It has finally arrived. Our newest magazine, Home™: Living in the Heart of Florida, arrivedFriday.Kyle, our associate publisher, and David, our editor, told me I looked like an expectant father, as I paced the hall, waiting for the FedEx truck to arrive Friday morning. While I have spent hundreds of hours in design and layout, I was still surprised by how well it looked after receiving it. The proof will be in how you feel about it though.
We have started distribution, and will be doing that all week. If you would like copies distributed at your place of business, let us know. You are also welcome to come by the office, and pick up a copy.
On another front, it has come down to this week. On Tuesday evening at 5 p.m., the Alachua County Commission will either follow through on the promise it made to the community in late august, or it will cave to pressure by people who want to stop growth at any level. It was assumed initially that this meeting would be a formality - approve the ordinance that sets into place the delayed and discounted impact-fee increase that was approved at the earlier meeting. But faced with some back-room politics, it appears Commission Chair Paula DeLaney may be waffling.
The commission evidently is wavering on all points of the original ordinance. Will the impact fees begin in November 2008? Will they begin immediately? Will they implement all at once or the previously agreed upon five-year plan. In order to hold the commission to its earlier word it is crucial that we once again pack the room. The large presence is crucial to make sure the commission sticks with this plan, which is far better for the local economy than adopting the full fees for immediate implementation.
One last note - our good friend, Mitch Glaeser, of Glaeser Realty, was recognized by Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman at the purchase of the famed Hotel Stephenson in Falls City. To honor him, they proclaimed October 1st Mitch Glaeser Day. I wonder if the county commission would have been able to get out of their own way if Mitch attempted to restore such a beautiful hotel in downtown Gainesville. Anyway, congratulations Mitch.
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www.BuildingEdgeMagazine.com
Our October issue is online, and will be arriving early next week. It features Isaac Construction in Lake City. The National Feature will be on Weathering the Elements: HVAC, insulation, house wrap, anti-mold products, siding and brick, roofing, pest control . Our Edge Spotlight this month is on Griffis Tile & Flooring. Look for the hard copy to arrive the week of October 15th.
We are in production on the November issue, which will feature Demetri Homes of Ocala. The National Feature will be on Green Building: engineered wood/stone, heating/cooling alternatives, sustainable building materials, increasing IAQ (indoor air quality), plastic piping. For more information, please contact us at (352) 372-3958 in Gainesville, or (352) 368-1707 in Ocala.
We will close out the year in December with GC Construction of Gainesville. The National Feature will be on Construction Technology. This is also going to be the Parade Wrap-Up issue, covering Alachua, Marion and Columbia counties.
Our Summer 2007 issue of Commercial Building Edge is now available. The cover feature is on Gray Construction Services. The National Feature is on Green Building.
Sales are closed for the Fall 2007 Commercial issue. The cover story is a feature on Ocala's Ausley Construction . The Winter issue will feature Trunnell Construction on the cover.
HOME™: Living in the Heart of Florida Resource Guide
As I mentioned above, our newest magazine, Home™: Living in the Heart of Florida is here, and is being distributed. People who have seen it have responded very positively. A brand new redesign of our website, www.LivingInTheHeartOfFlorida.com will be launched, possibly as early as tomorrow, to coincide with the inaugural issue. I am pleased to note that we have formed some terrific partnerships with local establishments to insure success through the delivery of the publication. Just to name a few, we are working closely with Gainesville Regional Airport , Gainesville Chamber of Commerce and the Newberry/Jonesville Chamber of Commerce. Coming next month will be a publication for the consumer unlike anything out there today! |
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Character Counts in Alachua County Fall Parade
The 2007 Fall Parade of Homes is not just an assortment of new housing but a diverse collection of home styles. "It's really about making a housing-lifestyle choice with variety as the key," said Margie Krpan, deputy executive vice president of the Builders Association of North Central Florida, which sponsors the event. The 2007 Fall Parade of Homes, scheduled for Oct. 13-14 and Oct. 20-21, gives area builders the opportunity to showcase new home inventories.
