North Korea has apologised to bereaved families after an apartment building collapsed in Pyongyang last week, possibly killing hundreds, the official KCNA news agency said, a rare admission of fallibility from the reclusive state.

Pyongyang's expression of "profound consolation and apology" was the first official news of the disaster, which happened in the Phyongchon district of the North Korean capital on Tuesday.

"The construction of an apartment house was not done properly and officials supervised and controlled it in an irresponsible manner," said the statement from KCNA, which is better known for its strident attacks against South Korea and the United States.

The KCNA statement also said the collapse of the apartment building "claimed casualties" but did not give any indication of how many may have been killed or injured. It said a rescue operation ended on Saturday.

An official from South Korea's unification ministry yesterday confirmed that a 23-storey apartment building had collapsed in Pyongyang on Tuesday, although he would not say from where the information had been obtained.

The official, who asked not to be identified, said the building was presumed to have held 92 households, or families, and that it was common for North Koreans to move into new buildings before construction was completed.

"Hundreds are presumed to be dead, assuming that each family has an average of four members," he said.

A spokeswoman for the unification ministry said it was presumed there were four households on each storey but she also said it was not known exactly how many were in the building at the time.

The KCNA statement said North Korean authorities put emergency measures into place to rescue people from the collapsed building and to treat the injured.

It said that Choe Pu Il, North Korea's Minister of People's Security, had "repented", saying he had failed to supervise the project adequately, "thereby causing an unimaginable accident".

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Hundreds feared dead in Nth Korea building collapse

SEOUL, South Korea North Korean officials offered a rare public apology for the collapse of an apartment building under construction in Pyongyang, which a South Korean official said was believed to have caused considerable casualties that could mean hundreds might have died.

The word of the collapse in the secretive nation's capital was reported Sunday morning by the North's official Korean Central News Agency, which gave no death toll but said that the accident was "serious" and upset North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un.

The report said it occurred in the capital's Phyongchon district on Tuesday "as the construction of an apartment house was not done properly and officials supervised and controlled it in an irresponsible manner."

In Seoul, a government official speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information said that the 23-story apartment building that collapsed was presumed to have housed 92 families.

That could mean that the casualties could be in the hundreds because a typical North Korean family has four members. However, it wasn't clear that all the residents were inside at the time of the collapse, or that four people lived in each household.

It is not unusual for people to start living in apartments before the construction is complete.

The official said he did not have any figure for the actual death toll.

According to the KCNA report, the rescue operation ended Saturday and officials apologized to bereaved families and district residents.

The report cited one official as saying Kim Jong Un "sat up all night, feeling painful after being told about the accident."

The highly controlled state media for the authoritarian regime rarely report news that might be considered negative.

Excerpt from:
Pyongyang building collapse leaves considerable casualties; prompts rare North Korean apology

SEOUL - North Korea has apologized to bereaved families after an apartment building collapsed in Pyongyang last week, possibly killing hundreds, the official KCNA news agency said, a rare admission of fallibility from the reclusive state.

Pyongyang's expression of "profound consolation and apology" was the first official news of the disaster, which happened in the Phyongchon district of the North Korean capital on Tuesday.

"The construction of an apartment house was not done properly and officials supervised and controlled it in an irresponsible manner," said the statement from KCNA, which is better known for its strident attacks against South Korea and the United States.

The KCNA statement also said the collapse of the apartment building "claimed casualties" but did not give any indication of how many may have been killed or injured. It said a rescue operation ended on Saturday.

An official from South Korea's unification ministry confirmed on Sunday that a 23-storey apartment building had collapsed in Pyongyang on Tuesday, although he would not say from where the information had been obtained.

Downtown Pyongyang, North Korea, is seen in 2011. The portraits are of North Korea founder Kim Il-sung, left, and the late leader Kim Jong-il.

The official, who asked not to be identified, said the building was presumed to have held 92 households, or families. "Hundreds are presumed to be dead, assuming that each family has an average of four members," he said.

A spokeswoman for the unification ministry said it was presumed there were four households on each story but she also said it was not known exactly how many were in the building at the time.

The KCNA statement said North Korean authorities put emergency measures into place to rescue people from the collapsed building and to treat the injured.

It said that Choe Pu Il, North Korea's Minister of People's Security, had "repented," saying he had failed to supervise the project adequately, "thereby causing an unimaginable accident."

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North Korea Apologizes After Fatal Apartment Building Collapse

SEOUL - North Korea has apologized to bereaved families after an apartment building collapsed in Pyongyang last week, possibly killing hundreds, the official KCNA news agency said, a rare admission of fallibility from the reclusive state.

Pyongyang's expression of "profound consolation and apology" was the first official news of the disaster, which happened in the Phyongchon district of the North Korean capital on Tuesday.

