Another image from a construction fire in Salt Lake City near 550 E. 500 South, Sunday, Feb 9, 2014.

Mindy Hatch

SALT LAKE CITY An entire apartment building under construction at 550 E. 500 South went up in flames, Sunday.

Flames from the building shot up 150 feet. Salt Lake City Fire Department responded with four alarms.

No one was in the building when the fire started. The fire was upgraded to four-alarm shortly before 6:30 p.m.

Around 6:45, nearby homes and a Smith's Marketplace across the street were evacuated. There was concern embers from the fire were landing on nearby rooftops.

The Utah Department of Transportation sent out a tweet saying 500 South was closed from 400 East to 500 East. That road closure could stay in effect throughout the night.

Almost 100 firefighters responded to the fire. The Red Cross is on scene to provide relief for those firefighters.

Smoke and flames from the fire could be seen across the valley, and some witnessed embers shooting out from the building for several feet. As of 7:30 p.m., the fire was under control and smoldering.

Updates will be posted when available.

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Blaze breaks out in building under construction in Salt Lake City

The systemic failure by cost-cutting apartment developers to build fire-safe apartment blocks in New Zealand's major city is being kept under wraps by secret legal settlements.

The Sunday Star-Times has learned of a number of secret settlements to homeowners involving professional fire engineers and the Auckland Council for sub-standard fire systems in multi-unit dwellings although the council denies its involvement.

While the fire safety problems are not restricted to Auckland or apartment buildings, the Star-Times understands settlements so far have related to Auckland apartment complexes.

The fire engineers are on the hook if they have certified systems that don't meet the required building consent conditions while the building consent authority is legally liable under the Building Act to ensure the consent documents accurately reflect the work carried out before issuing a code compliance certificate.

The leaky building crisis has been well publicised. But lawyers for leaky building claimants say around one in five claims for defective and shoddily-constructed apartment blocks also involve claims to fix faulty and sub-standard fire systems.

Leaky building litigator Paul Grimshaw's firm currently represents about 6000 clients with leaky properties; the majority are body corporates for apartment blocks in Auckland.

He says the problems with apartment buildings would be better described as construction defects rather than weathertightness issues.

"Leaking doesn't really cover it . . . There are fire issues, there are structural issues, there are cladding issues."

He says builders and developers have cut corners by not correctly fire rating buildings.

Inadequate fire rating means a building will burn too quickly, not slowing the spread of fire enough to allow residents to escape, or may cause the building to collapse.

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Secret fire-safety deals

In August, a subcontractor working for a contractor who was supposed to perform renovations instead gutted the interior and sold the fixtures for scrap.

VENICE - A historic apartment building on the island of Venice that seemed destined for the wrecking ball is instead headed on a course toward renovation and revival.

When completed, the building should look like it did in 1926, said Ernest Ritz, owner of Ritz Construction Corp. in Sarasota whom the owner hired to perform the extensive makeover.

The Rose Hill East Apartments, 504 Armada Road South, is one of several residential buildings in a historic district within walking distance of downtown. The renowned town planner John Nolen specifically designated the area for apartments that could be rented by the city's working population a crucial component of his vision to make Venice a diverse, walkable town.

We still need these apartments for the workforce here, James Hagler, the city's historical resources director, said.

In August, Glen Jones father of the property owner, Tracy de Chevron Villette appeared before the city's Architectural Review Board to seek a demolition permit for the building.

Without permission, a subcontractor working for a contractor who was supposed to perform renovations, instead gutted the interior and sold the fixtures for scrap.

When he sought the demolition permit, Jones presumed the Mediterranean Revival structure had no historical significance.

Expressing doubts, the review board immediately summoned Hagler.

Hagler explained that Rose Hill East, which The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers hired M.G. Worrell of Tampa to build, is of historical significance because of the John Nolen connection.

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Historic Venice apartment building to be restored

The long-awaited Penfield is officially open.

St. Paul leaders gathered Thursday morning for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the downtown apartment building at Robert and Tenth streets.

Envisioned nearly a decade ago as a luxury condo high-rise that would change the St. Paul skyline, the Penfield project was scaled back over the years to fit market trends.

What got built was a $62 million, block-long building that stands six stories tall and features 254 apartments. The project also includes a parking garage and a Lunds grocery that will open May 15. Construction took about two years.

"The Penfield is another example of downtown's development momentum," Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman said at Thursday opening. He noted a number of nearby projects in the works, from the Lowertown Ballpark to the Central Corridor that will begin running in June.

