SUN-TIMES MEDIA WIRE May 14, 2012 3:06PM

A consumer fraud lawsuit was filed Monday alleging a north suburban construction company scammed an elderly couple rebuilding a porch on an apartment building on the South Side.

The Cook County States Attorneys office filed the suit against George Zachary, the owner of Upscale Design Corp. and Value Built Construction with offices in Lincolnwood and Deerfield, according to a release from the states attorneys office.

Zachary failed to refund down payments made by the couple for porch repairs on the building they owned even after the states attorneys office demanded him.

The victims, 74 and 75 years old, hired Zachary in April 2011 to rebuild a two-story porch on an apartment building they owned on Chicagos South Side, the release said. He met with the couple, who paid Zachary two deposits totaling $3,200 for the project that was estimated at $7,000. Zachary was to obtain required permits, start the job within 30 days and complete construction within 7 days.

Zachary arrived at the victims property two and a half months later with a work crew to demolish the porch, the release said. He never returned to deliver materials or start construction of the porch.

The couple repeatedly called Zachary during the next several weeks to find out when he would begin building the porch, the suit said. He did not answer any of their calls except when the couple called on a payphone from a different phone number. He then gave numerous excuses, claimed to have been out of town on a family emergency and that he was experiencing personal financial difficulties.

City building inspectors fined the couple $250 in August 2011 and placed a stop work order on the project because their porch had been demolished without a permit, the release said. The couple went to pay the $250 fine as well as $200 for the permit and the citys building department told them that Zachary had applied for the permit but never paid the fee. They were also told that the Zacharys license had expired.

The couple then contacted the Cook County States Attorneys Consumer Fraud Unit. The suit seeks a permanent injunction against Zachary for fraudulent and unlawful business practices, refunds for the consumers, civil penalties of up to $50,000 and an additional $10,000 in civil penalties for each violation committed against a person 65 or older.

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Construction firm accused of scamming elderly couple

BUILDING PERMITS

Boulder

Building construction permits over $10,000 in value that were approved in Boulder between April 30 and May 6, 2012. Listed below are: the case number; address; total project valuation; owner name; contractor (if applicable); and description.

PMT2012-01193; 1803 Mapleton Ave.; $136,000; Robert and Laura Cory; Melton Construction Inc.; Addition/remodel of an existing single-family dwelling -- modification of roof elements to create new floor area inside of existing east wall, relocate the south wall (8 feet by 4 inches) to create an office area on main level and bedroom above. Dismantle existing staircase -- rebuild new stairway, add gas fireplace, add second floor bathroom, remodel bathrooms -- relocate fixtures.

PMT2012-00139; 1350 Meadow Ave.; $450,000; Jamie and Susan Doucet; Master suite addition of 125 square feet, remodel of 2,794 square feet on all levels of house (including 690 square feet of basement) and a basement finish of 1,224 square feet to an existing residence. 598 square feet in new decks and porches. New decorative gas fireplace -- convert baseboard hydronic heat to in-floor hydronic. Install evaporative cooler. Add full bathroom, and a three-quarter bathroom and a powder room.

PMT2012-01606; 2065 Alpine Drive; $47,593.53; Hansen Rada; Field West Construction LLC; Addition of 25-square-foot front entry and 72-square-foot mud room, remodel main floor including vaulting the ceilings, bathroom remodel, new front porch.

PMT2012-01685; 3110 29th St.; $42,927.36; Braun Construction Inc.; Addition of a 32-square-foot riser room and modification of 1432 square feet to the ceiling of a garden level garage -- fire tap and piping to/within riser room by separate permit. Sprinkler system modifications by separate permit. See ADR2012-00069 for supplemental information. Separate permits for similar work on 3060 29th and 3080 29th on same set of plans. See PMT2012-01700 for ROW and Utility fees.

PMT2010-03160; 5317 Desert Mountain Court; $28,800; Darwin and Coleen Pruisner; R.A. Spencer Construction Inc.; Addition of 360-square-foot single-car garage on south side of property.

PMT2012-01681; 3060 29th St.; $42,927.36; MBY Development; Braun Construction Inc.; Addition of a 32-square-foot riser room and modification of 1,432 square feet to the ceiling of a garden-level garage -- fire tap and piping to/within riser room by separate permit. Sprinkler system modifications by separate permit. See ADR2012-00069 for supplemental information. Separate permits for similar work on 3080 29th St. and 3110 29th St. on same set of plans. See PMT2012-01700 for Utility and ROW fees.

PMT2012-01684; 3080 29th St.; $42,927.36; Braun Construction Inc.; Addition of a 32-square-foot riser room and modification of 1,432 square feet to the ceiling of a garden level garage -- fire tap and piping to/within riser room by separate permit. Sprinkler system modifications by separate permit. See ADR2012-00069 for supplemental information. Separate permits for similar work on 3060 29th St. and 3110 29th St. on same set of plans. See PMT2012-01700 for utility and ROW fees.

