Check out this story ALLACCESS.COM quoted from the Wall Street Journal. Banks rarely let a homeowner get away with something like this; granted a 4.8 Billion dollar loan is a little different.
EMI - London (photo by Omernos at the Wikipedia Project)
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL reportsTODAY (1/28) that, “CITIGROUP INC., which is expected to seize control of EMI GROUP LTD. from beleaguered financierGUY HANDS in coming months, has already made contact with parties that could quickly snap up the historic music company — and Mr. HANDS himself is even among them.”
Two months from now, EMI is expected to default on its roughly $4.79 billion loan from CITIGROUP, which would leave the bank owning the storied record label. The actual exchange of power at EMI is expected to take place three months after a default, but sources told the JOURNAL that CITIGROUP is exploring ways to take control of the business sooner.
Who is on the short list of potential buyers?
THE JOURNAL has a shocker, writing “The most eye-popping name on the list of potential buyers is Mr. HANDS…
Excerpt from Dr. Steve Sjuggerud’s “Daily Wealth” web site. Full article Here.
rightwaycharts.com
By Dr. Steve Sjuggerud
Friday, January 28, 2011
“‘Affordability’ takes three factors into account: home prices, your income, and mortgage rates. Home prices have crashed. And mortgage rates are at record lows. But incomes (nationwide) haven’t fallen nearly as much… So homes are now more affordable than ever. “Most people” out there will only tell you the bad news about housing… That’s the way it goes in a bear market. People drive looking in the rearview mirror.
Meanwhile, we have some darn compelling facts out there…
Home prices have fallen by a third… and mortgage rates are the lowest in history. Therefore, U.S. homes are more affordable than they’ve ever been…Based on these facts alone, now may be one of the best times in American history – even the very best time – to buy a house.”
From the Heritage Hill Association:
Vandenberg School
What’s warming Heritage Hill these days is the great news that the Vandenberg School is on track to be a new school. The Child Discovery Center has purchased the building and will open its doors to K-5th graders in the fall of 2011. We have long promoted this site as a school but had almost lost hope when UPrep left. This purchase adds a walkable school alternative for neighbors with children and also brings a playground and green space for the community.
More Schools:
Our other very walkable education opportunities are housed at the Central High Campus. Centered here are the Montessori PreK-12 and the Central High’s Small School of Health, Science and Technology. Information on both of these programs is at www.grpublicschools.org. Also at the Central Campus is the University Preparatory Academy, an alternative middle school (6-9th ). Uprep will be adding a grade each year so that it will a middle and high school within 3 years.
There are many other choices at Grand Rapids Public Schools including the Martin Luther King Academy that is close to Heritage Hill. The complete list can be found at the website cited above. Also research the Grand Rapids Christian, Catholic, and other charter schools.
Updated 1/5/11 by the Grand Rapids Historic Preservation Commission.
full GR Historic page here.
View in a larger map
HISTORIC PRESERVATION TAX CREDITS
Rehabilitation and Energy Efficiency Incentives
The federal and state governments want to encourage the preservation of historic buildings by offering assistance through various programs and educational tools. Two very popular and effective tools are the federal and state historic preservation income tax programs.
The Michigan historic preservation tax credit is a state income tax or small business credit of 25% of qualified rehabilitation expenditures and is available to qualifying income and non-income producing properties.
The Federal historic preservation tax credit is a 20% federal income tax credit for substantial rehabilitation expenditures for qualifying income producing properties.
• Expenditures are minimal for the State Program.
• All contributing properties in any of the 6 Locally Designated Historic Districts and the 76 Local Landmarks of Grand Rapids qualify for the tax credits.
• Home owner occupied structures are eligible for the State Program.
• Interior as well as exterior projects can qualify.
Rehabilitation repairs are the most common tax credit projects and often address energy efficiency needs. Qualifying projects can include but aren’t limited to:
Window repairs; and if necessary replacement
Painting; both interior and exterior
Door repair; and if necessary replacement
Repairing any exterior and interior features
Siding repair
Furnace upgrades
Mechanical upgrades
Electric upgrades
Bathroom and Kitchen upgrades
Roof replacement
This is only the tip of the iceberg; qualifying projects are as varied as the styles and types of the City’s historic structures. The tax credit programs not only return money to you for projects you were already planning on doing it can also make projects that were previously out of reach, possible.
The federal government also offers educational products such as the Preservation Briefs; a series of booklets designed to teach property owners the ins and outs of historic structures. For example, Preservation Brief 3 specifically addresses energy conservation and historic buildings. These briefs can be obtained free through the Grand Rapids Planning Department or via the web link here:
For more information please contact Rhonda Baker – Grand Rapids Planning Department – 616-456-3451 or rbaker@grcity.us. All tax credit programs are administered through the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office; see the web site below for details and application forms.
Photo by George Wietor, used with permission.
The vandalism that took place on Christmas morning to some new businesses in the Wealthy corridor has made for some interesting discussions.
