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News
Pearl Brewery site is set to be home to Texas' largest solar energy project CPS Energy and Silver Ventures, the development firm behind the revitalization of the brewery complex, will install solar panels over the entrance canopy of the Full Goods Building at the complex. It will be the largest solar energy project in Texas, according to CPS Energy officials. Silver Ventures is renovating the former warehouse for adaptive office, retail and residential use. Some of the tenants will include the Nature Conservancy, AIA-San Antonio and the Architecture Foundation. By equipping the flat roof with 200-kilowatt solar panels, CPS Energy and Silver Ventures expect the project to generate one-quarter of the total energy needs of the 67,000-square-foot Full Goods Building. CPS Energy officials are hopeful that the solar project will serve as a learning laboratory for energy efficiency and one that could be replicated throughout the city. Utility officials want to test the viability of solar energy in a large real-world commercial application. CPS Energy is San Antonio's municipally owned gas and electric utility. The 22-acre Pearl Brewery site is undergoing a redevelopment to transform it into an arts, culture and learning destination.San Antonio Business Journal-July 2, 2008
Learn the legal steps you must take to improve your credit report The Federal Trade Commission's “Building a Better Credit Report” has information on correcting errors in your report, tips on dealing with debt and avoiding scams--and more.
Beware of credit-repair scams Sometimes doing it yourself is the best way to repair your credit. The Federal Trade Commission's “Credit Repair: Self-Help May Be Best” explains how you can improve your creditworthiness and lists legitimate resources for low-cost or no-cost help.
Alamo City records strong business growth, Fed index shows In comparison, Austin's business cycle index rose 4.3 percent, Dallas' increased by 1.4 percent and Houston's grew by 5.3 percent. Overall for January, San Antonio gained 5,200 jobs during the first month of the year, 2,200 of which were in the construction industry and due to strong building activity, according to the Dallas Fed's statistics. "Office vacancies fell to historically low levels, thanks to four consecutive years of positive absorption," the report states. "Service-sector employment rose as well, with strong hiring in the leisure and hospitality (900 positions) and education and health services (700 jobs) industries." In addition, the report cites the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission Act as boding well for future economic activity in the San Antonio metro area. The Dallas Fed issues the Texas Business Cycle Index -- a gauge of the region's current economic conditions -- every month. Texas becomes leader in wind energy Last year the industry added 3,000 megawatts to the U.S. electric grid -- enough energy to power more than 3 million American homes, according to the American Wind Energy Association. Additionally, Texas surpassed California in becoming the nation's largest producer of wind energy. British Petroleum (NYSE: BP) and Shell (NYSE: RDS-A) made large expansions into wind-generated energy. In San Antonio, CPS Energy currently purchases more than 500 megawatts of electricity from wind farms on three different sites. This represents more than 10 percent of its projected peak demand. By 2020, the local utility expects to have 15 percent of its peak load generated from renewable resources.
Sassy AbodeMetrostudy, the Greater San Antonio Builders Association and the San Antonio Board of Realtors have made their 2008 predictions. Metrostudy expects builders will start 11,500 homes in 2008, a decline of 8 percent from 2007. Also forecast, buyers can expect to see a continuation of price cuts and free upgrades - at least until home builders work through an oversupply of houses - something Jack Inselmann, vice president of the U.S. Central Division of Metrostudy, thinks may happen in the second half of 2008. Travis Kessler, CEO of SABOR, said that as long as the inventory remains at around a 6.5-month supply - the time it would take all the homes on the market to sell if nothing else came onto the market - the city should see some continued price appreciation in 2008.[San Antonio Express-News]
Fort Sam preparing for BRAC building boom (Fort Sam Houston) - Fort Sam Houston's construction wave, the likes of which hasn't been seen since the Depression, has started. Thanks to the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, BRAC ordered 23 installations to shutter by 2011 and issued 2,513 closure recommendations, most of them mission realignments, but the news for San Antonio was mostly good. The fifth base closure round since 1988 is going to bring $1.56 billion in construction to Fort Sam alone. In all, the closure round will pump about $2.1 billion into the post and a pair of Air Force bases. But nowhere will it be more pronounced than at Fort Sam, which will add 10,567 military, civilian and student personnel in the next three years. The bulk of the work will come in 2010 when 5,538 workers arrive at the post. The long-awaited benefits of the closure round will begin once ground is broken on the post's first project, the $92 million Battlefield Health and Trauma Center. Work will start within 90 days on a parking garage, two dorms, a dining facility and an instructional building. In all, 23 projects are planned under the closure order, 19 of them new buildings with four others to be renovated on the old post, established in 1876. Another 32 buildings not tied to BRAC will be built or renovated. Three studies, all to start this year, will reveal if more water, sewer and drainage lines are needed for the expansion.[San Antonio Express-News] 1/8/2008 Daily Real Estate News Overall, Asian cities dominated the top 10 of pricey cities. On the other hand, Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, is the least expensive city for the fifth year in a row. Mercer surveyed the cost of living in 143 cities, comparing the cost of more than 200 household items. Strong currencies dropped New York City to 15th place and Los Angeles to 42nd. No Canadian or Latin American cities were in the top 50. Top 15 Most Expensive Cities in the World 1. Moscow, Russia
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