New 'Cities' Springing Up Around Many U.S. Airports
Rather than simply using airports to lure development, planners across the country are now viewing them as urban hubs similar to a city's central business district. John Kasarda, director of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, predicts that the new "aerotropolis" will influence business location and urban development in the 21st century much in the way that highways, railroads and seaports did in the previous three. Airports attract businesses, and new homes pop up nearby as jobs are created. Now, many are becoming central business districts complete with restaurants, shopping malls, conference centers, art galleries and museums. Some even offer wineries and tasting rooms, rocking chairs and live music to give residents and travelers a piece of the downtown lifestyle. "I wouldn't say that an airport is a city," observes sociologist and "Life in the Air: Surviving the New Culture of Air Travel" author Mark Gottdiener, "but airports have taken over some of the important functions of historic downtowns as new urban centers." Denver International, Washington Dulles International, Fort Worth Alliance, Dallas-Fort Worth International, Albuquerque International Sunport and Detroit Metro are among the newer airports that have sparked development. (www.usatoday.com)
USA Today (09/25/03) P. 1A; El Nasser, Haya
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The Luxury of Space
Affluent home owners — many of whom are using money generated during the stock market boom of the 1990s — are building bigger homes to accommodate media rooms, indoor basketball courts and pools, spacious master suites and bathrooms for every bedroom. Today's luxury homes range in size from 6,000 to 10,000-plus square feet, and the typical 3,000-square-foot dwelling is no longer for the upper middle class. Regardless of the residence's size, most families continue to gather in the kitchen or family room. The added space in today's houses is not a necessity, according to experts, but it gives home owners privacy and plenty of room to relax. (www.newsday.com)
New York Newsday (09/25/03) P. B10; Polsky, Carol
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Many Buying Second Home in Cities as Investment
According to the National Association of Realtors®, 66% of second homes purchased during the first quarter of the year were in cities, rather than resort, recreation or rural locales. "There appears to be a seasonal trend in the location of second-home purchases, with winter favoring investment properties in metropolitan areas," observes NAR Chief Economist David Lereah. Though 78% of second homes were intended for recreational use, the NAR study also found a jump in the percentage used for investment purposes from 20% in 1999 to 37% last year. NAR spokesman Walter Moloney notes that only 1% of the second homes purchased in urban areas of the Northeast were for vacation retreats. Others believe many second-home buyers are flocking to the city to live closer to their jobs. (www.jsonline.com)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (09/21/03) P. 1F; Heavens, Alan J.
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New Homes Aim for Neighborly Feel
Pulte Home Corp.'s proposed development for Wesley Chapel, FL, features front porches, rear alleys and detached garages — a residential design that is gaining momentum in the area and elsewhere. The new neighborhood, which aims to encourage resident interaction and walking, would be built on part of the 5,000-acre Wiregrass Ranch. A short distance away, Pulte hopes to add an active-adult golf course community with a mix of duplexes, attached villas and houses. Together, the two projects would create 1,999 new housing units. Separately, the Porter family, which owns Wiregrass, has reached an agreement with the Goodman Co. to develop shopping centers locally. The first of these retail venues will boast between 250,000 and 500,000 square feet of new stores and will be known as Wiregrass Commons. The first tenants are expected to begin occupying space there in the fourth quarter of next year, with Wal-Mart rumored to be one of the first to sign a lease. (www.sptimes.com)
St. Petersburg Times (FL) (09/19/03) P. 7; Thorner, James
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Homeownership More Attainable to More Families
Reasonably low interest rates and funding from the nation's leading lenders and church-related community development corporations are helping an increasing number of working-class, minority and immigrant families achieve homeownership. "It's the starter-home market that is just exceptionally strong, while the high-end market is less so," remarks National Association of Realtors® Senior Economist Lawrence Yun. J.P. Morgan Chase and Washington Mutual are among those making billion-dollar investments to boost homeownership rates in underserved communities. Chase, for instance, has pledged $500 billion in assistance by 2010 as part of its Chase DreaMaker Commitment, while Washington Mutual will make $375 billion in loans over the same period through its Access Home Loans initiative. (www.chicagotribune.com)
Chicago Tribune (09/21/03) P. 17; Sit-DuVall, Mary
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Universal Design Makes Living Easy
