By Edward Damon

edamon@berkshireeagle.com @BE_EDamon on Twitter

POWNAL >> The committee exploring options for a new location of town offices is recommending new construction.

Members of the Town Office Committee, who attended Thursday's Select Board meeting, expressed optimism in working with a Wilmington firm on preliminary plans for a new town hall.

Committee members also expressed reservations over a proposal for sharing space within the American Legion Post 90 building on Route 7.

"This is the closest we've ever been to having something," Town Office Committee member Steve Kauppi said.

Chairman Frank Lamb reported that the committee hopes to soon present those plans to the public.

Town officials have long sought to replace the town hall at 467 Center St., which they say the town has outgrown. A study committee was established in 1993, but went through periods of inactivity.

Last year, officials contracted with LineSync Architecture of Wilmington to create drawings of a new building for a cost of $6,500.

The proposed structure would sit on town land at the end of Center Street the site of the former Bartels Lodge, which was demolished in 2012. It is adjacent to the existing office building and the historic Pownal Center Community Church.

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Pownal considering new town hall building

Building construction permits over $10,000 in value that were approved in Boulder between Feb. 9, 2015 to Feb. 15, 2015. Listed below are: the case number; address; total project valuation; owner name; contractor (if applicable); and description.

PMT2015-00410; 1517 Seventh St.; Atrium Properties and Stephanie Ridgway; $30,800; Interior remodel to existing single-family dwelling. Scope of work involves renovation of kitchen to create island, removal of non-code complaint staircase, with new stair relocated to dining area; relocated bedroom closet on first floor, remove closet in main level bed to convert to a family room. New egress window in upper level bedroom. Includes associated electrical and plumbing. Please reference attached structural drawings. Change of scope Feb. 11, 2015 addition of new windows and French doors on main level only.

PMT2015-00457; 751 Marine St.; $19,500; David Armstrong; Blue Spruce Design & Construction; Remodel of 241 square feet of existing kitchen and three baths for single-family dwelling. Includes structural changes to remove wall in kitchen, replacement of wood burning stove with new gas fireplace, and associated MEP.

PMT2015-00127; 3595 Eastman Ave.; $218,600; Diane Weller; Addition and remodel to single family dwelling. Scope to include small addition and remodel on main level for kitchen expansion and foyer, and a second story addition for a new master suite. Also includes new front porch and rear deck. Mid-roof inspection required.

PMT2014-05354; 929 Pearl St.; $49,956; West Pearl; Faurot Construction Inc.; Exterior remodel to existing professional office space. Scope of work includes structural reinforcement of existing awning system, small demolition of section of existing awning, as well as small awning addition. Future photovoltaic array to be installed on awnings (under separate permit). Permit approval does not include the enclosure of the upper level outdoor patio, except as shown on the revised sheet S0.1 (dated 2/11/15).

PMT2014-05483; 4801 N. 63rd St.; $3,641,860.33; CEG Boulder; Integrated Interiors; Interior tenant remodel to establish manufacturing (30,229 square feet) and administrative office (24,223 square feet) spaces in existing structure. Scope of work includes all associated MEPs.

PMT2015-00147; 3065 18th St.; $310,000; Jill and Jordan Grano; Two-story addition and remodel to detached single-family dwelling. Scope includes expansion of main level and conversion of two existing bedrooms into living common space and stairs. Second floor addition includes three bedrooms and two baths. Also includes rear deck on main level.

PMT2014-05567; 4138 Clifton Court; $460,437.22; North Boulder; Coast to Coast Residential Development; New three-story single-family residence. Scope to include an attached two car garage and an unfinished basement with rough-ins for one bath. Main level to include kitchen, dining, living, and powder room. Second level to include master suite, two additional baths, and two other bedrooms. Upper level includes a loft area mid-roof inspection required.

PMT2015-00448; 9 Navajo Court; $25,724.16; Lisa Larsen; Owner/contractor flood recovery scope of work includes the installation of a new sump pit, replace water-damaged insulation, repair flood cut drywall, install new 150-amp electrical panel, replacement forced air furnace, and minimal framing.

