ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. -

Burglaries at construction sites throughout St. Johns County have been on the rise for the past couple of years.

The number more than doubled in 2013 and the increase in 2012 came with a huge increase in the number of building permits issued. About 660 more permits were issued last year than in 2012.

The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office said they really need the public's help in finding the burglars that are affecting local businesses.

Were hoping maybe they can find something out but thats kind of difficult to trace so well just have to take the hit, said Thomas Heath, president of Heath Electric Inc.

Heath Electric in St. Johns County recently had equipment stolen from one of its construction sites.

Temporary wire for an electric panel was taken from a locked site at a local mall. He has other wires but says that was his best and it cost him around $1,400.

It hurts your profit margin as its competitive now and you have a low profit margin now. You have to be concerned. Hey, am I going to make it if this keeps happening? Heath said.

Heath's site was locked, but the majority of construction sites burglarized were not. He said many sites go unlocked because companies don't want to haul heavy equipment back and forth to a job every day.

The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office said there were 23 sited construction site burglaries in 2012 and 54 in 2013.

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Construction thefts increased as building permits increased

ST. PAUL -- The new, slimmed-down Senate office building project got the OK from the Senate Rules committee Monday, clearing the way for construction to potentially begin July 1.

Financing is being held up by an outstanding legal challenge, but Mondays approval was the last substantive authorization needed for the project.

Once the lawsuits resolved, the building will be ready for construction, said Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook.

He said hed like to start work on it before July 1 to reduce the risk of potential disruption to the related Capitol renovation process.

The office building project has been criticized by the minority Republican Party as being wasteful and insufficiently vetted, and Mondays vote to approve the plan was on a partisan 8-5 vote, with the Democratic-Farmer-Labor members in favor and Republicans opposed.

The Senate Rules Committee approved a building plan in January that was attacked as too lavish.

Last Friday, the House Rules committee endorsed a revised plan that increased the space in order to house all 67 senators and their staff members instead of just 44. But it reduced the overall project cost to the public in part by cutting an off-site parking ramp and making the on-site ramp user-financed.

The cost to taxpayers dropped from $94 million to $77 million. It was that new plan that the Senate Rules Committee approved Monday.

Senate Minority Leader David Hann, R-Eden Prairie, tried unsuccessfully Monday to table the issue, arguing it made no sense to approve a new design for the Senate office building without knowing what related changes would be made in other Capitol complex buildings.

Currently, DFL majority senators have offices in the Capitol, and Republican minority senators are housed across the street in the State Office Building. Might senators wind up with offices in more than one building, Hann asked?

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Minnesota Senate panel approves $77M Senate building

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A new office building for the Minnesota Senate is one court ruling away from becoming reality after a state Senate committee approved financing for the proposed $90 million building Monday night.

The vote ends several months of partisan battles that will likely continue through the 2014 campaign. Republicans have questioned the need for the building and say the timing of Monday's vote is linked to another major issue at the Capitol.

After nearly a year of partisan attacks, financing concerns from their House counterparts and a broadside from Gov. Mark Dayton, Senate DFLers finally got approval for the new Senate Office building on an 8-5 party line vote in the Senate Rules Committee.

The plan relies on $77 million in taxpayer money. Another $13 million in parking fees will pay for the rest of the project. DFL Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, who has been the biggest backer of the building, said the only thing standing in the way of construction is a pending court challenge.

"I believe that the design work is going to proceed and has been going on despite the lawsuit. I do believe that once the lawsuit is resolved, the building will be ready for construction," Bakk said. He's been pushing for approval for the building because the renovation of the state Capitol will result in less space for Senators and staff.

The lawsuit was filed by a former state representative who contends the building should not have been included in the 2013 tax bill. A district court judge dismissed the suit, but an appeal is pending.

An official with the Department of Administration says construction is slated to start on July 1.

Republicans, who have repeatedly objected to the cost of the building, spent a large part of the hearing questioning the need for the building. Republican Senate Minority Leader David Hann says Democrats rammed the financing of the building through without any GOP support.

