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A recently released Presidential Memorandum (link is external) speaks to how federal agencies should, in their environmental reviews and permitting, address impacts on natural resources caused by construction and development – a process called “mitigation.”  The new policy broadens the federal government's 26-year-old “no net loss” wetlands policy by expanding that concept to any natural resource and encouraging agencies to replace those resources even before construction begins

ConsensusDocs is publishing free, new commentary to the ConsensusDocs 300 Standard Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) Agreement that includes a number of significant tools and extensive commentary for implementing the IPD contracting method. Released in January 2016, the updated ConsensusDocs IPD agreement helps parties incorporate IPD and Lean processes contractually. One of the signature components of IPD contracting is providing a risk/reward compensation approach

The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency joined Sacramento City officials on Thursday February 11 to celebrate the grand opening the Viva Supermarket– the first full-service grocery store to come to the Del Paso Heights community in the Promise Zone in 30 years.

The apartment industry is off and running this year. We are building on the momentum from our tremendous success in 2015. So we wanted to take a moment to look back at last year’s key accomplishments and what they mean for the industry.

Mayor Michael B. Hancock today announced that the City and County of Denver is partnering with the Rose Center for Public Leadership in Land Use to attract new development to West Colfax that will support West Denver residents and businesses and enhance the unique vibrancy in the corridor. The Rose Center is jointly operated by the National League of Cities (NLC) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI).

A wide-range of multifamily focused building codes that will be included in the International Code Council’s (ICC) 2018 edition opened for Online Voting on February 8. NMHC/NAA provided detailed recommendations on codes related to fire safety, emergency exits, building accessibility and much more. Building codes and industry standards have an important role in the apartment sector by establishing minimum requirements for the design, construction, alteration and maintenance of apartment buildings

Hundreds of Consumers Energy employees are helping Michigan families stay warm this winter by taking part in over 30 Walks for Warmth across the state.

The National Institute of Building Sciences Building Seismic Safety Council (BSSC) will host a free webinar Tuesday, March 22, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm EDT, to present updates to site factors in the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program’s (NEHRP) 2015 NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions and ASCE/SEI 7-16, Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures. The presentation will address the changes to site coefficients in Chapter 11: Seismic Design Criteria, Section 11.4.3 and the revisions to Chapter 21: Site Specific Ground Motion Procedures for Seismic Design, Section 21.4 that affected the final version of those coefficients

In accordance with the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, HUD published a Notice in the Feb. 19, 2016, Federal Register identifying Federal buildings and other real property HUD has reviewed for suitability for use to assist the homeless. The properties were reviewed using information provided to HUD by Federal landholding agencies or by GSA regarding their inventories of excess or surplus property. The list includes buildings and properties in Florida, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Washington.

Today, in response to Federal Housing Finance Agency Director (FHFA) Mel Watt’s remarks at the Bipartisan Policy Center regarding the conservatorship of the government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition’s President and CEO John Taylor made the following statement

Housing Development Center is extremely pleased to announce that Joni Hartmann has joined our staff in the dual role of HDC Community Fund Executive Director and HDC Deputy Director. As HDC Community Fund Executive Director, Joni will be responsible for our lending activities, working directly with both funders and borrowers

Two recent studies are highlighting the economics of home sharing services like Airbnb and HomeAway. The first study is from Airbnb and details, in part, how its services benefit cities and communities nationwide. But the second study from PennState entitled, “From Air Mattresses to Unregulated Business: An Analysis of the Other Side of Airbnb,” finds that multiple-unit operators and full-time operators are a growing percentage of total Airbnb hosts.

Michael Gables is not a big coffee drinker, but one of the first things he bought when he moved into his new apartment was a coffeepot from a church rummage sale.

Consumers Energy is reminding Michigan residents that heating bill assistance may be as close as the pen you hold in your hand, and encourages those eligible to complete the Michigan Home Heating Credit and federal Earned Income Tax Credit.

Presidential candidate Secretary Hillary Clinton on February 12 released her “Economic Revitalization Initiative,” which includes a number of housing-related policy proposals she would support should she be elected president. The plan envisions an investment of $25 billion in various initiatives supporting community revitalization, connecting high-poverty neighborhoods to opportunity, removing barriers to homeownership, and increasing the supply of rental housing.

Consumers Energy and its employees continued their strong record of contributing to Michigan’s nonprofit organizations in 2015, giving their time and money to support early childhood education, United Ways, Habitat for Humanity affiliates and other groups that are strengthening communities across the state

Modest home price and interest rate decreases resulted in a slight increase in nationwide housing affordability in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) released today.

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) sent a letter to Janet Yellen, Chair of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Thomas J. Curry, Comptroller of the Currency, and Martin J. Gruenberg, Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, asking that they declare Flint, Michigan a designated disaster area in response to its water crisis and encourage banks to make loans to the city and its residents to help repair or replace tainted pipes

Nationwide housing starts dropped 3.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.099 million units in January, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Commerce Department. Overall permit issuance edged down 0.2 percent

Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes fell three points to 58 in February from an upwardly revised January reading of 61 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI).