What Millennials Want in a New Home

Get ready for the next wave of home buyers — it’s going to be a whopper. The Millennials, that demographic group also known as Generation Y or the Echo Boomers, number 80.8 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Accounting for immigration, the Bureau estimates that Millennials could number 92.9 million by 2025.




Millennials are challenging for home builders because they’re hard to define. The youngest are teenagers, the oldest are in their early 30s. Some want an unfettered, hip, urban lifestyle while others are looking for a more traditional home in which to raise a family. In short, there is no one buyer profile for this generation.



Take, for instance, Jerry Gloss’ children. The co-principal of KGA Studio Architects (previously known as Knudson Gloss Architects) in Louisville, Colo., has a 22-year-old and a 28-year-old. “The youngest is going, ‘Man, I’d love to live in a loft near downtown and be able to walk to the art gallery and the local beer joint,’” Gloss says. “The one who’s 28 has had a career for four or five years and is already talking about marriage and kids.”



Younger Millennials are more attracted to rental housing than for-sale housing, partly because of their youth and partly because mortgage financing is so difficult to obtain.



“Also, they’re not in a place where they should buy because most of them don’t know where they’re going to be five to seven years from now,” says John McIlwain, senior resident fellow for the Urban Land Institute in Washington, D.C.



Older Millennials (the married-with-children segment) are the most likely to buy townhomes or detached homes. However, they comprise only a small percentage of Generation Y, says market analyst Todd Zimmerman, co-managing director of Zimmerman/Volk Associates in Clinton, N.J. “The rest of the Millennials have seen their older siblings, parents, and friends burned, so the bloom is really off the rose,” Zimmerman says. “And whether they will return to homeownership in the way that predecessor generations did is anyone’s guess.”



He emphasizes that Millennials don’t want a suburban existence that makes them totally dependent on the automobile, like their Boomer parents. “Neighborhood is first — a walkable neighborhood. They will not compromise about that.” They’re also seeking authenticity, informal layouts, and space that functions well, not just square footage for its own sake. And they’re very much into cooking as entertainment (cooking outdoors is part of that trend).



But in some ways, Millennials and Baby Boomers are alike. “Boomers and Millennials are both at a life stage — empty nesters and just leaving the nest — where they value community for social and cultural interaction,” Zimmerman says. Like the Boomers did, Millennials are choosing to marry and have children late in life, though Millennials are delaying those events even longer. Rest assured, though, when this generation is ready to buy, they will have a tremendous impact on the housing market.



Practicality wins

Compared to earlier generations, older Millennials are more pragmatic about their housing needs, says Vance Graham of Bassenian Lagoni Architects, Newport Beach, Calif. “The death of the living room has pretty much been announced,” says Graham. “Everyone is moving to the great room.” There is still demand for both informal and formal dining spaces, but the formal dining room must have some flexibility. “It could turn into a den, for instance, so its position in the home needs to work in multiple fashions,” he says.



The mudroom has seen a rebirth of sorts, Graham says. “It has different personalities,” says Graham. “It can be a home management space, a storage area for bulk items, or a true mudroom — a transition from outdoor activities into the house.” Second-floor bonus rooms are also making a comeback. “In terms of square footage, it takes the place of the living room. You’ve got the great room downstairs for family gatherings and a play area for the kids upstairs,” he says. In homes that are less than 2,200 square feet, Graham says the bonus room may become an optional bedroom or game room, depending on the buyer.

by Professional Builder, March 2011
Susan Bady, Contributing Editor

Next Generation (Y) of Living!

What's your dream house? A marble manse stuffed with art? A swinging pad where the stereo's always thumping and the hot tub's always bubbling? A clean, well-lighted place … that also has a Viking range and a Sub-Zero fridge?

Your answer says a lot about your values and attitudes -- and may have a lot to do with when you were born. So say the authors of a new study of 1,000 home owners nationwide. The market research company GfK Roper Reports asked Americans to prioritize the amenities they'd have in their dream home -- not necessarily amenities they already have, or will have in their next home. The different responses, from baby boomers through first-time generation-Y buyers, reflect how different features appeal to different ages and also how tastes have shifted over time.

"I think what the study reveals is very different value sets among the generations," says Kathy Sheehan, senior vice president for GfK Roper Reports, which surveys the American consumer for Fortune 500 companies.

Definite patterns emerge from the survey data, Sheehan says, and you can glean some potentially important insights -- especially if you're considering pre-sale renovations. But first, here's a review of the survey results:

Boomer dream homes: the picture of success
Baby boomers, those born 1946 to 1964, rank a state-of-the-art kitchen No. 1 on their list of must-haves, with walk-in closets, whirlpool baths, fireplaces and swimming pools rounding out the top five. They also rank a workshop/hobby studio highly. (You can see a full list of each generation's top 10 below.)