"This is all being driven by the DFL majorities in the House and the Senate and the governor to do this," he said. "It just doesn't make any sense. Why you would want to do this major restoration and build a new building and do that on a partisan basis? Why you would want to do this is a mystery to me. But they always had the votes to do whatever they want to do. Apparently they want to do this."

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Key win for Senate building finance pkg.

Good office space in central Auckland is getting harder to find and developers are moving to meet the need, favouring areas around the waterfront, property agency Bayleys says.

In the agency's latest Office Leasing Focus publication, Bayleys' commercial and industrial general manager, John Church, said several developments were on the way that could create more than 100,000 square metres of high-quality office space.

They included Fletcher and Goodman Group's new head office for Fonterra in Fanshaw St, Manson TCLM's speculative 18,600sqm building in Victoria St and Precinct Properties' revamp of the Downtown Shopping Centre.

He also noted Precinct's proposal to build five office buildings in the Wynyard Quarter, Goodman's One Central Park building in the southern corridor and DNZ Property's office development in Corinthian Drive, Albany.

"However, because of the long construction lead times involved in constructing large office buildings, the reality is that the options for businesses looking to relocate before the end of 2015 will be limited - and increasingly so as demand continues to outstrip supply," he said.

Bayleys research analyst Sarah Davidson wrote that more than 80 per cent of prime office space in the central business district was now in the waterfront's northern precincts.

Better use of waterfront space was a global trend, and in Auckland this had begun with the Viaduct Basin and then the Wynyard Quarter, she said.

Before the global financial crisis, the vacancy rate in the northern CBD had been about 8 per cent, but an improving economy meant demand for high-quality premises had picked up again.

Vacancy rates in the northern part of the central city had dropped to single digits, while the southern precincts had moved to above 12 per cent on average.

Examples in the north included the Britomart office precinct, which had the CBD's lowest vacancy rate at 1.1 per cent.

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Auckland waterfront office space grows

Artist's rendering of a legislative office building proposed to be built just north of the Minnesota Capitol. It will house members of the Minnesota Senate. (Image courtesy of the State of Minnesota)

The new, slimmed-down Minnesota Senate office building project won the OK of the Senate Rules Committee on Monday, clearing the way for construction to potentially begin this summer.

Financing continues to be held up by an outstanding legal challenge, but Monday's approval was the last substantive authorization needed for the project.

"Once the lawsuit's resolved, the building will be ready for construction," said Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook.

He said he'd like construction to begin before July 1 to reduce the risk of disrupting the related Capitol renovation process.

Minority Republicans have criticized the project as wasteful and insufficiently vetted, and Monday's committee approval was on a partisan 8-5 vote -- Democratic-Farmer-Labor members in favor; Republicans opposed.

In January, the Senate Rules Committee had approved a plan that was attacked as too lavish.

On Friday, the House Rules Committee endorsed a revised plan that increased the space in order to house all 67 senators and their staff members instead of just 44.

But it reduced the overall cost, in part, by cutting an off-site parking ramp and making the on-site ramp user-financed.

The cost to taxpayers dropped from $94 million to $77 million. And it was that new plan that was approved by the Senate Rules Committee on Monday.

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New Senate offices clear final legislative hurdle

Building construction permits over $10,000 in value that were approved in Boulder between Mar. 24, 2014 to Mar. 30, 2014. Listed below are: the case number; address; total project valuation; owner name; contractor (if applicable); and description.

PMT2013-06290 5070 Ralston St.; $2,300,000; Markel Homes; Markel Homes Construction Co.; New nine-dwelling building, 939 square feet-955 square feet per unit. Each unit with two beds and one and a half baths. Please refer to ADR2012-00235 for minor modification, and TEC2013-00036 for tech doc approval. Small deck for each unit.