"We have a lot to look forward to celebrating this year," he said.

The Penfield has gone through various designs since its inception.

Plans in 2005 called for a $117 million, 40-story glass-and-steel tower of condominiums and townhomes. Other proposals since had included a hotel and a shortened tower at 30 stories. A development partnership, Alatus and Sherman Rutzick & Associates, backed out when the housing market collapsed during the recession.

The city stepped in and served as the developer itself, having recently developed the five-story Lofts at Farmers Market, a 56-unit luxury rental building in Lowertown that opened in 2012.

The city approved a tax-increment financing district for the building, which will recycle $15 million -- 25 years of property taxes generated by the site -- back into project development. It will be owned by the Saint Paul Housing and Redevelopment Authority and managed and marketed by Village Green Residential Properties.

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St. Paul celebrates Penfield opening; Lunds' first day is May 15

AUSTRALIA'S building industry has slumped back into contraction following a fall in new orders.

The Australian Industry Group's Performance of Construction index dropped 2.6 points to 48.2 in January, indicating the building sector is contracting.

A reading below 50 points shows the sector is contracting; above indicates expansion.

It dints hope that the industry was on a rebound after strong growth in house building propelled the broader construction sector into its third consecutive month of expansion in December following several years of decline.

Driving the fall was a decline in new orders (down 6.6 points to 47.7), a steeper fall in employment (45.1) and a continued reduction in deliveries from suppliers (49.0), Ai Group says.

Ai Group public policy director Peter Burn said the reading casts doubt over possibilities of a recovery in the construction sector.

"Its performance in the next few months will be critical in determining whether there is a consolidation of the gains of late last year or a resumption of the weakness that has characterised the residential and commercial construction slump in the past couple of years," he said.

House building was the strongest sub-sector, at 57.5, but its rate of expansion had moderated in line with slower growth in new orders in January.

Engineering construction recovered from the drop reported in December, while apartment building contracted

sharply and commercial construction slipped from the slight expansion recorded in December.

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Aussie building industry slumps

Business Property

A decline in new orders, steep fall in employment and drop in delivers from suppliers led to the slow down in the building industry. Photo: Tamara Voninski

The Australian Industry Group's Performance of Construction index dropped 2.6 points to 48.2 in January, indicating the building sector is contracting.

A reading below 50 points shows the sector is contracting; above indicates expansion.

It dints hope that the industry was on a rebound after strong growth in house building propelled the broader construction sector into its third consecutive month of expansion in December following several years of decline.

Driving the fall was a decline in new orders (down 6.6 points to 47.7), a steeper fall in employment (45.1) and a continued reduction in deliveries from suppliers (49.0), Ai Group says.

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Ai Group public policy director Peter Burn said the reading casts doubt over possibilities of a recovery in the construction sector.

"Its performance in the next few months will be critical in determining whether there is a consolidation of the gains of late last year or a resumption of the weakness that has characterised the residential and commercial construction slump in the past couple of years," he said.

House building was the strongest sub-sector, at 57.5, but its rate of expansion had moderated in line with slower growth in new orders in January.

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Aussie construction slows

Australia's building industry has slumped back into contraction following a fall in new orders.

The Australian Industry Group's Performance of Construction index dropped 2.6 points to 48.2 in January, indicating the building sector is contracting.

A reading below 50 points shows the sector is contracting; above indicates expansion.

It dints hope that the industry was on a rebound after strong growth in house building propelled the broader construction sector into its third consecutive month of expansion in December following several years of decline.

Driving the fall was a decline in new orders (down 6.6 points to 47.7), a steeper fall in employment (45.1) and a continued reduction in deliveries from suppliers (49.0), Ai Group says.

Ai Group public policy director Peter Burn said the reading casts doubt over possibilities of a recovery in the construction sector.

'Its performance in the next few months will be critical in determining whether there is a consolidation of the gains of late last year or a resumption of the weakness that has characterised the residential and commercial construction slump in the past couple of years,' he said.

House building was the strongest sub-sector, at 57.5, but its rate of expansion had moderated in line with slower growth in new orders in January.

Engineering construction recovered from the drop reported in December, while apartment building contracted sharply and commercial construction slipped from the slight expansion recorded in December.

Housing Industry Association senior economist Shane Garrett said new dwelling construction was needed to prop up the economy as mining slows.

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Aust building industry slumps

Syracuse, N.Y. Hotelier Norm Swanson is planning to build a five-story, 100-unit apartment building next to his Hotel Skyler on University Hill.

