We are pleased to announce, based on the surprising response from readers, that starting with this issue (April 1st) of the Building Edge E-News Brief, we will be going weekly instead of twice a month. We knew when we launched this January 1, that it would be helpful, but had no idea how valued it really would become.
As always, if you would like to support Building Edge and E-news brief through advertising or sponsorship, please email us at: scott@buildingedgemag.com or call us at (352) 372-5854.
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Sales for the June issue are now open. Our June Cover Feature is Jim & Pal Bennett with Bennett Construction Services in Ocala. We will have an Edge Spotlight this month on Via Bertolini . Our National feature is on Doors: Interior, Exterior, Patio and Overhead/Garage Doors. Sales will remain open until April 25th.
July's cover is Kara Sutton & Sutton Family Homes. Our National Feature is on Baths: Fixtures, faucets, home spas, hardware, tile and countertops.
Our August cover is Adams Homes. The National feature is Curb Appeal: Entry doors, brick and siding, roofing, lighting, landscaping, paving.
May is currently in production. The Cover feature is The Ransome Group.
On the cover of our current Commercial Building Edge issue is Gainesville's BBI Construction Management, Inc. The National Feature is on Surfaces.
Opening next week will be the Summer 2007 issue of Commercial Building Edge. The Cover feature is on Gray Construction Services. The National Feature is on structural support systems. To participate, please email scott@buildingedgemag.com |
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Affordable Housing Coalition to Hold Forum April 25th
The Affordable Housing Coalition of Alachua County will be holding a free forum on Wednesday morning, April 25. Please plan to attend, and feel free to send this flyer out to your organizations' email lists or newsletter recipients. This will be a wonderful opportunity to hear from experts about reforms that can be made to make housing affordable for more people.
UF Receives $95.2 million for building projects
The University of Florida would receive $95.2 million in state money for building projects this year, under a proposal approved by the state Board of Governors on Thursday. The proposal, which still requires legislative approval, would fast-track funding for a new center to fight infectious diseases at UF and begin the first year of funding for a new building at UF's College of Veterinary Medicine.
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School board approves buying Castro land for school
Northwest Marion County had been presenting problems concerning quality parcels of land for building a new elementary school. Most of the pieces of property were not big enough, shaped in a useful way or not close to the center of the elementary school district intended. However, the Marion County School Board voted to buy 20 acres along Southwest 80th Avenue. The plot of land was bought from the Castro family, of fame since the 1950s when Bernard Castro's sofa bed invention became known as "The Castro."
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Hawthorne may be on cusp of rapid growth
When city officials broke ground for the Bella Meadows subdivision in Hawthorne on Wednesday morning, they kicked off the construction of 41 new homes. But they also broke into a new era of growth and development in the small rural city. Developers have unveiled conceptual plans to build roughly 2,100 new homes in several subdivisions in Hawthorne, which now has a population of 1,400. The city has annexed more than 1,500 acres since 2005 to make way for those homes, City Manager Chad Shryock said - a 72.5 percent increase in the city's size.
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MCBA Parade of Homes™
MCBA's Parade of Homes™ will be held from April 28 to May 13.
MCBA Calendar of Events
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BANCF Spring Parade of Homes™
BANCF's Spring Parade of Homes™ will start April 21, and run until April 29.
BANCF Calendar of Events
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Survey Questions Sales Tax Plan
A new Quinnipiac University poll has troubling news for House Speaker Marco Rubio and his push to swap property taxes for a higher sales tax. By a 51 percent to 34 percent margin, Florida voters surveyed said eliminating local property taxes and replacing them with any sort of state tax is a "bad idea." By a 48 percent to 44 percent margin, the voters also opposed Rubio's plan to abolish property taxes on primary residences and replace the lost revenue with a 2.5 cent sales-tax increase. Still, 63 percent of the voters questioned agreed with Rubio that the sales tax is fairer than the property tax.
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SEBC Registration to Begin Soon
The 2007 Southeast Building Conference will be held on Friday, July 13 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. This conference will feature a Reverse Trade Show, designed to link major builders with large suppliers. To sign up as a builder, supplier or to sponsor the event, contact Terri Rea at 1-800-261-9447, extension 15, or send an e-mail to trea@fhba.com.