What's your home worth?
Sheehan explains: As they're becoming so-called "empty nesters," boomers think about having a private retreat that's as much gallery as home. They waited until later in life to have a grand home, and now they generally want to flaunt its many niceties -- a home where they can age (extremely) gracefully. "It's about the show," she says, with amenities such as a grand kitchen and places to display art. In a nutshell, the boomer home says, "I've made it."

Generation X: family-focused informality
Those born roughly between 1965 and 1978 also place a high priority on a fine kitchen and on amenities like large walk-in closets. As these sons and daughters of baby boomers age, their aspirations for dream houses are now dovetailing with those of their parents, says Sheehan. The reason? This generation has moved into child-rearing age, says Sheehan, and now "want stuff that speaks to organization." Their buzzword: family.

"Gen X-ers are at childbearing age," Sheehan says. "That means that Gen-X homes are about the family center. They are looking for things that help them organize and eradicate clutter and chaos."

But Gen X-ers are notably different from boomers, too, says Sheehan. For one thing, "Gen X-ers have different attitudes about family and disciplining their children." Those different attitudes show themselves not only in how these former slackers prioritize their dream amenities, but also in how little they like the formality of boomer homes; they want a casual home, says Sheehan.

They're also much more in tune to style and design, and know exactly what they want in a home -- and are less inclined to settle for less, she says.

Generation Y: Let the good times roll
Gen Y-ers, those born after 1978 to about 1995, want a home that hollers "entertain me." Top-10 priorities include a whirlpool bath, sauna/steam room and entertainment center. "All of these things are about fun," says Sheehan.

That might explain why gardens and workshops don't make an appearance on the Gen-Y list.

And they're clearly not yet worried about accommodating children. This generation is emerging socially, and wants amenities that enhance that aspect of its life. So instead of a place to hunker down, Gen-Y homeowners "might be more interested in the home as a social hub," says Sheehan.

Technology is also second-nature to this generation. They're completely wired. So a Gen-Y home, more than any other, will practically hum with electronics.

Some common ground:

So, how immutable are these traits, anyway? Observers say attitudes about homes do change as people enter different stages of their lives: Witness the Gen X-ers who want high-end kitchens now that they're nesting, just like their boomer parents before them.

But the study turned up somewhat unexpected results, too. For Gen X-ers, "It's a little more surprising that their values seem to be staying with them as they age," says Sheehan, mentioning attitudes such as informality. "There might be life-stage changes, but the values will remain consistent." Another is the Gen Y embrace of technology. That shouldn't be expected to dissipate, either, she says.

Perhaps most interesting to home owners renovating with an eye toward selling their home are the features the generations agreed were important. Walk-in closets made an appearance in the top three on all three generation's lists, for example. And those state-of-the art kitchens ranked No. 1 for both boomers and Gen X-ers -- and made a not-so-shabby appearance at No. 6 for the Gen-Y set. Other features cracking the top five for all three generations:

Whirlpool baths
Swimming pools
Fireplaces

 By Christopher Solomon of MSN Real Estate

Tips on Building on Small Lots

With the reduction of lot sizes and associated reduction in road frontage widths, particular attention needs to be given to the location of services and infrastructure to avoid conflicts and unnecessary costs and to simplify construction. This practice note provides some guidance to avoid some common traps in detailing for the provision of services and infrastructure to small lots. Services within lots Avoid locating sewer and roofwater mains along zero lot line boundaries Avoid locating sewer and roofwater mains within corner lots The preferred location for sewer and roofwater mains is within larger lots

Services and infrastructure external to lots Stormwater »» Locate stormwater gully inlets in the middle of lots, preferably larger lots »» Avoid small lots below large drainage catchments

Water meters »» Special attention is required to the location of water meters (and associated conduits) to avoid clashes with driveways for zero lot line lots

Power and communications »» Special attention is required to the location of power supply pillars and communications pits to avoid clashes with driveways for zero lot line lots »» Power supply authority required minimum clearances to power supply pillars should be accommodated

Sewer »» Special attention is required to the location of sewer manholes to avoid clashes with driveways for zero lot line lots (this is assisted by observing the recommendation above to locate sewer mains within larger lots where possible

Pad Mounted Transformers »» Plan for the location of pad mounted transformers well in advance and avoid visually intrusive locations such as parks and open space, other than edges »» Avoid locations along view lines »» If locations within lots cannot be avoided, locate within larger lots

