Fish says enough already being done to keep tabs on spending

An independent investigation into cost overruns at the Bureau of Environmental Services office building includes 11 recommendations to make sure it doesnt happen again.

Commissioner Nick Fish, who is in charge of BES, thinks he already has done enough to keep future construction projects under control, however. Jim Blackwood, a policy director in Fishs office, notes the commissioner has directed BES to appear before the City Council any time a project is projected to increase more than $500,000. Fish issued the same directive to the Water Bureau, which he also oversees.

Blackwood says Fish is prepared to do more if recommended by the City Auditors Office, however. The auditor is close to completing a comprehensive audit on all of the citys procurement policies that will likely recommend many changes in the way the city spends money on goods and services.

We are looking forward to what the procurement audit has to say, Blackwood says.

The City Attorneys Office retained the Barran Liebman law firm to investigate cost overruns at a BES office building at the Columbia Wastewater Treatment Plant services building in North Portland. It started as a personnel investigation into how the costs increased under BES Director Dean Marriott. But when Marriott resigned after the investigation started, it was changed to look at lessons learned from the widely publicized episode.

Fish placed Marriott on paid administrative leave last October, just before the investigation began. Marriott resigned in early January in exchange for nearly $200,000 in severance pay and $49,000 in legal costs. He was protected by the citys civil service system and was preparing to fight any disciplinary actions.

The law firms report was released last Wednesday. Much of it confirmed an October 2014 city audit on the project that found costs increased in large part because BES officials decided the building should be an environmental showcase after work had already begun.

The report agrees with the audit that oversight on the project was lacking, and it faults project staff for routing a $95,581 payment to the architect through the construction firm after Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who was in charge of BES at the time, said he would not approve any more cost increases. The report says this was inappropriate, but not illegal.

However, the report differs from the audit on the estimated starting cost of the project, which reduces the size of the increase.

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Audit urges closer look at future BES projects

Fish says enough already being done to keep tabs on spending

An independent investigation into cost overruns at the Bureau of Environmental Services office building includes 11 recommendations to make sure it doesnt happen again.

Commissioner Nick Fish, who is in charge of BES, thinks he already has done enough to keep future construction projects under control, however. Jim Blackwood, a policy director in Fishs office, notes the commissioner has directed BES to appear before the City Council any time a project is projected to increase more than $500,000. Fish issued the same directive to the Water Bureau, which he also oversees.

Blackwood says Fish is prepared to do more if recommended by the City Auditors Office, however. The auditor is close to completing a comprehensive audit on all of the citys procurement policies that will likely recommend many changes in the way the city spends money on goods and services.

We are looking forward to what the procurement audit has to say, Blackwood says.

The City Attorneys Office retained the Barran Liebman law firm to investigate cost overruns at a BES office building at the Columbia Wastewater Treatment Plant services building in North Portland. It started as a personnel investigation into how the costs increased under BES Director Dean Marriott. But when Marriott resigned after the investigation started, it was changed to look at lessons learned from the widely publicized episode.

Fish placed Marriott on paid administrative leave last October, just before the investigation began. Marriott resigned in early January in exchange for nearly $200,000 in severance pay and $49,000 in legal costs. He was protected by the citys civil service system and was preparing to fight any disciplinary actions.

The law firms report was released last Wednesday. Much of it confirmed an October 2014 city audit on the project that found costs increased in large part because BES officials decided the building should be an environmental showcase after work had already begun.

The report agrees with the audit that oversight on the project was lacking, and it faults project staff for routing a $95,581 payment to the architect through the construction firm after Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who was in charge of BES at the time, said he would not approve any more cost increases. The report says this was inappropriate, but not illegal.

However, the report differs from the audit on the estimated starting cost of the project, which reduces the size of the increase.

Read more here:
Report urges closer look at future BES projects

Last Weeks Biggest Leases Include: CDP Capital, CleaResult, DocuSign, Mercedes, OncoGenex, Peter Pennoyer, Receptos, RightSource Rx and others

The new 87,776-square-foot office will keep Comcast's regional headquarters in Gwinnett County and will house the company's 532 full-time local employees on four floors at 6200 The Corners Pky.

The space will also feature build-out for a demonstration lab and Comcast University, the company's employee training program.

The mass media giant, which currently employs approximately 4,000 in Georgia, will hire an additional 150 employees for its new headquarters and disclosed plans to hire 150 more at its existing technical support service center located on North Point Pky. in Alpharetta.

Lindsay Martin, director of existing industry and regional recruitment at the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), helped facilitate Comcast's deal on behalf of Georgia, along with Partnership Gwinnett and Progress Partners of North Fulton.

