Every two weeks, you will receive this e-mail with timely information about the building industry locally, statewide and nationally, that we hope will help you in your day-to-day, business practices. If you have input on how to make our E-News Briefs more effective for your needs, please do not hesitate to contact either Publisher Scott Costello at (352) 372-5854 or scott@buildingedgemag.com or Editor David Greenberg at (352) 331-4516 or david@greenbergcommunications.com. For advertising opportunities in the E-News Briefs, contact Scott Costello.
As you have probably heard, the issue of Impact Fees has reared its ugly head again in Alachua County. Behind the misnomer that our roads need to be fixed and new growth needs to pay for it, fees are expected to go up by unspeakable numbers. Forget the fact that impact fees don't even go to existing roads. Think for a minute about the number of businesses that will not come to Gainesville or homeowners who will not be able to afford housing due to these increases. I urge you to start now campaigning to your commissioner and getting the true message out before it is too late! |
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www.BuildingEdgeMagazine.com
The March issue of Building Edge Magazine is available online, and was mailed last week. It features K&R Construction, and the National Focus Section is on the latest trends in windows.
The April issue of Building Edge is in production. It features the builders of the Spring Parade of Homes™. This is the bonus distribution issue, with extra copies being mailed to the participating builders and delivered around Gainesville and Ocala. The National Feature is on Kitchens: Appliances, cabinets, sinks, faucets, lighting and countertops.
Coming up in Building Edge:
May issue: Cover feature is: The Ransome Group
National feature is: Outdoor Living: landscaping, outdoor lighting, outdoor kitchens, fireplaces. The deadline for participation is Thursday, March 29th. Please contact Scott today if you are interested in participating.
Coming up: June issue is Armstrong Homes , August is Cornerstone Development Group ) and September is Glaeser Realty and Development.
On the cover of our current commercial Building Edge issue is Ocala's Brian Ehlers Construction Co., Inc. Starting from a base of office building construction, Ehlers has now successfully branched out to larger commercial projects.
Our spring Commercial Building Edge issue, which is now in production, will feature Gainesville's BBI Construction Management, Inc. The national feature is on Surfaces. Coming up in Commercial Building Edge:
Summer 2007 issue: Cover feature is on Gray Construction Services. Sales open up on this issue Wednesday, March 14th. The National Feature is on Structural Support Systems. |
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New Development Raises Water Supply Questions
Ewa Leszczynski has sand filters on her washing machine and the well pump at her home off Tiger Lake Boulevard in Rainbow Lakes Estates north of Dunnellon. "I change them every month," Leszczynski said of the filters, which cost $15 to $20 each month.
With a low water supply, she needs them. Now, with Cool Springs Ranch, a new, 9,000-home development in the plans, she and others are wondering about what will happen to the water supply.
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New Haile-style Project Proposed
A project that would put almost 1,000 homes on an almost 1,900-acre property about a mile north of the intersection of State Road 121 and U.S. 441 took its first step forward recently when developers met with residents to outline their visions of the project. The project, billed as a "Haile Plantation-style" development that would mix detached homes, condominiums and about 100,000 square feet of "mom and pop" retail space, was greeted with a mix of interest and trepidation by about 60 residents who worried about what it would mean for their water supply and community.
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Price of Incentives on University Corners Growing
After pinning many of their redevelopment hopes on University Corners, the three-block-long complex that developers hope will stretch north from W. University Avenue along 13th Street, Gainesville city commissioners will soon find themselves faced with a decision about more incentives. To build the project as commissioners and developers agreed upon will require $141 million in property tax reimbursement incentives, according to an application filed by the project's developers. That package is $43.3 million more than the city has already approved and almost five times the total of all the other redevelopment incentives the city has approved.
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Height Regulations Changing
Gainesville city commissioners took steps recently to reduce the maximum height of properties zoned for urban development near residential neighborhoods in the areas around the University of Florida campus. The changes, which include setting the height of a building at no more than the number of stories multiplied by 13 feet, came after a developer received approval for a project that fit more stories into a shorter building than anticipated under existing regulations.