Telstra CMux »» CMux are usually located within road reserve, however, as with power transformers, plan for their location well in advance and avoid visually intrusive locations such as parks and open space, other than edges »» Avoid locations along view lines

Access

Driveway locations at roundabouts and speed control devices »» Driveway locations at roundabouts and speed control devices require particular attention to ensure safe and convenient access to lots »» Speed control devices should be located such that they are clear of driveway locations or small lots. If this cannot be avoided, driveways should be constructed as part of the subdivision civil works in locations design to achieve the outcomes referred to above

Rear lanes »» Where possible, avoid locating utility services within laneways »» Where utility services within laneways cannot be avoided, they will generally be required to be located within an unpaved section of laneway along the edge of the trafficable surface

Common trenching Common trenching, or shared service allocation, involves the provision of a number of services within one trench or service allocation area. The advantages of common trenching include: »» elimination of a number of single trenches, each with its own construction, settlement and reinstatement problems »» accurate location of services for possible repair or maintenance »» reduced verge width »» increased verge width available for tree planting and/or landscaping »» less conflict between services as depth relativities are known »» more efficient use of construction equipment »» reduced verge and footpath disturbance for earlier establishment

Overland Flow

Stormwater overland flow can be particularly problematic for small lots and requires particular attention. »» Avoid small lots across the downhill end of a steep block »» Avoid cutting and retaining on the uphill side of lots sloping steeply (greater than one in eight) to the street, particularly where side slope is present as this generally results in diversion and concentration of overland flow along fencelines to a point of weakness »» Identify any natural depressions in the landform and ensure overland flow to and within these is managed to avoid nuisance to downstream properties

HELP USA Groundbreaking!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Karen Higgins
A&E Communications, Inc.
610-831-5723
khiggins@aandecomm.com


Del-Sano Breaks Ground for HELP Genesis Urban Renewal Project in Newark, N.J.

Environmentally-friendly, High Performance, Affordable Housing Complex
Offers 56 Spacious Units to Residents of the South Ward

Union, N.J. – February 22, 2011 – Del-Sano Contracting Corporation, a general contracting, design/build and construction management services firm, celebrated the groundbreaking of the HELP USA Genesis II Urban Renewal Project, also known as the Newark Clinton Avenue Homes, on Friday, February 18. Once completed, the out of the ground building construction will pursue LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification and will provide affordable housing at the 634 Clinton Avenue, Newark, N.J address. In the groundbreaking ceremony held at the site, numerous dignitaries, including Newark Mayor Cory A. Booker, participated in the official commencement of the project.

“HELP USA is fulfilling a commitment to provide essential housing and living opportunities for low income and veteran families in the South Ward of Newark. Residents who qualify to live at the new complex will have a safe living environment that is energy efficient and a wholesome community within the neighborhood where they are most familiar,” said Angelo Del Russo, CEO of Del-Sano. “We are extremely proud to be the general contractor for this project and to be a team member with HELP USA and Kramer Marks Architects in fulfilling a mission that will ensure quality housing and services to such a worthy inner city. This is a great opportunity for us all to positively enable local residents and provide the ability to remain independent as their lives evolve.”

“Help USA is proud to be leading another private public partnership in Newark’s South Ward,” said Laurence Belinsky, president and CEO of HELP USA. “The project will not only be a LEED- Certified Gold or Platinum ‘green building,’ but will also include special units and support services for our nation’s veterans who have fallen on hard times. We welcome aboard Del-Sano to our 25-year tradition of building better lives for homeless and impoverished Americans.”
-more-
HELP USA, an organization providing housing and the supportive services for the homeless and people in need, created the Genesis model in 1992 in which it provides a permanent service-enriched housing model for formerly homeless, low income and special needs households.

The Genesis II Urban Renewal project will be a mid-rise, multi-family, four-story, 56-unit residential building. The residents will qualify as low income individuals and families as well as disabled veterans. The LEED guided design will be universal and include one, two and three bedroom rental units; a community room; offices; a lounge; an exercise room; a children’s playroom; a computer room; and a laundry room for the residents. It also includes numerous high performance building and sustainable features, indoor air quality design, low emissions products and building materials, a vegetative green roof with a hardscaped terrace, and indoor parking garage.

The architect on the project is Kramer Marks Architects of Ambler, Pa. and the structural and site engineers are Betzwood Associates PC of Phoenixville, Pa. and Maser Consulting P.A. of Red Bank, N.J., respectively.