Dom Wyant of JLL negotiated the lease with Kay Younglove and Adam Viente, also of JLL. Wyant represented Comcast, while Younglove and Viente negotiated on behalf of building owner, Wells Real Estate Funds.

Comcast operates approximately 190 facilities, offices and call centers in the state. By Bryce Meyers

Editor's Note: A previous version of this news report erroneously reported that a newly formed technology firm, 5Q Partners, had leased a large amount of space at 6200 The Corners Pky. That information was included in error and has since been removed from this updated version.

CleaResult provides energy programs to schools, governments, businesses and homeowners. This past fall, the company acquired PECI, (formerly Portland Energy Conservation Inc.) founded by the Portland City Council and whose offices were housed at First & Main.

The 16-story, 364,779-square-foot, 5-Star office building was constructed in 2010 on one acre in the city's CBD submarket. The property is home to Interface Engineering, the DEA, USPS, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Continued here:
Office Lease Up (Feb 23) Wells Real Estate Spinoff 5Q Partners Relocates To Norcross

Last Weeks Biggest Leases Include: CDP Capital, CleaResult, DocuSign, Mercedes, OncoGenex, Peter Pennoyer, Receptos, RightSource Rx and others

The new 87,776-square-foot office will keep Comcast's regional headquarters in Gwinnett County and will house the company's 532 full-time local employees on four floors at 6200 The Corners Pky.

The space will also feature build-out for a demonstration lab and Comcast University, the company's employee training program.

The mass media giant, which currently employs approximately 4,000 in Georgia, will hire an additional 150 employees for its new headquarters and disclosed plans to hire 150 more at its existing technical support service center located on North Point Pky. in Alpharetta.

Lindsay Martin, director of existing industry and regional recruitment at the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), helped facilitate Comcast's deal on behalf of Georgia, along with Partnership Gwinnett and Progress Partners of North Fulton.

Dom Wyant of JLL negotiated the lease with Kay Younglove and Adam Viente, also of JLL. Wyant represented Comcast, while Younglove and Viente negotiated on behalf of building owner, Wells Real Estate Funds.

Comcast operates approximately 190 facilities, offices and call centers in the state. By Bryce Meyers

Editor's Note: A previous version of this news report erroneously reported that a newly formed technology firm, 5Q Partners, had leased a large amount of space at 6200 The Corners Pky. That information was included in error and has since been removed from this updated version.

CleaResult provides energy programs to schools, governments, businesses and homeowners. This past fall, the company acquired PECI, (formerly Portland Energy Conservation Inc.) founded by the Portland City Council and whose offices were housed at First & Main.

The 16-story, 364,779-square-foot, 5-Star office building was constructed in 2010 on one acre in the city's CBD submarket. The property is home to Interface Engineering, the DEA, USPS, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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Office Lease Up (Feb 23) Wells Real Estate Spinoff 5Q Partners Relocates To Peachtree Corners

AN OFFICE building that has been empty for years and the wasteland around it will be turned into housing after planning consent was granted.

Developers have been given permission by Blackburn with Darwen Council to level Mayfield House in Tockholes Road and build six new homes on the site.

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Local businessman and landowner Dave Standen, who owns PrintOne UK in Grimshaw Street, plans to build the six houses as two sets of semi-detached homes with single detached houses on either side of the development, and each house will have a driveway big enough for two cars, plus a front yard and grassed garden.

A planning document submitted on Mr Standens behalf by ATC Construction Design Ltd said: Currently there is a commercial single storey building on the site that has been vacant for several years.

The proposed plot is surrounded by other domestic properties and a further commercial building, which is currently attached to Mayfield House.

The site has been vacated for several years and both the building and the site has fallen into disrepair. The current building is a poor construction and has reached the end of its useful life.

The proposed properties will replace the existing Mayfield House which is in a very poor state.

The building is not in keeping with the surrounding residential properties. To the rear Mayfield house is a large overgrown area which is regularly used by fly tippers and has a lot of anti social behaviour.

The proposal will remove this eyesore and provide something that is in keeping with the area thus improving the street scene.

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Empty Darwen offices set to be turned into housing

'Must do' financial checklist before you say 'I do' 'Must do' financial checklist before you say 'I do'

Updated: Friday, March 6 2015 1:24 PM EST2015-03-06 18:24:37 GMT

There are probably more than a few of you out there who got engaged on Valentine's Day. Congratulations. But, after your 'I Dos' you need to check off some financial 'Must Dos'.

