412 Kent in drywall

412 Kent is in drywall mode, having passed electrical, mechanical, plumbing and framing inspections. Since Tucker County does not inspect its construction, I called our own inspection by a licensed WV inspector and found some deficiencies; the builder has quickly made the required changes.

Work going on right now includes a complete restoration of the stained glass windows you see in the rendering and photos. Also, Reliable Roofing is installing new membrane, drip edges and roofing on the kitchen out back, and on the huge sunporch surrounding the street sides of the house.

Soon we will receive the kitchen cabinets and tile. Cabinets will be honey stained oak and floor tile will be oversized earthtone ceramic tile.

Here is the floorplan!

Lions Club Presentation March 6, 2008

Great evening with the Thomas-Davis Chapter. Lions host charitable events and undertake community-oriented projects, particularly for the handicapped. I can imagine there are many opportunities to contribute in areas related to our Riverfront Park! Here is most of the presentation that was given by myself and architect Michael Mills. Thank you Lions for an inspiring and informative evening of conversation about the great future of Davis and the Valley!

Read this doc on Scribd: Lions Club Pres old version

Environmental Assessment: "no further remediation recommended"

Today I received a really thick document from Thrasher Engineering with one line in it that really mattered: "Based on the results of the tank closure assessment, no further work or onsite remediation is recommended."

Davis Riverwalk's site has an industrial history that includes railroad tracks, train maintenance, and parts of a lumber mill operation. The town's Riverfront Park next door had the bulk of the lumber mill operations on it. As it turns out, a century later these operations pose no environmental threat. On the other hand, Carmen DiBacco owned a gas station there starting in the mid-1980's, and gas stations of that era are infamous for contaminating soil and water.

Last Spring Thrasher Engineering was retained to perform a Phase One Environmental Site Assessment of the Davis Riverwalk tract. At the same time Tri-State Petroleum was hired to do the removal of Underground Storage Tanks and related waste from the old Blackwater Auto Care site. Thrasher Engineering studied the site surface without taking samples and did an in-depth study of the industrial history of the site. Particularly facinating were the old Sanborn Maps snapshotting Davis at various points throughout the lumber boom.

Thrasher reviewed the site and various reports before and after the removal of gas tanks, providing oversight of the removal and remediation work being done by Tri-State Petroleum Services. In addition, the WV Dept of Environmental Protection oversaw the remediation. After Tri-State completed its work and the WVDEP approved its work, then Thrasher completed its study, and thus the big document on my desk. You would think that with all these entities involved, there would have been some incompetence or belligerence, but it seems to have been a model of professional execution all around.

It was risky buying the land with the storage tanks still in the ground and no definitive "bill of health," but the site history suggested there would be no problem. It is great to be able to to assure the community of downtown Davis and those who care for the Blackwater River that the site has been cleaned up in accordance with WVDEP standards and that it warrants no further environmental review or cleanup.

Tuscan Ridge Pricing

Having Davis annexed with several hundred lots and associated water/sewer taps is on its face a great benefit to Davis. Increased tax revenue to the Town, and eventually more community benefit. I've watched as the first hundred lots sold for approx $100K each, mostly to investors in faraway states. For the small size of the lots I felt all along that the price point was about 30% higher than the comps support. What a phenomenon! Then 8 months went by with only one closing....could this be reality setting in? Well, a couple of weeks ago I received a promo email saying that now Tuscan Ridge was slashing its prices by 25-30%. A week or two later I received another email saying Tuscan Ridge's owner, North American Land Co, had merged with Waterfront Group, who would now be marketing the lots.

But what about the people who just bought? Dozens of these lots are now back out on the market with asking prices from $125-175K! But not a bite occurs....Meanwhile Tuscan Ridge is 'on sale' at up to 30% off. Ouch!

I have little sympathy for "investors" who are basically speculators, ie "flippers." But people who are buying property to use for themselves should have some protection from this hype-and-dump approach. They at least should be offered a guaranty or insurance option that would protect them from the developer's discounting (ie dumping) within a certain time period. And perhaps North American Land Co offered buyers some protection against developer discounting on out-phases. There are several dozen angry people out there who bought to flip in Tuscan Ridge and are now watching the developer incentives and discounts turning their hopes to losses.

