HARTFORD Two bidders have submitted broad plans for developing land north of the city's downtown, which include a minor league baseball stadium and a municipal office building.

A group led by New York-based LeylandAlliance and Middletown-based Centerplan has proposed building a ballpark, more than 210,000 square feet of municipal office space, more than 600 residential units, and retail space that features a grocery store.

Boston-based CV Properties LLC submitted a plan that includes a new municipal office building, a ballpark and a garage. The company, which called the proposal a "catalytic project," said it would partner with other interested developers "to advance the housing and retail components of the project."

A third proposal was submitted by Bloomfield-based Thomas Hooker Brewing Company. Its owner, Curt Cameron, has said he intends to build a 50,000-square-foot brewery, restaurant and beer garden on North Main Street, across from the proposed stadium.

The total cost of his plan is estimated to be $10 million to $15 million. Cameron said he expects that his beers would be among those sold in the ballpark.

"The entrance to the brewery's tasting and event room is directly across the street from the entrance to the proposed new ballpark, creating a dynamic and active corner," Cameron said in his proposal to the city.

The overall development could cost $500 million or more, officials have said. The city on Wednesday disclosed portions of the proposals. City officials did not reveal financial details of the plans, and declined to discuss how much the developers or the city would contribute. .

"We want to thoroughly vet the proposals and have a clear understand[ing] of all aspects of the proposed deal," Thomas Deller, the city's director of development services, said in a text message Wednesday. "This will take us a few weeks."

Hartford officials said they received four bids for the project, but only three met the criteria of the city's request for proposals.

Deller said Wednesday that his staff would begin evaluating the proposals with a goal of interviewing bidders the week of Aug. 18. A "selected development approach" will be submitted to the city council in late August or early September, he said, which could include one or more of the development plans.

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Plans For Hartford Stadium, New Municipal Offices Revealed

VANCLEAVE, MS (WLOX) -

The first day of school at Vancleave Upper Elementary was filled with excitement and a bit of disappointment. Students and teachers expected the new administration building at the school to open Wednesday, but the front of the campus still looks like a construction zone.

Librarian Rhonda High didn't expect to be distributing textbooks in a cramped space at Vancleave Upper Elementary. She had planned on working out of the new administration building on the first day of school.

"I'm so excited. I'm so anxious. I wish it was ready today," said High.

The building is weeks away from being ready, and the front of the campus is still a mess.

"I was a little disappointed, but I know the fact that we're getting a new library, and it's not that much longer. It's going to be worth the wait," said High. "It's going to be much larger than what we have now, and we're going to have all new furniture in the library. We're going to have new technology for the students to use. It's more up-to-date, and it's something the kids can be really proud of."

The building will serve as the main entrance to the school. It will house administrative offices, the media center, counselor's office, Title I office and two computer labs.

The building was supposed to be ready over the summer, but weather, soil and drainage issues pushed the project back.

"We did have some offices completely pack up, ready to move, during the summer into the new building and to come back and realize that we are delayed, there won't be a move, it was disappointing," said Principal Karen Glass.

Computer lab teacher Cindy Jones has been watching the construction progress since the project started a year ago.

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Vancleave school construction project falls behind schedule

Updated: 08/07/2014 6:28 PM Created: 08/07/2014 6:14 PM KSTP.com By: Tom Hauser

You might find some minor and even significant differences between the GOP candidates in the Minnesota governor's race. However, there's one issue where there's complete unity: opposition to spending $77 million on a new Senate office building.

On Thursday, Jeff Johnson took the issue up a notch by conducting a "mock" groundbreaking for the building, noting the absence of an official event to mark the beginning of construction.

"Whenever government spends a bunch of money on a project we always have a ceremony of groundbreaking where the governor and legislative leaders who supported it come out with their golden shovels and break ground and say how proud they are of this project," Johnson said in a mocking tone. "For some reason they didn't schedule that for this one."

Johnson has also sent direct mail campaign ads criticizing the "luxury" office building and leaving the impression the building will include a "fitness room" and "reflecting pool."

Wayne Waslaski of the state Department of Administration says there will be no fitness room or reflecting pool, although they were suggested in early planning meetings.

"They were open meetings and so people were throwing out ideas," Waslaski said. "Those ideas were never carried forward into the design."

A spokesman for the Department of Administration says no groundbreaking was scheduled, because there's such a tight construction timetable.

A KSTP/SurveyUSA poll from June indicated 68 percent of Minnesotans oppose spending $77 million on the building. The total cost of the building is about $90 million, but $13 million will come from parking fees in a ramp beneath the new building.

