2012-05-16 17:37:52
Maybe the U.S. economy's strength this winter wasn't just weather-related after all.
Home construction is near a three-year high. And factory output has risen in three of the year's first four months.
The data released Wednesday suggest growth......
2012-05-15 17:21:35
Jamie Dimon only faced shareholders for 40 minutes, but he got an earful.
The CEO of JPMorgan Chase was in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday for the annual meeting, five days after the company disclosed an embarrassing $2 billion trading loss at one of the bank's divisions......
2012-05-15 12:29:00
STAFF
The Boy Scouts of America will salute Nevin D. Cooley, president and chief executive officer of the High Real Estate Group, as the 2012 Distinguished Citizen at its 25th annual Distinguished Citizen Award Dinner. Cooley, an Eagle Scout and past Scouting volunteer, will receive the award Thur......
2012-05-13 11:23:37
Living two blocks from the boardwalk, Dave Cavagnaro is used to hearing noise at night. But the sounds coming from his yard one summer night were unusual: They were coming from a couple having sex up against the side of his house.
"Get the hell out of here!&......
2012-05-12 14:27:00
ERIC G. STARK
It started with a few couples meeting at the community gazebo in their Ephrata neighborhood. They eventually outgrew the gazebo and began meeting in each other's homes. Now, with 14 couples meeting Monday night for informal social gatherings, they are too large a group for one......
2012-05-11 19:08:46
A woman arrested in the killing of a Marine's wife is in foreclosure proceedings on a home listed as a residence by another Marine and woman who have been charged with murder in the case, property records show.
Dorothy Grace Marie Maraglino bought the yellow stuc......
2012-05-11 16:58:05
The presidential candidates tried to put aside politically risky talk of gay rights Friday and return to Americans' top worry, the economy, in two states critical to the hopes of President Barack Obama and his rival Mitt Romney.
Obama discussed how to help homeow......
2012-05-11 16:45:12
Refocusing on the economy, President Barack Obama on Friday pushed Republicans to back housing policies the White House says would help shore up struggling homeowners and prevent foreclosures.
Against the backdrop of a middle-class neighborhood in economically ha......
2012-05-11 13:22:19
The largest-ever United Nations conference, a summit billed as a historic opportunity to build a greener future, appears to be going up in smoke.
U.S. President Barack Obama likely won't be there, and the leaders of Britain and Germany have bowed out. The entire ......
2012-05-10 12:11:52
The Spanish government's decision to take control of the country's fourth-largest bank highlights the problem gripping the nation's financial system. Banks are taking huge losses on real estate loans that have soured, but the deeper the government gets involved in providing aid, the......
2012-05-10 11:33:55
The average rate on the U.S. 30-year fixed mortgage ticked down to a new record low this week. The low rates make it one of the most affordable times in history to buy or refinance.
Here's a look at rates for fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgages over the past 52 ......
2012-05-10 10:23:03
Average U.S. rates for 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgages fell to fresh record lows this week. Cheap mortgage rates have made home-buying and refinancing more affordable than ever for those who can qualify.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate ......
2012-05-09 21:51:00
BERNARD HARRIS
A dozen years ago, when proponents of a Lancaster County convention center were proposing building a meeting center, county business leaders would annually drive to Hershey for the Chamber of Commerce dinner.
On Wednesday, the morning after former British Prime Minister Tony Blair address......
2012-05-09 20:09:01
FRANK BAJAK,Associated PressGONZALO SOLANO,Associated Press
Ecuador's legislature has passed a bill that would require banks to forgive any outstanding debt on mortgages for first-time home buyers of properties worth up to $146,000 if they default and forfeit the home.
The measure, aimed at discouraging a real estate bubb......
2012-05-09 09:31:53
The percentage of U.S. homeowners behind on their mortgage payments dropped in the first three months of this year to the lowest level since 2009, according to a new report.
Some 5.78 percent of the nation's mortgage holders were behind on their payments by 60 da......
2012-05-08 15:56:05
Homeowners with a Bank of America mortgage have good reason to check their mailbox.
The lender said Tuesday it has begun mailing out letters to customers who may qualify to have their home loans reduced as part of a multistate settlement over alleged foreclosure ......
