Travelers heading to the 2012 Home Design and Remodeling Show in Miami are searching for private vacation rentals instead of hotel rooms this year. John Romano of Fort Lauderdale Vacation Rentals says the online site is experiencing higher traffic than last year from people searching for home-away-from-home accommodations.

Miami, Florida (PRWEB) March 05, 2012

At a time when many travelers are looking to save money and demand for Miami vacation rental condos and homes increases, more and more visitors are booking their accommodations online through FtLauderdaleVacationRentals.com. Private property owners in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Beach area are making their vacation homes available to visitors in increasing numbers, particularly heading into the spring tourist season.

Fort Lauderdale Vacation Rentals offers a comprehensive listing of vacation rental homes in the Fort Lauderdale Miami area. FtLauderdaleVacationRentals.com provides a single gateway for people planning their South Florida vacations with a variety of available condos, villas, townhomes and estate homes to choose from.

Among the perks of staying in a Fort Lauderdale Vacation Rental condo or home is the privacy that comes with renting directly from the property owner. Fort Lauderdale Vacation Rentals offer a full kitchen, laundry room, and all the comforts of a home that make traveling easier and more enjoyable.

FtLauderdaleVacationRentals.com has grown rapidly in popularity as more and more property owners and travelers become familiar with this opportunity to connect for a mutually beneficial cause, Romano said.

Fort Lauderdale Vacation Rental homes, condos, chalets, cottages, and apartments are increasing in popularity every year, and we provide a conduit for property owners and travelers to connect.

Many visitors traveling to the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area for the Home Design and Remodeling Show plan to stay the weekend or the week to enjoy the areas beaches and other attractions. By booking a vacation home rental in Miami or Fort Lauderdale, they can stay and enjoy the Florida sun and surf much more affordably and with more amenities than a hotel can offer.

About Ft. Lauderdale Vacation Rentals:

FtLauderdaleVacationRentals.com is the world's first portal dedicated only to vacation rentals in Fort Lauderdale. Established in 2006 and acquired by Vacation Rental Organization, LLC in 2010, Ft Lauderdale Vacation Rentals mission is to provide a selection of vacation rentals in Fort Lauderdale and to connect travelers with property owners in the most efficient way possible.

Read this article:
Visitors to the Spring 2012 Home Design and Remodeling Show in Miami are Booking Accommodations Through Fort ...

SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE PHOTOS/John Love Leominster Police Chief Robert Healey gave a tour of the old Leominster National Plastics Center & Museum that officials are thinking of renovating to use as part of the police station. The chief stands on the corner of Derwin and Lancaster streets with the National Plastics Center & Museum building in the background.

LEOMINSTER -- Police Chief Robert Healey walked through the former National Plastics Center & Museum at 210 Lancaster St., pointing out its features to visitors.

A room set up for his detectives was warm and well lit, as was a training room on the third floor.

The rest of the building was dark and cold to keep utility costs down.

Mayor Dean Mazzarella says it is time to start phase two of plans to move the police headquarters from 29 Church St. to the former museum.

Healey is planning to meet with Mazzarella soon to discuss the next phase and how to move forward.

"As far as I'm concerned we're ready to go on the next phase. We just have to decide what needs to get done and do a budget," Mazzarella said.

An empty room on the first floor of the former museum that is undergoing renovation as the new police station.

Until a full-scale plan and budget is in place, Mazzarella and Healey plan to phase in some more employees to make greater use of the building.

The next group of employees to move will have to be those who do not interact with the public because there isn't a reception desk or even a main entrance yet.

Visit link:
Mayor, chief will go to next level in revamp of new Leominster Police Station

You may have considered spending this year's tax refund on a home improvement project. So, which projects would be money well spent, and which would not?

Your home is your biggest asset, so it's important to keep it in good shape and make improvements that you can enjoy right away that will increase your home's value.

Angie Hicks, Founder of Angie's List, gives some advice on where to start home remodeling, "If you are considering updating your house this year, consider remodeling the kitchen or the bathroom. Those two rooms get the best return on your investment- about 85 percent. But the key here is not overdoing it, but keeping up with the Jones's. So if you're the only house in the neighborhood without granite countertops then it makes sense to add them, if you're not - skip out on that extra."