These discussions will continue at Wealthy Theatre Wednesday January 12 as part of Rapid Growth’s ongoing “Not Your Average Speaker Series.”
Two great chats:
The Rapidian article
Excerpts:
“Myth #4: Gentrification is a real thing, Uptown is being invaded”
“Although the business owners’ feelings about vandalism to their property is understandable, it should be noted that the story is evolving to frame the event as a kind of high school prank instead of considering it as a possible response to the gentrification of the neighborhoods in question.”
See also:
GRTV – Mayor Heartwell
This is an archived “video short” of a call-in question about gentrification from Mayor Heartwell’s monthly GRTV broadcast.
(note: search for “Grand Rapids 311” in Android marketplace)
City of Grand Rapids Deploys MyGRCity311 Mobile Application for Customer Service
City of Grand Rapids Information Technology Director Paul Klimas demonstrated the City’s new mobile application for iPhone and Android Smartphones at a meeting of the Grand Rapids City Commission Tuesday.
The new GRCity311 makes it possible for anyone with an iPhone or Android Smartphone to report pot holes, graffiti, street light problems, and a wide range of other issues from anywhere in the City’s service area. Reports are submitted directly into the City’s Citizen Request Management systems and integrate with the operations work management solutions, giving city workers the information they need to fix the problem quickly. Citizens receive a ticket number allowing them to track progress and receive notice when the reported matter is resolved.
Grand Rapids has had great success with web-based solutions. City residents take great pride in area neighborhoods and businesses. GRCity311 empowers the Grand Rapids community to become the eyes and ears of the city.
The application can be downloaded from the Android Market Place and the iPhone App Store.
The City will be applying for a DNR Trust Fund grant in March, 2011. That grant requires a 25% local match. Before we turn to our local foundations for help with the match, we want to show the great local support from the people who will be using this green space. We need you to be part of the park by investing in your park.
The BetterBuildings for Michigan program has launched and it’s coming to Eastown! This three year, $30M American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) supported program uses a community approach to deliver energy efficiency improvements for homes and businesses by providing access to incentives and affordable loans.
>>note updated Meeting Dates and times: It’s now January 13 and 20 at 6 p.m., January 15 and 22 at 10 a.m.
The program was developed by a multi-stakeholder group including the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth (DELEG); Michigan Saves; the City of Grand Rapids; the Economic Development Corporation of the city of Detroit; and the Southeast Michigan Regional Energy Office. BetterBuildings for Michigan will leverage each dollar of the federal funds available within the program with a minimum of five dollars from other investments, thereby leveraging over $150M in private and public funding.
Here’s the link to the Detroit article.
The objective of the BetterBuildings for Michigan program is to create
- a sustainable energy efficiency market by providing outreach and education to increase demand,
- a skilled energy efficiency workforce to meet that demand, and
- the tools for lenders to make ongoing investments in energy efficiency in residential, commercial, industrial, and public buildings.
The City of Grand Rapids, the West Michigan Environmental Action Council (WMEAC) and Eastown Community Association (ECA) will be performing outreach in a portion of Eastown. Those within the outreach target area have access to $1050 in basic energy efficiency upgrades as well as a comprehensive home energy assessment. Based on the assessment, a resident may decide to upgrade to other energy efficiency measures that may be supported by attractive financing up to $12,500. More information can be obtained by contacting the West Michigan Environment Action Council at 451-3051.
Additional information on Eastown Sweep
The targeted neighborhood in Eastown is outlined between Fulton, Fuller, Lake, and Wilcox Park/Aquinas College and includes an estimated 429 homes. This neighborhood will be receiving advance notice of the program and events starting the week of January 3rd this may come in the form of a direct mailing, door2door invitation, or door hangers.
The official program kick off in Eastown starts on Wednesday, January 12th, 2011
Residents will not be able to officially sign up for the program until January 12th.
Information Meetings will be held at St. Thomas Church in the basement community room.
Program sign up meetings:
January 13 and 20 at 6 p.m., January 15 and 22 at 10 a.m.
Door-2-Door Canvassing Events: WMEAC will be canvassing the neighborhood the week of January 17-22 for program information and sign up. Deadline for resident sign up is
February 12th, 2011
Also, starting on January 12th, the WMEAC office at 1007 Lake Drive SE & the ECA Office will become home bases for the neighbors to visit, get more information, and sign up during normal business hours of both offices.
The program website should be available by the official program kick-off on January 12th.
That site will be www.betterbuildingsgr.org
Questions from residents about the program can be directed to WMEAC.
Ann Erhardt
Outreach Project Manager
WMEAC
616-451-3051 x24
From the Facebook page: “The parking lot at the corner of Madison and Pleasant is on its way to being converted to a park. The land has been acquired by the City of Grand Rapids in a three-way land swap deal with Kenty County and DeVries Development. The Feb. 20 design charette produced a beautiful plan for the site. Now it will be added to the City’s master plan for parks. But that’s not the end; it’s just the beginning. Now we need to make sure this beautiful idea becomes a reality.”
More at Friends of Grand Rapids Parks.