Portland observer., February 11, 1998, Page 7, Image 7

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FEB. 11, 1998
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New-Home Construction Shows
Slight Improvement in 1997
N ew-homeconstmction in C alifor­
nia saw som e im provem ent in 1997
but continued to be far outpaced by
dem and as C alifornia bui Iders ended
the y ear having produced about
111,000 new hom es throughout the
state.
A ccording to figures released this
week by the C onstruction Industry
Research Board. C alifornia’s hous­
ing production for 1997 w as 111,360
new units. T hat 1997 total — w hich
is based on the num ber o f residential
perm its issued statewide — is an 18
percent increase over the 94,283 units
produced in 1996. H ow ever, the new
in v en to ry falls far sh o rt o f the
2(X),(XX)-plus new hom es the state
D epartm ent o f H ousing and C o m ­
munity D evelopm ent estim ates is
needed annually to keep pace with
population grow th and new house­
hold form ation.
The 1997 total also m arks the
eighth year o f recessionary produc­
tion levels for C a lifo rn ia 's hom e
building industry. N ew hom e con­
struction was in the 250,000-unit
range in the late 1980s but plum -
m eted to 164,(XM) units in 1990 and
has been near or below the 100,000-
unit m ark for the past seven years.
Robert R ivinius, C h ief E xecutive
O fficer o f the C alifornia B uilding
In d u s try A s s o c ia tio n , sa id th e
in d u stry 's m odest im provem ent in
1997 to the 111,000-unit m ark stands
in contrast to the strong econom ic
resurgence beingexperienced inother
sectors o f the C alifornia econom y
over the past year.
R iv in iu s said th e in d u s try ’s r e ­
c o v e ry h as been h a m p e re d by a
v a rie ty o f o b sta c le s in c lu d in g e x ­
c e ssiv e im p act fee s, th e c o n s tru c ­
tio n d is p u te litig a tio n e p id e m ic
an d th e in s u ra n c e c r is is it h a s
c r e a te d , r e s tr ic tiv e g ro w th p o li­
c ie s a n d c u m b e rs o m e e n v ir o n ­
m e n ta l p e rm ittin g p ro c e s s e s .
U.S. Home Announces
Assisted Living Venture
U.S. Home Corporation (NY SE-
UH) today announced the formation
of a joint venture with The G oodm an
Group for the development, ow ner­
ship and management of an assisted
living com munity in Spring Hill, Fla.
The community, to be known as “The
Residence at Tim ber Pines,” will be
a state-of-the-art facility designed to
offer new options in quality care and
superior value. The "Residence” will
be situated on a campus adjacent to
U.S. H om e’s Tim ber Pines active-
adult com munity, an award-winning
3,500-home age-restricted com m u­
nity in Spring Hill, Fla. In addition
to owning and m anaging the new
assisted living community, the ven­
ture will serve to provide home, health
and convenience services to the resi­
dents o f Tim ber Pines and the com-
munity-at-large.
U.S. H om e’s Chairm an and Co-
C h ie f E x ec u tiv e O fficer, R obert
Strudler com m ented about the venture
and the C om pany’s strategic com m it­
ment to the senior’s housing market.
“U.S Home has been a leading devel­
oper o f golf and I i festy le-oriented com ­
m unities for the active adult for nearly
three decades. Several years ago, rec­
ognizing the changing dem ographic
structure o f the country, we adopted a
b asic strateg y o f ex p a n d in g the
C om pany’s com m itm ent within the
active-adult and retiree segm ent of the
market. “Since that time, we have
expanded the num ber o f our tradi­
tional age-qualified active adult com ­
munities, and introduced two new
products: a smaller-scale com munity
centered around a large clubhouse fa­
cility, suitable for non-traditional re­
tir e m e n t lo c a le s ; an d
la rg e
intergenerational country club d e­
velopments with golf courses and
other amenities which appeal to fami­
lies as well as retirees.”