Remodeling those rooms can get pricey. If you're on a limited budget, you may want to think outdoors.

Phil Gettum, Gettum Associates, Inc., explains the type of home remodels they have been doing lately, "We are doing a lot more screened porches. Outside decks, pergolas, outdoor living spaces which brings more space into the house, but it's not as expensive, so those tend to kind of fall under that scale as well."

Projects with the lowest return on investment include swimming pools, home offices, sun room, master suite and third bay on your garage.

Regardless of what projects you choose, planning is key.

Angie explains why it is important to plan ahead, "To make sure your remodeling project goes smoothly, the plan is plan, plan, plan and communicate, communicate, communicate. Plan ahead, lay out your budget, have ideas ahead of time, and then communicate with your contractor regularly - that starts with the estimate, documenting in the contract, all the way through the entire project."

Other great remodeling projects that will add to your home's value and have a great return on investments are siding and new windows.

Content: We all think about ways to improve or update our homes, but many of us don't know how to get beyond that wish list stage or can't afford big budget items.

Read the rest here:
Angie's List: Home Remodeling

Robin Rombach/Post-Gazette

The living room features Craftsman-style fireplace and a columned room divider. It has original stained mahogany and cherry woodwork and original stained-glass windows. The five-bedroom home is on the market for $149,000.

A longtime landlord who owns buildings in and around New Kensington, Don Ryan is used to people asking him to take a look at houses for sale. Some are in such bad shape that he stops by but doesn't get out of the car. When he does buy one, he rarely asks his wife's opinion.

The house at 258 Freeport Road was different. Peering in through the beveled-glass front door, he saw a beamed living room ceiling and Craftsman-style fireplace with columned room divider. He called his wife, Kim.

"I think you better come look at this," he said.

She did and her thought was the same as his: We're buying this house.

"I guess we fell in love with the beamed ceiling and fireplace in the living room," Mr. Ryan said. "We hadn't even been inside and we decided to buy it."

After a yearlong renovation, they have put the five-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath house (MLS No. 891652) on the market for $149,000 through his mother, Janet Ryan of Century 21 American Heritage Realty (724-994-1311 or ww.century21ahr.com).

It was not a good candidate to flip, Mr. Ryan said, because it needed so much work. It was more of a hobby project for him and his wife, and he knew they would be lucky to recoup the money they put into it. Yet they couldn't resist.

NEW KENSINGTON

Read more here:
Buying Here: New Kensington

TIPTON, Iowa — Revisions to the original plans for Tipton High School’s auditorium remodeling and wrestling room projects have addressed to overcome objections by school board members and others.

At a work session, school board members learned that if new auditorium seats are 21 inches wide instead of 24 inches, there is room for 608 seats in the auditorium. With 24-inch seats, there would have been a loss of seating from the current 850 to 450.

To retain 608 seats, Al Varney, architect with Ament Design, said the space between rows in the balcony will remain the same but will be increased on the main floor.

To keep the use of one classroom, which was originally to become a stage makeup room, Varney said two 500-square-foot rooms could be constructed by extending the planned addition over the boiler room. He said one could be used for the makeup area and the other for stage equipment storage.  

Another goal of the revisions was to cut the $626,750 cost projected for the wrestling room. Varney explained that can be done by changing from brick and block construction to pre-cast concrete, which would cost $357,520.  Wrestling coach Matt Nerem asked for storage space for exercise bikes and other equipment. He noted that a wooden floor is safer for wrestling than concrete. Recycled rubber flooring as installed in the new weight room was suggested as being less costly than using a double thickness of mats.

The rest is here:
Tipton looks at auditorium project revisions

Feb. 27--Aberdeen Regional Airport' s observation room, a remnant of the days when the airport had a food counter, will disappear as part of a remodeling planned for the airport terminal.

Two areas will be expanded to fill that space. One is the secure holding room -- the area where people wait after making it through security. The other is the baggage claim area.

Airport manager Mike Wilson is excited about the project, which will happen late this summer or early next year.