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Take a Look at What Homebuilders Have to Offer Around Marion County
The home improvement experts like to tell us this is the time of year to clear the clutter, to make room for the new. After all, the North Pole is in overdrive right now cranking out good stuff for the Jolly Old Elf to deliver in a few weeks. Not that anyone would dare call these homes "clutter," but Marion County builders are hoping, like us, they might shed some excess this month during the 10th Fall Showcase of Homes beginning today.
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Marion County Refuses Builder Again
The eagle didn't land in 2006 and it will not land in 2007. In August 2006, the Marion County Commission voted down Eagle Trace - a proposed residential development of up to about 320 homes planned on 86 acres west of Belleview. When the project's developer, Bruce Hall of Pinellas County, appealed the decision, the two sides headed to mediation.
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Gainesville's Hatchet Creek Receives List of Conditions
The Gainesville City Plan Board late Thursday night recommended the city impose a long list of conditions on an "active adult community" known as Hatchet Creek, which is planned for the area around Ironwood Golf Course. The decision hinged on several factors, including concern about environmental features on the property, the impact of putting about 2,000 residential units close to the noise of Gainesville Regional Airport, and concern about the fact that city staff and the developer were unable to agree on many conditions for the project.
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Ocklawaha's Fate is Coming to a Head
The fate of the Ocklawaha River as a water source for a thirsty central Florida is coming to a head. Amid plans by the St. Johns Water Management District to allow about 20 Florida utilities to tap the river at State Road 40 for water, County Commissioner Stan McClain will meet soon with the water district's director in hopes of stopping the proposal.
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Marion County Commissioners Weigh Revolt on Property Taxes
Marion may join a Panhandle county's revolt against the Florida Legislature's approach to property tax reform. Up in Bay County, home of Panama City and valuable beachfront property, county commissioners plan a lawsuit against the state to challenge the Florida Department of Revenue's acceptance of their county property appraiser's tax rolls for 2007-08. During a meeting last Tuesday, Marion County Commissioners said they were interested in a potential challenge.
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Marion County Commission to Vote Again on 2,000-Home Proposal
A massive residential development that could mix homes and condominiums in the style of Pulte's Ford Ranch may be coming to the State Road 200 corridor. Right now, the property eyed for development is 560 acres of woods between Southwest 80th and 95th streets, about 1.2 miles east of Southwest 60th Avenue. The plan is a mixed residential community of up to 2,200 homes.
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MCBA Calendar of Events
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BANCF Calendar of Events
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Budget Tamed; Property Tax Cuts up Next
Within three days of convening, the Florida Legislature all but signed off Friday on $1.1 billion in budget cuts and sent Gov. Charlie Crist bills to fix mandatory no-fault auto insurance and a glitch that had left Miami off a list of cities that should cut taxes the deepest. Now, with seven days left in the legislative session, lawmakers just need to put finishing touches on the budget as they turn their full attention to property tax cuts. A final vote on the budget will come Friday -- in order for lawmakers to comply with constitutional requirements.
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State Farm to Reduce Homeowner Rates by 9%
State Farm of Florida, the largest private insurer of homes in Florida, agreed to lower homeowner rates by an average of 9 percent statewide in order to comply with a law passed in January. Officials estimate the rate cut will save its more than one million State Farm policyholders about $23 million.
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St. Joe's West Florida Sales Up
The St. Joe Co. had been having a tough time in the past for its Northwest Florida resort and beach communities. But with the hurricanes of recent years falling into a less tangible memory and the real estate market's downturn bringing appealing home prices, these customers, often baby boomers, have finally returned. Of St. Joe's roughly 730,000 acres in the Gulf Coast area, sales in its South Walton County communities in the first half of the year have begun picking up. From 2006, the area saw a 55 percent spikes in sales the first quarter of this year.