2012-05-08 11:20:00
ROXANNE TODD
Solanco School District property owners are going to pay more in real-estate taxes next year. Solanco board members voted Monday evening to advertise the proposed 2012-2013 budget, which will be adopted officially at the June 11 meeting. The proposed $47.5 million budget includes a 0.37......
2012-05-08 05:24:55
It's months before athletes hit the Olympic track, but time is running out for those in another fierce competition: The scramble for a place to stay in London.
Some innkeepers will be charging Ritz rates for Fawlty Towers rooms -- and they will get away with it....
2012-05-08 05:24:46
It's months before athletes hit the Olympic track, but time is running out for those in another fierce competition: The scramble for a place to stay in London.
Some innkeepers will be charging Ritz rates for Fawlty Towers rooms -- and they will get away with it....
2012-05-08 01:30:27
BRIAN BAKST,Associated PressMARTIGA LOHN,Associated Press
The Minnesota Vikings took a giant step Monday night toward a new taxpayer-subsidized football stadium when the state House approved legislation, but lawmakers upped the share the team would have to pay.
On a 73-58 vote, the $975 million stadium plan remained ali......
2012-05-05 14:42:00
PAULA WOLF
Dale and Kim Latshaw renovated buildings with apartment units before, but nothing the size of their current project. In January, the couple bought 19-23 E. Main St., Ephrata, a three-story, 10,000-square-foot structure from 1866 that's on the National Register of Historic Plac......
2012-05-04 17:21:21
A Florida Panhandle county's former tourism director was found dead of an apparent drug overdose Friday, a day after being accused of misusing public money sent by BP after the 2010 oil spill to buy a $747,000 home, authorities said.
Mark Bellinger, 52, also had ......
2012-05-04 15:36:41
A Florida Panhandle county's former tourism director was found dead of an apparent drug overdose Friday in Alabama, just days after he was accused of stealing taxpayer money to buy a $710,000 yacht, a sheriff said.
Mark Bellinger, 52, had gone missing Thursday an......
2012-05-03 10:34:26
Average U.S. rates for 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgages fell to fresh record lows this week, offering more incentive for Americans to buy or refinance homes.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan fell to 3.84 percent, the l......
2012-05-03 09:28:24
Hiring through the rest of 2012 will lag the brisk pace set early this year. But it will be strong enough to push the unemployment rate below 8 percent by Election Day.
That's the view that emerges from an Associated Press survey of 32 leading economists who fore......
2012-05-01 19:38:51
Jim Deitz believes he's creating a Grand Forks landmark, but the downtown apartment house he's painting one polka dot at a time is making a city planner cringe.
The retired house painter on Tuesday was putting the final polka dots on his home-turned-apartments, w......
2012-05-01 07:45:07
The bank that held the mortgage on property owned by former NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield has bought the North Carolina home at a courthouse auction.
Carolina Farm Credit bid more than $1.7 million for the home and land owned by Mayfield, who was suspended from N......
2012-04-30 19:26:03
The American dream of homeownership is at its lowest point in 15 years, the latest evidence of a housing market still far from recovering five years after the housing crash.
New figures released Monday by the Census Bureau show the rate of U.S. homeownership fell......
2012-04-30 16:04:31
American spending on home videos rose 2.5 percent to $4.45 billion in the first quarter as the increasing popularity of subscription streaming plans and Blu-ray discs made up for falling DVD sales, according to the latest industry report.
That marks the first yea......
2012-04-28 14:52:00
PAULA WOLF
Survey after survey shows people are spending more hours at home. So at this time of year, some homeowners are investing in outdoor living — whether it's a low-maintenance deck or patio, a water feature, or a backyard kitchen with wood-pellet grill. Ryan Schwarz, pr......
2012-04-27 16:18:05
TUESDAY, May 1
WASHINGTON -- Institute for Supply Management releases its manufacturing index for April, 10 a.m.; Commerce Department releases construction spending for March, 10 a.m.
DETROIT -- Automakers release vehicle sales for April. ......
2012-04-27 11:08:22
An autopsy shows that a Navy pilot who killed three people and himself at a condominium in a San Diego suburb was drunk at the time.
The San Diego County medical examiner released the report Thursday saying that 25-year-old John Robert Reeves had a blood-alcohol ......