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Boulder building permits: May 14, 2012

CEBU, Philippines - The Office of the Building Official (OBO) is now tasked to speed up the processing of applications for building construction permits as Mayor Michael Rama wants them to be immediately released to applicants.

The mayor wants this done to prevent further delay on the start of the projects.

Although he is not totally against the city councils request to prohibit the construction of projects before the approval of building permits, Rama wants to speed up the issuance of permits within one day or a few days.

OBO head Engr. Josefa Ylanan assured that she can release the permits before the lapse of the 15-day maximum period set by the National Building Code if the applicants can submit all the necessary supporting documents.

But Ylanan said her other problem is the lack of technical personnel to review the technical descriptions of the building permit applications because OBO has only 32 personnel and cannot cope with the work demands.

Even if he wants to hasten the issuance of permits at the OBO, Rama did not assure that he will assign additional technical personnel to the said office.

Rama is pushing for the creation of a so-called One Stop Shop or an office or building where representatives from the various government agencies involved in the issuance of the necessary documents may hold office together.

Before a building permit can be secured, the applicants need to first get a locational clearance from the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) to find out whether the site is fit for the planned projects based on the zoning ordinance.

Although OBO and CPDO are two different offices, these are both situated at the City Hall building.

After the locational clearance, the applicant for building construction permit also needs to secure an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) from the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), which is situated in Banilad.

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OBO urged to hasten processing of permits

COVINGTON -- The sound of sirens woke up the Covington Square Thursday morning as Covington Fire Department firefighters raced to the scene of a fire in an office building on Clark Street adjacent to the Historic Courthouse.

The offices of Alexander, Royston, Hardman and Shinall and Carter and Associates, which are also used as the facade for The Mystic Grill in fictitious Mystic Falls during filming for "The Vampire Diaries" TV series, erupted in flames apparently after a vehicle hit a power pole behind the building. CPD Assistant Fire Chief Tony Smith said it appears the fire was electrical.

"A delivery truck was trying to deliver something at the Bell South building and pulled into the parking lot back there. Our belief, though the driver denies it, is he snatched down the wires and sent an electrical surge through the buildings and it found a weak spot."

Smith said there was a lot of smoke damage to the building and offices belonging to owners of the businesses located there -- Pete Carter and Jim Alexander -- were essentially gutted.

Smith estimated the monetary damage to be around $200,000.

"Our guys did a good job containing the fire and holding it where it was at," Smith said. "Those old buildings don't have firewalls and things like we have in modern construction, and our guys held it in check where it was not able to get into other units on the Square."

Smith added that because of the Automatic Aid agreement between CPD and Newton County Fire Service, their men were also on the scene.

"That cooperation as a whole led to our being able to hold the fire in check like we did," he said.

Traffic was cut off from the Square during morning rush hour from about 6:45 until about 11:15.

"They were able to have the Concert on the Square (at noon). We tried to have a minimum of disruption for most of the businesses in there," Smith said.

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Covington Square office building, Mystic Grill destroyed by fire

Crews began demolishing the former Tompkins Fabric building in Syracuse's Franklin Square Thursday to make way for a new, three-story office building.

Demolition of the building at 438 N. Franklin St. is expected to take four to six weeks.

Developer Anthony Fiorito said construction of the $7 million office building that will replace it will take about eight months and will begin as soon as its first office tenant is signed. He said he is negotiating with three potential tenants.

The building, on the northeast corner of North Franklin and Genant streets, will have a brick facade to match other buildings in the historic square, a former industrial center that has been turned into a mix of office and apartment buildings over the past couple of decades.

Fiorito also owns One Franklin Square apartments next to the site.

William Ryan, Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miners chief of staff, got the demolition started by hopping into an excavator and knocking a hole in the side of the building.

Contact Rick Moriarty at rmoriarty@syracuse.com or (315) 470-3148.

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Demolition of Tompkins Fabric building begins in Franklin Square

SANTA ROSA Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa today announced it selected Irvine-based Hammes Company to develop an on-campus, state-of-the-art medical office building as part of the new $284 million hospital just north of Santa Rosa.

The Sutter Healthaffiliated hospital said it conducted a local and nationwide search.

Hammes Company was selected as our real estate partner due to its proven track record of maximizing value, accelerating construction schedules, offering competitive physician rental rates and working with local vendors, said Mike Purvis, chief administrative officer of the medical center in a statement.

Sutter is constructing the $284 million acute care facility at the interchange of Mark West Springs Road and Highway 101. It will include all-private rooms, which will provide the highest quality of care for the community, according to Sutter. Completion is expected in 2014.

