Real Estate Wire/Green Trends News Wire

By Mike Bonts, Green Trends MIAMI – The Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC), the state’s leading certifier of green commercial and residential construction, land developments and local green governments, has certified Strata Wynwood at 21 NE 22nd St. in Miami “Florida Green” at the high-rise “Gold-Level.” Layered in its design, amenities, and experiences, the 612,192 square-foot Strata Wynwood achieved 183 points out of a required 100 points, earning it the coveted Florida Green Building “Gold-Level” certification. “This achievement demonstrates the team’s commitment to better design and construction practices that reduce the negative environmental impacts of the building, improve occupant health and well-being, and reduce operating costs for the owner,” noted FGBC President Kyle Abney. The FGBC Green Team included Jonathan Burgess, Spinnaker Group, as the Designated Green Professional. Strata was designed by Canada-based architecture firm Stantec. The owner and developer...

By MIKE BONTS Editor, REAL ESTATE WIRE JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- LandSouth Construction, a Jacksonville, Fla. based general contractor specializing in multifamily, senior housing and mixed use development, has made the prestigious National Multifamily Housing Council’s (NMHC) 2017 ranking of the nation’s largest apartment contractors at No. 10. The 2017 NMHC 50 is the annual authoritative ranking of the nation’s largest apartment owners, managers, developers, general contractors and syndicators. Last year LandSouth was No. 16. Firms are ranked based on the number of units started in 2016 when LandSouth began 3,064 compared to 2,252 in 2015.           “Record renter demand continues to fuel apartment industry growth. It is an honor to be named the nation’s 10 th largest multifamily contractor. This ranking reflects the dedication and expertise of our team,” said LandSouth President/CEO James Pyle. The forces that ...

By MIKE BONTS LAS VEGAS - Sweden’s Bluewater launched a new range of second generation residential water purifiers at 2016 Kitchen and Bathrooms Show in Las Vegas that address consumer concerns about tap water quality and safety. “Bluewater’s latest point-of-use Spirit and Pro water purifiers harness unique, patented new-generation SuperiorOsmosis™ reverse osmosis technology, which is designed to remove practically all waterborne contaminants, including microorganisms and toxic metals such as the lead plaguing the residents of Flint, Michigan,” said Mr. Niclas Wullt, Bluewater managing director. Designed to fit under a kitchen sink, the compact, contemporary Bluewater Spirit and Pro water purifiers address consumer concerns about contaminants in drinking water, including lead, chlorine, pesticides and herbicides, prescription drugs and detergents. Clare Controls Introduces Smart Home Display for Design Centers To help builders take control of the home technology sales proces...

By MIKE BONTS LAS VEGAS - Pardee Homes, a member of TRI Pointe Group, announced the completion of the Responsive Home project, in partnership with BUILDER Magazine, to design, build and sell the ideal home for today’s young home buyers.  The two, new concept homes is being unveiled during this week’s NAHB International Builders’ Show® (IBS) in Las Vegas.  Located in suburban Henderson, Nevada, just a few minutes away from the urban conveniences of the Las Vegas strip, the 2,145-square-foot Contemporary Farmhouse and the 3,194-square-foot Contemporary Transitional cater to Millennials’ desires for design and performance at a price point that young buyers can appreciate.  Built in partnership with architect Bassenian Lagoni; landscape architects, AndersonBaron; along with celebrity interior designer Bobby Berk, the project’s Creative Director and fellow Millennial; the Responsive Homes maximize new home owners’ financial investment by increasing the longevity of th...

By MIKE BONTS REAL ESTATE WIRE LAS VEGAS -  New technology that helps builders and contractors is a major theme of this years NAHB International Builders Show (IBS) being held in Las Vegas this week. Builders increasingly expect software solutions that integrate with their existing systems. As such, technology providers continue to come to market with new solutions and partnerships. BuilderMT recently announced its interoperability with seven other software vendors in the mid-market home builder market.  BuilderMT’s WMS (Workflow Management Suite) is an end-to-end workflow automation and integration package intended to link builders’ existing software solutions for CRM (customer-relationship management) and sales, BIM (building information modeling), estimating, purchasing, scheduling, supply chain management, warranty, accounting, and builder portals. BuilderMT’s include Avid Ratings, CG Visions, Hyphen Solutions, Punchlist Manager, Sales Simplicity, and Western C...

By MIKE BONTS REAL ESTATE WIR E LAS VEGAS -   A natural cedar replacement for the hardboard market, Grayne Engineered Shake & Shingle incorporates every detail of cedar shingles. This enables Grayne to deliver all the warmth and ambience of real cedar, without the costly maintenance.  The 5-inch plain sawn shingle’s sharply defined edges and grain patterns create realistic depth and shadows. As natural cedar ages, the light, thicker grain and dark, thinner grain have distinct color differences.    To deliver this authentic multihued, aged cear appearance, Grayne utilizes a proprietary coating process. Another benefit of this process is that Grayne’s unique palette, available in 6 popular colors, bypasses the three  to five year natural cedar weathering process to deliver the perfect aged color from the day it’s installed. Its grain texture is visible from every angle. The deep keyways create pronounced shadows, which make a bold statement up close a...

(REAL ESTATE WIRE) - - Strong demand for construction projects fueled job growth in November in 38 states compared to October and in all but six states over the past 12 months, according to analysis of Labor Department data released by the Associated General Contractors of America . Association officials said, however, that the shortage of available workers was likely keeping firms from expanding headcounts even more rapidly in many parts of the country. Florida added the most construction jobs between October and November (10,600 jobs, 2.5 percent). Other states adding a high number of construction jobs include New York (9,100 jobs, 2.5 percent), Texas (9,000 jobs, 1.3 percent) and Massachusetts (4,800 jobs, 3.6 percent). South Dakota added the highest percentage of construction jobs during the past month (5.6 percent, 1,300 jobs), followed by Iowa (4.6 percent, 3,700 jobs), Massachusetts and Vermont (3.5 percent, 500 jobs). “In nearly every state, contractors are busier now ...

Builder confidence in the market for newly constructed single-family homes rose three points in October to a level of 64 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). This month’s reading is a return to HMI levels seen at the end of the housing boom in late 2005. “The fact that builder confidence has held in the 60s since June is proof that the single-family housing market is making lasting gains as more serious buyers come forward,” said NAHB Chairman Tom Woods, a home builder from Blue Springs, Mo. “However, our members continue to tell us there are still pockets of softness in some markets across the nation, and that they face challenges regarding the availability of lots and labor.” “With October’s three-point uptick, builder confidence has been holding steady or increasing for five straight months. This upward momentum shows that our industry is strengthening at a gradual but consistent pace,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “With ...

By MIKE BONTS REAL ESTATE WIRE ORLANDO, Fla. --  The dust has settled from a busy International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Florida Conference just concluded in Orlando. Across the United States, rents have been stable since 2012, with occupancy has steadily climbed more than 1.5 percent. Florida, however, has seen a slight growth in rents—driven primarily by the South Florida markets—with occupancy growth aligned with the nationwide trend. Looking back at the three day event held at the Orange County Convention Center: Healthy and growing. Those are two words used to describe the Jacksonville, Fla. retail market. But there is one quadrant of the city that is outperforming all the rest.  Cliff Taylor, a senior vice president at CBRE, told Globe St.'s Jennifer LeClaire that the  retail market is healthy and is growing. The vacancy rate fell to 9.2% in the second quarter of 2015, compared to 10% a year ago. The St. Augustine submarket, which is the lowest, r...