2012-04-27 01:12:33
Asian stock markets rose Friday, with traders viewing an uptick in U.S. housing sales as a fresh sign of recovery in the world's No. 1 economy.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose less than 0.1 percent to 9,571.89 ahead of the Bank of Japan's policy-setting meeting. In......
2012-04-26 17:31:10
On a day that brought both good and bad news about the economy, investors chose to see the glass as half-full.
U.S. stocks edged higher Thursday, pushed up by a batch of bright earnings reports and encouraging news about home sales. In the fight for investors' at......
2012-04-26 10:56:17
The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage has dipped to near its record low, keeping home-buying and refinancing affordable.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan dropped to 3.88 percent this week, down from 3.9 percent. ......
2012-04-26 10:09:55
The number of Americans who signed contracts to buy U.S. homes rose in March, the latest sign the battered housing market is slowly improving.
The National Association of Realtors says its index of sales agreements increased 4.1 percent last month to a reading of......
2012-04-25 22:19:13
South Korea stepped up inspections of U.S. beef following the discovery of mad cow disease in a U.S. dairy cow that led two major retailers to pull the meat off the shelves. One company later reserved that decision.
South Korea's No. 2 and No. 3 supermarket chain......
2012-04-25 21:30:26
Two major South Korean retailers pulled U.S. beef from their stores Wednesday following the discovery of mad cow disease in a U.S. dairy cow, although one reversed the decision. Reaction elsewhere in Asia was muted with Japan saying there's no reason to restrict imports.
......
2012-04-24 16:48:51
The two men were discovered dead at the bottom of an elevator shaft in a 12-story Manhattan building, as if dumped there, one man sprawled on top of the other.
The rare crime scene photograph from Nov. 24, 1915, is one of 870,000 images of New York City and its m......
2012-04-24 14:52:19
Americans' confidence in the economy was resilient in April despite rising job cuts and falling home values.
The Conference Board, a private research group, said on Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index is at 69.2, down slightly from a revised 69.5 in March.......
2012-04-24 14:51:25
Rising foreclosures are weighing on the U.S. housing market, reducing prices and keeping new-home sales weak.
Foreclosed homes are usually sold at steep discounts, thereby lowering average prices. And by expanding the supply of low-priced previously occupied home......
2012-04-24 13:28:47
Sales of new homes fell in March by the largest amount in more than a year, indicating that the U.S. housing market remains under strain despite some modest signs of improvement.
The Commerce Department said Tuesday that sales dropped 7.1 percent in March to a se......
2012-04-24 10:21:35
Sales of new homes fell in March by the largest amount in more than a year, indicating that the U.S. housing market remains under strain despite some modest signs of improvement.
The Commerce Department says sales dropped 7.1 percent in March to a seasonally adju......
2012-04-24 07:38:14
The two men were discovered dead at the bottom of an elevator shaft in a 12-story Manhattan building, as if dumped there, one man sprawled on top of the other.
The rare crime scene photograph from Nov. 24, 1915, is one of 870,000 images of New York City and its m......
2012-04-24 01:31:27
Unsettling news about Europe's debt crisis and disappointing U.S. corporate earnings weighed on Asian stock markets Tuesday.
Strong headwinds continued to emanate from Europe, where a festering, two-year debt crisis has begun jolting the region's political landsc......
2012-04-23 14:41:00
ROCHELLE A. SHENK
Manheim Borough police Chief Joe Stauffer presented the latest crime report to Rapho Township officials Thursday, causing some residents to question the cost and effectiveness of the department's services. Rapho Township entered into a contract with the Manheim Borough Police Department for ......
2012-04-22 10:17:29
The improving economy is swinging the pendulum in President Barack Obama's favor in the 14 states where the presidential election will likely be decided.
Recent polls have shown Obama gaining an edge over his likely Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, in several ......
2012-04-22 00:06:00
PAULA WOLF
Home sales in Lancaster County posted healthy gains in the first quarter of 2012, giving further evidence the market is back on solid footing. Sales from January to March totaled 855, a 12.9 percent increase from the 757 reported at the same time last year, according to the La......
2012-04-21 09:24:00
Two years after Charleston became a year-round cruise destination, the arguments over the liners and their impact on this historic city continues unabated. It's a debate that has led to a lawsuit, conflicting economic studies, dueling billboard messages and emotions that run high....