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Inclusionary Zoning Fails Legal Test
On March 20, the FHBA demonstrated that mandatory inclusionary zoning is unconstitutional in a case against the city of Tallahassee. Circuit Court Judge Terry P. Lewis found that the FHBA sufficiently demonstrated standing. The FHBA believed that the zoning resulted in a wider gap between different economic levels among homeowners. FHBA and the Tallahassee Builders Association are some of Florida's strongest advocates for affordable housing.
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Affordable Housing Money Targeted by Legislature
Two years ago, lawmakers rewrote a 1992 pledge that set aside money from a tax increase on homes sales for affordable housing. However, must of that money has been diverted into the state's general fund. Now, lawmakers want to repeal the 2005 revision because they need the money for other purposes more than ever. People want to lift the cap and use some of those dollars for housing purposes. Some of it can also be used to help other problems, such as teacher salary increases.
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Hurricane Bills Moving; Glitch Bill Stalled
Two hurricane safety bills cleared the House of Representatives with ease Thursday and are now primed for the Senate and, ultimately, Gov. Charlie Crist's signature. Meanwhile, a "glitch bill" intended to fine-tune the property insurance reforms passed in a January special session got postponed in the face of Democratic opposition -- even though the Republicans had enough votes to push it through. And last but not least among hurricane-related legislation, the House's final vote on the popular hurricane safety tax holiday never came up, even though the bill passed its second reading Wednesday.
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Two Insurers Coming Into State
Two new homeowners insurers, American Integrity and Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (PURE), have entered the Florida marketplace, reversing a recent trend that has almost entirely involved insurers leaving the Sunshine State. The new providers allow Floridians the luxury of shopping around for homeowners' insurance, a godsend after the virtually nonexistent coverage resulting from the hurricane-ravaged residential communities of 2005. Citizens, Florida's leading insurer, provided 293,000 policies in 2005. In 2006, that number slowed to 67,000. Citizens has been getting 15,000 new applications a month and currently have more than 500,000 of 1.3 million policies written in the three-county area of Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade. There is little doubt that these new companies are a welcome addition to a strapped industry already spread too thin.
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Storms Didn't Slow Building Growth
It's business as usual for Floridians who continued building in the wake of several intense hurricane seasons. According to research done by the University of Florida, the number of households for permanent residents increased by an estimated 15 percent between 2000 and 2006. Overall, the number of housing units occupied by permanent residents increased by 952,938 over the six-year period, bringing the total to about 7.3 million. Amy Baker, coordinator of the Legislature's Office of Economic and Demographic Research, said earlier this month that the storms actually caused a building fervor that stimulated growth. The largest total number of households added came in Miami-Dade County with 69,844 new households.
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Green Trend Going Strong
Green Cay Village is a 420-unit development comprised of Tuscan-colored condos, townhouses and apartments priced to be affordable for teachers, nurses and police officers - the county's "essential workers" who have been essentially priced out of the market. The prices at Green Cay Village range from about $198,900 to $299,900. That's reflective of the fact that Palm Beach County's gap between home prices and what workers can afford to pay - a divide of more than $200,000 last year - pushed the need for affordable housing to crisis level. Green Cay Village's units have designer touches usually found only in more expensive homes, such as granite countertops and ceramic tile. The buildings even have elevators. The complex has an elegant clubhouse and pool, fitness center, kids' play area and volleyball court - premium features that add value but are offered at no extra cost. The community uses recycled water for lawn sprinkling, has high-efficiency Trane air-conditioning units, upgraded "healthy home" carpets, Energy Mizer hot-water heaters and Energy Star-rated appliances.
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South Florida Hospital System Promotes Affordable Housing
In order to attract nurses and other workers, Baptist Health South Florida plans on building and/or buying affordable rental housing near its sixth hospital, which still needs 800 employees to staff it. The agreement would include no deposits or leases, according to Brian Keeley, chief executive of Baptist Health. The only condition would be that the tenant has to work for the hospital. The University of Miami and Keys Federal Credit Union have also followed this trend into the housing market.