PMT2014-05519; 3200 28th St.; $115,000; 3200 LLC; Commercial Building Services; Valley Chrysler Dodge addition of an entry element to the west building elevation. Scope of work also includes squaring off the rounded corners of the existing fascia.

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Boulder building permits: Feb. 23, 2015

By Keiko Morris

Jersey City isn't the fashion industry's new Garment District or Midtown South, the hot spot for technology and advertising firms.

But New Jersey's second-largest city has been making the case that it is an up-and-comer in the office-space market, attracting clothiers and publishers as well as building on its base of financial-services companies.

The growing diversification, taking place at Jersey City's waterfront, is being attributed by real-estate experts and landlords to a combination of factors: New York City's rising rents, generous state incentives and the booming residential development in that area.

In just the past several months, apparel company Charles Komar & Sons Inc. signed a lease to move its offices and showroom from three sites in Manhattan after receiving a 10-year, $37.2 million economic-development tax grant from New Jersey. Also receiving 10-year state incentive packages last year were Forbes Media LLC for $27.1 million and VF Sportswear Inc. and its subsidiaries for $13.1 million.

As for leasing more space to the financial sector, Jersey City landed J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and RBC Capital Markets last year as well with the help of $303.6 million in state tax credits over a decade. J.P. Morgan, which already had operations in the city, has promised to create 1,000 jobs and RBC already has begun to move some of about 900 positions.

In 2013, New Jersey merged its economic-incentive programs and has aggressively used tax credits to bring and retain jobs, and spur development.

Since then, the state has announced more than $430 million in tax grants, which will be awarded over time, to attract and keep companies in Jersey City. Those incentives are expected to bring more than 3,000 jobs.

"In 2000, when you had the first big wave of office occupancy coming to Jersey City, a lot of that occupancy was financial services, broadly speaking," said Harrison LeFrak, vice chairman and principal of LeFrak, which developed and owns much of the Jersey City waterfront megadevelopment of residential towers, offices and retail space called Newport. "Today, it is becoming very financial technology-focused and we are starting to see retail and apparel companies."

Attracting different kinds of sectors is making the Hudson waterfront even more of a bright spot in New Jersey's otherwise weak office market. More suburban areas have been weighed down by older office parks that once were home to pharmaceutical and telecommunication companies.

Original post:
Jersey City Vies to Up Its Game in Office Market

LONDON, February 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

A surge in office construction is helping to drive growth in the construction sector, according to figures released today (20th February).

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140620/693498 )

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150220/731557-INFO )

January 2015 saw a 26 per cent increase in the value of office construction projects awarded in the UK compared to the same time last year, accounting for almost three quarters (74 per cent) of the total value of all contracts awarded within the commercial and retail sector last month.

The award of major project contracts such as the 100 million development of Atlantic Square in Glasgow and the 90 million 70 St Mary's Axe scheme in London, were key contributors to the surge in activity.

The latest figures from Barbour ABI, which supplies construction data to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), Cabinet Office and Treasury, also revealed the total value of commercial and retail contracts awarded in January was 823m - a 22.7 per cent increase on January 2014.

Commenting on the findings from the latest Economic Construction Market Review, Michael Dall, lead economist at Barbour ABI, said: "The development of new office space has really gathered pace over the past 12 months and January's figures now show this dominance.

"As the UK makes its economic recovery, more and more businesses are gaining the confidence to invest in their working environments and this increasing confidence is now translating into numbers."

Other findings from the January summary include:

Originally posted here:
Commercial Office Projects Increase by a Quarter

Upper Dublin >> Life Time Fitness, a high-end fitness center geared toward families, could be coming to the Fort Washington Office Park.

A sketch plan for a 113,000-square-foot fitness center, adjacent 53,000-square-foot outdoor pool with bistro and 604 parking spaces on 14.5 acres at the corner of Commerce and Delaware drives was presented at the Feb. 17 Upper Dublin Planning Commission meeting.

The brick, stone and glass, two-story building, with a 56,474-square-foot footprint, would house a fitness floor with more than 400 pieces of equipment, an indoor pool, caf, spa and salon and lounge areas.