PMT2013-06979 1800 28th St.; $565,000; McDonalds Real; Construction of a new McDonald's restaurant with parking, drive aisles, landscaping, and lighting. Associated Tec Docs are TEC2012-00059, TEC2012-0060 and TEC2013-00070.

PMT2014-00330 6075 Reservoir Road; $2,100,000; City of Boulder; Construction of new wildland fire station containing 11,268 total square feet: 7,230 square feet for offices, restrooms, bunk rooms, exercise room, equipment storage and kitchen area and 4,038 square feet for apparatus bay. Includes associated site work. Project includes associated MEP. See LUR2013-00027 for site review and TEC2013-00060 for Tec Doc.

PMT2014-00682 1401 Walnut St.; $65,275.77; 1401 Walnut; Duggan Construction LLC; Tenant remodel of existing office suite. Remodel to include reconfiguring partition walls, lighting, electrical, and HVAC registers, Includes relocation and replacement of existing break room sink and dishwasher.

PMT2014-00892 1713 Pearl St.; $35,000; Sadhu Quarries; Encompass Contracting Corp; Unit 1: Tenant interior remodel of existing retail space to include new finishes, partitions, plumbing and lighting.

PMT2014-00923 3280 Dartmouth Ave.; $120,000; Stanford Ernest; Milo Construction Corporation; Interior repair and restoration of existing basement in day-care facility due to water damage. Scope also includes new construction consisting of demo of load-bearing wall and replacing it with structural columns. Includes plumbing associated with adding new sink. Please refer to PMT2013-04734 for associated MEPs.

PMT2014-00950 1401 Walnut St.; $70,000; 1401 Walnut; Duggan Construction LLC; Interior remodel to first-floor core of existing five-story office building. Work to include remodel of existing restroom, new finishes and fixtures for entry and elevator lobbies, corridor area, and core soffits.

PMT2014-00998 3110 Heidelberg Drive; $64,000; Joshua and Miriam Hacker; Interior remodel of a master bath and kitchen (430 square feet). Scope of work includes MEP's

PMT2014-01005 1002 Walnut St.; $148,536.50; Walnut Court; Sand Construction LLC; Infield Capital - Build five new offices, galley, conference room and rest rooms on second level.

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Boulder building permits: April 7, 2014

By Carl Rotenberg, Crotenberg@21st-centurymedia.com

The proposal from ONeill Properties Group (OPG) of Upper Merion would include two, six-story office buildings with a separate, six-story parking garage with about 900 parking spaces. A new, 240,000-square-foot building would be connected to an existing, 75,000-square-foot office building.

One of the tenants we are talking to has 1,000 employees, said Brian ONeill, the CEO of OPG. We have a public space that can be used as an amphitheater for this tenant. They want a building that has a large amount of office space on each floor.

This building is all glass that is very light. There is an employee life center on the top floor that has meeting spaces, an employee gym and an outdoor space.

A steel mesh with backlighting will cover the garage buildings exterior. It makes it a sculptural work of art, he said. The building is designed to almost float in the water. This is about bringing as much light into the building as we can.

ONeill did not name the potential corporate tenant for the building and garage.

This is a company highly dependent on technology, he said. It is an international company.

An atrium area between the two office buildings would have a five-story high window wall that could have large glass garage doors that could be opened in good weather.

Board Chairman Richard Barton questioned how the glass connector between the two buildings would be built. Continued...

Engel said the front facade would have architectural breaks every 50 feet to qualify the builder for additional building size.

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Upper Merion developer asks for variances for Conshohocken office plan

Names and faces

Jasan Moyer joined the office of Diamond Construction, Inc. as an estimator/project manager in the commercial building construction division. Moyer is a native of Helena and second generation in his family building both residential and commercial projects. Moyer brings 15 years of residential construction experience and has spent time working as a marine vibe operator on the Alaska slope. He also studied education at MSU-Bozeman and computer networking at Helena College.