Skyler Commons will be built on what is currently a parking lot at 908 Harrison St., just east of the 58-room Hotel Skyler.

Swanson said he expects to begin construction in July. The apartments, which all will be one-bedroom units, will be available for lease early in the spring of 2015, he said.

The building will be clad in fiber cement panels with the main facades featuring projecting bays in vertical bands. The main entrance will feature a black metal roof matching the roof over the courtyard area attached to the Hotel Skyler next door.

Swanson expects many of the building's tenants to be Syracuse University students and people who work on University Hill. Monthly rents will be about $1,100, including all utilities and wireless Internet service, he said.

The property will have 55 parking spaces, including 30 in a basement garage. Swanson has applied to the city for zoning variances related to required parking, maximum height, density, and front and side yard setbacks.

Swanson opened the Hotel Skyler in 2011 in a building that was built in 1921 as Temple Adath Yeshurun and later served as the home of Salt City Theatre. It is the only hotel in Syracuse that meets the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum standards.

The hotel, which is named after his grandson, is Swanson's third in Syracuse. The other two are the Genesee Grande and the Parkview Hotel, both on East Genesee Street.

Contact Rick Moriarty at rmoriarty@syracuse.com or (315) 470-3148. Follow him on Twitter @RickMoriartyCNY and on Facebook at rick.moriarty.92.

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100-unit apartment building planned next to Syracuse's Hotel Skyler

The promise of a snowstorm and more cold was good news for Dave Ruhland and the wavy-haired Iceman he made by freezing about 50 water balloons around 3,000 ice cubes in a stacked rainbow of yellow, orange and green.

The burst of sherbet color on the front lawn of his apartment building on a drab but busy stretch of Sheridan Drive in the Town of Tonawanda has had people slowing down as they pass and sometimes even pulling over to pose for pictures beside it.

I try to brighten up the gloomy day as best I can, Ruhland said.

While Ruhland makes his living in construction, painting and rehabbing apartments, for the last few winters, he has made a hobby of building icemen at 2719 Sheridan. His pastime part art sculpture, part ice construction experiment has changed his take on winter.

While lots of people are sick of the cold and snow, hes eager for todays promised snowstorm and another crack at icy art.

I was probably the only one who was like, Please stay colder longer, he admitted Tuesday as he surveyed his work on the snowy lawn. The adrenaline gets going ... Before you know it, it doesnt even bother you.

Ruhland had not yet started to mend his Iceman 4, which was partially worn out by the weekends warm weather. After the 40-degree temperatures, only one side of his ice skin was intact.

Half of its ice-cube skeleton was exposed in appetizing layers of yellow, orangey-red and greenish-blue, like a tall snow cone of many flavors.

Its a pretty cool view, he said. Thats part of the fun, seeing how he melts.

It had taken a week and a half of painstaking work for him to build this 7-foot-tall man.

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Iceman sculpture balloons into hobby

Residents 'could run Bradford's Gatehaus building'

6:30am Tuesday 4th February 2014 in News By Rob Lowson, T&A Reporter

Leaseholders in a rotting Bradford apartment block say they will bid to take over the running of the building if problems with the existing managers cannot be resolved.

Members of the Gatehaus Owners Association (GOA), who own or lease flats in the 22 million Little Germany development, are considering a right to manage proposal to take over responsibility from the propertys managing agents, Braemar Estates, whose directors paid a visit to the Leeds Road apartments yesterday.

As exclusively reported in yesterdays Telegraph & Argus, GOA members had contacted Braemar Estates to say they were not satisfied with the way the Gatehaus was being managed, highlighting health and safety issues and a general state of disrepair within the building.

This claim was disputed by the firm, which said the building had inherent construction problems and a chronic service charge deficit.

But Jamil Ashraf, a spokesman for the GOA, said: It is their responsibility to chase any outstanding service charges, but we dont believe that to be case for our members. We have asked for this information so we can chase up any of our members who are in arrears and help the process along.

After nearly two years of frustration, it is difficult to offer support when you dont see anything being done and see the building deteriorate even further. These problems need to be resolved, and this work needs to be done.

Mr Ashraf said GOA members were looking at the right-to-manage process and become responsible for making management decisions.

In response, Braemar Estates managing director Neil Roberts, said: We believe that they may well face the same challenges of prioritising repairs, arranging contracts and securing sufficient funding from all leaseholders.

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Residents 'could run Bradford's Gatehaus building'