The proposed facility would be a first in Pennsylvania for Life Time Fitness, a luxury health and fitness company operating 114 locations in 26 states. The closest, the 115th, is currently under construction in Mount Laurel, N.J.

We feel it would be a real boon to the Fort Washington Office Park, said Marc Jonas, the attorney representing the Minnesota-based company. Its a facility unlike anything weve ever seen.

Life Time Senior Development Manager Aaron Koehler said the company focuses on young families and was the first to move to a month-to-month contract. Numerous programs and classes are offered for adults and children you name it, weve got it as well as cycling and running clubs, he said. It also sponsors athletic events for all ages and abilities.

The company has a charitable arm that has worked with some schools on nutrition education and subsidized school lunch programs, Koehler said.

Life Time Fitness is able to compete with the Y and other fitness centers, he said, as we operate at a higher price point attract a different crowd. We tend to capture more families and expect 85 percent of members to be within a 20-minute drive and 60 percent within a 12-minute drive, he said.

For a family, the first member is $99/month, the second $85, the third $75, the fourth $60 and after that its free, Koehler said. The goal is a 7,000 membership.

The company investigated quite a while before choosing the office park location to determine who is within those drive times, he said. There are residents within the area with the income to fill our facility. Continued...

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Fort Washington Office Park may get luxury fitness center

FILE PHOTO Enlarge Image

This building at 701 Rosser Ave. seen in April 2014 changed ownership last fall. The new owners plan to renovate the building into an engineering office and construct three apartments on a second storey, which was removed under previous ownership.

A downtown eyesore that has remained vacant and boarded up for years will be given a new lease on life.

The building at the corner of Seventh Street and Rosser Avenue has changed hands, and the new owners plan to renovate the building into an engineering office and construct three apartments on a second storey.

"Its extremely important to get something going, its a high traffic corner," said city manager Scott Hildebrand. "Now that we have a new owner and a strategy and plan going forward Im excited that we can actually get that converted and move on to the next project downtown."

The small building at 701 Rosser Ave. was formerly the Chicken Corner restaurant. In 2012, it was sold to Huangpu Assiniboine Holdings Ltd. and major renovations began, including the removal of the entire second storey.

At that time, the plan was to establish a new restaurant with a rooftop patio. But the project came to a halt and the building has sat vacant ever since.

In an effort to deal with the languishing property, the City of Brandon gave the former property owners a deadline to provide detailed drawings of their plans or else face orders through a building safety and vacant/derelict building bylaw.

Hildebrand said the property ended up changing hands last fall, and is now at the permit stage.

"Work should begin immediately if these plans are approved," he said.

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Office, apartments in works for vacant building on Rosser

An outside investigation of a $11.5 million office building for sewer workers that tripled in cost recommends Portland city bureaus provide elected officials with detailed reports when the scope of a construction project changes.

City Commissioner Nick Fish asked law firm Barran Liebman to review the project, which eventually cost longtime Bureau of Development Services chief Dean Marriott his job.

On Wednesday, The Oregonian obtained records that lifted the curtain on the fractious relationship between Fish and Marriott in the aftermath of the project.

The Barran Liebman report, also released Feb. 18, says bureau officials violated no laws or city rules as the office project grew. But it says Marriott and other BES officials allowed the elaborate design of the building to change the project's scale and budget.

The report suggests the creation of new city memos to disclose enlarged scope.

"The Bureau should provide to the Commissioner in charge of the Bureau a detailed report of all requested additions to the scope of a project prior to undertaking the implementation of the additions," the report says. "It is recommended that those requested or necessary additions to the scope be put into a separate memorandum to the Commissioner which clearly is designated as a 'Scope Enlargement' request."

The Barran Liebman investigation follows a damning city audit into the Columbia Wastewater Treatment Plant services building, which tripled in costs to $11.5 million.

Fish asked for the audit after WW and KOIN-TV reported how the city turned what was supposed to be a utilitarian office building, originally estimated at $3.2 million, into a poster-child facility for wastewater engineers in North Portland.