2012-04-20 18:50:09
MONDAY, April 23
ConocoPhillips reports quarterly financial results.
Hasbro Inc. reports quarterly financial results.
Netflix Inc. reports quarterly financial results.
Dutch electronics maker Royal Phili......
2012-04-19 19:31:22
The address 406 Clybourne Street has a special resonance in the theater.
That's the place that offers a better life in Lorraine Hansberry's play "A Raisin in the Sun" -- a sunny home with a garden in a white enclave where the black Younger family in 195......
2012-04-19 16:29:02
The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage stayed near its lowest level on record, keeping home-buying and refinancing affordable.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan rose to 3.90 percent from 3.88 percent. The rate touc......
2012-04-19 16:09:40
NO ACCELERATION: Momentum in U.S. hiring and home sales appears to be slowing, according to fresh data. A possible weakening in two critical elements of the economy suggests growth could stay modest this year.
UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS: The average number of people s......
2012-04-19 14:53:09
MONDAY, April 23
BRUSSELS -- The European Union's statistics agency announces its estimates of the 2011 budget deficits of all 27 member states.
TUESDAY, April 24
WASHINGTON -- Standard & Poor's releases S&P/Case-Sh......
2012-04-19 11:35:38
Late author John Updike's childhood home is for sale and facing an uncertain future.
The nonprofit John Updike Society wants to buy the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer's house with a $200,000 foundation gift to preserve it as a museum and headquarters. But that's c......
2012-04-19 10:49:58
Americans bought fewer previously owned homes in March, a reminder that the housing market remains weak.
The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that home sales fell 2.6 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.48 million. That foll......
2012-04-19 08:43:23
George Washington didn't sleep there, but his doctor did. The upstate New York home of Washington's personal physician is for sale.
The Daily Gazette of Schenectady reports (http://bit.ly/IoCGm4 ) that the 18th-century mansion formerly owned by Gen. John Cochran ......
2012-04-17 16:57:49
PERMITS UP: U.S. Builders requested a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 747,000 permits to build homes in March, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. The pace hasn't been that high since September 2008.
RENTS RISING: Rents are rising, which has spurred construc......
2012-04-14 14:23:00
PAULA WOLF
"Everyone wants a good-looking house to come home to," Keystone Custom Homes President Larry Wisdom said. So in addition to its practical interior design, Keystone's new model home in the London Croft subdivision — the Windsor — has curb appeal as well, he said....
2012-04-07 14:17:00
PAULA WOLF
With low mortgage-interest rates, reasonable prices and a nice inventory of houses, Ray D'Agostino thinks the current real estate market represents "a perfect storm" for homebuyers. So the timing couldn't be better for Lancaster Housing Opportunity Partnership's annual Home Ow......
2012-03-31 14:37:00
PAULA WOLF
Expanding its reach, Ephrata contractor Garman Builders now has four developments in Lebanon County, including Fallen Oak, a 50-lot community in Jackson Township. The subdivision, near Myerstown, overlooks Blue Mountain and borders an old dam that's been turned into a conserva......
2012-03-22 20:24:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Last year, Corey Fogarty announced plans for a gourmet pizza and craft beer restaurant in the Red Rose Transit Authority's new parking garage at North Queen and East Chestnut streets.
Those plans fell apart when construction problems with the $18.5 million garage pushed the opening back w......
2012-03-22 10:05:00
CINDY STAUFFER
Step one: Use a saw and sledge hammer to punch a hole in the roof of an abandoned hotel near the Lancaster Amtrak station.
Step two: Drop a rope through the hole to a firefighter inside a hotel room below, attach it to a harness she is wearing and lift he......
2012-03-17 15:11:00
ERIC G. STARK
Mike Stubljar says Shady Oak Apartments in Mount Joy Township feels like home. After owning a house in Spencer, Mass. — about 60 miles west of Boston — for more than 30 years, Stubljar, 64, and his wife, Becky, 59, retired schoolteachers, wanted to escape shoveling......
2012-03-14 23:04:00
TIM MEKEEL
The former Host Town motel has a new owner who will raze the vacant building to make way for a mix of other uses.
A partnership of the principals in Blackford Development and LMS Commercial Real Estate bought the 30 Keller Ave. site last week.
The motel had been operating as the C......