Currently, the baggage claim area can be very crowded when 50 people arrive on a plane and they're welcomed by about 50 others, Wilson said. Under the planned remodeling, the size of the conveyor belt and the area around it will be greatly increased.

Expansion of the secure holding area is also needed, Wilson said. Right now, the room seats 39 people. The room is extremely cramped when 50 people are waiting to board an aircraft, he said. After the expansion, it will have seating for about 70, so it will still be comfortable if the size of aircraft serving Aberdeen increases in the future.

The cost of the work will be about $400,000, Wilson said. Federal money will pay for about 90 percent. The state will pay for 3 to 5 percent, leaving 5 to 7 percent for the city.

Wilson thinks the renovated terminal will be more convenient and more comfortable. As part of the changes, the curtains at both ends of the current observation room will be removed. Wilson also hopes to paint the entire terminal.

"I think it's going to look much nicer," he said.

Airport space will also be better utilized, he said. The observation room is not used very much and is "not really needed," Wilson said.

In the room now are seven tables, 21 chairs and three vending machines that sell sandwiches, snacks and pop.

The counter area is left over from unsuccessful attempts to run a deli-type operation in the space. All of the restaurant items, except for an ice machine, will be sold, Wilson said.

In doing the construction, the airport will avoid its two busiest seasons -- pheasant hunting and Christmas. If the work can't be done in August and September, it will probably have to wait until January or February.

If the bids for this project come in favorably, Wilson hopes to also expand the terminal building slightly. He'd like to enlarge the area where airline workers deliver baggage to the conveyor. Right now, the area is so tight that those small vehicles are constantly bumping into their surroundings, Wilson said.

Copyright 2012 - American News, Aberdeen, S.D.

See more here:
Expansion at Aberdeen airport to begin this summer

Posted: Feb. 28, 2012 | 2:02 a.m.
Updated: Feb. 28, 2012 | 8:16 a.m.

So there's no confusion, the temporary hotel room in the lobby of the MGM Grand is not available.

Besides, there isn't a bathroom.

But the mock-up serves a purpose, said MGM Grand President Scott Sibella.

It tells guests the 5,044-room Strip resort's propertywide remodeling is under way after being delayed for almost eight years.

So does the 14-foot replica paint can at the property's main pedestrian entrance off the Strip.

The $160 million room renovation is the most visible and anticipated aspect of the property's remodeling, which will include all 3,570 rooms and 642 suites in the MGM Grand's main tower. Some 1,600 rooms have already received contemporary furnishings and color schemes. The project is expected to be completed by September.

Sibella said convention organizers and frequent guests had long been told the rooms would be redone. Plans for the room remodel were drawn up more than eight years ago, but were put on hold when the economy tanked.

"Having the model room in the lobby is a clear sign to show guests the renovation project is happening," Sibella said.

Revenues from the hotel rooms have become just as important to the bottom line of MGM Grand parent MGM Resorts International as the figures produced by the casino.

In the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, MGM Resorts officials said revenue per available room -- a nontraditional lodging industry profitability measurement -- for the company's 10 Strip hotel-casinos rose 13 percent.

The average daily room rate was up 10 percent from a year ago. Fresher rooms with new amenities means the company can charge a higher average daily rate.

MGM Resorts Chairman Jim Murren said last week that the company's revenue per occupied room is also increasing. The numbers, Murren said, show visitors are willing to spend more in both gaming and nongaming areas. He said the company is optimistic that visitation to Las Vegas will continue to grow throughout 2012.

"Our forward bookings are up and they are continuing to go up," Murren said.

The MGM Grand's remodeling is being rolled out in pieces.

Last month, the live lion habitat in the casino was closed. It was also announced that Studio 54, the nightclub that had been part of the hotel-casino for 14 years, will be replaced by Hakkasan, an upscale Mandarin Chinese restaurant and nightclub to open by New Year's Eve.

Sibella said the hotel, which turns 20 in 2013, has long needed a makeover.

The Strip may not see another new resort enter the market this decade, but MGM Grand must upgrade to match similar actions at competing resorts.

Sibella said the remodeling allows the property to recapture its magic in time for 20-year celebration.