Strudler continued, “O ur venture
with The Goodman Group provides
us with a means to logically extend
our retirement business in a new
direction. Large U.S. Home co m ­
munities such as Tim ber Pines pro­
vide a strong custom er base for an
assisted living com m unity, as well
as a market for other home, health
and convenience services. U.S.
H om e’s expertise in developing and
m anaging active-adult com m uni­
ties, com bined with The Goodman
G roup’s dem onstrated excellence in
delivering senior services and devel­
oping and managing quality assisted
living com munities offer a unique
opportunity for both organizations."
Wanted: Earth Day '98
project leaders
W hat are you doing for Earth Day
’98? it's not too soon to begin p lan ­
ning for projects to celebrate Earth
Day on April 22.
Earth Day relies on project le ad ­
ers to organize hundreds o f hands-
on projects that will conserve, p ro ­
tect. restore, and enhance the en v i­
ronment throughout the greater P ort­
land-V ancouver area.
It is easy to “do som ething" for
Earth Day ’98. Plan a project in your
own neighborhood, w ith fam ily and
friends, at school, or w ith your c o ­
workers. Any idea can becom e a
project: planting trees and co m m u ­
nity gardens, learning about altern a­
tives to hazardous household prod­
ucts or taking a nature hike in a
nearby park and greenspace.
The popular Earth day, Every Day
H ands On G uide will again be a
central feature o f Earth Day ’98. all
projects will be listed in the H ands-
O n G uide that is widely distributed
around the region in early April.
It will inform potential volun­
teers about the projects that need
helping hands.
The deadline for registering all
Earth Day ’98 projects in the H ands
On G uide is M arch l, so hurry to
jo in in the local celebration.
Find out how you can do so m e­
thing today for the environm ent. T o
request a P roject Brochure o f find
out m ore, call E arth Day H otline at
503-788-4992 or visit the Earth Day
w ebsite at w w w .efo.org/earthday
E arth Day ’98 is the largest co o r­
d inated regional event in the P ort­
land m etropolitan area that provides
people w ith hundreds o f local o p ­
portunities to protect and enhance
the environm ent.
400 Units of Affordable
Housing in Five Years
$595,(XX) in grams and lo w -in te r­
est loans for affordable housing e f­
forts in Dallas. The announcement
was made at the Dallas Housing Sum ­
mit here today.
l he Foundation is supporting the
Center lot Housing Resources w ith a
th re e -y e a r $ 7 5 ,0 0 0 g ra n t and
$250.000 low-interest loan, and Dal
las A ffo rd a b le H ousing C o a litio n
(D A H C ) w ith a $20,(XX) grant and
$25O.IXXI low-interest loan l he com ­
bination o f grants and low interest
loans w ill assist these tw o organiza­
tions in producing more than 400
units ol affordable housing over the
next five years.
“ O ur investment w ill support very
important and innovative e ffo rts by
Dallas C ity Homes and the Center
for Housing Resources," said Ann
W heelock. Executive Vtee President
and C h ie f Operating O ffic e r o f the
Fannie Mae Foundation. “ Both o r­
ganizations are creating smart solu­
tions by w o rkin g w ith the public and
private sectors to help build a ffo rd ­
able housing fo r lo w and moderate-
income residents o f D allas.”
l he new grants and loans increase
the Fannie Mae F oundation's total
com m itm ent in Dallas to nearly $2
m illio n and more than $4.5 m illio n
statewide to n o n p ro fit organizations
dedicated to increasing affordable
housing, and im p ro vin g the q uality
o f hie m the state o f Texas.
“ The n o n p ro fit groups that the
Fannie Mae Foundation has sup­
ported recognize the importance o f
u tiliz in g co m m u n ity resources to
e xpand a ffo rd a b le h o u sing and
hom eow nership o p p ortunities for
fam ilies and individuals, ” said Albert
M artin, M anager o f the F oundation’s
D allas office.
