Vernacular Architecture and Smart Planning Bring Huge Returns to The Waters

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The incredibly ambitious, experimental, master-planned community of The Waters, located in Pike Road, Alabama, has brought incredible returns to this formerly tiny suburb of Montgomery. Built along Cameron Lake, a 200-acre manmade water recreation area, The Waters’ experimentation with architectural design, mixed zoning, and a wide range of housing costs has already produced fantastic results. The latest coup for The Waters development team is the Pike Road school district’s decision to locate a new school near the community.

One key to the wild success of The Waters is that the architectural design of the community is based on the Alabama’s vernacular architecture. There are no mock villas and palazzos, or sprawling pseudo-adobe pueblos, or “traditional English cottages.” Instead, builders are using the visually distinct, traditional housing style that is unique to the Alabama region as the design palette for the town that looks like the quintessential Southern town.

This is in large part due to Town Architect Steve Mouzon’s belief that “whenever you go to a great place, it doesn’t have every style in the world, it has an architecture of that place… The greater the place, the easier you can nail down the architecture to a very small window on planet earth as to where it is. That is a characteristic of greatness — you might say it’s the gateway to greatness.”

Mouzon notes that each of the local builders brought on board share the same design principles, which helps make the town visually striking. “I can pull anyone off a scaffold,” Mouzon explains, “and they can tell you a shocking amount of information about architecture and why they do what they do.”

This emphasis on tradition in design is combined with a cutting-edge approach to mixed accommodation types that include one-bedroom homes and live-work units as well as multi-family condos and single-family homes located near retail, restaurants, and other commercial businesses. The town is thriving on local trade, which Mouzon finds impressive because, “There are 100 rooftops supporting 10,000 square feet of commercial…Conventional wisdom says it takes 1,000 rooftops to support a corner store. We have one-tenth that many supporting 10,000 square feet (six businesses) on the ground floor.”

The Waters offers stunning amenities, such as a large saltwater pool, lighted tennis and basketball courts, and a community pavilion with meeting house and grilling stations, a playground, a dog park and parkland trails. The town also offers world-class fishing on Cameron Lake, which features a marina and courtesy access to kayaks, piers, fishing boats, canoes, beaches, and a cruise boat. Construction is slated to continue through spring of 2015.

Georgia Developer Crown Communities in Hot Water

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Atlanta-based developer Crown Communities, which was acquired by mega-developer D. R. Horton in May of this year, is reeling from the ire of dissatisfied homeowners. According to the Better Business Bureau, the Conyers-based firm has responded to over 107 complaints in the last three years, and dozens more remain open.  The majority of the issues involve the homes and Crown’s servicing of them, and warranty/guarantee problems.

According to the Augusta Chronicle, faulty air conditioners that broke within months of closing, un-level wood floors, cracked driveways, dead grass sod, and leaky plumbing top the list of property complaints. Service complaints involve failure to conduct warranty inspections, poor quality of customer service, and failure to appear for repair appointments.

Last month, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division fined Crown subdivision Pillon Communities $13,750, and ordered them to correct erosion control and water quality violations at their Grove Landing property.

According to the BBB website, Crown Communities has a rating of B-. A number of factors went into this rating, which include company size, number of complaints, and recorded resolutions of those complaints. They achieved this rating because the number of complaints about the company were somewhat offset by the company’s attempt to address those complaints. Investigations are conducted by the BBB in cases where there seems to be a mismatch between the rating given and the company’s customer satisfaction record, and it is entirely possible that Crown Communities will face investigation proceedings.

Crown Communities has 12 subdivisions in Aiken, Richmond, and Columbia counties with homes for sale. It has also developed neighborhoods in Athens, Columbus, and Atlanta as well as towns in South Carolina.

Contour Crafting May Upend the Construction Industry

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This year’s winner of the Create the Future design contest might have totally changed the game for the construction industry. The annual competition, sponsored by Comsol, Mouser Electronics, Analog Devices, and Intel, was launched in 2002 by the publishers of NASA Tech Briefs magazine to stimulate and reward engineering innovation. USC Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering Dr. Berokh Khoshnevis  is the inventor of the Contour Crafting method, a computerized construction process that prints large-scale 3-D structures directly from Architectural CAD models.

Using a four-person crew and simple, inexpensive building materials, the Contour Crafting method forms structural walls from paste-like materials  like concrete, which is extruded in layers directly onto the site and then smoothed into place by a robotic trowel. This flexible building technique easily produces curvilinear organic structures as well the more traditional rectilinear shapes, which has drawn significant attention from architects around the world. Because it uses the precisely necessary amount of building material, the Contour Crafting method radically reduces construction waste.