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Senate-House Work on Different Tax Plans
The Senate is ready to move forward with the first phase of its property tax relief plan, but conspicuously absent from the proposal is any mention of a sales tax, which is a key feature of the House plan. Many details of the Senate plan have yet to emerge, but the initial effort will involve changing the way property is assessed to reflect its current use rather than its potential use.
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FHBA Prepares for Spring Legislative Conference
The Florida Home Builders Association is gearing up for its annual Spring Legislative Conference scheduled for March 24-27 in Tallahassee and the agenda has something for everyone. In addition to the traditional governmental affairs activities associated with FHBA's Spring Legislative Conference, a number of exciting events are planned, including: the Florida Home Builders Foundation Fun Day, Remodelors Night Out, a 50+ Housing Council meeting, March Madness in the Park, and the FHBA Board of Directors meeting.
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Desoto County Lowers Impact Fees Successfully
Impact fees levied by county governments across the state to help pay for infrastructure such as roads, schools, parks and law enforcement have long been an item of discussion. Are they too high? Are they too low? How will they effect growth -- will it speed up or slow down? In 2006 DeSoto County government enacted impact fees on new housing and business building. During the course of that event many thought the fees were too high and would deter the predicted growth coming to DeSoto County. A number of developers have not been deterred while a few canceled their plans. Since the fees were put in place the county has had a lot of feedback as County Administrator Craig Coffey mentioned at the Feb. 27 commission meeting. That meeting was very significant as the county took the bold step of reducing the previous impact fee schedule -- in some cases as much as 50 percent.
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Allstate Proposes Property Insurance Rate Decrease
Allstate plans to drop hurricane insurance rates by more than 14 percent on average statewide later this summer, if state regulators approve, officials said recently. The Office of Insurance Regulation said that Allstate Floridian Insurance Co. and Allstate Floridian Indemnity Co. had filed for rate decreases averaging 14.2 percent that would go into effect when customers renew their policies after June 1.
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Boomers May Help Housing Market
As the housing downturn consumes their livelihood, home builders and Realtors soothe themselves with a steady mantra: The seas are turbulent now, but retiring baby boomers will keep the market afloat. Researchers at the University of Florida suggest they may have a point. A flow of relatively wealthy retirees of the generation born between 1946 and 1964 is Florida's best chance of achieving steady, if unspectacular, home price appreciation over the next two decades.
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New Homes to Cater to 55-plus Market
The New American Home 2007 was unveiled last month at the International Builders Show in Orlando to showcase the latest in home design and technology. The ultramodern three-level home comes with a wheelchair ramp and an elevator. There are two bedrooms on the ground floor, each providing a full bath - one with a shower, the other a tub -equipped with a sliding door. Those design features cater to one of the most powerful trends in the housing industry: Americans ages 55 and older will buy one in every five new homes this year - $103 billion worth - according to research by the National Association of Home Builders.
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New Home Sales Fall in February
Sales of new homes fell in February by the sharpest amount in 13 years, 16.6%, according to the Commerce Department. Meanwhile, housing inventory rose to its highest level in three months. These figures suggest that residential construction could remain a drag on the economy and that lower prices may be needed to stir buyer interest.
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Americans Look for Second Homes in Israel
Many Americans are opting to search for second homes in Israel's high-end real estate market. Part of Tel Aviv, Israel is in the midst of a mini-Manhattan makeover with the recent arrivals of New York-style residential projects. Even Donald Trump has plans for a 70-story residential and commercial tower in the suburb of Ramat Gan. This would become Israel's highest tower. Foreigners have bought a third of Israel's luxury properties last year.
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House Bill Moves to Making Housing Affordable to Hurricane Victims
With NAHB's support, the House Financial Services Committee on March 7 passed H.R. 1227, the Gulf Coast Hurricane Housing Recovery Act, legislation that would help provide affordable housing for low-income residents displaced by the Gulf Coast hurricanes that occurred in 2005. Prior to consideration of the bill, NAHB sent a letter to the full committee highlighting the association's support language extending the Disaster Voucher Program until Jan. 1, 2008. Due to the magnitude of the destruction caused by the hurricanes, which decimated entire communities, many families have not yet found permanent housing or jobs and continue to need this vital assistance.