There are probably more than a few of you out there who got engaged on Valentine's Day. Congratulations. But, after your 'I Dos' you need to check off some financial 'Must Dos'.

Updated: Friday, March 6 2015 11:07 AM EST2015-03-06 16:07:39 GMT

Good Day Atlanta Viewer Information: March 6, 2015

Good Day Atlanta Viewer Information: March 6, 2015

Updated: Friday, March 6 2015 10:30 AM EST2015-03-06 15:30:34 GMT

Here is the Scallop Risotto recipe from Executive Chef Franck Steigerwald at The Ritz-Carlton Buckhead.

Here is the Scallop Risotto recipe from Executive Chef Franck Steigerwald at The Ritz-Carlton Buckhead.

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Construction company builds new kind of office

SCHERERVILLE | Core Construction opened its Indiana office just three years ago, but it is already working on major projects in Northwest Indiana including Centennial Village, in Munster, and Park Place, a senior-living complex in St. John.

The Centennial Village development will be near the southeast intersection of Calumet Avenue and 45th Street, where a new railroad underpass is being planned.

We moved the Munster Steel building and built the new one in Hammond, said Scott Olthoff, president of Core Construction Indiana. We demolished the old building, and things are now going through city (Munster) approvals. Then the underpass will start and we should be able to start construction in conjunction with that.

Core Construction Indiana, a construction management business, is a franchise of Phoenix-based Core Construction.

Although plans remain preliminary, Centennial Village is expected to include restaurants, retail and office spaces as well as other venues and multifamily residential housing, Olthoff said. However, Gene Kimmel, head of CPV LLC and Centennial Villages owner and developer, said "exact details of the development" will remain uncertain until negotiations with Munster are complete.

Land acquisition, which will also determine some development options, remains underway, Kimmel said.

Core Construction Indiana also is handling construction management for Park Place, the $30 million senior-living complex in St. John, and the education center at Fair Oaks Farms in Fair Oaks, Ind.

Weve got a lot of exciting projects going on right now, Olthoff said.

Basically they (Core Construction owners) saw Indiana as an opportunity because of the growth in interest in the market and Illinois economic climate and its a relationship thing with me, Olthoff said. I was introduced to the president of Core Illinois about eight years ago, and he made a recommendation for them to explore Indiana because of the market.

Beside Indiana, Core Construction, which is privately held, has regional franchise offices in Florida, Arizona, Louisiana, Illinois, Texas and Nevada as well as offices in Kansas, Georgia, Kentucky and Wisconsin. It is the nations fourth-largest school builder and has $700 million in bond capacity,

Continued here:
Construction firm new to region tackles big projects

Source: ABS-CBNNews.com

MANILA Special investigators of the Office of the Ombudsman have recommended that Vice-President Jejomar Binay, his son, Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay, and 22 others undergo preliminary investigation in connection with irregularities in the construction of the P2.2 billion Makati City Hall Parking Building.

In a statement, the Office of the Ombudsman-Special Panel of Investigators said the two Binays and 22 others should undergo preliminary investigation for malversation, falsification, violations of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and violation of the Government Procurement Reform Act, in connection with several alleged irregularities in the procurement and award of the contracts for the design/architectural services and the construction of the Makati City Hall Parking Building.

Atty. Rico Quicho, the vice-presidents spokesman for police affairs, said any charge of impropriety against the Vice President regarding the Makati City Hall Building 2 is clearly frivolous and has no basis in fact and in law.

We are optimistic that the complaint will be ultimately dismissed by a fair and impartial tribunal. This is again a glimpse of how desperate the critics of the Vice President have become in order to fuel their own personal interests. Politics has indeed really turned to its worst form, he said in a statement.

The building, which is called the Makati City Hall Building 2, has been the subject of a Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee inquiry conducted by Senators Antonio Trillanes, Alan Peter Cayetano and Koko Pimentel.

WHAT WENT BEFORE

In their recommendatioin, investigators said the public respondents awarded the P11,974,900.00 contract for the design/architectural services of the Makati City Hall Building 2 to MANA Architecture & Interior Design Company (MANA) without public bidding, and that periodic payments were released to MANA without its corresponding deliverables under the contract.

They said the bidding and the construction for Phases I and II (out of five phases) of the carpark building proceeded without a detailed engineering plan from MANA, contrary to procurement laws and regulations.