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"Mock" Groundbreaking Puts Campaign Spotlight on Senate Building

After years of vacancy and neglect, life is returning to the Tishman Building in downtown Buffalo, as its new owner, the Hamister Group, took occupancy of the top three floors last month and apartment residents move in during the next several days.

The tall, dark metal-and-glass edifice at Lafayette Square and Main Street has undergone months of overhaul and renovation by the Hamister Group hospitality firm, with most of the buildings 20 floors gutted and rebuilt from the inside. The longtime office building looks the same on the exterior, where historic preservation requirements prevented any substantive changes to the facade, but its interior purpose is now radically different. Its 18th, 19th and 20th floors now house the headquarters for President and CEO Mark E. Hamisters corporation, with a reception area on the 19th floor. The company has 40 employees there.

The next three floors down contain 18 high-end luxury apartments, with a mixture of one- and two-bedroom units in six different configurations because of the layout of the building. Already, 10 of the 18 are rented, with another rental expected by weeks end, and the first tenant moved in July 31, with the rest expected to take their places by next Friday, said Hamister spokeswoman Andrea M. Czopp.

The bulk of the 140,000- square-foot building will be a new Hilton Garden Inn, with 124 rooms on floors 4 through 14, plus the lobby, restaurant, meeting rooms and a pool on the remaining levels. Work by contractor R&P Oak Hill is continuing on that portion of the project, with the hotel scheduled to open by Oct. 10.

We began this process four years ago before many of the cranes that we now see in downtown existed. We are pleased to be part of the momentum that is transformational to Buffalo, Mark Hamister said. This is an example of adaptive reuse that the city and the Buffalo Niagara Partnership have been promoting for the past several years for the city.

With the conversion and reopening of Rocco R. Terminis Hotel @ The Lafayette just down the street and Benderson Development Co.s Courtyard by Marriott at One Canalside, plus the pending completion by next spring of the Marriott Buffalo HarborCenter by the Buffalo Sabres, downtown Buffalo will have gained several hundred new hotel rooms in a short time.

The new hotels sales staff has been working with local businesses for several months to reserve rooms, so the hotel already is doing well with bookings, Czopp said. Interest is definitely growing.

The $42 million redevelopment of the Tishman Building almost hidden from view because the bulk of the work was inside represents the latest example of the real estate revival hitting downtown Buffalo from the waterfront to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, and even beyond.

In the last few years, several billion dollars of public and private investment has been poured into the city for new construction, historic renovation and adaptive reuse projects that are taking derelict urban properties and putting them back to active duty. At the same time, the availability of new loft and luxury apartments, redesigned office space, hotel rooms and entertainment are drawing people back into the city and spurring new excitement and confidence among residents and workers.

The momentum in downtown is continuing to build upon itself, and we are seeing wave upon wave of new projects in various stages of development, said Christian Campos, chief financial officer of TM Montante Development. All of that activity is giving downtown Buffalo an entirely new identity, which is attracting peoples interests.

Originally posted here:
Tishman Building is reborn with a fresh blend

AP FILE PHOTO

Nationally, total construction spending for the first half of the year was up 7.8 percent from the same period in 2013.

While home building is on the rise in New Jersey, construction hiring in the state has actually declined over the past year. But that may change in the months ahead, as multi-family projects pick up momentum.

"We're still anticipating increased hiring in the construction trades in the second half of the year," said Patrick O'Keefe, an economist with CohnReznick, an accounting firm with an office in Roseland. "It's a little bit puzzling that we haven't seen it already."

According to the Associated General Contractors of America, a trade group, New Jersey had the steepest drop in construction jobs in the nation in the 12 months ended in June, losing 11,200 jobs, or 8 percent of the total. The job loss came at a time when home construction approvals have been running almost 29 percent ahead of last year's pace, as the industry continues to climb out of its deepest trough since World War II.

Multi-family construction, especially in Bergen and Hudson counties, has powered the housing recovery, accounting for 61 percent of the activity in the state. That's a big change from New Jersey's historic development patterns, which were long dominated by single-family construction. There's a growing demand for rentals, since many households can't qualify for mortgages because of flat incomes and still-tight lending standards. And many households, especially in the Millennial generation, prefer the flexibility and pedestrian-friendly lifestyle found in urban rentals.

O'Keefe said the stronger performance of the multi-family sector may be one reason why construction hiring has lagged behind housing approvals. In single-family construction, he said, a builder gets a permit and puts construction workers on the job almost immediately. But a multi-family project requires more site work and is built in stages, which could stretch out hiring, he said.

Another factor in New Jersey's slow construction job market is that nonresidential building has been sluggish, both in the state and nationwide, according to Ken Simonson, chief economist of the contractors' group. Public projects, such as highway and school construction, have been constrained by tight federal and state budgets.

And little new office and retail space is being constructed.

