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.
If you are in the need for a product or service that our advertisers/sponsors offer, please consider them first, as we would not be able to bring you such high quality sources of information without them. |
|
|
|
www.BuildingEdgeMagazine.com
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
New Home Magazine Coming This Fall
Home: Living in the Heart of Florida, a new magazine from Advantage Publishing will unveil its first issue this fall. Taking the experience we have gained from Building Edge and Commercial Building Edge, we are very excited about this new endeavor which will showcase the best of living in our community. Home: Living in the Heart of Florida will be a general circulation publication available to everyone in the community. It will include a wide assortment of features intended to enhance everything that is good about living our area. Sales for this first issue will open next month. For more information, please contact us at (352) 372-5854. |
|
|
|
Work Moves Forward on University Corners
All that remained last Wednesday of the last three buildings anchoring a prime commercial corner across from the University of Florida was a mountainous pile of rubble. The buildings at the corner of 13th Street and W. University Avenue were demolished in the middle of the night to make way for the eight-story University Corners development. Demolition was done overnight for safety reasons since the corner building that housed Starbuck's was deemed by the Florida Department of Transportation to be dangerously close to the roadway. The closest lanes of 13th Street and W. University Avenue were closed between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. The buildings housed Target Copy, the Burrito Brothers Taco Co., Starbuck's and Apartment Hunters.
Click Here >>
Chiefland to Get Hospital
A settlement approved by the state Tuesday has cleared the way for construction of a 60-bed hospital in Chiefland by a Tennessee-based company. Robert Bauer, president of Ameris Health Systems of Nashville, said he is not certain when construction will start but added it must be within 18 months of receiving a certificate of need from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. That is expected within 30 days. The approved settlement is between Ameris, the Health Care Administration and North Florida Regional Medical Center.
Click Here >>
New housing plan for Belleview gets first OK
Belleview city commissioners on Tuesday approved one of two draft developer agreements for new housing. Initially, three commissioners felt developer Kirk Boone should be exempt from the city's traffic study guidelines adopted in December 2006 based on the fact that Boone had approached them roughly a year and a half before the implementation of the city's guidelines and therefore should not be subjected to those rules. However, several commissioners feel that because construction had not begun until after the implementation of the new guidelines Boone should not be exempt.
Click Here >>
Center aims to train future construction workers
As part of the effort to recruit and train the state's next generation of construction workers, community and state leaders gathered last week to celebrate the creation of the new Employ Florida Banner Center for Construction. The statewide initiative, led by Santa Fe Community College, aims to provide students with the skills and experience to succeed in the construction industry. Jackson Sasser, president of SFCC, credits Santa Fe's partnership with the University of Florida, the city of Gainesville and the Builders Association of North Florida, along with a $500,000 grant from Workforce Florida, with making the new center a reality. Click Here >>
Art Program to Beautify Construction Zones
As ever more of Gainesville becomes a construction zone, the city is considering a plan to add a splash of color and art to the palette of browns and grays often associated with development. A new program being considered by Gainesville's Community Redevelopment Agency would encourage public art projects to be painted on the mesh-covered fences that surround construction sites. Art Zone, as the program is called, is being promoted by Queenchiku Ngozi, an artist and Regional Transit System bus driver who has argued the project could beautify sometimes ugly construction sites. Click Here >>
MCBA Parade of Homes™
MCBA's Parade of Homes™ will be held from April 28 to May 13.
MCBA Calendar of Events
Click Here>>
BANCF Spring Parade of Homes™
BANCF's Spring Parade of Homes™ will start April 21, and run until April 29.
BANCF Calendar of Events
Click Here>>
|
|
|
|
|
|
Property tax reform still eluding the Legislature
Florida legislators today hit the midpoint of their nine-week annual session, with almost nothing accomplished on what most people agree should be their No. 1 task -- reducing property taxes for Floridians. And while the amount of work that remains on the tax question may seem insurmountable, the collision of ideas coming from the House, Senate, Democrats, Republicans and governor is part of the normal legislative process. And the pressure is on to seek a compromise because lawmakers know the voters want action.
Click Here >>
Growth proposal worries builders
Two years after revamping the state's growth-management laws, Florida lawmakers began considering changes last week that could affect how roads are built and developments are approved. A House panel took up a draft bill that drew mixed reactions from development, growth-management and government groups. Part of the bill could save developers money by making sure they pay only for road improvements needed to accommodate their projects. They contend local governments sometimes require them to pay for a backlog of road problems that have built up for years. The most controversial part of the bill would reduce the state's power to approve land-use changes, which are needed for many large developments. In at least some parts of the state, the bill would allow cities, counties and regional planning councils to sign off on such changes, eliminating oversight by the state Department of Community Affairs.
Click Here >>
Aurora Awards Open to Southeastern States
The 28th Annual Aurora Awards is a program open to builders, designers, architects, land planners and interior merchandisers with projects in 12 southeastern states. These awards showcase the best of the building industry. The deadline to enter has been extended to April 20. The Excel Awards program honors a wide range of sales and marketing categories. The deadline for these awards has been extended to May 18.