Contemporary 3-D construction techniques fabricate blocks and components, which are assembled on-site. Contour Crafting is the only technology that builds entire structures on-site. Construction time and costs are drastically reduced with the Contour Crafting method, which makes it ideal for building affordable housing in developing countries and for quickly erecting emergency shelters, hospitals, and food warehouses in disaster-torn areas.

Dr. Khoshnevis has been contracted by NASA to bring his automated construction technology into space. Contour crafting would allow scientists to build laboratories and housing structures in space to host long-term research projects.

Hot Tub Tips for Fall Fun

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The weather has cooled off, and there’s nothing like a soak in the hot tub to shake off the autumn chill. But to make sure your spa is ready to go, it’s important to keep a few tips in mind.

Water Care

Because of the heat and the heavy water re-circulation, hard and scaly water can artificially shorten the life of key components like pumps, fittings, and filters. Have your silver ion cartridge ready to go, and keep some replacements on hand to switch it out every 3-4 months. You should be checking your water quality periodically, but when the tub is in active use, it should be checked daily. The bromine or chlorine levels should be 1-5pp of free bromine of chlorine, with a pH of 7.2-7.8, a calcium hardness of 124-400ppm, and a total alkalinity level of 120-180ppm. Every 3-4 months, it is a good idea to change the water in your hot tub altogether. Make sure to add a spa system flushing product before you drain so you can clean out the biofilms that ave built up in your tub’s inner workings.

Filtration

Keeping your water clear means keeping your filters clean. Are your hot tub filters up to snuff? These filters work hard, but to keep them in shape you need to clean them monthly. Pool filters can usually be rinsed out with a garden hose, but hot tubs are different. They need to be cleaned and sanitized to keep your hot tub healthy and functional. To scrub and sanitize your hot tub filters, try SpaGuard Filter & Degreaser. SpaGuard will keep your filter clean and your water clear. Make sure to change your filters every two years.

Coverage

Make sure your hot tub cover is up to snuff. If the cover is heavy, water-logged, or smelly, it’s time to get a new one. Most hot tub covers last 5 years; 6-7 if the hot tub is indoors and protected from the elements. Every so often, it’s a good idea to clean and condition your cover to remedy the damage caused by the spa’s heat and humidity. A vinyl spa cover cap can extend the life of your spa cover. You could also try the Smartop cover, an all-in-one hardtop solution that keeps the elements and debris out, and your crystal-clear spa water in.

New Office Condos, Retro Locale for Miami Businesses

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One Flagler, the 15-story building at 14 NE First Ave. that is one of the most iconic buildings in Miami, is being renovated into office condominiums. Built in 1952 and designed by internationally renowned architect Morris Lapidus, the 15-story epitome of the Miami Modern, or “MiMo” style, has already seen $10 million in upgrades to the building’s interior. Exterior renovations will be kept to a minimum and largely limited to restoring the building to its original 1952 condition.

Due to a defaulted note, the building’s future was uncertain until Midgard management took over the note and negotiated a turnover for One Flagler in 2010. James Goldstein, CEO of Midgard, says that “The upgrades we have been making are very systemic, but we have been paying attention to details and leaving the most historic features.” Midgard has joined with Miami developer Harvey Hernandez, of Newgard Development, to convert the building into office condos.

The Flagler Building, formerly named the Ainsley Building and later known as the Foremost Building, has had an amazing variety of tenants over the years. The Cuban Consulate had formerly been housed there, as well as the Miami Athletic Club, a branch of the Israel Discount Bank, and several federal offices. A branch of Continental Bank, along with several law firms and investment companies, currently occupies the building.

The decision to convert the building into office condos was not difficult to make. Hernandez explains that “The building needed to be renovated, and we said: ‘How can we renovate this building but at the same time make some business sense?’” In Hernandez’ opinion, investors will be keen to buy commercial office space located downtown in an iconic building designed by a renowned architect. It is also likely that many investors will be owner-occupants, but the investors who purchase space that is already occupied by a tenant might expect returns “in excess of 4.5 percent.”

Midgard is excited at the prospect of preserving the building “for future generations,” Goldstein says, adding, “We love the building.”

August Marks Increase in Private Residential Spending

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While the signs of a market slowdown for new residential construction have begun to surface, the construction spending numbers for August were still high enough to offset the effects of the slowdown. According to the Federal Savings Bank, Americans increased their spending for residential construction in August.

