government

Lapaz Garden Court under Contract

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Lapaz Garden Court Site Plan

Yesterday was a long day, but a good day.  I went to Indianapolis for the closing on the Lapaz Garden Court.  This project is a 14 unit assisted living facility in Lapaz, IN.  The project is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  This will be the 6th Garden Court facility built by Easterday Construction Co., Inc.  We’re pleased to have the opportunity to work with Garden Court, Inc. once again.

The closings are interesting as there is a flurry of HUD personnel in and out making sure that their different criteria are met.  As always, paperwork is a big part of any government project.  Fortunately the Garden Court team (Hughes & Associates, Real Estate Management and B.A. Martin Architects)  has been through this multiple times in the past.  I think the HUD personnel appreciate what they do and try to make things as painless as possible.  This closing went smoothly and only took a little more than two hours, but in the past we have been phoning, faxing, emailing and otherwise chasing the necessary paperwork.  It seems there is always one more thing required.

Thanks to the work of Garden Court and the HUD, Lapaz will have a new Garden Court facility ready to occupy by this time next year.

Constitution Day

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we_the_people_american_constitutionToday is Constitution Day!  The United States Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787 by thirty-nine brave men.  Constitution Day is not something you hear about too much, but if you’re interested, there is information here and here. 

Did you hear anything about it today?  I guess it’s not too surprising that Constitution Day is not something celebrated.  The Constitution seems to be largely ignored lately, most obviously by representatives of the three branches of the Federal Government.  It’s not an overly large document.  It’s about 19 pages long in this PDF here.  Take a moment to read it.  It’s really quite elegant.  What do you think?  Should we all mail a copy to those representing us in the government?  If they took the time to read it, they might be shocked at the limits of their power.

A Garden Court for Culver (part II)

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Culver Garden Court Article from the June 18, 2009 addition of the Culver Citizen

A special meeting of the Culver Town Council was held on June 9, 2009 to discuss the possibility of a Garden Court in Culver next year.  As discussed earlier here, I had approached several property owners around Town about the potential for a Garden Court project on their land.  I was given the opportunity to discuss it with several of them and one, Mr. Wade McGee, has chosen to pursue it with us.  Mr. McGee and I met with the Town Council on the 9th and discussed various goals including water extensions, sewer extensions, fire protection, annexation, rezoning and future plans for that property as well as the adjacent properties.  Some members of the Plan Commission and the BZA attended that meeting as well and the implications regarding their various needs and requirements were also discussed.

All and all the meeting went well.  In premise, it was agreed that Mr. McGee would continue to work with Garden Court on their proposed facility and would request annexation, while the Town Council agreed to extend water and sewer to the property and to support the rezoning of the property from S-1 Suburban Residential to R-2 Residential.  This change is in keeping with the Comprehensive Plan and with other goals currently being pursued by the Town Council.

Following that meeting was the regular Town Council meeting.  At that meeting, Reverend Liechty, President of Garden Court, Inc., renewed their request for the Town Council to support the new Garden Court for Culver and to renew their financial pledge towards the project.  A letter was requested verifying that a Garden Court would be acceptable on the proposed property.  All these things were agreed to by the Council.

It looks like we’re moving forward!

A Garden Court for Culver

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cgc-article-in-culver-citizen-3-26-09I was asked to write an article for the Culver Citizen explaining a little about Garden Court and the positive reasons for bringing one to Culver as well as the obstacles preventing the project.  It was printed in the paper last week along with a sidebar I wrote giving a little description of the umbrella group that is Garden Court.  I have copied  the article and sidebar below:

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