“HELP USA is a long-standing client of our firm and needed a contractor that had experience working in Newark, on affordable housing projects and with the New Jersey HFMA,” explained George Marks, owner of Kramer Marks Architects. “Del-Sano met those criteria and was able to work with us under a tight timeframe. We look forward to working with Del-Sano and anticipate the same level of professionalism that Del-Sano provided during the job costing and budget phase to continue during the construction phase of the project.”

About Del-Sano
Del-Sano Contracting Corporation is a leading provider of high quality general contracting construction; construction management and design build services. With a strong attention to detail, Del-Sano has been effectively providing its services to a wide array of clients since 1975. The company has been ranked by New York Construction magazine among the top general contractors in New Jersey. Headquartered in Union, N.J., the Del-Sano management team has built and managed projects for organizations in the healthcare, housing (i.e. affordable, special needs and aging communities), and institutional, recreational, educational, corporate, and retail industries. Del-Sano is a member of the United States Green Building Council and is committed to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for high performance buildings and sustainable construction. For more information on Del-Sano, visit www.delsano.com.

VERY Tall Building!

Frame's Monitoring Program Confirms Design Assumption
by Nadine M. Post for ENR.com

An extensive program to survey and monitor the structural behavior and dynamic responses of the world’s tallest structure—the 828-meter Burj Khalifa in Dubai—has done more than validate the structural engineer’s design concepts. It could help improve future supertowers, says the keeper of the program. The monitoring system, which includes myriad sensors, will become a model for assessing critical and essential facilities, predicts Ahmad Abdelrazaq, an executive vice president of Samsung C&T Corp., Seoul, the burj’s lead builder.


The program “has given us information that will improve design for tall buildings and hopefully improve future structural systems [that use] new and more advanced materials,” says Abdelrazaq, a former structural engineer in the Chicago office of the burj’s design architect-engineer, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. It will also give the owner information on the structural behavior under environmental conditions. That will allow better decisions about building operations, he adds.
Based on the behavior under lateral loads of the burj, a mostly concrete structure with a steel pinnacle, Abdelrazaq predicts that in generations to come, designers will be able to provide better-performing tall buildings that use less framing material.

The engineer also expects survey and monitoring programs to, over time, become an integral part of building design and “intelligent” building management systems, thanks to advances in computer technologies, fiber optic sensors, nanotechnology, dynamic monitoring devices, new global positioning system technologies and wireless monitoring techniques.
Dennis C.K. Poon, a managing principal of Thornton Tomasetti, New York City, which designed the world’s second-tallest building, the 508-m Taipei 101, agrees that the information from the burj’s program is beneficial to serve as a good reference for design criteria or assumptions for supertower design.
But, he says owners are often reluctant to install monitoring systems because of initial and operating costs. They are also often reluctant to share data, says Poon.
Measurements to date show the burj performing better than predicted for all building systems, at least during low-amplitude wind and seismic events, says Abdelrazaq. “We will continue monitoring all building components and examine all the assumptions made for analysis, design and construction for years to come.” He says performance data will be available to the design community.
During construction, the program gave immediate feedback regarding material strength, durability, elastic modulus, creep and shrinkage characteristics, total strain as a function of time, heat of hydration, cooling of the massive members and more. Post-construction data and details are also available on creep, shrinkage and foundation stiffness and dissipation of loads into the foundation system. This is important because the data could impact actual dynamic building stiffness and overall properties that must be considered in supertall buildings, says Abdelrazaq.
The program also gives feedback on tower acceleration since the completion of the building, which is currently being correlated to the predicted acceleration. This will allow an examination of basic assumptions made in wind tunnel tests and confirm whether present practice needs reexamination, says Abdelrazaq.
Assumptions during design about vortex shedding and damping under different wind and seismic events have been validated by the monitoring project. Feedback on the performance of the building’s steel pinnacle is also important to future design assumptions, especially regarding fatigue, says the engineer.
Calling the program “impressive,” John D. Hooper, a principal of structural firm Magnusson Klemencic Associates, Seattle, says it is not clear how the results will be directly applicable to other supertall buildings, given the burj’s unique configuration, height, structure and construction sequence. “The program’s apparent success does suggest that these efforts are valuable and should be considered for tall and unique structures,” he adds.

"See the Forest for the Trees" Wood use for institutional and commercial buildings

See here for article!

By Tomo Tsuda, PE
November 2010, The Construction Specifier

Green Affordable Housing is Going Mainstream

Just the Basics Once the Exception, Green Affordable Housing is Going Mainstream


Future development phases, expected to begin in a year or two, will build 1,000 units of mixed-income housing with 80 percent affordable.