Nicki Goettel joins the office of Diamond Construction Inc. as an estimator/project manager for the commercial building construction division. She is a recent graduate of Montana State University Bozeman with a Bachelor of Science in construction engineering technology and an associate constructor certification. Goettel is a native of Helena, born and raised carrying on the fifth generation locally for her family in construction.

Ed Field has joined Helena Eye Clinics Optical Department. Bringing with him opticianry experience, Field specializes in helping individuals find the right frame, lens and fit to match lifestyle and personality.

The following individuals have completed a 16-hour ServSafe managers certification class offered by the Lewis and Clark City-County Health Department. The class trains food workers in how to prepare and serve food safely:

Chip Anderson, Missouri River Ranch; Corbett Birmingham and Crystal Yetter, St. Peters Hospital; Pam Howe, Real Food Store; Phillip Wipf, Elk Creek Colony; and Channie Garrison, Paula Carriger, and Sharon Sanders, Town Pump of Butte.

On April 1, St. Peters Hospital presented the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses to dialysis nurse Alice Luehr, R.N. Luehr was nominated by nephrologist Robert LaClair, M.D., for her role in spearheading a new home hemodialysis program for patients, acting as a mentor for other dialysis nurses and going above and beyond her normal duties to help patients and caregivers develop the confidence to continue dialysis at home.

DAISY winners are selected by St. Peters administration and staff from those nominated, and receive a certificate and a "Healers Touch" sculpture at a presentation attended by colleagues, physicians, patients and visitors.

The award is presented in collaboration with The American Organization of Nurse Executives.

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Business briefcase

April 5, 2014 | 4:31 p.m.

About half a dozen units from the Newport Beach Fire Department responded to a loud gas leak that sparked an evacuation Saturday afternoon, but the quick reaction of a landlord brought the situation under control, a fire official said.

A construction crew working in the lobby of an office building at 610 Newport Center Drive accidentally drilled into a 4-inch gas line around 2:20 p.m., NBFD Division Chief Ron Gamble said.

The resulting leak was so loud you could hear it from a gym across a small courtyard from the building, according to Gamble.

"That's a pretty big gas line," he said.

The Irvine Co., which owns the office building, acted quickly by calling 911, shutting off the gas and telling anyone inside to evacuate, according to the NBFD.

When the fire crews, including 21 emergency personnel, arrived, they could smell the leak but found minimal gas readings on the first few floors of the building.

After determining it was safe, the NBFD stopped the evacuations, and crews repaired the gas line.

"What escalated really quick also came down really quick too," Gamble said.

Jeremiah Dobruck

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Newport firefighters respond to gas leak at office building

The Minnesota Senate will likely get a new office building after all.

After holding up the controversial project for two months, the House Rules Committee on Friday approved proceeding with construction after reducing its price tag to $77 million, from $94 million.

"It took us a little while to get there, but we did find a path to reduce the cost and make the building as functional as possible," said House Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, who chairs the Rules Committee.

Republicans and many DFLers, including Gov. Mark Dayton, had criticized the cost and what some called "lavish" features of the building that the Senate Rules Committee approved in January.

That plan called for a four-story structure with a massive glass wall facing the Capitol across University Avenue. The project included a 730-space parking ramp a block east of the new building.

At Murphy's request, the Department of Administration drafted a lower-cost design that calls for less glass and more stone on the front wall, smaller Senate offices, fewer conference rooms, reduced landscaping, delayed construction of a nearby parking ramp and no reflecting pool or fitness room -- two amenities senators insisted they didn't request.

In addition, a parking ramp under the building will be financed by user fees -- paid mainly by senators and their staffs.

If the previous design was lavish, the new one might be characterized as utilitarian. Murphy said it would -- and should -- look "subservient to the Capitol."

At the House's insistence, the revised plan also calls for housing all 67 senators in the new building. Senators wanted 23 leaders to retain offices in the renovated Capitol and while the other 44 members moved into the new building.

Murphy said House DFLers wanted to make sure the public could have access to senators in one place, rather than having to find them in scattered locations.

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House gets its way on new Senate building