Universal design is a building technique that aims to make life easier for people of all ages, sizes and abilities. Moreover, it is intended to accomplish this through the installation of features that are attractive and blend well with the home's overall design. Universal design encompasses everything from better lighting, lever-style doorknobs and faucets, counters of varying heights and lower light switches to well-placed appliances and no-step entries. These features are being marketed to baby boomers across the country as a means to stay in their homes longer and save money on health care. (www.inman.com)
Inman News Features Online (09/17/03) Kelly, Tom
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Building Better Reputations
A new J.D. Power and Associates study underscores American consumers' growing contentment with the home building community. The company ranked nearly 270 builders in 21 markets, based on nine criteria — including quality of work, price and value and design. According to the survey results, the overall level of customer satisfaction has improved 8% since last year. "Home builders are starting to recognize that strong customer satisfaction can be vital to success in a highly competitive market," stated Paula Sonkin, senior director of the real estate industries practice at J.D. Power. "Builders can't expect to stay competitive," she added, "if they ignore what their customers say." Making an especially strong showing in the 2003 study were Pulte Homes, Centex, KB Home, Lennar and Standard Pacific. These and other large publicly traded builders with national operations have led smaller competitors in the campaign to please home buyers. They have done so by leveraging their access to capital, which not only positions them to borrow at a lower cost than private builders but also to let consumers easily review the financial state of their businesses. Additionally, big builders are better serving customers through the efficiency afforded by economies of scale; the ability to guarantee work for subcontractors and to pay them regularly and in a timely fashion; and the discounts they receive when ordering supplies in large volumes, among other advantages. (cbs.marketwatch.com)
CBSMarketWatch.com (09/18/03) Kerch, Steve
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Pampering Guests Is a Cottage Industry
In a trend that stretches from upscale home owners down to households operating on a budget, building separate quarters for guests is becoming increasingly popular. Architects say these detached cottages not only offer privacy but also can create more space, which can be adapted as needed, for the property owners to use when not entertaining guests. They can be designed to blend in with the style of the home — or not — and they double as a hangout for the kids, an exercise room, an arts-and-crafts area or an in-law suite, among other uses. (www.usatoday.com)
USA Today (09/19/03) P. 6D; Temple, Linda
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Brownfields May Be Seeing Green
The New York State Senate voted 51-9 in favor of legislation that will set ground rules for developing abandoned or underused properties where contaminants have kept construction projects on those sites from getting off the ground. The measure includes a $135 million package of tax credits for developers of these so-called brownfields and shields them from future liability as long as they comply with cleanup standards. Officials from the state Department of Environmental Conservation are charged with spelling out the standards and also for deciding whether a site will be used for commercial buildings or for new housing. While the actual remediation costs could be greater under the new legislation, the expense will be known upfront; moreover, with liability removed, banks may be open to financing brownfield redevelopments — which, in turn, would boost the value of these properties. (www.newsday.com)
New York Newsday (09/17/03) P. A5; Wax, Alan J.
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Smart-House Technology: No One Will Be Locked Out
Industry insiders credit the Internet, easy access to wireless networking systems and the emergence of pre-wired homes for making smart home technology available to all home owners and operational from any location. The basic home-automation kit comes with a controller to send signals to the networked systems and appliances; device controllers to which the systems and appliances are connected; a transmission system that sends the signals from the controller to the devices; and the protocol, or language, necessary for the devices to communicate. Such technology allows home owners to control lights, operate security cameras and turn on appliances, among other tasks, from anywhere. (www.orlandosentinel.com)
Orlando Sentinel (09/14/03) P. J29; Romano, Jay
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Aging Baby Boomers Spark Explosion in Condo Market
Condominiums and townhomes were once seen as cheaper alternatives to single-family homes and a means for first-time buyers to become home owners. Now, they are popular among working professionals, empty-nesters, seniors, singles, young families and real estate investors. In fact, the National Association of Realtors® reports that condos have appreciated in value faster than single-family homes over the last year — 15% versus 7.4%. Buyers are flocking to condos because they offer a downtown lifestyle; an end to tedious maintenance tasks; upscale amenities like tennis courts, exercise rooms and hi-tech computer rooms; and lucrative resale potential. (www.copleynews.com)
Copley News Service (09/15/03) Woodard, James M.
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Are Builders Trying to Save Trees During Construction?