Click Here >>
Glitch Bill Moves to House
The internal pressurization glitch bill was recently passed out on the Florida Senate and sent to the House of Representatives. It repeals the immediate effective date for the removal of the internal pressurization design option that was implemented during the January Special Legislative Session on property insurance. It changes the effective date to June 1, 2007. By delaying the date, Florida's construction industry will have the time needed to make design changes to existing contracts and prevent the impairment of existing contracts.
Click Here >>
Boynton Beach Passes Affordable Housing Ordinance
To stem the high cost of housing, Boynton Beach city commissioners unanimously passed an ordinance Tuesday night effectively requiring workforce housing in new residential developments. The ordinance requires developers of new communities to supply a percentage of affordable homes in exchange for more units per acre. Mayor Jerry Taylor said it was important to move forward on the new law because the city was in desperate need of lower-priced homes.
Click Here >> |
|
|
|
New Program Offered for Hispanic Workers
The National Association of Homebuilders has developed a new self-paced learning program to help Hispanic workers learn to speak English. Sed de Saber-Construction Edition is sponsored by Lowe's and is intended to address job site communication and safety challenges presented by the language barrier.
Click Here >>
Ideas Considered on Affordable Housing
A roundtable discussion on housing affordability in Washington D.C. generated many ideas such as effective deterrents to predatory lending and land banks that make lots available for housing. The discussion was co-hosted by the NAACP and the National Association of Home Builders. This was a critical first step in determining how to move the affordable housing issue from a policy discussion at the national level to an actual movement that makes a real difference.
Click Here >>
Housing Inventory Surges in March
A sharp increase in homes offered for sale last month suggests that home shoppers will find plenty of choices this spring. The number of homes listed for sale in 18 major U.S. metropolitan areas at the end of March increased 6.5% from a month earlier, according to data compiled by ZipRealty Inc., a national real-estate brokerage firm in Emeryville, Calif. The data cover listings of single-family homes, condominiums and town houses on local multiple-listing services.
Click Here >>
Green Building Catching On
The movement to green building has been slow to catch on due to the cost to wariness among both builders and buyers. However, the rising price of energy and a more crowded real estate market have allowed for green building to become a way to stand out. Due to recent advances, a green home may cost three to five percent more upfront, but the long-term financial and health benefits are worth it.
Click Here >>
NAHB Offers New Safety Product
The National Association of Home Builders recently announced the release of its latest safety product, the Home Builders' Safety Program. This practical guide shows builders how to develop and implement an effective in-house safety program. With the book comes a CD, which presents a model safety program listing safe work practices for the most common residential construction operations.
Click Here >>
|
|
|
|
Website Available to Learn About Springhills
PREIT, the developer of Springhills has created a website to offer information about the project scheduled to be built at the intersection of I-75 and Northwest 39th Avenue. The website is part of n effort by PREIT to offset some of what it calls the misinformation being perpetuated about the development. Additionally, PREIT is asking those who support development of the project to attend the hearing about it scheduled for 5 p.m., May 1 at Santa Fe Community College, Building E.
Click Here >>
Preconstruction Sales Help Developers
There has been a recent trend into buying into developments before construction has begun. Developers are beginning to rely on preconstruction sales to give them the green light to break ground. People thinking of buying early at a new project that might be years from completion should take certain steps to make sure they protect their investment and end up with what they expect.
Click Here >>
ABC Holds Competition
A field of 130 craft professionals competed in 13 different craft areas during Associated Builders and Contractors' 2007 National Craft Championships competition. Participants competed in areas of carpentry, electrical, fire sprinkler, HVAC, instrumentation fitting, insulation and others. The National Craft Championships was developed in 1987 to help celebrate and recognize craft training in construction careers.
Click Here >>
Cemex Trying to Buy Rinker
Cemex SA, the world's third-largest cement producer, has received clearance for its $11.7 billion hostile offer for Australia's Rinker Group Ltd. Cemex agreed to sell 39 facilities to preserve price competition. Rinker gets about 80 percent of its sales in the U.S. The purchase would boost Cemex's annual sales to almost $24 billion from $18.2 billion last year, and it would widen its lead in the U.S. cement market.
Click Here >>
Construction Spending on the Rise
The US Commerce Department reported that February construction spending increase 0.3 percent over January, the largest increase in nearly one year. February's total private construction spending increased 0.2 percent but still trailed February, 2006 spending by six percent. The report supports the view that non-residential construction remains firm. It is bolstered by a strong commercial real estate market.
Click Here >>
First-of-kind offices boast green decor
Palm Beach County's first "green" office buildings are under construction and will include features that minimize the buildings' effects on the environment.
At the 100,000-square-foot EcoPlex at Centrepark West, there'll be bike racks and showers for workers who commute by bicycle. Hybrid cars will get the best parking spots. Rainwater that lands on the roof will be funneled into cisterns and used to flush toilets. Other green features include big windows to provide plenty of natural light and a concrete shell that's partly made from recycled materials. The buildings also will include solar panels, rooftop gardens, elevator pistons lubricated with vegetable oil and bathroom counters made in part from recycled glass.
Click Here >>
| |
|
|
|
| Current Issues |
 |
Residential April 2007
Commercial April 2007
HOME: Living in the Heart of Florida
Coming Soon
Fall 2007
For more information,
Please contact
Scott Costello |
If you are interested in joining the BANCF and taking advantage of these great opportunities,
Please visit
www.bancf.com |
|
|