"This property sees an average of 40,000 to 50,000 people a day," Sibella said. "That's not just our hotel guests. Everyone knows the emerald green building. It's the first building you see on the Strip when you arrive in Las Vegas by airline."

Sibella, who has been president of the MGM Grand for 14 months, said plans for the renovation are to add amenities that focus on entertainment.

New attractions include a 288-seat comedy club operated by comedian Brad Garrett, which is expected to open in March in the hotel's small retail area that connects the parking structure and main lobby. Meanwhile, new restaurants are opening, including the Sugar Factory and a Blizz Frozen Yogurt.

Plans are underway to remodel the MGM Grand's 170,000 square-foot casino, including adding an attraction or entertainment element to replace the closed lion habitat.

In the hotel lobby, MGM Grand created an interactive video wall behind the front desk. The center screen streams a live Twitter feed for guests on or off the property to post feedback or comments using the handle @mgmvideowall.

Sibella took over the MGM Grand after serving as president of The Mirage for five years, where he oversaw the Strip resort's $100 million renovation in time for that property's 20th anniversary.

"Maybe I'm getting a reputation as a guy who spends money," Sibella joked.

A couple of months after transferring to the MGM Grand, Sibella participated in the CBS reality television series "Undercover Boss," where he performed several jobs at the MGM Grand wearing a disguise.

Taking part in the television show helped him learn about the hotel-casino, which employs roughly 9,000 workers. Some 20 percent of those workers, he said, have been at the MGM Grand since Day One.

"We're excited about the changes," Sibella said. "The room remodel is just the start."

Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.

Continued here:
Glad To Say, 'Pardon Our Dust'

MGM Grand remodeling begins after nearly eight-year delay 28 February 2012

By Howard Stutz

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- So there's no confusion, the temporary hotel room in the lobby of the MGM Grand Las Vegas is not available.

Besides, there isn't a bathroom.

But the mock-up serves a purpose, said MGM Grand President Scott Sibella.

It tells guests the 5,044-room Strip resort's propertywide remodeling is under way after being delayed for almost eight years.

So does the 14-foot replica paint can at the property's main pedestrian entrance off the Strip.

The $160 million room renovation is the most visible and anticipated aspect of the property's remodeling, which will include all 3,570 rooms and 642 suites in the MGM Grand's main tower. Some 1,600 rooms have already received contemporary furnishings and color schemes. The project is expected to be completed by September.

Sibella said convention organizers and frequent guests had long been told the rooms would be redone. Plans for the room remodel were drawn up more than eight years ago, but were put on hold when the economy tanked.

"Having the model room in the lobby is a clear sign to show guests the renovation project is happening," Sibella said.

Revenues from the hotel rooms have become just as important to the bottom line of MGM Grand parent MGM Resorts International as the figures produced by the casino.

In the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, MGM Resorts officials said revenue per available room -- a nontraditional lodging industry profitability measurement -- for the company's 10 Strip hotel-casinos rose 13 percent.

The average daily room rate was up 10 percent from a year ago. Fresher rooms with new amenities means the company can charge a higher average daily rate.

MGM Resorts Chairman Jim Murren said last week that the company's revenue per occupied room is also increasing. The numbers, Murren said, show visitors are willing to spend more in both gaming and nongaming areas. He said the company is optimistic that visitation to Las Vegas will continue to grow throughout 2012.

"Our forward bookings are up and they are continuing to go up," Murren said.

The MGM Grand's remodeling is being rolled out in pieces.

Last month, the live lion habitat in the casino was closed. It was also announced that Studio 54, the nightclub that had been part of the hotel-casino for 14 years, will be replaced by Hakkasan, an upscale Mandarin Chinese restaurant and nightclub to open by New Year's Eve.

Sibella said the hotel, which turns 20 in 2013, has long needed a makeover.

The Strip may not see another new resort enter the market this decade, but MGM Grand must upgrade to match similar actions at competing resorts.

Sibella said the remodeling allows the property to recapture its magic in time for 20-year celebration.

"This property sees an average of 40,000 to 50,000 people a day," Sibella said. "That's not just our hotel guests. Everyone knows the emerald green building. It's the first building you see on the Strip when you arrive in Las Vegas by airline."

