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HABITAT FOR HUMANITY INTERNATIONAL HAS begun building the first of roughly 30,000 transitional houses in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand for victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami.
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Strapped for cash as the war in Iraq continues to eat away at military budgets, the U.S. Navy has just transferred maintenance duties for 4,000 of its northwest housing units to Dallas-based American Eagle Communities.
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The U.S. Census Bureau says that the average household size slipped to 2.57 people in 2003 from 3.14 in 1970. According to “America's Families and Living Arrangements: 2003,” one-third of households have only two members. Experts attribute the drop in household size to changes in divorce and...
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The Jacksonville, Fla., division of Mercedes Homes recently donated 2,300 new books to a local drive to collect and distribute one million books to area children. The literacy campaign, which is spearheaded by Mayor John Peyton, targets young children, especially those from low-income families, to...
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THE COUNTY COUNCIL IN HARFORD COUNTY, Md., voted to stop approving plans for seniors housing for 90 days last December to study if home builders are constructing seniors housing to bypass a law that limits residential growth in overcrowded school districts.
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IF YOU'RE ONE OF THE THOUSANDS of builders who uses paper-faced greenboard as a tiling substrate in showers and tub surrounds, things are about to change.
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Got a NIMBY problem? For help, check out NIMBYism: Navigating the Politics of Local Opposition, a new book by Michael C. Thomsett. It's available for $24.95 at www.centerlinemedia.com.
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Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston has awarded $10.3 million in grants, loans, and rate subsidies to help fund affordable housing for very low-, low-, and moderate-income individuals in a host of New England cities. Each year, the bank sets aside 10 percent of its net profits to provide grants and...
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The Texas Residential Construction Commission has proposed the state's first official standards and warranties for new-home construction. Divided into three sections, the standards cover components that are subject to minimum workmanship and materials warranties of one, two, and 10 years...
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Neumann Homes, a top-five builder in Chicago, solidified its standing in the Midwest with the January acquisition of Troy, Mich.–based Tadian Homes. In 2004, Tadian closed more than 500 units and booked about $150 million in revenue. With the purchase, Neumann expects to close more than 2,400 units...
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The business community won a round last December when the Bush administration restored a Clinton-era policy known as “no surprises.” Under the rule, federal agencies can assure home builders as well as timber and mining companies that once a Habitat Conservation Plan is approved, the government...
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Over the next 20 years, at least one-quarter of all American households is likely to seek housing near transit, according to the Federal Transit Administration. Cities such as Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Portland, Ore., and San Francisco will offer the biggest increases in...
Many builders we've talked to have experienced serious slowdowns or have had to scrap their computers altogether because of spyware invasions.
National builders have grown larger in recent years through a host of mergers and acquisitions. But local and smaller regional builders want to expand, too. At a time when access to capital has increased, here are a few ways they're fueling that growth.
Across the country, builders, developers, and their marketing professionals are fine-tuning the events that surround the opening of condominiums, age-restricted communities, and single-family neighborhoods.
Joe Pusateri has found a passion for improving lives in Louisville—and abroad.
The Hearthstone Builder Awards pay tribute to builders like Webb and Pusateri, who improve their communities through their dedication to charitable work.
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WHEN THEIR ASSOCIATES describe Larry Webb and Joe Pusateri, they use words like “hero,” “risk taker,” and “optimist.” Without prompting, they explain that if not for the leadership and generosity of Webb, chairman and CEO of Newport Beach, Calif.—based John Laing Homes, and Pusateri, president of...
WHEN A RETIRED COUPLE approached Connecticut architect Tony Terry about designing a house for them in the Gothic-Revival style, they found a very willing—and hardworking—partner. That's because it's unusual for an architect to be able to sink his teeth into a 19th-century style that's so rarely...
A HUMBLE BUILDING MATERIAL pretty much tells the story of architect Jim Strickland's beach cottage in the Florida panhandle community of WaterColor. It's No. 2 pine, and it's used just about everywhere in the funky, 2,250-square-foot house: on the floors, on the walls, on the ceilings. “It's not...
Eureka! fits because the exuberant, 6,300-square-foot house, designed by the Woodley Architectural Group, has mining as its theme.
IT'S NOT UNUSUAL FOR BUILDERS TO PUT UP HOUSES THAT carry out a theme, but it can be a tricky design challenge. Get all the details just right, and you've got a winner. Miss the mark, and you could end up with an exaggerated design that looks out of place in its surroundings.
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WHY IT WORKED: Builder Bower & Bailey touts Montclair's true bungalow architecture as the element that has made this community such a best seller. The zero–lot-line product provides both space and value in the marketplace.
WHY IT WORKED: The real estate market in the southern end of San Diego County is sizzling right now, so Auburn Lane's location is surely a big factor in its success. But you don't get a near sellout in less than a year without some other draws—namely, first-rate architecture, family-friendly floor...
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Participation in the NHQ certification programs is designed to foster consistency and quality in building practices.
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- The NAHB and Freddie Mac sponsor a daylong symposium on workforce housing.
- The NAHB extolls a new federal regulation to urge that the habitat of threatened and endangered species be preserved.
- The NAHB's Remodeling Marketing Index (RMI) posts a strong third quarter in 2004, thanks to low...
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Fluctuating gas and electricity costs are driving the building industry's interest in solar power systems and fueling the market's growth.
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The rise of open-plan kitchens and lofts is one possible explanation for the faucet's ascension in the product ranks.
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Builders are still expressing optimism about their industry.
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When it comes to moisture control, one of the most conventional pieces of wisdom is that all homes need a vapor barrier.
The obstacle to more people moving into hip, modernistic homes isn't a matter of not enough demand. It's a matter of cost.
For more product information, visit ebuild, Hanley Wood's interactive product catalog, at www.builderonline.com or www.ebuild.com.
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A bad first month on the job can undermine employee longevity.
THE HOUSING INDUSTRY LOST a longtime and beloved leader last month when Richard Brown, founder and CEO of Libertyville, Ill.–based Cambridge Homes passed away.
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IF YOU WALK THROUGH MOST NEW SUBDIVISIONS today, you'll see house after house clad in typical colors such as sand, almond, and white—perfectly fine, perfectly boring. Home buyers who want to shake things up can now turn to Pittsburgh-based Alcoa Home Exteriors, which has introduced a new color...
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AN EFFORT 10 YEARS IN THE MAKING HAS RESULTED in a redesign of the way the federal government classifies metropolitan areas. In light of population shifts, metro areas will no longer be compared using such terms as consolidated metropolitan statistical areas (CSMAs), primary metropolitan...
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When the Archdiocese of Boston announced plans to close 60 of its churches in Eastern Massachusetts last May (see “From Altar to Alcove,” September 2004), parishioners cried and wrote letters of protest, but ultimately, most of them have been left to find new houses of worship.
Affordable housing ranks highly among the concerns of households nationwide.