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NAHB Calls For a Year Of Transition
While most housing markets throughout the country experienced a year of decline in 2006 following the boom levels of the previous two years, 2007 is expected to be a year of transition, with growth emerging in many areas. The earlier boom in housing can be attributed largely to excess demand generated by historically low interest rates coupled with aggressive mortgage lending practices, a combination that made homeownership more affordable but also attracted investors and speculators into many markets.
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Home Builders Promote Housing Affordability
According to a poll conducted by a broad coalition of housing organizations from the public, private and non-profit sectors, ninety percent of Americans believe that housing is one of the highest priorities for the nation's families. Home builders, real estate groups, lenders, public housing agencies, research groups and non-profit housing organizations, announced a nationwide affordable housing awareness campaign, "Housing America 2007," at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. to discuss the affordable housing initiative.
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Remodeling Industry Poised For Green Growth
According to recent research by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Remodelers, homeowners looking to remodel are also looking to upgrade to environmentally friendly, energy conserving materials. NAHB Remodelers "green remodeling" at a March 26 press conference during the National Green Building Conference in St. Louis, Mo. Americans spent over $230 billion last year in home remodeling, with energy efficient and sustainable products representing an increasing share of the market. More than one quarter of remodelers surveyed by NAHB saw growing demand for green remodeling late last year, compared to just 6 percent reporting less demand. The majority of remodelers already incorporate energy efficiency into their work. An impressive 85 percent used low-energy windows, 68 percent used insulated exterior doors, 65 percent upgraded insulation, and 56 percent installed high efficiency HVAC systems. The survey also showed that many remodelers also use environmentally friendly products.
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NAHB's Building For Boomers & Beyond 2007 Symposium
The National Association of Home Builders is hosting its seventh annual Building for Boomers & Beyond: 50+ Housing Symposium, where builders and other housing industry professionals will meet to discuss the latest active adult and seniors housing design trends and innovations and the state of the market. The event will be held May 30 - June 1 at the Hyatt Regency Denver at the Colorado Convention Center, which is considered the premier education and networking event for housing professionals who serve the 50+ market.
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Wal-Mart Closes on East Gainesville Property
Wal-Mart closed the purchase of the Waldo Road property in east Gainesville last week and is expected to begin construction of its supercenter within the next few weeks. Wal-mart is finalizing the needed city permits, and the store should be occupied by the end of the year. However, an opening has not been determined. It has taken a year to get permits and approvals for the new Wal-Mart.
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New Construction Facility at UF Nears Completion
The Charles Perry Construction Yard, set to be completed on the University of Florida campus in April, will serve as a 2,600-square-foot facility to remind students in the construction management program that hard work, sweat and skill goes into the industry. Students will be able to watch carpenters, masons, plumbers and others perform physical construction. It is hoped that students will learn that there is more to construction than grand ideas and cutting-edge software. The program is funded by a $2 million gift from Charles Perry.
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Missouri Contractor Named National ABC Chariman
Missouri contractor Dave Meyer was sworn in as ABC's 2007 national chairman during a March 21 ceremony. Meyer also founded The Meyer Companies, a design and build construction firm offering services to commercial, industrial and institutional users in around Kansas City. Meyer officially began his one-year term as ABC chairman on January 1, 2007.
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Construction Material Costs Rising
Ken Simonson, chief economist for The Associated General Contractors of America, said that construction materials costs are rising fast than today's producer price report suggests. The producer price index for construction materials increased 0.1 percent in February, but there has been price increases occurring since the data was collected on February 13. Pricing trends have also been greater than PPI indexes concerning steel, diesel and asphalt prices.
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Commercial Work Keeps Ocala Builders Busy
On the surface, the fact that green file folders fill the Marion County Building Department wouldn't seem to meet the yardstick of noteworthy news. However, it's the simplest indicator of what's currently driving the county's construction industry. When the county was in the midst of a residential construction boom, the Building Department was dotted with stacks of manila folders full of plans for new homes. Commercial plans, which were filed in green folders, took up little space. And now? "You can build a fort with all those green folders," said Building Department spokeswoman Tracy Gale. That's because commercial building activity during the course of the last 18 months has been the busiest on record, she said.
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Residential April 2007
Commercial April 2007
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