"The construction of an apartment house was not done properly and officials supervised and controlled it in an irresponsible manner," said the statement from KCNA, which is better known for its strident attacks against South Korea and the United States.

The KCNA statement also said the collapse of the apartment building "claimed casualties" but did not give any indication of how many may have been killed or injured. It said a rescue operation ended on Saturday.

An official from South Korea's unification ministry confirmed on Sunday that a 23-storey apartment building had collapsed in Pyongyang on Tuesday, although he would not say from where the information had been obtained.

The official, who asked not to be identified, said the building was presumed to have held 92 households, or families, and that it was common for North Koreans to move into new buildings before construction was completed.

"Hundreds are presumed to be dead, assuming that each family has an average of four members," he said.

A spokeswoman for the unification ministry said it was presumed there were four households on each storey but she also said it was not known exactly how many were in the building at the time.

The KCNA statement said North Korean authorities put emergency measures into place to rescue people from the collapsed building and to treat the injured.

It said that Choe Pu Il, North Korea's Minister of People's Security, had "repented", saying he had failed to supervise the project adequately, "thereby causing an unimaginable accident."

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North Korea says building collapse may have killed hundreds, offers rare apology

SEOUL: North Korea's state media reported Sunday an "unimaginable" accident at an apartment construction site in Pyongyang, which had resulted in an unspecified number of casualties.

South Korean officials said the incident involved the collapse of a 23-storey apartment building, which already had close to 100 families in residence.

It is extremely rare for North Korea to report negative news of this type, and the despatch from the official KCNA news agency included equally rare apologies from top officials.

KCNA said the accident had occurred last Tuesday and was the result of "irresponsible" supervision by officials in charge of the construction.

An "intensive" emergency rescue effort had been carried out to rescue survivors and treat the wounded, it said.

The KCNA did not provide a death toll or elaborate on the cause of the collapse, but said it had left Pyongyang citizens "greatly shocked".

The agency carried lengthy public apologies by senior officials including the Minister of People's Security, Choe Pu-Il.

"(Choe) repented of himself, saying that he failed to find out factors that can put at risk the lives and properties of the people and to take thorough-going measures, thereby causing an unimaginable accident," it said.

A South Korean official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Seoul was aware of the incident which involved the collapse of a 23-storey apartment complex.

"It is common in North Korea that people move into a new apartment building before construction officially ends," the official told AFP.

Continued here:
N Korea reports "unimaginable" construction accident

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korean officials offered a rare public apology for the collapse of an apartment building under construction in Pyongyang, which a South Korean official said was believed to have caused considerable casualties that could mean hundreds might have died.

The word of the collapse in the secretive nation's capital was reported Sunday morning by the North's official Korean Central News Agency, which gave no death toll but said that the accident was "serious" and upset North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un.

The report said it occurred in the capital's Phyongchon district on Tuesday "as the construction of an apartment house was not done properly and officials supervised and controlled it in an irresponsible manner."

In Seoul, a government official speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information said that the 23-story apartment building that collapsed was presumed to have housed 92 families.

That could mean that the casualties could be in the hundreds because a typical North Korean family has four members. However, it wasn't clear that all the residents were inside at the time of the collapse, or that four people lived in each household.

It is not unusual for people to start living in apartments before the construction is complete.

The official said he did not have any figure for the actual death toll.

According to the KCNA report, the rescue operation ended Saturday and officials apologized to bereaved families and district residents.

The report cited one official as saying Kim Jong Un "sat up all night, feeling painful after being told about the accident."

The highly controlled state media for the authoritarian regime rarely report news that might be considered negative.

More:
Apartment building collapses in N. Korea

By JUNG-YOON CHOI Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korean officials offered a rare public apology for the collapse of an apartment building under construction in Pyongyang, which a South Korean official said was believed to have caused considerable casualties that could mean hundreds might have died.

The word of the collapse in the secretive nation's capital was reported Sunday morning by the North's official Korean Central News Agency, which gave no death toll but said that the accident was "serious" and upset North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un.

The report said it occurred in the capital's Phyongchon district on Tuesday "as the construction of an apartment house was not done properly and officials supervised and controlled it in an irresponsible manner."

In Seoul, a government official speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information said that the 23-story apartment building that collapsed was presumed to have housed 92 families.

That could mean that the casualties could be in the hundreds because a typical North Korean family has four members. However, it wasn't clear that all the residents were inside at the time of the collapse, or that four people lived in each household.

It is not unusual for people to start living in apartments before the construction is complete.

The official said he did not have any figure for the actual death toll.

According to the KCNA report, the rescue operation ended Saturday and officials apologized to bereaved families and district residents.

