#7 Government and Public Real Estate News

December 6, 2013

National Real Estate News

Mayor Gray, E Street Development Group and Other Officials to Break Ground on Fire Station and Hyatt Place Hotel in Southwest

WASHINGTON, D.C. – December 6, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Mayor Vincent C. Gray, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Victor L. Hoskins, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Paul Quander, DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief Kenneth B. Ellerbe, Department of General Services Director Brian Hanlon and members of the E Street Development Group will break ground on a new development that will house a fire station and a Hyatt Place Hotel. More…

CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYERS ADD 17,000 JOBS IN NOVEMBER AS SECTOR?S EMPLOYMENT HITS HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE AUGUST 2009; UNEMPLOYMENT RATE HITS 8.6 PERCENT

Industry Adds 178,000 Jobs During the Past 12 Months As Construction Spending Hit Four-Year High in October, But Construction Employment Remains Nearly 1.9 Million Below April 2006 Peak Level.
Construction employers added 17,000 jobs in November as the sector’s employment hit the highest level since August 2009, and the industry unemployment rate fell to 8.6 percent, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials noted that the new employment figures come as construction spending levels hit a four-year high in October. More…

States Real Estate News

Governor McDonnell To Propose New Funding to Help Ongoing Efforts to Reduce Homelessness in Virginia

Governor Bob McDonnell today announced that his upcoming biennial budget will contain considerable new funding to support Virginia’s ongoing, successful, homelessness reduction and prevention efforts. The governor will call for over $9.5 million in additional funding for the Virginia Housing Trust Fund, the Rapid Re-Housing Program, and efforts to further enhance data collection. In 2010, Governor McDonnell established Virginia’s first executive housing policy framework, which helped to guide the development of a housing policy in the Commonwealth that addresses homelessness and access to affordable housing. These efforts have led to a 16% reduction in overall homelessness in Virginia since 2010. More…

New Jersey: Rebuilding Homes and Lives on Safer Ground

In New Jersey, Superstorm Sandy destroyed or damaged 40,500 primary residences. Two years ago, in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, FEMA granted nearly $152 million to New Jersey for housing assistance. After Hurricane Floyd, just over a decade before Irene, FEMA issued Disaster Housing Assistance Grants to more than l72,700 households. More…

New England Governors Sign Energy Statement Committing Region to Cooperation on Infrastructure

New England’s Governors today committed their six states to an energy initiative designed to bring affordable, cleaner, and more reliable power to homes and businesses across the northeast. This initiative will accelerate regional cooperation on expanding renewable energy and energy infrastructure in New England. More…

Colorado: HUD PROVIDES $63 MILLION TO HELP COLORADO RECOVER FROM SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING

State will target disaster relief in Boulder, Weld and Larimer Counties
U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced nearly $63 million to the State of Colorado to help communities recover from severe storms in September that produced devastating floods and mudslides. The recovery funds are provided through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program to support long-term disaster recovery efforts in areas with the greatest extent of ‘unmet need,’ primarily in Boulder, Weld and Larimer Counties. More…

Louisiana: Sen. Landrieu, Mayor Landrieu Announce $5.4M in Disaster Recovery Grants for New Orleans

U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., chair of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu today announced $5.4 million in FEMA Public Assistance Grants to replace water main segments in two New Orleans neighborhoods. Water mains in the two neighborhoods, Holy Cross and Lakeshore – Lake Vista, were damaged in Hurricane Katrina. More…

Massachusett: GOVERNOR PATRICK ANNOUNCES WORCESTER HOUSING COURT CLERK-MAGISTRATE NOMINATION

Governor Deval Patrick today announced the nomination of experienced attorney Nickolas W. Moudios as Clerk-Magistrate of the Housing Court, Worcester Division. “I am pleased to nominate Attorney Moudios to serve as Clerk-Magistrate of the Housing Court in Worcester,” said Governor Patrick. “I thank him for his commitment to the Housing Court and his willingness to serve the Commonwealth in this very important position.” More…

Michigan: MSHDA Awards Nearly $600,000 in Housing Counseling Grants to Agencies That Provide Foreclosure-related Services

Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) Executive Director Scott Woosley today announced three counseling agencies will receive National Mortgage Settlement (NMS) Fund grants to help homeowners avoid or recover from foreclosure. More…

Louisiana: City Of New Orleans to auction five properties

On Friday, December 13, 2013, the City of New Orleans will auction five City-owned properties in the City Hall Council Chambers at 10:00 a.m. The Department of Property Management through the Division of Real Estate and Records will conduct the auction. Registration begins at 9:00 a.m. More…

New Jersey: Acquisition: Rebuilding Homes and Lives on Safer Ground

Government and Public Real Estate News in Media

Alliance and ACEEE Recommend Energy Efficiency as the Best Way to Address Plant CO2 Emissions

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is about to put the proverbial pen to paper as it begins writing proposed “emissions guidelines” for states to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from existing power plants under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act. More…

120 Year Old Kentucky Bank Faces Greatest Challenge Yet

Since 1893, Owingsville Banking Company (OBC) has served the citizens of rural Bath County Kentucky. The bank endured the Great Depression, the stagflation of the 1970s and, most recently, the Great Recession. Today, however, OBC faces a new challenge — not the difficult market conditions of this tepid economic recovery, but an avalanche of Washington regulations. More…

Bremer Bank Supports Housing for Seniors, Homeless and Workforce

Bremer Bank has contributed $750,000 to the North Dakota Housing Incentive Fund (HIF), supporting projects that will provide affordable housing for the state’s workforce, homeless individuals and families, and households age 55 and older. More…

Development tax break near Cobb Braves’ land to initially cost schools

Cobb County school officials are not happy they will lose tens of thousands of tax dollars the next couple of years due to tax incentives offered to a new development project near the site of the planned Braves stadium, reports Atlanta Business Chronicle broadcast partner WXIA-TV. The $100-million Riverwalk development is planned for a 7-acre parcel near the intersection of Cumberland Boulevard and Cobb Galleria Parkway. It will include more than 200 condos and townhomes and a 10-story office building.Owners… http://bit.ly/IO7a5T

3 Things That Appreciate After You Purchase Them

Access to the equity and wealth accumulated in affordable dwelling units is becoming increasingly difficult for their residents. In today’s Capitalistic society there are only a handful of things that can appreciate in value as time goes on, three to be exact. Precious metals, Homes, and Bonds are the three constants that don’t immediately drop in value the moment they are purchased. This is why allowing individuals to purchase homes for affordable prices, but restricting them from accessing the greatest benefit of their endeavor does not equate to sustainable development in underserved communities. More…

VA fears budget cuts will reverse drop in homelessness

The country has made progress toward its goal of ending veterans’ homelessness by 2015, but budget cuts threaten the momentum, according to federal officials.
The Department of Veterans Affairs and other federal agencies announced the target in 2010 as part of the Opening Doors campaign, seeking to end chronic and veterans’ homelessness by 2015 and to end homelessness among children, families and youth by 2020. More…

New LGBT housing for needy seniors makes Philly a pioneer

PHILADELPHIA likes to tout itself as among the nation’s gay-friendliest places.
And in fact, Philly this year aced a “municipal-equality index” compiled by the LGBT-advocacy group Human Rights Campaign on almost 300 cities nationwide, a study that examined everything from hate-crime statistics to employee benefits for same-sex couples to the number of openly gay municipal leaders. More…