Focusing on the Basics

As developers gain experience building green, many are adopting standard packages of green features. “It’s mainly nuts and bolts things like high efficiency boilers, good construction to make buildings air tight, balanced ventilation systems, proper lighting levels and lighting controls and low-flow plumbing fixtures,” explains Ryan Merkin, senior project manager, Steven Winter Associates, New York.

“The basics are what really make the most significant differences in building performance,” Stein says. “It’s the little things that add up to significant energy savings for a building,”

Courtlandt Corners I and II, a 423,000-sq.-ft. development with 323 apartments in four buildings on East 161st Street in the Bronx, takes this basic approach to sustainability. The project, designed by Dattner, features high performance building envelops, energy efficient HVAC systems, Energy Star appliances and lighting, apartments sealed for ventilation tightness and low flow plumbing fixtures. Completion is scheduled for the end of 2010.

Courtlandt’s developer, the Phipps Houses Group, New York, also enlisted Dattner to design a companion project called Courtlandt Crescent with similar sustainable features. The project will consist of two buildings housing 217 apartments and 10,000-sq.-ft. of community space. Construction is expected to start in July 2011.

Over the past 10 years developer Les Bluestone, cofounder of Huntington, N.Y.-based Blue Sea Development, has refined a set of methods and features now incorporated into all his affordable projects. He focuses on the core and shell, making sure the building is well insulated and sealed, and indoor air quality.

Instead of a central ventilation system Bluestone air seals and ventilates each apartment separately with a continuously running fan that “uses less energy than a light bulb. “Trickle vents at the windows guarantee a steady supply of fresh air. Low-VOC materials help ensure good indoor air quality.

This spring Bluestone completed the $15.3 million General Colin L. Powell Apartments in the South Bronx. The 7-story, 60,000-sq-ft building with 50 affordable coops uses 43 percent less energy than a comparable building and attained LEED Platinum and NYSERDA MPP certifications.

Bluestone, who is not afraid of trying new ideas, installed two, five kw micro co-generation units in the building that produce 100% of the project’s domestic hot water plus electricity for the common areas. Going forward, micro co-gen units will be installed in all his projects based on the system’s payback and efficiency.

Four blocks north Blue Sea partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build Prospect Macy, an affordable coop. The building includes a co-generation unit, a green roof, fitness room and landscaped play yard. Completion is slated for the end of 2010.

Construction will start in 2011 on an 8-story, 120-unit affordable rental project in Morrisania in the Bronx. This Blue Sea project features a 10,000-sq-ft rooftop greenhouse that will house an urban farm growing produce hydroponically for local distribution. The project will employ panelized wall systems and prefabricated bathroom modules to speed construction.

Green Innovations

Other innovative developers include the Richmond Group, which is using modular construction to build Park Terrace, a 4-story, 49-unit rental building for seniors in Yonkers, N.Y. The project, slated for completion in spring 2001, is seeking LEED Silver certification.

The modular housing units, constructed by Capsys Corporation at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, feature low emitting materials and finishes, Energy Star appliances and low-flow plumbing fixtures. The indoor assembly process reduces construction waste and creates very air-tight modules, Cirillo explains. The modules will be trucked to the site this fall and placed on completed foundations.

The Bluestone Organization, Fresh Meadows, N.Y., employed insulated concrete forms (ICF) to construct the wall system of The Andrew, a 50-unit affordable apartment building in Rego Park, Queens. ICF walls are formed by pouring concrete between two, 2.5-in polystyrene panels tied together with plastic or steel ties. The super insulated walls are very airtight with little thermal breaks, Merkin explains.

The developer is also using the wall system to construct the Calverts, six multi-family buildings in Harlem. The buildings, ranging in height from 4- to 8-stories, are seeking Energy Star and LEED certification. The projects are slated for completion between February and July 2011.

In March construction started on Via Verde, a $99 million complex in the South Bronx. The project developed by Phipps Houses and Jonathan Rose Companies, in partnership with Dattner Architects and Grimshaw Architects, is designed to achieve LEED Gold designation. Lettire is the project’s general contractor.

The 288,000-sq.-ft. development will create 222 units in three buildings; a 20-story tower at the north end, a 6-13-story mid-rise building in the middle and townhouses to the south, organized around a central courtyard. The buildings step down along the length of the site creating a series of green roofs. Solar panels will cover the vertical walls of the steps. The highly insulated buildings are clad in a rain screen, which provides for a more water tight envelope for the building, Stein says.

November 1, 2010
By Diane Greer, New York Construction