The audit showed bureau managers approved a design so ornate and inadequate that it required 85 change orders during construction, mostly to fix design problems like the ecoroof covered in wetland grasses.

Fish responded to WW's report by mandating that any BES and Water Bureau spending over $500,000 be discussed by City Council. He placed Marriott on leave, and the 20-year bureau chief resigned in January.

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Sewer Office Building Investigation Says City Bureaus Should Report When Projects Get Bigger

SZ SZ. MAINLY MOVE BEGINS DOWNTOWN THAT FILL ONE HISTORIC BUILDING LEAVING ANOTHER BUILDING A RIVER FRONT BUILDING VACANT. STATE ATTORNEY IS MOVING IN NEW OFFICES AT THE OLD FEDERAL COURT HOUSE. TOTAL COST TO TAXPAYERS 30 MILLION DOLLARS. THIS WILL MARK COMPLETION OF THE NEW COURTHOUSE COMPLEX BUT THIS PART OF THE PROJECT IS ALSO HAD ITS PROBLEMS. JIM IS FOLLOWING THIS SAGA AND JOINING US LIVE FROM DOWNTOWN WITH AN UPDATE. JIM? THIS IS THE NEW STATE ATTORNEY OFFICE THIS WAS TOUBT RENOVATED 2 YEARS AGO BUT BECAUSE OF CONSTRUCTION DELAY AND OTHER PROBLEMS IT'S NOT HAPPENING UNTIL RIGHT NOW. THE MOVING TRUCK ARE ON THEIR WAY. AND THEY ARE GOING TO FILL UP THIS SPOT LEAVING ANOTHER VACANCY ON THE RIVER. WE TRIED TO GET IN THE NEW STATE ATTORNEY OFFICE TODAY TO GET YOU A GOOD LOOK AT HOW THE 30 MILLION DOLLARS WAS SPENT. WE HAVE BEEN TRYING FOR SEVERAL MONTHS BUT BEEN TOLD WE HAVE TO WAIT. THERE'S STILL CONSTRUCTION GOING ON BUT THE MOVE IS SET TO BEGIN FRIDAY. WE STAYED ON BUDGET WITH THE TOTAL PROJECT AT THE TOTAL PROJECT AT THE COURTHOUSE, NEW COURTHOUSE. Reporter: THERE HAVE BEEN PROBLEMS FROM THE START. THIS WAS THE OLD FEDERAL COURT HOUSE AND POST OFFICE. IT WAS TO BE RENOVATED WHEN THE NEW COUNTY COURTHOUSE WAS BUILT. COST CONCERN WITH THE ORIGINAL CONTRACTOR AND THE JS SAT EMPTY UNTIL NOW. ANY TIME WREN 0HAVE IT AN OLD BUILDING WHERE YOU HAVE HISTORICAL REQUIREMENTS YOU HAVE TO MEET AND JUST THINGS THAT YOU DIDN'T NOWHERE THERE ARE ALWAYS CHALLENGES. Reporter: STATE ATTORNEY OFFICE IS NOW PACKING UP FROM THIS 15 STORY BUILDING OLD CITY HALL AND RIVER AND BEGIN MOVING INTO ITS NEW OFFICES. WE WANTED TO TALK TO ANGELA ABOUT THE MOVE BUT INSTEAD THE OFFICE ISSUED THIS STATEMENT. PLAN IN PLACE TO CONTINUE BUSINESS AS USUAL DURING THIS TRANSITION. STATE ATTORNEY OFFICE STAFF WILL BE WORKING FROM OFFICE SPACE WANT BALL BUILDING AND DUVALL COUNTY COURTHOUSE THIS MOVE LEAVES ANOTHER BIG HOLE IN THE NORTH BANK. 15 STORY BUILDING WILL SIT VICK ANTI-BECAUSE RATE NOW THERE'S NO PLANS TO SILT OR USE IT FOR OFFICE SPACE. IT'S RIGHT NEXT TO THE OLD COURTHOUSE WHICH HAS BEEN SIGNATURE EMPTY FOR NEARLY 2 YEARS. THIS IS ALL PART OF THE CITY PLAN TO GET GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS OFF THE RIVER AND BUSINESSES TO BOOM IN ITS PLACE BUT THAT STALLED. BUSINESSES LIKE OLD YO RESTAURANT HAVE RELAYED ON THE STATE ATTORNEY OFFICE AND EMPLOYEE TO HELP WITH THEIR BRISK BUSINESS AND THEY WILL NOTICE A DIFFERENCE STARTING TOMORROW. SAD TO SEE THEM GO BUT WE ARE APPRECIATIVE WITH SOMETHING HAPPENING WITH THE SPACES QUICKLY. Reporter: THEY HAVE A GLIMMER OF HOPE AND THAT WAS ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE SHIPYARD AND IF COHN VISION FOR OUT THERE AND HOPE THE VISION WILL EXTEND ALL WAIT DOWN TO THE OFFICE BUILDING OR THE OLD CITY HALL AND THAT THAT TOO COULD BECOME RENOVATED IN THE FUTURE.