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Stone, Siding and Shingles Used for Outdoor Energy Efficiency
In today's slower housing market, Owens-Corning is providing builders with products designed to boost sales by responding to growing consumer interest in energy-efficiency, outdoor living spaces and indoor comfort. According to Chuck Stein, president of the manufacturer's Cultured Stone® business, outdoor kitchens, upscale landscaping and courtyards are a hot trend among prospective home buyers, and Owens Corning is leading the way in this area with siding, shingles and manufactured stone veneer that are innovative and aesthetically pleasing.
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Green Building Slow to Catch On
Although green building has united many disparate parties, the major home builders have faced a challenge in implement green building on a widespread scale. Many builders have added energy-saving features and environmentally friendly materials, but buyers have not been willing to pay more for these features. There has been a prediction that green building will rise to 10 percent of homes by 2010 from today's two percent, but many experts say that builders have been slower to respond because of the extra costs and availability of materials.
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Remodeling Activity Strong
The National Association of Home Builders' Remodeling Market Index found that remodeling activity remained steady in the fourth quarter of 2006. This indicated a strong increase in activity for that sector as well. Due to record levels of homeowner equity and the constant need to upgrade the older housing stock, the remodeling outlook also appears to be quite good for years to come.
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Slight Improvement in Condo Market
The National Association of Home Builders' Multifamily Condo Market Index released that condo builders reported somewhat better market conditions in the fourth quarter of 2006 than the previous quarter. Builders and developers are more optimistic about what they think the condo market will be doing six months out. NAHB chief economist, David Seiders, said that the condo market is coming back toward balance.
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More Homes Coming with Separate Master Bedrooms
Not since the Victorian age of starched sheets and starchy manners, builders and architects say, have there been so many orders for separate bedrooms. Or separate sleeping nooks. Or his-and-her wings. In interviews, couples and sociologists say that often it has nothing to do with sex. More likely, it has to do with snoring. Or with children crying. Or with getting up and heading for the gym at 5:30 in the morning. Or with sending e-mail messages until well after midnight. In a survey in February by the National Association of Home Builders, builders and architects predicted that more than 60 percent of custom houses would have dual master bedrooms by 2015
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New Development Coming to Belleview
Belleview commissioners unanimously approved a draft agreement with Three Seas Development for a hotel complex off South U.S. 441. It would have a three-story, 78-room Hampton Inn, a 200-seat Farmhouse restaurant and 8,784 square feet of retail space. The developer can now pursue permits to build water and sewer lines.
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Winter Weather Hurts Construction Employment
The calendar and climate conditions combined to put a damper on construction employment in February, according to Ken Simonson, chief economist for The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). But he expected a rebound in nonresidential construction in March. In February, construction employment dropped by 62,000, seasonally adjusted - the largest one-month slide since 1991.
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Building Supplies Becoming More Available
Supplies of key construction material stabilized or increased within the past year, easing concerns about escalating costs for homebuilders and commercial-construction companies. Part of the explanation: The slowdown in residential construction nationwide and in fast-growth states such as Florida has reduced demand. Builders scrambled to find cement, a basic ingredient in concrete, during the boom years of 2004 and 2005. But by the second half of 2006, the downturn in residential construction cut demand as production was picking up, reports suggest.
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Some Communities Embracing Green Building
Green, for lack of a better word, is good. Developers, business owners and government organizations across the Tampa Bay area are starting to embrace the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design initiative, an international push to construct offices, homes, schools and hotels that conserve power and water, minimize their impact on the environment, and create healthy places for people to live and work. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED for short, isn't a set of guidelines. It's a rigid set of requirements that architects, engineers and contractors must adopt when they design, build and equip a building. Once the building is complete, it must be reviewed by an independent consultant before the U.S. Green Building Council will certify it as a LEED-compliant building.
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