Anniston Housing

First New Affordable Housing Development in 30 Years Breaks Ground in Donalsonville

Atlanta, GA (Vocus) February 23, 2010

Partnership Housing Affordable to Society Everywhere (PHASE), Seminole County Partnership Development, and Seminole County Training School (SEMCO) are pleased to announce the groundbreaking for Friendship Crossings, which will be officially introduced with a ceremony at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010 in Donalsonville, Ga.

Friendship Crossings, the first new affordable housing development in the Donalsonville area in more than 30 years, is located at 1405 South Friendship Ave. The 40-unit multifamily development is designed to allow tenants to lease units for 15 years before assuming ownership. During the initial 15-year compliance period, the project will be operated and maintained by Seminole County Partnership Development, with PHASE serving as the managing member. During the lease purchase period, PHASE and SEMCO will conduct homeownership classes and homebuyer workshops for participating families desiring homeownership.

PHASE partnered with Seminole County Partnership Development, SEMCO, Branch Banking and Trust Company, and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta (FHLBank Atlanta) to create Friendship Crossings. FHLBank Atlanta provided a $ 375,000 affordable housing program subsidy towards the $ 5.4 million development. PHASE also utilized stimulus funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Home.

About PHASE

PHASE is a housing non-profit organization designed to assist people with obtaining affordable housing. As a certified Community Housing Development Organization, PHASE produces safe, decent and affordable housing units, and works in partnership with other non-profit organizations with similar housing objectives in several counties across the state of Georgia. As a tax-exempt organization, PHASE utilizes local, state and federal housing programs to produce affordable housing opportunities.

About FHLBank Atlanta

FHLBank Atlanta offers competitively-priced financing, community development grants, and other banking services to help approximately 1,200 member financial institutions make affordable home mortgages and provide economic development credit to neighborhoods and communities. The Bank’s members—its shareholders and customers—are commercial banks, credit unions, savings institutions, and insurance companies headquartered in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. FHLBank Atlanta is one of 12 district banks in the Federal Home Loan Bank System which since 1990 has contributed more than $ 3.6 billion to the Affordable Housing Program.

# # #

©Copyright 1997-

, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

Smith Lake is Rapidly Becoming the Premier Lakefront Property, Anticipated by So Many People for Years

Union Grove, AL (PRWEB) May 17, 2006

“Smith Lake is now seeing tremendous growth”, said Angela Treadway owner and co-developer at Emerald Valley Estates. A gorgeous new premiere Smith Lake lakefront development just released. “You cannot find better priced lakefront property anywhere in the country. You can buy one of our lots and build a lake house and still be under $ 500,000. As a developer I know what is happening on this lake. We are just now on the front end of the boom. Now is the time to invest anywhere on Smith Lake. These prices will not last.” continued Treadway.

Additionally, Grandview Resort is another new lakefront development. Angela Treadway consulted on the initial setup, marketing, layout and design of this project and after the first two weeks building one is sold out! This new resort will be a gated community, with one hundred luxury condo units, outdoor water park, large balconies, private marina and a lakeside terrace. From the moment you drive through the gated entrance you will see the stunning views of the clear emerald green waters. “When coming to Grandview plan to relax, unwind and enjoy nature’s beauty” added Treadway.

Smith Lake is a manmade wonder with over 500 miles of shoreline covering more than 21,000 acres. It is one of the deepest lakes in America with water depths of over 200 feet and was recently named the 3rd cleanest Lake in America. It covers portions of three Alabama counties: Cullman, Walker, and Winston. Smith Lake is an excellent fishing lake drawing fishermen from all over the southeast. Five World Fishing records have been established on Smith Lake and several champion fishing tournaments are held on the lake each year. One of the biggest drawing points about Smith Lake is its location.

Located in north western Alabama, Smith Lake is less than 1 hour from Birmingham, Huntsville and Tupelo, 2½ hours from Nashville, 3 hours from Memphis and Atlanta and 1½ hours from Gadsden, Alabama. Smith Lake is located in a tremendous growth corridor and is in a prime position to continue to experience exponential growth. Based on growth figures this region of the country is expected to grow by 15.8% into 2009.

Press Release Provided by: American Real Estate Design and Myrtle Beach Web Design

# # #

Attachments

©Copyright 1997-

, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

IBHS Special Report:
Hurricane Katrina – Five Years Later: Gulf Coast Building Codes Still Inadequate

Tampa, FL (Vocus) August 17, 2010

Five years after Hurricane Katrina, building codes along the Gulf Coast today are, for the most part, inadequate, according to a report from the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS).

When Hurricane Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29, 2005, it caused an estimated $ 41.1 billion in insured losses across six states, and took an incalculable economic and social toll on many communities. Five years later, the recovery continues and some residents in the most severely affected states of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi are still struggling.

Wanda Edwards, IBHS’ director of code development, analyzed the quality of building codes in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, with a particular emphasis on progress since Katrina. “Building codes along the Gulf Coast today are mostly disappointing, with only Louisiana getting high marks for taking proactive steps to adopt a statewide building code,” Edwards said.

