Latest news with #urbanredevelopment
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Potsdam hires two contractors for DRI streetscape, riverwalk projects
Aug. 7—POTSDAM — After dismissing all bids at an earlier meeting, the village has now hired two contractors for the Downtown Streetscape Renovation and Riverwalk Trail Project. During a July 29 meeting, the Potsdam Village Board of Trustees authorized Mayor Alexandra M. Jacobs Wilke to accept the bids from two companies and finalize contracts for the project, following recommendations from the project's landscape architect. The board accepted a general construction bid of $2,868,700 from TJ Fiacco Construction, Norwood. They awarded the $845,000 electrical construction bid to Dow Electric. The funding for the work will come from the $10 million New York Downtown Revitalization Initiative, which the village was awarded six years ago. Early estimates suggest the total cost of both projects are about $4.5 million. The streetscape enhancements will focus on Market and Raymond streets. Planned improvements include new sidewalks, pedestrian safety features, decorative crosswalks, pedestrian-friendly LED street lighting (provided through National Grid), stormwater management systems, new street trees, wayfinding signage and street benches. The riverwalk project aims to improve the Maple Street area and create a connection between Sandstone Drive and Garner Park. After the board rejected all bids during a special meeting on July 3, LaBella consultants presented the village with options to revise the bidding documents in order to encourage lower bids in the second round. Work items had been designated as alternates to provide the flexibility to include them later, depending on how the next bids come in. The intent is to reduce costs on both the general and electrical contracts for the two projects. The DRI Local Planning Committee's original members and the Project Advisory Committee had reviewed the proposed changes. Among the suggested revisions to the electrical contract are switching to a more cost-effective streetlight vendor and having the village's Department of Public Works handle the installation, rather than outsourcing it. Additional proposed changes include altering the scope of traffic control electrical work and postponing significant paving work along state Department of Transportation-controlled sections, as the DOT plans to repave those areas in 2027. Further possible adjustments involve sidewalk construction and bike lane striping. Solve the daily Crossword
BBC News
a day ago
- Business
- BBC News
'People Make Glasgow' tower to be turned into flats
A landmark Glasgow tower is to be turned into flats after a property developer acquired the Vita Group intend to convert the Met Tower - known for a prominent "People Make Glasgow" graphic - into a "union co-living" space, following a similar development in Manchester. Developers say the plan will support "a new community of city centre professionals" and boost the local site was previously the city's college of printing and then Glasgow Metropolitan College, before being vacated more than ten years ago. Recent years have seen plans to re-develop the building into a tech hub fall through, while other proposals have included turning it into offices, homes and hotel firm said concepts under consideration include revitalising the Met Tower, creating what it called "high-quality communal spaces" and improving links between existing and new structures as well as surrounding Bielby, the chief operating officer of Vita Group, said the proposal would breathe new life into the building."Glasgow is a city with exceptional energy, creativity, and talent, and the Met Tower is an iconic part of its skyline," he said."We see a real opportunity to explore how our Union concept could bring much-needed accommodation to the heart of the city, supporting its employment base, culture, and social scene."The proposal is tied in with Glasgow City Council's strategy for the city centre, which aims to double the number of residents living there by 2035. Union Manchester opened earlier this year with more than 1,600 co-living beds and shared spaces, including co-working areas, a residents' bar, wellness facilities and social company previously stated co-union living mixes rent-by-the-room, flatmate matching and flexible stays with shared spaces like gyms, aimed at creating a community are behind the ongoing proposal to turn the former O2 ABC building into a food hall and student plans have been called in by the Scottish government after initially being approved by the city council against the wishes of the neighbouring Glasgow School of firm has also developed student housing throughout Glasgow. However, the Union Manchester properties were not available for students. Cllr Susan Aitken, the leader of Glasgow City Council, said the news represented a vote of confidence in city centre living."Vita's plans will bring what is an emerging accommodation concept to Glasgow, one that's been successful elsewhere and which can meet the needs of many younger residents," she said."When it first opened in the early 1960s, the Met Tower was a symbol of a new and modern Glasgow. I look forward to it once again becoming a potent symbol of our changing city centre."