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Cost of Replacing Roof Rises Under New Law
Under a new state law aimed at strengthening existing homes against hurricanes, homeowners could pay at least 22 percent more to replace a shingle roof and 20 percent more for a tile root. The law, which took effect Monday, applies only to single-family homes. While most building experts agree more protections can only help, a state roofing association has tried to delay the law's implementation and plans to ask lawmakers next spring to fix it.
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Save Our Homes Portability Back in Play for Tax Cuts
A judge's recent ruling junking the Legislature's property-tax plan has turned out to be a blessing in disguise for lawmakers, because it is allowing them to dig for something better in their favorite place for tax plans: the recycling bin. And their latest rediscovery-portability-seems to be their surest bet to get something before voters Jan. 29 because of Gov. Charlie Crist, who has recently moved from the sidelines on the issue to center stage. The idea of portability is simple and attractive. It allows people to keep their Save Our Homes tax cap and carry the tax-exemption saving from an old home to a new one.
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House Passes Foreclosure Aid
The House approved a measure to protect borrowers from getting a surprise tax bill from the Internal Revenue Service after lenders foreclosed on their homes. The bill, which still must pass in the Senate and be signed by President Bush to become law, would prevent the I.R.S. from taxing any debt forgiven in a foreclosure. The legislation would be retroactive to Jan. 1, sparing many of those who lost their homes to foreclosure this year from a surprise tax bill if their mortgage was canceled.
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NAHB Remodelers Council Celebrates 25th Anniversary
The National Association of Home Builders announced the 25th anniversary of its NAHB Remodelers council. Formed in 1982, in response to growing member demand, the council was created as a way to deepen knowledge, professionalism and to promote the accomplishments of remodelers. NAHB Remodelers has grown with its membership topping 7,500. It has expanded its offerings to include everything from training courses and advice for remodelers on expanding and maintaining their businesses.
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Interest Rate Cut Might Not Be Needed to Fuel a Fourth-Quarter Wall Street Rally Although the prospects for a late October interest rate cut have dimmed, the chances for a yearend stock rally still seem quite good. Investors have been feeling more confident since the Federal Reserve cut rates a half percentage point on Sept. 18, and were looking for a repeat at the Fed's Oct. 30-31 meeting to keep stocks driving higher. But while a strong jobs report from the Labor Department lessened the likelihood of a rate cut this month, there's growing sentiment that one might not be needed for Wall Street to have its traditional fourth-quarter rally.
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Green Construction Guidelines Go Residential
The U.S. Green Building Council provides guidelines and training to architects, developers and contractors on environmentally sensitive construction. The Washington D.C.-based non-profit group's rating system, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), has been the industry standard for determining whether a green building is Earth-friendly to the core. However, LEED had only been available for commercial buildings-until now. On Nov. 8, the green council will roll out a new rating system for residential construction, called LEED for Homes.
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Greenspan Says Worst of Subprime Crisis has Passed
The meltdown of the U.S. subprime lending market that has triggered a global credit squeeze is largely over, former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said. Nevertheless, the U.S. economy is likely to suffer continued fallout from its weak housing market. Economic growth in the U.S. is likely to slow in coming months, a trend that would "bottom out in early 2008," Greenspan said.
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Clean Energy Can't Meet Growing Demand
Demand for renewable energy is outstripping supply, pushing up prices and raising the specter that some states may not meet clean-energy mandates. Behind the shortage are the growing number of states requiring utilities to include clean energy in their power mix, as well as surging demand from big businesses. Under laws in 25 states, clean energy must constitute up to 30 percent of a utility's energy portfolio in about 15 years. Also, growing concerns about power plants' global-warming emissions have led consumers and businesses to boost clean-energy purchases.
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Rates on 30-Year Mortgages Fall
Rates on 30-year mortgages fell this week after two consecutive increases, providing a break for potential home buyers and the beleaguered housing industry. The rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.37 percent this week, which is down from 6.42 percent last week. Rates have been trending lower as the worst slump in housing in 16 years has contributed to slower economic growth and fewer worries about inflation.