“Five Years Later – Are We Better Prepared?” details IBHS’ analysis of pre- and post-Katrina building codes in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. Key findings include:

    Louisiana adopted a statewide code, but the state has struggled financially to staff and manage building inspection departments. Design professionals, contractors and subcontractors are still in the process of learning the new code and altering their construction practices in order to comply. Reports from code officials indicate it is a challenge to find qualified people to fill the role of inspectors.
    Seven of Mississippi’s 82 counties are required to enforce the wind and flood requirements of the 2003 International Building Code (IBC) and 2003 International Residential Code (IRC). In 2006, lawmakers created the Mississippi Building Code Council. After some initial progress, the push for statewide building code adoption met with significant opposition, which led to several unsuccessful legislative efforts.
    Alabama has failed to adopt strong building codes statewide despite widespread damage from Hurricane Katrina. The limited building code requirements that do exist are governed by the Alabama Building Commission which requires state-owned buildings, hotels and motels, and movie theaters to follow the 2006 IBC. Individual cities are not prohibited from adopting modern codes, but adoption and enforcement is voluntary. There have been numerous unsuccessful attempts in the Alabama Legislature to pass bills that would create a statewide code.

In 2009, Alabama passed a law requiring Alabama-admitted insurance companies to provide an insurance premium reduction to owners who build, rebuild or retrofit their homes in accordance with specified standards to better withstand hurricanes and other catastrophic windstorm events. Among these standards is the IBHS FORTIFIED for Safer Living® and FORTIFIED for Existing Homes™ programs, which employ code-plus design guidelines and retrofit measures for bringing existing homes in line with modern building codes.

Homes built to modern codes are much less likely to be damaged during a hurricane, according to an IBHS study conducted in Charlotte County, Fla., where Hurricane Charley made landfall in 2004. The results from this study show that homes built to modern, well-enforced codes were 60 percent less likely to incur hurricane-related damage than homes constructed before the codes were adopted. The study also revealed that if damage did occur, it was likely to be 42 percent less severe. Furthermore, based on the analysis of additional living expense records, the strong building code requirements in place in Florida allowed homeowners to return to their houses more quickly and likely reduced the disruption of their daily lives.

“Modern building codes have been proven time and again to result in better performance for homes and businesses,” Edwards said. “States like Alabama and Mississippi must learn from their history of repeated hurricane exposures and do more to protect their citizens.”

About the IBHS

IBHS is an independent, nonprofit, scientific research organization supported by property insurers and reinsurers. The Institute works to reduce the social and economic effects of natural disasters and other risks to residential and commercial property by conducting research and advocating improved construction, maintenance and preparation practices. Visit http://www.DisasterSafety.org for more information about IBHS resources.

Contact:     

Joseph King

Media Relations Manager, IBHS

(813) 675-1045 (o); (813) 442-2845 (c)

jking(at)ibhs(dot)org

Twitter: disastersafety

###

©Copyright 1997-

, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

MacDonald pleads guilty to capital murder charge two years after Daphne woman’s death
BAY MINETTE, Ala. — Capital murder suspect Troy MacDonald agreed to plead guilty today in the rape and murder of Brianna Parish, in exchange for the removal of the death penalty, according to a press release from the Baldwin County District Attorney’s Office.

Read more on BaldwinCountyNow.com

2010 NBA Draft: The 25 Most Underrated Players of this Year’s Draft
The draft is only days away, and the anticipation has never been higher. With the top 2-3 picks sure to be a lock, there is still tonnes of debate to who will fill the rest of the 58 spots on the board. I have already done an article on the overrated players in this years draft and got a decent response. So, now I am here to talk about the underrated players of this years draft. The players that …

Read more on Bleacher Report

Glenn’s Sporting Good Celebrates 40 Years in Business
Glenn’s Sporting Goods celebrated a milestone 40th anniversary on Friday.

Read more on WSAZ NewsChannel 3 West Virginia

Forty Years Later, OU Grads Receive Diplomas
For some Ohio University grads, getting to walk across the stage has been four decades in the making.

Read more on WSAZ NewsChannel 3 West Virginia

Gulf oil disaster cleanup to take years, Allen says
Workers scraped oil off beaches and skimmed it out of waterways from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle on Monday, but the impact of the Gulf oil disaster will be felt for years, authorities said.

Read more on CNN

“Alabama” Oh I know your kind. You would kill your kin for the right price. Oil and water are thicker than blood. Oh I know your type. Use us to get what you wanted. You can’t finish what you started. Find it kind of funny how you try to rectify the damage. Your failure to find compromise. The walls are coming down. Will you survive sacrifice or tumble to the ground? Your lying to yourself. And to everyone that knows your name. You play the part of the fool so well. Oh I know your type. Use us to get what you wanted. You can’t even finish what you started. Find it kind of funny how you try to rectify the damage. Your failure to find compromise. The walls are coming down. Will you survive sacrifice or tumble to the ground? Oh I know your type. Your failure to find compromise. The walls are coming down. Will you survive sacrifice or tumble to the ground?