Also included in the recommendation for preliminary investigation are former City Administrator Marjorie De Veyra, City Legal Officer Pio Kenneth Dasal, City Budget Officer Lorenza Amores, former Central Planning Management Office (CPMO) Chief Virginia Hernandez, former City Engineer Mario Badillo, former City Accountant Leonila Querijero, former Acting City Accountant Raydes Pestao, City Accountant Cecilio Lim III, Acting City Accountant Eleno Mendoza, City Treasurer Nelia Barlis, CPMO Engineers Arnel Cadangan, Emerito Magat and Connie Consulta, CPMO Chief Line Dela Pea, Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) Secretariat Heads Giovanni Condes and Manolito Uyaco, Technical Working Group (TWG) Chairman Rodel Nayve, BAC member Ulysses Orienza, General Services Department (GSD) OIC Gerardo San Gabriel, GSD staff member Norman Flores, as well as private respondents Orlando Mateo of MANA Architecture & Interior Design Company (MANA) and Efren Canlas of Hilmarcs Construction Corporation (Hilmarc).

More here:
Priliminary Investigation up for Jejomar Binay and son over Parking Building irregularities!

Vice President, Makati Mayor, 22 others to undergo preliminary investigation

MANILA (1st UPDATE) - Special investigators of the Office of the Ombudsman have recommended that Vice-President Jejomar Binay, his son, Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay, and 22 others undergo preliminary investigation in connection with irregularities in the construction of the P2.2 billion Makati City Hall Parking Building.

In a statement, the Office of the Ombudsman-Special Panel of Investigators said the two Binays and 22 others should undergo preliminary investigation for malversation, falsification, violations of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and violation of the Government Procurement Reform Act, "in connection with several alleged irregularities in the procurement and award of the contracts for the design/architectural services and the construction of the Makati City Hall Parking Building."

Atty. Rico Quicho, the vice-president's spokesman for police affairs, said any charge of impropriety against the Vice President regarding the Makati City Hall Building 2 "is clearly frivolous and has no basis in fact and in law."

"We are optimistic that the complaint will be ultimately dismissed by a fair and impartial tribunal. This is again a glimpse of how desperate the critics of the Vice President have become in order to fuel their own personal interests. Politics has indeed really turned to its worst form," he said in a statement.

The building, which is called the Makati City Hall Building 2, has been the subject of a Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee inquiry conducted by Senators Antonio Trillanes, Alan Peter Cayetano and Koko Pimentel.

WHAT WENT BEFORE

In their recommendatioin, investigators said the public respondents awarded the P11,974,900.00 contract for the design/architectural services of the Makati City Hall Building 2 to MANA Architecture & Interior Design Company (MANA) without public bidding, and that periodic payments were released to MANA without its corresponding deliverables under the contract.

They said the bidding and the construction for Phases I and II (out of five phases) of the carpark building proceeded without a detailed engineering plan from MANA, contrary to procurement laws and regulations.

Also included in the recommendation for preliminary investigation are former City Administrator Marjorie De Veyra, City Legal Officer Pio Kenneth Dasal, City Budget Officer Lorenza Amores, former Central Planning Management Office (CPMO) Chief Virginia Hernandez, former City Engineer Mario Badillo, former City Accountant Leonila Querijero, former Acting City Accountant Raydes Pestao, City Accountant Cecilio Lim III, Acting City Accountant Eleno Mendoza, City Treasurer Nelia Barlis, CPMO Engineers Arnel Cadangan, Emerito Magat and Connie Consulta, CPMO Chief Line Dela Pea, Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) Secretariat Heads Giovanni Condes and Manolito Uyaco, Technical Working Group (TWG) Chairman Rodel Nayve, BAC member Ulysses Orienza, General Services Department (GSD) OIC Gerardo San Gabriel, GSD staff member Norman Flores, as well as private respondents Orlando Mateo of MANA Architecture & Interior Design Company (MANA) and Efren Canlas of Hilmarcs Construction Corporation (Hilmarc).

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Ombudsman probers push graft rap vs Binays over Makati bldg

(Updated 7:07 p.m.) The Office of the Ombudsmans Special Panel of Investigators on Friday filed criminal and administrative charges against Vice President Jejomar Binay, his son Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin Junjun Binay and 22 other Makati City government officials in connection with the alleged overpriced construction of Makati City Hall Building II.

The Special Panel of Investigators filed charges of graft, malversation, and violations of the Government Procurement Reform Act against the Binays and the others.

The complaint was filed following months of case build-up and evidence gathering by the Special Panel composed of field investigators, the Office of the Ombudsman said.

In addition to the criminal charges, the respondents, except for Vice President Binay, also face administrative charges for grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

The Special Panel of Investigators also asked the Office of the Ombudsman to issue a preventive suspension order against them pending the result of the investigation.

See original here:
VP Binay, son to face probe over overpriced Makati City Hall Building II