BBC News
29-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Manchester's last privately owned market to close after 94 years
A city's last privately owned market has closed, 94 years after it first Street Market, in Harpurhey, Manchester, has been put up for auction, with a £450,000 guide price, by owners Northern Markets. Auctioneers told the Local Democracy Reporting Service it could become "much-needed new housing to be built" if Manchester City Council gives planning consent.A Northern Markets spokesman said: "The infrastructure was not right. It was not financially viable to refurbish it. Incomings and outgoings did not match, because we were losing money every day it was open." The market's demise has left Mark Nelson "destroyed"."Everyone looked after each other," said Mr Nelson, who has worked on Northern's markets for 40 years. "Back in the day, custom was really good," he added. Former trader Zoe Jones lamented the loss of the market and the camaraderie among traders."It was a community in itself," she said. Regular customers Lorraine Cooper, Deborah Hooson, and William Fox called the market's closure "sad", "terrible", and a "shame"."We used to go twice a week," Lorraine said. "It was lovely and friendly. You would get cheaper stuff. It's where people would go to socialise."Another former regular, Kay, added: "A lot of people have lost their livelihood."It's sad for the area. It's a close community. We have lost a lot of friends." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
CBS News
24-07-2025
- General
- CBS News
Fremont unveils affordable housing built on site of motel used to house homeless persons
The site of a former Fremont motel, once used to house homeless individuals, is now a gleaming new affordable housing complex that was unveiled on Wednesday. The opening comes after the city recently caught a lot of flak for adopting an ordinance that would make it illegal for anyone to "aid or abet" homeless campers. Some people accused them of being heartless. But at the same time, the city was quietly building more affordable housing than most Bay Area communities. "Three, two, one...!" City officials and project partners counted down as Mayor Raj Salwan performed the ceremonial ribbon-cutting. It was the official introduction of Bell Street Gardens, a 126-unit, all-affordable housing complex at Mowry Avenue and Bell Street, where the 70s-era Islander Motel once stood - a building known to cause headaches for the city. In 2018, the blighted motel and two adjacent empty parcels were sold to a redevelopment firm, and while the project was still in the planning stages, the city used the motel to provide shelter for homeless individuals and families. "That right there is the old motel, which you would never know. You can't even tell," said Carolyn Bookhart, project coordinator for Berkeley-based RDC, the nonprofit developer. "We basically brought it down to the studs. We added a third floor. The designers did a really great job. And so, yeah, it was a real transformation." Now, rather than creating problems, the property is helping solve them for people like Monique Orosco. She struggled to afford market-rate housing for years, watching as Bell Street Gardens was being built. When it was finished, she jumped at the chance to apply. "And when they did call me, I cried. I was on 880 and I was so thrilled, so happy," Monique said. "We do talk among each other and everybody has shed a tear, how it has changed their lives tremendously because now we feel safe and at home." "We combined each of the rooms in the motel to make up each apartment," said Rick Williams, a partner with Van Meter Williams Pollack, the urban design firm that turned the motel into apartments ranging from one-room studios up to 3-bedroom family units. Many rooms look out onto outdoor garden terraces, and the complex features a community room, laundry room, and even a room for bicycle storage. The project was conceived clear back in 2016, when it was harder to get projects approved, but interest rates and construction costs were more affordable. Now, that's flipped. "Today, in today's world, it's easier to get a project entitled, but it's more challenging to get it funded," said Williams. "It's a $60 million project in construction only. And now, it would be considered a deal because construction costs have gone higher." In other words, it's always something. But one thing that hasn't been a problem is the City of Fremont, which has invested $13 million from its housing fund to get the project started, and it now ranks third in the Bay Area for building affordable units. "The city was really the first one in," said Dan Sawislak, RCD executive director. "So, basically, they saw the potential of this project. They got behind it. They voted to support it financially. And they've been a really great city in terms of getting more affordable housing built and being a leader in that space." All this from a city that was being ridiculed for having such tough homeless laws. Salwan said it's about striking a balance. "As of now, we have not enforced anything," said Salwan. "We have not been strict at all. We've been less strict than San Francisco, less strict than Oakland, other cities. So, we got the notoriety, but we did our part. We're still doing our part. We're not running away." Salwan said Bell Street Gardens is just the second of five new affordable housing complexes scheduled to be completed this year in Fremont. For the record, the city has rescinded that ban on helping the homeless. Instead, they're doing what a lot of other communities aren't: putting their money where their mouth is and actually building places where people can afford to live.
BBC News
23-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Wyvern Theatre suggestion for Swindon cinema complex rejected
A suggestion to move a town's theatre to a near-deserted retail complex has been Conservatives proposed relocating Wyvern Theatre - which Swindon Borough Council said had "concrete cancer and other issues" - to the Regent Circus group leader said the move would bring "vibrancy" to the area and give a reason for restaurants to reopen there. But Labour council leader Jim Robbins rejected the idea and said the retail complex was "not in the right place" for the theatre. The Cineworld which was previously based in the Regent Circus complex shut in Sumner said moving the Wyvern Theatre into the unit "would be a great opportunity"."It would give you vibrancy in terms of getting the restaurants and things back into business," he added. Of eight food outlets at Regent Circus, only Nando's remains. But the council's leader Mr Robbins said the Labour administration preferred the option of building a space for the theatre at the site of the town's bus station."To have the entertainment venue right in the heart of the town centre, and create some new public space around it, feels like the much better option to us."It's land we own, it's land we have control of," he largest of the units at Regent Circus – and most visibly empty from the rest of the town centre – is the former Morrisons supermarket, which closed in supermarket chain remains contractually tied to the Circus previously went up for sale in 2020 and was believed to have been bought by UK Commercial Property REIT. That company has since been bought out by Tritax Big Box.