T he Fannie M ae Foundation, a
private nonprofit foundation, su p ­
ports national and local nonprofit
o rganizations w orking to provide
decent and affordable housing, and
otherw ise im prove the quality o f life,
in com m unities throughout the United
States. T o prom ote hom eow nership
the Foundation sponsors public ser­
vice outreach efforts, including con­
sum er education and hom e-buying
fairs. A dditionally, the Foundation
conducts research and policy analy­
sis on housing and urban issues. The
F o u n d atio n 's sole source of support
is Fannie M ae. The Foundation is
headquartered in W ashington, DC
and has regional offices in A tlanta,
Chicago, Dallas, Pasadena, and Phila­
delphia.
A 20 Unit Affordable Housing Development
A t 1 0 :0 0 a m , F e b r u a r y 14,
1 998, a t th e V a n c o u v e r F ir s t
B a p tis t C h u rc h , lo c a te d on 3 1 3 8
N V a n c o u v e r, le a d e rs a n n o u n c e
d e v e lo p m e n t o f th e V a n - B a i
h o u sin g f a c ility .
A te a m c o n s is tin g of m e m b e rs
of M y ro n R o b in so n , O re g o n H o s­
p i t a l i t y , I n c ., D ee U n t h a n k ,
U n th an k W a te rb u ry , Ja m e s B ean,
atto rn ey at law , G re tc h e n D u rsch ,
E D o f H o u sin g o u r F a m ilie s , an d
W illia m W h ite , E D o f H o u sin g
D e v e lo p m e n t C e n te r a n n o u n c e d
th ey w ill c o n s tru c t a 2 0 u n it a f ­
fo rd a b le h o u s in g d e v e lo p m e n t
lo c a te d on th e c o rn e r o f N . M o n ­
ro e an d W illia m s A v e, in P o r t­
la n d , O R
“ I am e x c ite d a b o u t th e in n o ­
v a tiv e p ro je c t th is g ro u p is w o rk ­
ing on I am d e e p ly c o m m itte d ,
as th ey a re , to p r o je c ts th a t e n ­
su re a f fo rd a b le h o u isn g fo r all
O re g o n ia n s ,” an d R e p re s e n ta tiv e
M a rg a re t C a rte r.
“ W e b e lie v e in b e in g o f a s s is ­
ta n c e to th e c o m m u n ity at la rg e
re g a rd le s s o f rac e an d o r fin a n -
Advertise In
Fortiani» (©bseruer
(foil (5(13) 288-0033
c ia l s ta n d in g . T h e L o rd g a v e m e
a v is io n to d e v e lo p th is p ro p e rty
in a m a n n e r th a t w o u ld e n s u re
th e e n tire c o m m u n ity b e n e fits . I
th a n k G o d fo r a ll w h o a re in ­
v o lv e d in th is p r o je c t,” s a id P a s ­
to r A . B a ile y .
T a rg e te d p o p u la tio n s in c lu d e
fa m ilie s w ith up to 5 0 % o f th e ir
m e d ia n in c o m e fo r th e S ta te o f
O re g o n . E s tim a te d C o n s tru c tio n
on P G E
c o s t is $ 2 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 .
C o n s tru c tio n is a n tic ip a te d to
b e g in S e p te m b e r 1998
A t PGE, w e ’ve always gone to
great heights to bring you the
electricity that powers your home.
Now you're going to be seeing us
in a new light.
We've changed our logo to reflect
our vision of the future— bright,
m odern and innovative. But we
haven't changed our perspective
GREAT HOUSE, GREAT PRICE &
GREAT LOCATION
on you — our customers. W e're
Three bedroom, two baths, vaulted ceilings in
living/dining and master bedroom. Large
vaulted entry with hardwood & alcoves. Bayed
window in living room. On culde-sac, brick
accent, real wood trim, fenced & wood deck &
large private side yard. Built 1990. $159.900.
#HDC12836.
hood. And w e continue to be
still dedicated to delivering safe,
reliable power to your neighbor­
actively involved in the communities
where we live and work.
Our new logo reflects that commit­
ment and expresses the confidence
we have in our future. Because we
know that the best way to reach
the future is to focus on the people
Call Debbie (503) 703-5510 or 1-888-288-5432.
we serve.
Portland General Electric
C onnecting P eople , P ower ano P ossibilities
I