The development of an 80,000-square-foot medical office building will be a vital component of the new campus, according to Sutter. Hammes Company will lead all development, leasing and capital financing initiatives for the medical office building project.

Hammes Companys role as our developer will include leasing of the new medical office building. We are excited to strengthen relationships with the areas top healthcare professionals who plan to join us at our new campus, Mr. Purvis said.

The medical office building will house ambulatory services and physician offices for lease. The Hammes team has a long track record of working collaboratively with physicians in the development of high-quality medical office facilities that are cost-effective and operationally efficient, according to Sutter. Overseeing the project will be Jim Kobayashi (949-705-0900,jkobayashi@hammesco.com).

When completed, Sutter said it will pursueSilver levelLEEDcertification of the building by the U.S. Green Building Council. The medical office building is being constructed toCalifornia GreenBuilding Standards Code(CALGreen) requirements, established in 2011 to cut construction waste, reduce environmental impact during construction and increase energy efficiency.

As work ramps up, we look forward to building on our significant track record of development success with leading health care systems such as Swedish Health Services in the Northwest, Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare in the Midwest, St. Lukes Episcopal Health System in the South and Sentara Healthcare in the Mid-Atlantic, said Kevin Kraiss, senior vice president of Hammes Company.

We recognize the critical importance of the new medial campus to Sutter Healths mission and we will provide flexible, competitive development solutions in order to deliver an attractive environment for both physicians and patients.

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Sutter selects developer for Santa Rosa medical office building

By Scott Hamilton - Fri May 11 10:45:02 GMT 2012

A pedestrian passes the Bank of England.

A pedestrian passes the Bank of England. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

May 10 (Bloomberg) -- David Blanchflower, a professor at Dartmouth College and a Bloomberg Television contributing editor, talks about the Bank of England's stimulus program and U.K. inflation. He speaks with Manus Cranny on Bloomberg Television's "Last Word." (Source: Bloomberg)

Britains economy may have shrunk more than previously estimated in the first quarter after the statistics office reported a deeper slump in construction.

Building output plunged 4.8 percent in the three months through March, the Office for National Statistics said today. That compares with a 3 percent drop in the first estimate of gross domestic product on April 25, which showed the economy contracted 0.2 percent. The revision on its own would shave 0.1 percentage point off GDP, the statistics office said.

The building data may add to concerns about the economy as the Bank of England grapples with a double-dip recession and inflation remains above its target. Policy makers hadnt seen the revision before they decided yesterday to halt their quantitative-easing program at 325 billion pounds ($524 billion), according to statistics office officials.

Todays figures will intensify the dilemma facing the Monetary Policy Committee, said Samuel Tombs, an economist at Capital Economics Ltd. in London. Policy makers have to balance sticky inflation and very weak economic activity, he said.

The pound remained weaker against the dollar and the euro after the data was published. It traded at $1.6103 as of 11:30 a.m., down 0.3 percent on the day.

Link:
U.K. Economic Slump May Be Deeper as Construction Revised

VICTORIA, May 9, 2012 /CNW/ - British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (bcIMC) announced today that Golder Associates Ltd. (Golder) has finalized a lease agreement to anchor its new LEED Gold office building at Broadway Tech Centre, an integrated office and warehouse development in Vancouver .

Construction of the new 196,000 sq. ft. four-storey office building, the eighth building at Broadway Tech Centre at 2920 Virtual Way, is scheduled to commence later this month, with Golder taking occupancy of three full floors, totaling 135,000 sq. ft. of office space, in January 2015 . The building will also include 15,000 sq. ft. of service-oriented retail space and a 5,000 sq. ft. daycare facility.

"This eighth building completes the first phase of Broadway Tech Centre, and we now look forward to beginning the next phase of development," said Mary Garden , Vice President, Real Estate, bcIMC. "We are pleased to have established a strong new relationship with Golder, and we welcome this international firm to join other long-term tenants at our world-class sustainable business campus."

Located at the corner of East Broadway and Renfrew Street, immediately adjacent to the Renfrew SkyTrain station, Broadway B-line Transit stop and Central Valley Greenway (bikeway connecting New Westminster to Vancouver ), Broadway Tech Centre is easily accessible from downtown Vancouver and the surrounding municipalities of Burnaby, North Vancouver and Coquitlam. With the completion of this latest building, the 1.1 million sq. ft. campus will include 930,000 sq. ft. of office and 150,000 sq. ft. of production/distribution space, along with a daycare facility, service-oriented retail space, on-site caf, outdoor sports courts for basketball and volleyball, full-service fitness facility, tenant conference room, significant landscaped areas and gardens and ample secured underground parking.

"Golder is very excited to be relocating its Greater Vancouver main office to Broadway Tech Centre," said Neil McQuitty, Managing Principal (British Columbia), Golder. "Not only will this allow us to consolidate and expand into one building, but the central location, immediate access to public transportation and on-site amenities in this sustainable campus development will be great for our employees."

Broadway Tech Centre has been recognized by the Urban Development Institute (UDI) for excellence in Urban/Office Development and by the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects. The project also won the 2002 National Association of Industrial and Office Properties NAIOP) Comprehensive Development Award.

"In launching the final building planned for the first phase of Broadway Tech Centre, Golder will be joining an already stellar list of existing tenants," said Tony Astles, Executive Vice President, Bentall Kennedy, the developer of the project. "Given the tremendous success of the project to date, planning and rezoning for the next phase of Broadway Tech Centre is already well underway."

About bcIMC

bcIMC is an independent investment management corporation that manages a globally diversified investment portfolio of $91.1 billion as at December 31, 2011 . Based in Victoria, British Columbia and supported by industry-leading expertise, bcIMC invests in all major asset classes including infrastructure and other strategic investments. bcIMC's clients include public sector pension plans, public trusts, and insurance funds. With real estate holdings valued at $14.4 billion as at December 31, 2011 , bcIMC is one of Canada's major property owners and developers. bcIMC's Canadian real estate portfolio includes offices, retail malls, residential and industrial buildings, hotels, and interests in real estate management companies. For more information, please visit http://www.bcimc.com.

About Golder

Originally posted here:
Golder Associates Ltd. to Anchor bcIMC's New Leed® Gold Office Building at Broadway Tech Centre, Vancouver

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/zqjf9m/databook_india_c) has announced the addition of the "Databook - India Commercial Building Construction Industry Business and Investment Opportunity (2006 - 2015) - Market Size & Forecast, Key Trends, Drivers, and Risk" report to their offering.

This report is a data-centric business intelligence offering of Emerging Market Intelligence (EMI) in the commercial building construction sector. It details market size, future growth, drivers, and trends across key segments in commercial building construction. A detailed segmentation provides a comprehensive understanding of the commercial building construction market by value, volume, construction markets (office, retail, hotel, restaurant, public entertainment, and sports facility), and construction type (new construction, re-development, and maintenance & repair). In addition, it details macro-economic fundamentals and benchmarks the commercial building construction industry in India with key global markets along with risk assessment through proprietary EMI Construction Industry Attractiveness and Risk Index, which gives unique investment insights.

Scope of the report:

- Market Coverage: This report is focused on the commercial building construction industry in India

- Sector Coverage: This report provides market size and forecast across key commercial construction markets (office, retail, hotel, restaurant, public entertainment, and sports facility) by value and volume; and by construction type (new, redevelopment, and maintenance & repair).

- Data and Insights: This report provides market size and forecast for a period of 10 years from 2006-2015. It contains data centric commentary (does not contain analyst commentary) on key trends and drivers. It also details macro-economic and business/consumer related fundamentals. For all commercial building construction segments, market size and forecast has been provided in both value and volume terms.

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/zqjf9m/databook_india_c

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Research and Markets: Databook - India Commercial Building Construction Industry Business and Investment Opportunity ...

by Kathleen Stinson - May. 8, 2012 11:31 AM Special for The Republic

Queen Creek got a big boost when the Town Council approved construction of a large medical office building, paving the way for for what it hopes will be an influx of medical jobs.

The 87,410-square-foot health center will be on an 11.78-acre parcel of land on the west side of Ellsworth Loop Road south of Victoria Lane in the Town Center.

Banner Health Center-Queen Creek is expected to provide office space for 12 physicians and a staff of 30-35 employees in the first phase; the single-story structure will eventually contain 23,426 square feet.

The second phase will add a two-story building with another 63,984 square feet and is expected to provide offices for 36 physicians and a staff of 135-140 employees.

Total cost of the building through Phase 2 is estimated to be $45 million, said Bill Smith, project supervisor for Banner Health Systems. Construction is expected to begin in August with a tentative date opening in April.

The council last week approved a request from C. Dale Willis, on behalf of Victoria Lund Investment Group, LLC, to rezone the land from a multiple residential to general commercial with a planned area development overlay. The town also approved the site plan.

Council member Robin Benning said attracting such an employer into the town center would generate higher-income jobs than would help nearby fast-food restaurants and retail businesses.

Doreen Cott, the town economic development director, said the location of Banner Health Center is "also within the town's redevelopment area, which not only helps to meet the redevelopment goals of the community, but also serves as an employment anchor in the Town Center. Projects like this also tend to become an economic catalyst for other health care-related businesses."

"I'm excited about bringing this project to Queen Creek," Vice Mayor Jeff Brown said. "It is a good first step in establishing a relationship with Banner."

Excerpt from:
Queen Creek Town Council approves medical-office site