My point here is not to bust on North American Land (now Waterfront Group), but to use their example to make a point. Buyers need to be offered protection against subsequent developer discounting. It may be an optional price insurance policy or better yet, a built-in feature of the sale contract. If you are an early buyer in a CV area development, ask what protection you have if developer starts discounting comparable lots or homes in later phases of the same project.

Join Friends as Mollohan Honored as Blackwater Hero

You are invited

to attend a

Reception and Award Ceremony

at the home of

Rafe and Lenore Pomerance

2026 Allen Place, NW, Washington, DC

Wednesday February 13, 2008

5:30 pm to 8:00pm

Part of the reception will be the honoring of Congressman Alan Mollohan for his dedication to preserving and conserving the Blackwater Canyon Trail. Davis Riverwalk will be one of dozens of contributor/hosts for this event.

Suggested Donation:

$75 per person/$125 per couple

Please RSVP as soon as possible:

Phone: 877-WVA-LAND (877-982-5263)

E-mail: info@saveblackwater.org

Assuring the future of an old Vic @ 412 Kent Ave

On 4th and Kent is a house that was built in 1883 that sits on an 80 x132 ft corner lot. When the owner needed to sell it last year I could not resist because of the original quality of this house. Few houses in Davis are straight, because they were built quickly on slipshod foundations, often by the lumber companies or their management. This house was an attorney's we believe, and is straight, solid and perhaps 6,000 sft. It has changed little since it's original construction. In its parlor, living room and foyer, it has extensive oak woodwork, including opposed pocket doors, original balisters and newell posts, massive baseboard and door trims, and 2" thick solid oak doors. Its other unique feature is its stained glass windows, probably added after the initial construction, when the front porch was closed in, complete with maple floors. The attic has a huge finished area done completely in pine beadboard.

Our rework of the house includes 3 all new bathrooms, a new kitchen, all regular windows replaced and the stained glass windows reglazed. The east-facing master bedroom will have refinished maple floors and an en suite bath. We are refinishing the oak floors downstairs, adding a new deck, enhancing the heating system, and removing old fencing, overgrown trees and landscaping.

Gas burning can be a deadly process

I am learning this firsthand unfortunately. Christmas eve an unexplained failure of the natural gas-fired boiler in our house somehow began an acute Carbon Monoxide event that culminated around 6am. We thought it was food poisoning for TWO DAYS while it abated. This made 5 adult family members, my baby and my unborn baby, very very sick -- for days now. We could end up regretting this the rest of our lives. Skipping the ugly and sad personal details, I want to emphasize how important it is to have a properly designed heat and gas appliance system. It seems stupid now, but we did not have a Carbon Monoxide detector in the house despite having a monitored security and smoke detection system. While that is the life or death difference, there is more to consider for indoor health here. I will suggest:

1. First -- make sure you install a CO Detector.

2. If you have natural or propane gas systems and wake up in the night or the morning with a headache or dizziness -- open a window first and ask questions later. Especially if more than one person in the house has symptoms. It sounds so logical now, but when you aren't sure what the affliction is, time is wasting.

All gas appliances are far from equal when it comes to safety, not just efficiency. We had a boiler that used inside house air and exhausted through a chimney, relying on heat stacking just like a fireplace does. Without explaining all the details I'll say that there are several ways this system can fail, and the consequences are huge if it is located in a room of your house. High efficiency units are available that bring outside air in for combustion, and expel clean air directly to the outdoors -- even a failure can't release CO into the house. With today's "tight house" construction techniques and materials there is great risk in relying on traditional indirect ventilation to ensure that a traditional gas appliance burns efficiently. Also, the indoor pollutants these "loose" systems can generate are bad for you even when they are not killing you on Christmas morning.

I wouldn't share this sort of thing on this blog if it was strictly a personal tragedy. It bears on design and construction in Davis. There is no code in our area, and no code enforcement that I know of. That means no inspection of systems by a qualified engineer. I have learned the hard way not to be AT ALL casual about systems involving energy. It is easy to get excited about good location, a good price, good design and energy cost savings, and sometimes a bit boring to consider the technical details of safety. Until you have a tragedy. And then it gets extremely "interesting." My commitment is that we will build extremely safe and well-engineered homes in Davis Riverwalk, per national building code and with well-reviewed systems and installation.

Have a great and safe New Year.