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6 Unusual Rules That Have Shaped How Condos Have Been Built (For Better Or Worse) - Property Blog Singapore

15/03/2023

Property developers in Singapore have a solid reputation, but a common criticism is that our projects are all “cookie-cutter”. There’s only one Interlace for every dozen other similar-looking projects. But there are reasons why developers build this way, just as there are reasons for some of the more awkward design choices.

For example, you’ve probably wondered why some rooftop facilities don’t have a proper shelter built when it seems like such an obvious thing to include. Or perhaps why do some developments just have so few car park lots (or even visitors ones for that matter), when it only makes sense to build more for the number of units.

Truth be told, while most things would just come down to cost, there are some others that actually have reasonable explanations for it.

Here are a few of the most common ones:

1. Bigger condos are more “cookie-cutter” thanks to ABSD

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Miami Condos Built on Ancient Artifacts Older Than the Bible Spark Outrage

23/02/2023

Native American activists in Miami are calling for an archaeological dig on a site due to be developed into a series of residential towers to be halted out of respect for the human remains that have been discovered there.

A number of artifacts dating back 7,000 years—around the time that what would later become the Old Testament Bible was being assembled, according to historical estimates—were found on a parcel of land in the city off Brickell Avenue, near the mouth of the Miami River.

However, members of the American Indian Movement of Florida have said they would rather the site be preserved rather than turned into condos.

Will Pestle, a professor of bioarchaeology at the University of Miami, told news outlet WPLG on Monday that the site was “older than the pyramids. It is older than the colosseum in Rome. This is a site that has great antiquity.”

Above, archaeologists
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River House Condos hit by gunfire over weekend

22/02/2023

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — River House Condos, the glass high-rise that is one of the defining features of Grand Rapids’ skyline, was hit by gunfire over the weekend, police have confirmed.

Shots hit the building on Bridge Street NW near Scribner Avenue around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, the Grand Rapids Police Department confirmed Tuesday. Glass was broken but no one was hurt.

Damage to River House Condos in Grand Rapids is seen on Feb. 20, 2023.
Damage to River House Condos in Grand Rapids is seen on Feb. 20, 2023.
Damage to River House Condos in Grand Rapids is seen on Feb. 20, 2023.
Damage to River House Condos in Grand Rapids is seen on Feb. 20, 2023.
Damage to River House Condos in Grand Rapids is seen on Feb. 20, 2023.

Police got reports of two units being hit. On Monday, News 8 saw three windows were boarded up.

River House was also hit with gunfire in September 2021. In that case, five windows on five floors were hit. No one was injured then, either.

GRPD

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Housing needs mean more condos, benefiting renters and investors alike

22/02/2023

Condos also more attractive for buyers on a budget

Condo buildings in Liberty Village neighbourhood in Toronto. Photo by Carlos Osorio/Reuters files

Resales often dominate conversations about housing markets, while transactions of newly built housing, especially condominiums, do not receive the same attention despite transactions of new or pre-built condominiums constituting a sizable chunk of residential transactions.

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After 421-a 's end, multifamily developers shift to condos, using public land

22/02/2023

Brooklyn-based Two Trees Management, which hasn’t built condos since the 1990s, has considered using its development sites to do just that.

When the company, run by Jed Walentas, dropped $185 million to buy the site of the former Domino Sugar factory from the Community Preservation Corp. in 2012, it intended to build more than 2,000 mixed-income rental apartments and office space.

The project, an 11-acre megadevelopment, was to be delivered in phases across several buildings using the 421-a tax abatement program.

Two of its buildings are already subject to using the tax program. Site D, a separate phase that will include 600 apartments across two towers, is already under construction and, because of this, will also qualify for the tax exemption when it’s complete.

But Site B, the 1 million-square-foot development that has yet to be constructed, is racing against the clock. Although its foundation was put in place before

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