Home Builders Association of Chester and Delaware Counties

HBA Newswatch

April 22, 2008

PLANS FOR THE FLATS DRAW APPLAUSE
COATESVILLE RESIDENTS GLAD FOR ALTERNATIVES TO POWER PLANT ON SITE
By R. JONATHAN TULEYA, Staff Writer
COATESVILLE — Many in the audience Monday night applauded a unanimous decision by the Coatesville Redevelopment Authority to continue negotiations with the two latest developers interested in purchasing the Flats.
The enthusiasm was as much about the developer’s proposals as it was about the apparently diminishing likelihood that the 26-acre property west of Route 82 and north of West Lincoln Highway would become the site of a power plant.
Two officials from JED Development of Philadelphia delivered the first presentation to the RDA, outlining their interest in using only the portion of the Flats south of the stone railroad arches for a commercial development.
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SETTING A TREND
By GRETCHEN METZ, Staff Writer
WEST VINCENT — Green could be the newest color of residential construction.
Chadd Martin, vice president of TMG Homes Inc., thinks so, as does his boss, Torrey Marks, the president of the East Nantmeal home-building company.
TMG is completing its first LEED-certified home, at 1560 Knob Hill Road in Chester Springs. The company believes it is the first LEED new construction home in Chester County.
LEED — Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — certification for the building underscores the structure’s environmentally friendly features such as using less water, electricity and other resources.
“Certifications are done by a third-party provider or inspector,” Martin said, noting that an independent inspector gives the product legitimacy.
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REGION'S HOME SALES CONTINUE TO DECLINE
By Alan J. Heavens
INQUIRER REAL ESTATE WRITER
Sales of existing homes continued to erode in March, dropping 19.3 percent nationally from a year ago, the National Association of Realtors reported today.
Median prices fell 7.7 percent from March 2007.
In the eight-county Philadelphia region, year-over-year sales fell 32.8 percent last month from March 2007, according to Prudential Fox & Roach HomExpert, which is based on data from Trend Multiple Listing Service. The drop was less than in February, when HomExpert reported a year-over-year decline of 40.2 percent.
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