While many builders support the preservation of trees on construction sites, such efforts are time-consuming and costly. Zoning rules, planning ordinances, utilities regulations and other laws, as well as the fact that the company that builds the homes is often not the same one that cleared the land, also make conservation difficult. However, a number of municipalities nationwide have implemented tree ordinances that require developers to preserve public trees, save those on the construction site or replace trees that are downed. In addition, the Washington-based nonprofit American Forests and NAHB have joined forces to promote tree conservation because it minimizes pollution, controls building temperature, boosts property values and makes pricey storm water management systems unnecessary. According to experts, trees can increase market values by $2,000 to $5,000 or as much as 7%. (www.miami.com)
Miami Herald (09/14/03) P. 15H; Fleishman, Sandra
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Glowing, Talking Walls Will Do Your Bidding
Researchers at the Sept. 10 British Association science festival said that houses could be radically transformed by advances in nanotechnology and mobile devices. Experiments with light emitting diodes and other small devices have led scientists such as Jim Feast of the University of Durham to speculate that televisions could be embedded into the walls, which could be programmed to display images or change color and intensity according to home owners' wishes. "Maybe curtains will become things of the past and we'll just switch from transparent structures — maybe glass, maybe plastic — to an image of our choice; maybe light bulbs will disappear and we will be able to select the level and color of illumination from our glowing walls," Feast suggested. He also predicted that mobile communications technology will shrink to the point where such devices could be weaved into apparel; the initial applications would primarily serve the military and airline pilots, while civilian applications will emerge later. Orange Communications' Stephen Hope saw potential in an automated house that can care for infirm residents. Meanwhile, Nigel Linde of the University of Salford told conference attendees that his team is collaborating with the Greater Manchester police on Crimespot, a project in which law enforcement can be kept apprised of an object's whereabouts thanks to installed location-aware devices, thus making theft easier to detect. This raises a number of important issues, such as whether all devices should be equipped with mobile technology, whether home owners should pay for it at the point of purchase or through home insurance and whether the police or a third party should monitor the devices. The security implications of mobile devices that always know a user's location and activities should also be addressed, Linde said. (www.guardian.co.uk)
Guardian Unlimited (UK) (09/11/03) Radford, Tim
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Home Builders Pony Up With Incentives for Home Buyers
A growing number of entry-level and even higher-end home buyers expect bonuses from builders, ranging from closing cost assistance to new appliances and other upgrades. Martha Fondren, vice president of Memphis-based Reeves-Williams LLC, says bonuses are becoming more common as home buyers' savings shrink. "It helps people get into the home for little or no money down, and it does sell houses," notes Crye Leike broker John Criswell. However, some builders do not offer incentive programs; and others provide only minimal bonuses to avoid hiking up the home price. (memphis.bcentral.com/memphis)
Memphis Business Journal Online (09/08/03) Morton, Kate Miller
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Custom Homes Lead Way in Tech Advances
Custom home builders are better able than volume builders to introduce the latest and most sophisticated technology because of their focus on unique construction. According to Gaithersburg, MD-based A/V Visions President Timothy Iafolla, custom home buyers are asked about their plans for computer networking and audio systems once the basic wiring is in place. Iafolla says many buyers have never heard of digital music servers that allow them to store music from the Internet and CDs in a central location and control the system from anywhere in the house via built-in or wireless keypads. Many builders plan for such upgrades before construction, but some home owners approach their builder after the groundbreaking. Upgrading to smart wiring or telephone and security systems while a project already is in progress, however, can boost the project's cost significantly. (www.washtimes.com)
Washington Times (09/05/03) P. F29; Bliss, R. Marion
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Net-Linked Appliances Have Their Place
Dan Gillmor learned the hard way that a more intelligent, networked home has its benefits. Upon coming home after a prolonged trip only to discover that the food in his fridge had gone bad because of a malfunctioning electrical circuit, Gillmor realized that, "We need to increase the information flow from our homes in a variety of ways." Among the conveniences that a smarter home must provide is a way for frequent travelers to be notified of power circuit or appliance failures; a setup that allows appliance manufacturers to remotely diagnose the condition of their products in consumers' homes; and the reduction of the need for highly expensive peak generating capacity for air conditioners and water heaters by enabling power companies to remotely shut off these devices for brief periods on a rotating basis. SmartHome's Matt Dean says appliance manufacturers are starting to consider the addition of Internet connectivity to their products, and Gillmor notes that SmartHome's "SmartHomeLive" system, which integrates hardware, software and services so that users can operate cameras, lights and other equipment via a Web browser, is a step in the right direction. Gillmor writes that the best solution would be "a new generation of boxes to which we'd connect a variety of devices and systems embedded with Internet communications and sensors." He reports that such an innovation is an area of concentration for the power, technology, electronics and appliance industries. One project of interest involves remote residential electricity management, whose installation and operational costs could be offset by the potential money to be saved. Gillmor argues that these systems should be open to forestall monopolization, while strong privacy protection should be included by design. (www.siliconvalley.com)
SiliconValley.com (09/21/03) Gillmor, Dan
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High-Tech on Display
Cisco Systems unveiled new wireless hand-held equipment at the recent Cisco Network Power in Motion Roadshow in Canada that will enable sales personnel in the healthcare, financial and retail sectors to check inventory, order products and satisfy customers while on the road. Rather than offer participants a Power Point presentation, spectators were able to view the devices in action. The devices allow users to wirelessly check e-mail and voicemail messages, take customer calls and process orders, among other tasks. Cisco contends that the devices will connect users to all the resources available to them in the office via a single infrastructure, translating into cost savings and productivity gains. Cisco enterprise account manager Rick Kraus thinks smaller financial services and accounting firms will find the devices an asset to the billing process and other business practices. (www.canada.com/regina/leaderpost)
Regina Leader-Post (CAN) (09/23/03) P. B4; Johnstone, Bruce
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