"We see much more activity related to renovation of existing space, rather than new space," Simonson said. "New shopping centers just aren't happening." And New Jersey's office market, whose vacancy rate has come down, is around 20 percent, so there's little reason to build more.

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Home building is up, but construction hiring hasn't followed

Facilities at Denisons Paw Paw Wastewater Treatment Plant will soon be getting an upgrade after the City Council voted Monday to award a construction contract for a new office and laboratory at the site.

From its creation in the late 1950s until the early 1990s, the facility was served only by a single, 200-square-foot office building. Over the years, a single-wide trailer home and two portable buildings have been added to the site and act as the current offices and other facilities for plant staff.

We are getting something much longer lasting and getting (staff) all in the same building, Public Works Director David Howerton said.

The new facility will be a pre-engineered, 2,016-square-foot metal building with room for operations, offices, and a laboratory, said Howerton. The facility will feature a masonry wainscot on the exterior, which Howerton said he expects will ensure that the facility will remain usable for at least 50 years.

We have to give employees the opportunity for proper office space, City Manager Robert Hanna said.

Moore Contracting of Pottsboro submitted the lowest, and winning, bid for the project, totalling $133,603 for the construction and other work on the new facility. This is below the $150,000 that was budgeted for the project, said Mayor Jared Johnson.

The project will be financed through water and sewer utility funds available in this years budget. The project comes after $6 million in updates and upgrades to the plant in 2013. This includes remodelling of the facilitys aeration building and new equipment throughout the plant. Howerton said that new blowers at the plant are expected to save the city $200,000 annually.

I feel this is a very prudent investment, said Howerton.

The two portable buildings are still functional and will be re-purposed by the city, said Howerton. One will remain at the site for additional storage, restroom facilities, and other uses, said Howerton. The trailer is expected to be retired from use.

It has seen its best day a long time ago, said Howerton.

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Denison City Council awards contract for Paw Paw Wastewater Plant office addition

Lindsay Nevin, co-owner of Flyway development and general contracting company, stands in front of the upper Meeting Street building the company restored on peninsular Charleston. Brad Nettles/Staff

At a glance

COMPANY: Flyway

OWNERS: Lindsay Nevin and Austin Hipp

ADDRESS: 1630 Meeting St., Charleston

FOCUS: Development and general contracting

WEBSITE: flywaysc.com

A white cross stands on an overgrown lot beside what was once an oil company's southeastern headquarters on Charleston's upper peninsula, a relic of the tent revivals frequently held on the site years ago.

Starting later this year, the small tract will see the footings for what will be a 40,000-square-foot, three-story building called The Refinery with a 300-seat amphitheater in the back.

That's the plan by Flyway, a development and general contracting firm housed next door in what once was the regional office building for the former Standard Oil Co.

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Development firm plans office building, amphitheater on Charleston's upper peninsula

The former S.H. Kress building at University Boulevard and 23rd Avenue downtown houses the Pants Store and once housed Spiller Furniture. Planned renovations include an external staircase for six planned condominium units.

Plans for a new downtown Cadence Bank and upgrades to the Kress building's exterior have been unanimously approved by the Tuscaloosa City Council.

Both came before the City Council on Tuesday. Under the guidelines of the Downtown Riverfront Overlay District, the council is required to sign off on development projects within a predefined area of downtown.

For the new Cadence Bank, planned for 2020 University Blvd., developers intend to demolish the existing building that once housed the Ray, Oliver and Ward law firm and construct a two-story bank and office building in its place.

Also planned for the site is a detached building for drive-through services and 23 parking spaces.

The bank, which now operates downtown at 1101 Greensboro Ave., would relocate to the new building once it's finished and complete the sale of its current location.

Eric Heslop, Cadence's city president for Tuscaloosa, said some contingencies remain on finalizing the contract for the law office, but if all goes according to plan, he expects the closing on the new land to be completed by the end of the year.

Construction, Heslop said, should be complete by early summer 2015, but it remains too early to know the total overall investment Cadence Bank plans to make to prepare and construct in new location.

We're super excited about the new site, said Heslop. We get to keep our downtown presence, but for us it's a much more efficient use of space.

John McConnell, director of the city's Planning and Development Services, said that the bank's initial plans for an entrance and exit on University Boulevard was rejected by the Office of the City Engineer, but later added once the city and developers agreed to limit the University Boulevard entrance and exit to right turns only.

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Council approves downtown projects; Plans include upgrades to Kress building and demolishing building for new bank

BUILDING PERMITS

Building construction permits over $10,000 in value that were approved in Boulder between Jul. 21, 2014 to Jul. 27, 2014. Listed below are: the case number; address; total project valuation; owner name; contractor (if applicable); and description.

