In The Know
San Francisco-based Heller Manus Architects has been awarded a contract to design the master plan for a portion of Guangzhou, the third largest city in China with a population of around 10 million.
Heller Manus’ proposal was selected by a commission of nine jurors including notable planning and architectural experts in China. Additionally, members of the Guangzhou public were asked to cast votes for their favorite design plan during a two-week public viewing phase.
The South Axis master plan includes the design of about 9 square miles, incorporating waterfront and transit oriented development with a ferry terminal, central government districts and a variety of urban land uses.
Heller Manus recently completed the design of the multi-functional, metropolitan master plan along Guangzhou’s Northern Axis.
A major catalyst for these recent planning efforts is the upcoming Asian Games in November 2010 that will be hosted at Guangzhou's Tian He Sports Center.
Heller Manus Architects is a nationally recognized architecture, design and planning firm. Their experience encompasses a wide range of major new construction and historical remodel projects including residential, commercial, civic, rehabilitation and adaptive re-use, performance facilities, and retail and urban design plans.
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HomeAid Orange County will benefit from a series of fashion shows in Irvine in late September.
Orange County's hottest brands and emerging designers will be featured, along with special guests from the professional sport and MTV celebrity circuit during Style Week Orange County, Sept. 24-26.
Among those expected to attend are Ryan Getzlaf, Bobby Ryan and Joffrey Lupul of the Anaheim Ducks; former Los Angeles Laker and current Houston Rocket Trevor Ariza (pictured); MTV's Big Black; the LRG Skate Team; and celebrity model Albert Reed.
Tickets for VIP seating at each fashion show are $10 per person are available online at www.StyleWeekOC.com.
HomeAid Orange County celebrated its 20th anniversary earlier in September as it wrapped up Project Playhouse, its largest fundraising event of the year.
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A seminar on turning green building into gold will be held in late September in San Francico.
Duro-Last Roofing, Inc. is sponsoring the six-city seminar series "Renovating for Profit: Uncovering the Big Green ($) Value Proposition When Renovating Existing Buildings." It stops in San Francisco on Sept. 25.
The program is being hosted by The Corporate Realty, Design & Management Institute.
For more information about the Renovating for Profit series, visit the Institute’s website at www.squarefootage.net/2009renovateforprofit.htm.
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One of the nation's largest urban infill developments recently broke ground in Sacramento, with a plan for 2,500 homes, 1 million square feet of office space and 150,000 square feet of retail on a 65-acre site.
Township Nine is an urban infill project that will be pedestrian oriented, sustainable and transit-friendly. Township Nine is part of a larger redevelopment of Sacramento’s River District where an old railyard with industrial plants is being revived. It includes the new headquarters for the California Highway Patrol, California Lottery and a new science museum in an old powerhouse.
Over the past 14 years, the Redevelopment Agency and the City of Sacramento have invested more than $100 million in federal and local public dollars to transition the area from an industrial district to a diverse, urban mixed-use district.
Developers expect Township Nine to cost around $2 billion to build and will take about 10 years to complete.
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San Diego-based construction management and consulting firm Gafcon Inc. is providing program management for a massive redevelopment effort in the Watts area of Los Angeles. The community-based master plan will create a new urban village, a mixed-use, mixed-income development on the site of the Jordan Downs public housing project.
The program, which will cost an estimated $1 billion, includes replacement of Jordan Down’s 700 existing units, which were built following World War II, and developing as many as 2,100 new housing units, including 700 units of subsidized housing, 700 work-force housing units and 700 market-rate housing units.
The Jordan Downs complex is owned and managed by the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles. Financing for the project combines federal redevelopment money, state tax credits and private investments from retailers and developers of market-rate housing.
City officials have been holding a series of community meetings to solicit feedback from residents during the listening stage of the project. The private planning firm for the project is WRT/Solomon E.T.C., which teamed with Gafcon earlier this year to provide overall program management.
“Seeing the Jordan Downs redevelopment plan move forward represents a real victory not just for the residents of Watts, but for the region,” said Yehudi “Gaf” Gaffen, CEO of Gafcon. “Creating this new urban village will provide a significant economic boost to the area, creating more jobs and potential tax revenues for the city.”
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An Arizona wife and mother has walked away with a new home courtesy of Taylor Morrison, Disneyland, Microsoft, HP and Lifelware.
Kristin Pierce was named the winner of the Taylor Morrison Dream Home Giveaway in June, then returned to the resort with her husband Geoffrey later in the summer to receive the ceremonial key for her new home, which is currently being built in the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert, Ariz.
Pierce was chosen from more than 147,000 entries to receive the new home, valued at $200,000 by Taylor Morrison. The win was especially sweet for the Pierces, who had spent more than a year looking for a foreclosed home they could afford to purchase.
The new home is a four-bedroom, 2,200-square-foot model that should be finished by the holidays.
“It’s always great to hear of stories like these,” said Taylor Morrison president and CEO Sheryl Palmer. “It’s even better when you can take a role in making someone’s dream come true.”
The home and contest were featured in a California Builder article last summer.
You can follow the Pierces and the progress as their new home is being built at www.taylormorrison/dreamhomeblog.
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In the Know is compiled by California Builder editor Greg Robertson. News about companies in the homebuilding industry can be sent to him at grobertson@cbia.org.