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You might want to take along some gloves or hand sanitizer

U.S. Bank building to open this summer

February 19, 2015 | 7:00 pm

CEDAR RAPIDS Construction has begun on a U.S. Bank branch at Westdale, the first new building in the $90 million Cedar Rapids redevelopment project.

Lisa Rowe, vice president/retail at Frew Development Group and Westdale general manager, on Thursday said additional construction during the next few months will include a 5,000-square-foot stand-alone Chick-fil-A restaurant, interior and exterior renovations to the JCPenney building, and a 12,000-square-foot multi-tenant building.

The construction of the first new building at Westdale is a significant milestone, Rowe said. Vertical construction is what people in the community have been longing to see since we started this project.

Construction of the U.S. Bank building began on Feb. 9 and the office, which will be located on the second pad site north of the south Edgewood Road SW entrance, is expected to open this summer.

U.S. Bank is relocating because the building housing its branch at 2350 Edgewood Rd. SW was acquired in October 2010 by F&M Bank of Manchester, which has offices in northeast and downtown Cedar Rapids. F&M expects to open a branch at Westdale in November.

Chick-fil-A hopes to start construction April 6 on its new free-standing restaurant, Rowe said. It will be located on the first pad site north of the south entrance off Edgewood Road SW.

Rowe said the recently completed initial phase of site work created eight development pads along Edgewood Road SW, All the sites are under contract and include new utilities, construction of a new Edgewood Road entrance and a portion of the new ring road that will provide access to future development.

The 12,000-square-foot multi-tenant building will be constructed just south of the existing U.S. Bank building, Rowe said.

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New construction work starts at Westdale

Peter Whitmore from Wates Construction and Rorie Henderson, Salmon Harvester

THE first speculative office to be built in Bristol since the recession has now been completed by Wates Construction.

Two Glass Wharf, a 40-million office building at Temple Quay, has been officially handed over to Salmon Harvester Properties, a joint venture between Salmon Developments and NFU Mutual.

Wates began work on the 100,000 sq ft office building in October 2013, which provides six floors of grade A office space with retail and restaurant accommodation on the ground floor.

Designed by Atkins, the building is within the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone, one of the UK's largest urban regeneration areas.

Accountancy firm PwC is to be the first tenant taking 28,275 sq ft across the top three floors.

Peter Whitmore, business unit director at Wates in the South West, said: "Bristol city centre is undergoing a major transformation and we are proud of the significant contribution the completion of 2 Glass Wharf makes to the landscape of the city.

"Salmon Harvester's decision to develop the first speculative office in Bristol for many years shows that Bristol is a city of growth and a great place to invest."

Rorie Henderson, development director at Salmon Harvester Properties added: "We have always had every confidence in the Bristol market and this is the first of our three development projects planned at Temple Quay.

"We have also received planning permission for the adjacent site 3 Glass Wharf, which incorporates 109,255 sq ft (10,150 sq m) of offices with retail and leisure on the ground floor, plus basement car parking. "

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The Bristol Post published 40m Two Glass Wharf development shows Bristol's a city of...