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ROBERTSDALE -- For the second time in four weeks, the Baldwin County Planning and Zoning Commission postponed a vote Thursday night on at least one of two major residential developments that could add more than 3,500 homes to the fast-growing county. The projects include a 1,400-unit housing complex in Stapleton and a more than 2,300-unit development south of Magnolia Springs. The commission spent more than two hours discussing and listening to comments on the latter project, a development called SweetBay, before pushing a vote back until November. Samaritan Development of Rome, Ga., wants to build the mixed-use community, which includes 2,324 residential units on 280 acres about five miles south of Magnolia Springs along Baldwin County 49. After the discussions, commission member Jerry Knaebel said he wanted more information and requested delaying the vote on the project.
The notion of providing tax breaks for modular housing on the Gulf Coast as a means to provide fast, affordable housing for victims of Hurricane Katrina has seemed a no-brainer. Gov. Haley Barbour, in calling today's special legislative session to address that one issue, has said that this tax break will reduce the cost of new homes for Coast families by $4,000 to $6,000 per home. "The number one priority and challenge in Mississippi caused by Katrina is housing," Barbour said. "We must act now to remove barriers to building housing on the Gulf Coast, and reducing the tax on modular homes is a necessary step toward that end." But House Speaker Billy McCoy, who did not push his chamber to take up the modular housing tax break in the previous special session, has expressed concern that the tax break won't benefit homeowners but contractors or modular home manufacturers.
Core Construction Florida won a contract to build 108 luxury condominiums at Clermont Yacht Club off Highway 27 on Masthead Boulevard overlooking Lake Minneola in Clermont. Edward A. Storey II, director of business development for the Orlando general contracting company, says construction is set to begin in November on the $26 million project. .
BLACKSBURG, Va. The contractor that oversaw the expansion of Lane Stadium has sued Virginia Tech, blaming the school and architects for delays that have plagued the project, which is still incomplete. Turner Construction Company is suing Virginia Tech for over 30 (m) million dollars in Montgomery County Circuit Court, seeking additional money the company claims it is owed. Tech spokesman Larry Hincker says Tech has paid Turner all but two-point-six (m) million dollars it owes for the expansion. In its lawsuit, Turner claims it had "massive" additional costs because of "massive design problems" it blames on Tech and Moseley Architects of Richmond. Tech has filed a counterclaim in which it seeks to have the lawsuit dismissed. Tech also wants more than three (m) million dollars in damages from Turner related to the delays, and asked that Moseley be named as a third-party defendant in Turner's suit.
Contractor General Greg Christie has launched a formal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the awarding of a contract to the international trading firm Trafigura Baheer.
Plans for the investigation were outlined by the Office of Contractor General in a letter to Industry, Technology and Energy Minister, Phillip Paulwell.The letter, dated Monday, outlines several documents and information which the Contractor General wants the Ministry to provide within two weeks.Among the information demanded by the Contractor General are details on the public body which awarded the contract and all the persons who signed the contract.Mr. Christie also wants to know who negotiated the contract, when was it signed and when it was renewed.He is also questioning if the contract received prior endorsement from the National Contracts Committee and or the Cabinet and if Trafigura has a contract with any other Government entity or public official.The Contractor General has promised to submit his findings to Parliament.
North Madison Elementary School in Mooresville has seen significant growth in students over the last several years so much so, in fact, that the school is now using portable classrooms to accommodate the overflow. The portable classrooms, which sit just outside of the elementary school, were installed several years ago because of projected growth in the area, but had not been used until this year, Mooresville Consolidated School Corporation superintendent Curt Freeman said. We knew that potentially wed be using them some day, he said. The classrooms are like a modular home and are transported on a semi-truck to the school in two halves. They are placed on a laid foundation near the school but are not attached to the building, Freeman said. They look like little houses, sitting out behind the school, he said.
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