Road displaced seven people and closed two businesses. The fire inspector said the cause was an electrical problem.

Township Manager Jeff Bartlett told the township supervisors Monday that an annual inspection of each rental property in the township would likely have turned up that the property manager who lived in the building was keeping 61 cats and two dogs. He and his wife reportedly took in abandoned cats.

The township zoning ordinance only allows six pets per home, but Bartlett and his staff don't have the authority to go into someone's home to check out such violations if they get a complaint.

With a rental property inspection ordinance, North Whitehall could hire inspection firms it now uses for new construction, Bartlett said. Those inspectors could check for such health and safety conditions as railings for porches, smoke detectors and working water and sewage.

"We are not talking about anything more than a basic health and safety inspection of the property," Bartlett said.

The inspections could be done at minimal cost, which could be passed on to the tenants, he said, adding that annual safety inspections can bring down a landlord's insurance rates.

"I'm not for over-regulating and creating ordinances just for the sake of creating ordinances," Bartlett said.

Supervisor Chairman Ronald J. Heintzelman and Supervisor Richard Celmer sounded favorably disposed to such an ordinance.

Supervisor Steve Pany said he'd want more information about how many rental properties are in the township and how they would be affected.

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North Whitehall might start inspecting rental properties

This Atlantic-to-Pacific switcheroo is a new kind of sea change.

The developer of Atlantic Yards is rebranding the controversial project as Pacific Park as it gears up to begin construction on the next apartment building.

All 298 rental units in the 18-story building, on 535 Carlton Ave. at the corner of Green St., will be set aside as affordable.

The space surrounding the 285,000-square-foot building and six adjacent structures will be converted into an 8-acre park.

Right now, its a gash in middle of Brooklyn, said Forest City Ratner spokeswoman Ashley Cotton. It will become a place people want to move, live and visit.

The developer hired an award-winning branding agency, Pentagram, to help rename the new buildings.

But one industry expert was not impressed with the new moniker.

Its not really rebranding; its just giving it a new name, said branding guru Rob Frankel.

They seem to be on the wrong coast, he added.

Construction is expected to start in December and last two years.

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Atlantic Yards developer renames controversial project Pacific Park