Sibella, who has been president of the MGM Grand for 14 months, said plans for the renovation are to add amenities that focus on entertainment.

New attractions include a 288-seat comedy club operated by comedian Brad Garrett, which is expected to open in March in the hotel's small retail area that connects the parking structure and main lobby. Meanwhile, new restaurants are opening, including the Sugar Factory and a Blizz Frozen Yogurt.

Plans are underway to remodel the MGM Grand's 170,000 square-foot casino, including adding an attraction or entertainment element to replace the closed lion habitat.

In the hotel lobby, MGM Grand created an interactive video wall behind the front desk. The center screen streams a live Twitter feed for guests on or off the property to post feedback or comments using the handle @mgmvideowall.

Sibella took over the MGM Grand after serving as president of The Mirage for five years, where he oversaw the Strip resort's $100 million renovation in time for that property's 20th anniversary.

"Maybe I'm getting a reputation as a guy who spends money," Sibella joked.

A couple of months after transferring to the MGM Grand, Sibella participated in the CBS reality television series "Undercover Boss," where he performed several jobs at the MGM Grand wearing a disguise.

Taking part in the television show helped him learn about the hotel-casino, which employs roughly 9,000 workers. Some 20 percent of those workers, he said, have been at the MGM Grand since Day One.

"We're excited about the changes," Sibella said. "The room remodel is just the start."

Copyright 2010 GamingWire. All rights reserved.

Excerpt from:
MGM Grand remodeling begins after nearly eight-year delay

February 27, 2012 5:26 AM

A traveling man could get a pretty nice room for $2 a day at the Dunlap House a century ago.

The old Dunlap was an 80-room hotel which once stood where the Morgan County Center is now located on West State Street.

The Dunlap House was completed in the spring of 1858 and for many years was considered to be one of Jacksonville’s principal buildings. Sketches of the hotel were included on maps and other publications.

The hotel was the brainchild of Col. James Dunlap, a local entrepreneur, who took a residence and enlarged it. The front part of the brick hotel building had three stories, while two rear wings had two floors.

The guest rooms were said to be “neat and airy,” and each room was supplied with a stove and gas fixtures.

“Although this hotel will be a just subject of pride to our citizens, and has involved a very heavy expenditure in its erection, it is entirely a private enterprise on the part of Col. Dunlap, and one which entitles him to the commendations of the community for the liberality and public spirit it evinces,” wrote a local journalist in 1858.

The Dunlap soon supplanted the Mansion House, later known as the Park Hotel, as the city’s leading hostelry.

Samuel Clemens, better known as “Mark Twain,” stayed at the Dunlap when he came to town in 1869 to talk about his travels abroad.

Members of the Dunlap family ran the hotel for many years before Capt. Alexander Smith, a Civil War hero and veteran hotel clerk, bought the place in 1880. He earned his rank fighting for the Union Army and proudly kept it the rest of his life.

“Cap” Smith, who is said to have been “a born hotel keeper,” quickly undertook a complete remodeling of the hotel. An army of painters, plasterers and carpenters renovated every inch of the building.

The renovated Dunlap’s rooms were all equipped with an electric bell connected to the office. And “another feature which few, if any, hotels in our state possess is the ladies private washroom and bathrooms ... fitted up in the best possible manner,” the Journal reported in September 1880.

“As a guarantee that the house will be ably conducted in such a manner as to satisfy the traveling public, we need only state that Capt. Alex Smith, the proprietor, ... will have personal supervision of the house and see that the wants of all guests are promptly supplied.”

For the entertainment of his guests, Smith also had a billiards room added to the hotel in 1880, a room large enough to accommodate six tables.

“Conventions always delighted him, and he was happiest when the great lobby and dining rooms were filled with sociable guests,” wrote an unknown local historian around 1940.

“On one occasion, the Travelers Protective Association state meeting was held (at the Dunlap House) and as each guest went to the desk to pay his bill for himself and his family, the clerk smilingly handed him a bill already receipted by ‘Cap.’”

Smith got out of the hotel business in 1904 and died in a fire in his Jacksonville home in 1917.