However, The U.S. Census Bureau’s Construction Spending Report, issued October 1st, the seasonally adjusted annual spending rate for August was $961 billion. This is an 8% decline from July’s $968.8 billion in residential construction spending. Reuters Corp. economists had expected a 5% uptick in spending for August. Unfortunately, private non-residential spending dropped significantly, which leveled out to a 1.4% reduction in construction spending totals.

But compared to the $915.3 billion in residential construction spending totals for August 2013, there has been a 5% increase overall. The first 8 months of 2014 saw an 8% increase in spending over the same period in 2013. So while there has been a month-to-month drop in spending, the overall spending trend for the year has been an increase over last year.

August’s total private residential construction spending fell .7% from July’s numbers. Although the projected earnings for the last quarter were not realized as analysts had hoped they would be, builders still spent money in the private residential sector. The minor decrease isn’t expected to affect the recovery and growth of the housing market, because 2014’s August numbers are still 3.7% higher than they were in 2013. August also saw builders increase their investments in the construction of single-family and multi-family properties.

In August, construction spending for single-family structures rose .7% over July’s amount and 8.3% over August 2013. Multifamily housing saw a 1.4% increase over July’s spending rates, and a staggering 34.9% increase over the multifamily construction spending in August 2013. The yearlong improvement trend that shows America’s construction market improving over last year extends to home sales as well, because the sales of newly constructed homes have also risen.

Q3 2013’s harsh financial climate dampened 2014’s start-of-year economic strength. However, the economy started to recover in the second quarter, largely due to the improvements in residential construction. After 2 straight quarters of reductions, residential construction reached an 8.8% gain over 2013. The economic stimulus of increased construction is expected to continue throughout 2014.

Tulsa Area Home Construction Falters in August

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Both monthly and yearly numbers for local home construction in Tulsa slipped in August. 215 homes broke ground last month. This number is slightly lower than the 271 homes breaking ground in July and the 231 homes that broke ground in August 2013. Tulsa’s current year-to-date total of 1,907 new homes built is 4.1% lower than the same total from this time last year.

This decline is reflective of a national slowdown in the housing market. According to the U.S. department of Housing and Urban development and the U.S. Census Bureau, 643,000 single-family homes have been built thus far in the United States in 2014. Single-family housing starts have dropped 2.4% nationally from last year’s numbers.

Even so, National Association of Home Builders Chairman Kevin Kelley chooses to remain optimistic in spite of the slowdown. Kelley states that “Our members are telling us that traffic to new model home sites and sales expectations are on the rise,” said “Despite the monthly blip, single-family starts are still 8 percent above last year’s level.”

Home Builders Association of Greater Tulsa president Brandon Jackson offers some insight into possible causes of the slowdown. Jackson suggests that “people were anticipating interest rates were going to rise, and now they haven’t, that may have cut off enthusiasm for a new home.”

Veteran contractor Phill Rhees, of BMI Next Generation Builders, thinks that the slowdown might be a good thing. “We don’t want to overbuild,” he said. “The economy is recovering, but we don’t want to get too far ahead of the recovery.” Despite stronger economic recovery, homebuyers are still cautious of the housing market, and this caution is keeping the market numbers down.

According to Rhees, some areas in Tulsa have already become overbuilt. “We’re seeing some parts of town where we’re having a hard time finding land to develop on, such as Jenks east of the river,” he explains. Upscale areas in Broken Arrow and South Tulsa featuring homes costing $500,000 or more have exceeded their saturation point in the market. The lack of available land that is well-situated and easily developed is also a stumbling block to the residential construction market in Tulsa.

Q3 Brings a Sliding House Market

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The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a Q2 GDP estimate of 4.6% last week, which seems to indicate a definite long-term economic recovery, but the faltering housing market indicates that our economic health is still precarious. Homes.com recently released their local market index and revealed that 15 fewer housing markets registered an increase in their three-month averages.  It is expected that the national housing market will continue its slide.

Only 166 of the nation’s mid-sized housing markets reported an increased three-month average, which is 20% fewer than had been expected. of the top 300 American housing markets, only 109, or 36%, have reached a full home price recovery. When comparing this year’s growth to the three-month averages and market gains of Q2 2013, it is clear that the housing market is slowing down. 2013’s gains of 2.5-3% have tumbled, with modest gains of .5% reported for Q2 2014.

The Standard & Poor Case-Shiller National Home Price Index issued last week confirmed that a housing market slide is immanent. Nationally, single-family home prices for July 2014 gained 5.6% over July 2013, a drop of .14% from the June 2014 rates. 19 of the 20 cities Case-Shiller tracks posted lower annual gains for July. As double-digit price increases had become the norm from 2013-2014, this percentage decrease is unexpected and unwelcome news.