The report cited one official as saying Kim Jong Un "sat up all night, feeling painful after being told about the accident."

Go here to read the rest:
Pyongyang building collapse leaves many casualties - NBC40.net

Apartment construction is surging, in Southern California and nationwide.

New apartments and condominiums drove building permits up 8% in April from the prior month, to their fastest pace in nearly six years, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

Housing starts which measure the launch of construction climbed 13.2%. Most of the growth came in multifamily building, which is now back at pre-recession levels and up 15% through the first four months of the year compared with the same period last year, even as permits for single-family homes remain sluggish.

All this building comes as rents continue to rise in Southern California and elsewhere and reflects growing demand for apartments and optimism from big builders that demand will keep pushing those rents higher even as more supply comes onto the market.

"It's a wildly different market than it used to be," said Steve Wilson, executive vice president for West Coast operations at AvalonBay, a large real estate investment trust that owns 12,000 apartments in Southern California. "I've got to believe we can get 4% to 5% rent growth a year over the next 10 years."

Wilson, like others in the multifamily business, sees multiple factors driving demand.

The economy is improving, which means more twentysomethings who've been living with their parents or piling in with roommates can afford their own apartments.

At the same time, the for-sale housing market is still tough with prices and lending standards high keeping more thirtysomethings paying rent instead of jumping into homeownership.

And then, he said, there's a growing cadre of people of all ages who are renters by choice, preferring the flexibility of an apartment and often willing to pay for top-end properties.

So AvalonBay is building. The company has seven projects under construction in the Southland including the Ava in Little Tokyo, where studio apartments start at $1,995 and an eighth on the way. Although many multifamily builders moved first into even hotter markets such as San Francisco and Seattle, Wilson said he now sees more potential for growth in the Southland.

Originally posted here:
Apartment construction surges across the Southland amid rising rents

JESSAMINE COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - Holes poke through the ceiling, the wood floors are soaked from heavy rain, and twisted pieces of sheet metal litter the sidewalk beside the battered apartment building in Wilmore.

"Seven of our nine apartments are pretty much destroyed; they're unlivable for probably three to six months," said Daniel Wier, the property owners' son.

He says the 15 people who lived in the apartments above the Subway restaurant on Main Street were forced to find other places to stay after Wednesday's storms peeled the roof off the building.

"Construction workers that were up on the second floor in the back room, which is where is started, say the rain was coming down hard and then it went sideways and then the whole building shook and then the ceiling collapsed on top of them," Wier said.

The Wiers say they've owned the building for 11 years and can't believe more than a decade of hard work was wiped away in just a few minutes.

According to the owners, they can't start repairing the building yet because they're waiting for the building inspector to take a look at the damage.

But they believe the building is damaged to the tune of $150,000 to $200,000.

However, they say they're able to see the silver lining in the storm clouds.

"The Subway is good, yay for Subway, there's no damage and two of the apartments are fine. We will repair and life goes on, said owner Julie Wier.

Were told no one was hurt when the storm hit the building.

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Storm causes hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage in Wilmore

Montgomery Development is proposing a 33-story apartment building at Forsyth and Central avenues in downtown Clayton.

The project, at 2 South Central, includes plans for 345 apartments, ground-floor stores and a parking garage for 478 vehicles. Also included is a rooftop pool.

Firm costs and a construction schedule are yet to be determined, Joel Montgomery Jr., a company executive, said Thursday. If public review proceeds quickly and financing is arranged, construction could begin next spring, he said.

Theres a lot that has to be reviewed, said Montgomery, adding that cost is one of the big questions that has to be answered.

Montgomerys project is scheduled to get its first public hearing Monday at a meeting of Claytons Architectural Review Board.

The 33-story tower is the second major apartment project in downtown Clayton to come to light since early April.

Planned for a site at Bonhomme and Meramec avenues is the Crossing, a 26-story building of 250 luxury apartments. Jerry Crylen a developer behind the $75 million project said last month that construction should begin this fall with the hope of occupying the building in 2016.

Montgomery said Thursday he believes the Clayton apartment market is growing and able to absorb his 2 South Central project and the Crossing. He cited the success of the recently renovated Clayton on the Park, a 206-unit building, as proof that Clayton is ready for more high-rise living.

The Montgomery plan calls for 97 studio apartments, 168 one-bedroom units, 72 two-bedroom units and eight penthouses. Apartment sizes are small from a 382-square-foot studio to an approximately 1,400-square-foot penthouse in keeping with apartment dwellers latest preference for less living space, Montgomery said.

The design, by Humphreys & Partners, of Dallas, calls for an exterior largely of glass and metal panels. Giarratana Development, of Nashville, Tenn., is consulting with Montgomery on the project.

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Montgomery proposes 33-story Clayton apartment building