A modern, five-story brick and steel-frame hotel building went up just east of the old Dunlap in 1925. Called the New Dunlap Hotel, it dwarfed its outdated predecessor for a few years before wreckers demolished the old hotel.

See the rest here:
The Way We Were: Dunlap House was a source of Jacksonville pride

ELYRIA — Charlotte Norris delicately descended the steps to the basement, pulled a thin cord to shine a light and made her way to a small room near the back of Monteith Hall.

Then, she walked into a small, dusty room with a low ceiling and pointed to the concrete block wall.

It stood out from the other sandstone walls of the room.

“We think it was right here,” she said. “It faces the back of the house and the Black River. It could have easily been the place where slaves came in on the Underground Railroad. All John Monteith would have to do is hide the door to the room and no one would know he was an abolitionist hiding slaves.”

Click any image to view larger.

The tunnel or any remnants to definitively tell historian where the tunnel may have been had since been closed up, but Norris, a longtime member of the Elyria Woman’s Club, the home’s owner since 1954, was happy to show off the spot that helped to solidify the home’s place on the National Register of Historic Homes.

It is also that bit of history that Norris would like Elyrians to remember because Monteith Hall, sometimes simply described as the “old white house on East Avenue with the big pillars” is in need of work to maintain the 177-year-old historic gem.

“This home has gone through a lot of remodeling over the years, but people are still very impressed when they see the house,” she said. “There is so much history here worth preserving.”

That is why the Elyria Woman’s Club will hold three fundraisers in coming months to raise money for the soon much needed repairs.

Norris said the money will be used to fund the repair and restoration of the pillars and pilasters on the front of the house. They are peeling and cracking. The last time they received any work was at least 20 years ago. Now, the work that needs to be done will cost between $20,000 and $30,000.

“There are no other structural problems with the home. It has held up well over the years because all of its owners have taken good care of it,” she said.

Built in 1835, the home is one of the oldest homes in Elyria. It was built by the Rev. John Monteith, an ordained minister and a staunch abolitionist.

Norris said Monteith gave fiery anti-slavery sermons and speeches and was never silenced by the threats of those who opposed his views. He worked with other abolitionists in Oberlin and Elyria, and he used his home as a place were runaway slaves could receive food, rest and hide until going on to Lake Erie.

Monteith Hall then became the home of former Elyria Mayor Nahum B. Gates. He married Sarah Monteith in 1841. Their son William N. Gates and his wife, Ada, totally remodeled the house in 1898. That is when the pillars and pilasters were added on the front porch.

After Gates’ death in 1913, his widow donated $25,000 to help build the Gates Hospital for Crippled Children, now the Gates Medical Center, which is a part of EMH Medical Center in Elyria.

Norris said a lot of work — much of it completed by club member Betty Bergman Camp — was done to document and preserve the home’s history. Restoring the pillars and pilasters is just another step in that process.

ELYRIA WOMAN’S CLUB FUNDRAISERS

For reservations or information on any event, call (440) 322-0524 or (440) 322-3644.

WINE TASTING EVENT

What: There will be a variety of wines, a hors d’oeuvres buffet, a Chinese auction, a 50/50 raffle and a special guest, a survivor of the “Titanic.”

When: 7 to 9 p.m. March 24.

Where: Monteith Hall, 218 East Ave.

Cost: Tickets are $20 each with advance reservations, or $25 at the door.

SPAGHETTI DINNER

What: Caterer Jennifer Ehlke will prepare the meal. Guests are allowed to bring their favorite wine (and glasses) to the event.

When: 6 to 8:30 p.m. April 21.

Where: Monteith Hall, 218 East Ave.

Cost: Tickets are $12 for adults, and $6 for 12 years and younger.

FASHION SHOW AND LUNCH

What: The show will begin with fashions from Midway Mall’s Christopher & Banks. Lunch will follow at noon. There will be musical selections by area singers and door prizes.

When: 11 a.m. May 12.

Where: Monteith Hall, 218 East Ave.

Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.

Print this story
Report an inappropriate comment

Go here to see the original:
Elyria Woman’s Club raising funds to preserve historic Monteith Hall