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New Shands Cancer Hospital Rises
The first things you notice are the construction cranes - angular giants more than 200 feet tall that hover over the first three floors of the University of Florida Shands Cancer Hospital. It's not until you tour the site that you realize the scope of the 500,000-square-foot facility that is rising just across Archer Road from Shands at UF.
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Wal-Mart Plans NW Gainesville Supercenter
Wal-Mart is preparing plans to build a second Gainesville supercenter on a site a U.S. 441 and NW 34th Street, which could include a solar panel project in partnership with Gainesville Regional Utilities. But the project, which would replace a Wal-Mart farther south on NW 13th Street, has raised concerns about the impact of losing a major anchor in an area that some say has just begun to bounce back from economic difficulty.
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Lowe's Coming to SR 200 Corridor
Lowe's made it official Friday, announcing a new home improvement store west of Ocala on the State Road 200 corridor. The new store, scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2008, will be located at the intersection of State Road 200 and Southwest 95th Street, adjacent to On Top of the World Communities. The site will feature a 117,000-square-foot store and a 37,100-square-foot garden center.
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Energy Center to Serve Hospital
Officials from Gainesville, Shands HealthCare and Gainesville Regional Utilities broke ground Thursday on an energy center that will be built by the municipal utility to serve the University of Florida Shands Cancer Hospital on Archer Road. The energy center is a 4.3 megawatt, gas-fueled power plant that will provide energy, steam for heating and chilled water for air conditioning to the hospital, allowing it to operate at its full capacity even if it is separated from the city's power grid. Only one other hospital in the country, in Austin, Texas, is now associated with such a center.
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AGC Receives $243,000 Grant for Training to Reduce Worksite Fatalities
The Associated General Contractors of America announced that, for the sixth year in a row, it was awarded a $243,000 Susan Harwood Training Grant by the U.S. Department of Labor to continue successful Construction Focus Four hazard sessions (falls, electrocution, caught-in and struck-by) training to reduce fatalities on construction worksites. AGC will conduct 26 eight-hour Focus Four construction hazard training sessions at 12 AGC chapters and at national safety committee meetings, reaching approximately 1,200 contractor employees.
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SFCC is Booming
Santa Fe Community College is beginning to look like a small university. Enrollment has climbed to 16,600 students, new annex buildings are popping up all over the county and a $32 million fine arts center is on the drawing board. SFCC President Jackson Sasser said the growth is helping SFCC step out on its own, but he said he hopes the campus can avoid most of the negatives of expansion.
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Alachua County Approves Road Surfacing
A program designed to improve health and safety - and save money - got a push forward Tuesday night when the Alachua County Commission approved a system for surfacing certain dirt roads. A road priority list should be ready by early 2008 with work to possibly start in the spring, officials said.
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Expansion of Marion County Courthouse Gets Go-Ahead
The Marion County Commission unanimously approved the $13.37 million first phase of the Marion Judicial Center expansion on Tuesday. Work on phase one, with Ocala's Moss and Associates serving as construction manager, could begin by late October. The full 150,000-square-foot, estimated $40-million expansion is expected to be completed by October 2009. It will include a new State Attorney's Office and at least five new courtrooms.
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South Lake Road Took a Hefty Toll
After 18 months and $13.1 million, the 2.5 mile four-lane roadway, dubbed the South Clermont Connector is open to traffic. The connector is the most expensive road construction project in the history of the Lake County Department of Public Works and is expected to be a valuable commuter link between Lakeshore Drive and Citrus Tower Boulevard.
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Construction Begins on New Addition at St. Paul's Catholic School
Construction has begun on a new building for the Saint Paul's Catholic School campus. Rev. John C. Giel, the pastor for the community of Saint Paul, said the construction process is expected to take 300 days to be completed. Students, parents, staff and administrators came out Sunday afternoon to commemorate the groundbreaking for the new building.
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AGC of Greater Florida Calendar of Events
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Residential October 2007
Commercial Summer 2007
HOME: Living in the Heart of Florida
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