PMT2014-00333 2605 Kohler Drive; $576,864.72; ALR Investment; AGR Building Inc.; New single-family dwelling (two stories) including attached garage, theater, rec. room, bedroom, storage, mechanical room. 4,996-square-foot residence, with 1,020-square-foot garage, and total of 352-square-foot porch/deck.

PMT2014-01950 3171 Fourth St.; $75,000; Tricia and Mark Stahr; Owner/contractor existing 705-square-foot basement remodel/addition. New 360-square-foot conversion of crawlspace to finished basement space. Permit includes associated MEPs.

PMT2014-02138 1215 Tamarack Ave.; $430,244.61; Gary Calderon; Revielle Custom Carpentry; New duplex. Unit A is 1,772 square feet with a attached 327-square-foot garage. Unit B is 2,060 square feet with a 478-square-foot attached garage.

PMT2014-02580 1800 14th St.; $174,541.50; Regional Transportation; Blue Spruce Design & Construction; New bike storage facility located in the open air plaza in the existing RTD bus terminal. Square footage of project is 2,100. See Minor Mod approval under ADR2014-00072. See PMT case note re: lighting variance.

PMT2014-02654 1960 28th St.; $10,000; Macerich Twenty Ninth; Wells Fargo Installation of a walk-up ATM and relocation of bicycle racks at existing Wells Fargo Bank location. Reference ADR2014-00008

PMT2014-02735 4178 Clifton Court; $400,000; North Boulder; Coast To Coast Residential Development; New single-family dwelling (3,337 square feet) with unfinished basement (1,418 square feet) attached garage (509 square feet), deck, and porch (deck and porch totalling 319 square feet). MEPs included. Please refer to LUR2003-00033 for applicable site review.

PMT2014-02737 758 17th St.; $128,000; Leigh Jesser; Prana Construction Inc.; A second story addition (increase size of attic) to the upper level of an over-and-under duplex consisting of 1,146 square feet of work (942 of addition and 204 of remodel). Scope of work also includes associated MEPs.

PMT2014-02791 4192 Westcliffe Court; $420,250; MGK Development; Markel Homes Construction Co.; New two-story, single-family dwelling with four bedrooms, two and three-quarter baths, one bath rough-in and a three-car attached garage. House to include 2,744 square feet of finished area, 920-square-foot unfinished basement, 676-square-foot garage, 111-square-foot porch, 194-square-foot patio and 98-square-foot balcony. Includes MEP.

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Boulder building permits: Aug. 4, 2014

By Cheryl Allison callison@mainlinemedianews.com

That office-park environment would have a new look more in keeping with the townships vision for the area, however, under a redevelopment plan starting its way through the approval process.

Keystone Property Groups tentative sketch plan for a new six-story, 207-unit apartment building on a part of the property took a first step forward Monday night. With a number of questions it wants to see answered at the next stage, the Lower Merion Planning Commission voted 5-0 to recommend approval of the sketch plan. Co-Chairman Alan Ritterband, who was present for the meeting, recused himself in the vote. His co-chairman, Charles Howland, was absent.

The commissions vote was to have moved the plan forward for review by the Building and Planning Committee of the board of commissioners Wednesday night. However, in an announcement that night, committee Co-Chairman Phil Rosenzweig said the application had been tabled. A brief presentation of the plan was made, but the committee would not discuss it that night, Rosenzweig said.

Assistant Director of Planning Chris Leswing said that, following the planning commission meeting Monday night, planning staff asked the developers to take another look, in particular at concerns about provisions for public gathering space and open space. The applicant was agreeable, he said, to tabling the matter until September. As one of the first projects to come forward under 2012s rezoning of the City Avenue district, We want to make sure we get this right, Leswing said.

In addition to the new residential building the second apartment project to come forward since rezoning of the City Avenue district in 2012 the plan calls for renovation of the office buildings exterior and construction of a four-story, 272-space parking garage to partially replace surface parking.

A commercial space of about 4,000 square feet, intended for a restaurant tenant, will front the parking structure on Monument Road.

The apartment building will contain another 207 parking spaces for residents, part of a total on site of 673.

Attorney Carl Primavera, representing Keystone Properties, said the company acquired the property from previous owner Mack-Cali as that company opted to sell some of its suburban office portfolio to enter into the residential market. An association with Mack-Cali will continue, as a subsidiary, Roseland Property, develops the new multi-family building.

The projects architect said the apartment mix will be 60-percent one-bedroom units, with the remainder two-bedroom and a small number three-bedroom. Asked what tenant market it will be geared to, Keystone Senior Vice President Richard Gottlieb said the apartments would be at the upper end of the price scale. Continued...

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Updated: Bala Cynwyd apartment project tabled