The jump of 18% in new home sales for August 2014 is actually an aberration in the current trend, according to S&P Chairman of the Index Committee David M. Blitzer. Blitzer explains that, “However, home prices continue to rise at two to three times the rate of inflation. The slower pace of home price appreciation is consistent with most of the other housing data on housing starts and home sales. The rise in August new home sales–which are not covered by the S&P/Case-Shiller indices–is a welcome exception to recent trends.” Sales of existing homes dropped 1.8% in August, during which time pending sales also dropped 1%.

New Upscale Residential Community Slated for Forsyth County

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HBW subscribers keeping up with the Atlanta area’s residential building permit activity trends have known about the major housing developments that are currently underway in Forsyth County. Last Friday, another winner was added to the mix. This October, SunBelt Atlanta & Cummings I LLC will begin building an upscale residential community in the Forsyth County town of Cumming. The 143-acre tract was purchased this week from NASCAR Hall-of-Famer Bill Elliott for $120 million. Located off of Matt Highway/State Route 369, the development will host 300 homes priced in the $350k-$500k range.

SunBelt confirms that it will be working with local home builders to construct these dynamic upscale residences in the town of Cumming, a small resort community located on Lake Lanier. This development will be the first of ten projects which SunBelt plans to build over the next two years in the Cumming area. SunBelt Atlanta/Cummings I LLC have retained the legal firm of Boling Rice, LLC, and the engineering firm of Southeastern Engineering, Inc for the project.

According to SunBelt, the project will generate an economic impact of over $200 million and will create at least 900 new jobs. SunBelt Managing Director Gary Allen says that “our vision for this project extends far beyond the mere construction of new homes. It is about building communities in Forsyth County and spurring job creation and growth in the metro Atlanta region.”

As the home buying and residential construction industries have strongly rebounded in the areas north of Atlanta, SunBelt recognized a lot of development potential. This development benefits greatly from the lack of undeveloped “A-grade” real estate locations near Atlanta. The project will also receive a significant boost from the Go Build: Georgia construction trades workforce development program, one of a handful of such programs in the nation working to increase the number of people entering the building trades professions.

This housing development is the second major residential construction project to come to Forsyth this year. In April, development titan Lennar proposed a $280-million community just west of Cumming along Chamblee Gap. Lennar’s development, Mountain Crest, will feature 572 single-family homes and 124 townhomes, along a trail network connecting to the Big Creek Greenway, which will be completed in multiple phases by 2022.

Strong, Sustainable Cement- The Easy Way

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Cement has long been a construction industry staple, and it is by far the most widely used construction material in the world. Unfortunately, cement is also one of the most environment-damaging materials in the world, producing 1/10th of the construction industry’s greenhouse gas emissions. But recently, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found ways to cut those emissions in half, making a stronger, more durable cement.

Typical cement is made my cooking calcium-based and silica-rich materials such as limestone and clay at temperatures of 1,500 degrees celsius to create “clinker,” a hard mass that is then ground into powder. The heating of the cement causes a decarbonation of the limestone, and this decarbonation process causes the output of greenhouse gas.

New materials analysis done by the MIT labs has revealed that a different ration of calcium-to-silica not only cuts those emissions in half, but also creates stronger cement. These findings, made by MIT senior research scientist Roland Pellenq, et al. were recently published in the Nature Communications journal and presented at this year’s CNRS conference in Marseille, France.

Pellenq explains that the standard calcium-to-silica ratio is 1.7, but can range anywhere from 1.2 to 2.2. The molecular structures of these ratios have gone untested until Pellenq and his colleagues built a database of all the different ratios and formulations and then compared them. The discovered that as the ratio varies, the molecular structure progresses from a tight, orderly crystalline lattice to a randomly distributed glassy matrix.

They then found that “a magical ratio” of 1.5 achieves “two times the resistance of normal cement, in mechanical resistance to fracture, with some molecular-scale design.” As the material becomes more glassy, the mechanical strength improves, and “no residual stresses in the material, so it would be more fracture-resistant.” A decrease in the amount of limestone translates to a lowering of carbon emissions from the cement-making process.  This 1.5 ratio is the most ideal for cutting down on carbon emissions while strengthening the cement.

Having estimated the usage of cement to be three times that of steel, Pellenq says that “Cement is the most-used material on the planet,” adding that “there’s no other solution to sheltering mankind in a durable way — turning liquid into stone in 10 hours, easily, at room temperature. That’s the magic of cement.”