2012-03-02 12:21:00
ROCHELLE A. SHENK
Rapho residents questioned officials on Thursday about the newly enacted municipal real estate tax. Richard Place asked supervisors how much the township anticipates collecting and what it will be used for. "Before this year, we were one of four municipalities in the county without a re......
2012-02-18 14:49:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
Summerfield, a new development in Pequea Township, is close to Routes 272 and 222, offers a variety of floor plans and sizes, and is next to an elementary school. It's a combination the Wellington Development Group believes will attract both first-time buyers with young childr......
2012-02-12 00:04:00
TIM MEKEEL, Business Editor
Three members of the rock band Live and a Nazareth real estate developer are looking to revitalize a building in Lancaster city. The partnership recently launched major projects in Reading and York, to be anchored by an unidentified technology company. This technology fir......
2012-02-11 14:28:00
PAULA WOLF
With the single-family-home section of Haydn Manor well under way, Hogan & Herr has nearly completed its initial group of townhouses in the East Hempfield Township development. Off Miller Road just outside East Petersburg, Haydn Manor will feature 76 singles and 36 upscale......
2012-02-04 14:40:00
PAULA WOLF
Among Garman Builders' newest developments is one neighborhood that's not new at all. Last year, the Ephrata contractor began constructing homes in Hartman Station, a well-established community off Route 23, straddling East Lampeter and Upper Leacock townships. Developed ......
2012-01-28 18:10:00
PAULA WOLF
Sometimes, it just makes sense to stay where you are. An East Hempfield Township couple who had been thinking of moving decided instead on a major remodeling project, hiring Kreider & Diller Builders to do the work. Completed last spring, the improvements won honors i......
2012-01-23 18:27:00
TIM MEKEEL
Gish's Furniture & Amish Heirlooms is moving its headquarters from York to Landisville in an $800,000 project, the company's founder said Monday.
The company picked the Cooper Avenue property because it's centrally located to serve its stores in Lancaster, York and Camp Hill.
......
2012-01-21 14:46:00
PAULA WOLF
As he was surveying the tornado-damaged house of Roy and Jan Smith, builder J.P. Perron noticed Mrs. Smith taking a circuitous route to get to the laundry room in the basement. So Perron — hired by the Smiths to handle the repairs and remodeling — suggested moving ......
2012-01-14 15:11:00
PAULA WOLF
Apparently, someone forgot to tell Keystone Custom Homes that residential construction is in the doldrums. After opening three new neighborhoods in 2009 and five in 2010, Keystone debuted 17 developments last year. One of those was Brandywine Preserve, a 29-lot community ......
2012-01-08 00:18:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
After rising for four years in a row, the number of foreclosures in Lancaster County fell last year — dramatically. According to courthouse records, 765 foreclosures were filed here in 2011 — a 43 percent drop from the 1,334 foreclosures recorded in 2010. It's......
2011-12-31 14:01:00
PAULA WOLF
Operations manager at Sikorsky Global Helicopters in Coatesville, Sanjay Daryani wanted to find a rental community close to work. Two weeks ago, he moved into a one-bedroom unit in Lafayette Square, an upscale apartment complex in Sadsburyville that's "maybe three or four minu......
2011-12-22 22:57:00
TIM MEKEEL
A quarter-mile stretch of Columbia Avenue is getting a double dose of new investment.
Members 1st Federal Credit Union will build a $2.5 million branch on the site of the M.H. Kaye Pavilion at 2050 Columbia Ave.
And the pavilion's M.H. Kaye The Family Dentist and Aristocrat H......
2011-12-17 15:18:00
PAULA WOLF
First proposed as a light industrial/heavy commercial project, Liberty North has since been transformed into a mixed-use endeavor, with 35 upscale rentals either finished or in the design stage. Comprised of two buildings at the former Armstrong World Industries site in Lancas......
2011-12-14 15:50:00
KIMBERLY MARSELAS
Ephrata Township will hold the line on taxes in 2012 by dipping into its reserve fund to balance a $3.01 million budget. Supervisors voted Tuesday to approve the spending plan, which relies on $53,500 from the township's estimated $850,000 reserve fund to cover increasing costs and lost reve......
2011-12-10 15:18:00
PAULA WOLF
For years, Rob Bowman has developed and built new-home communities in Lancaster and surrounding counties. But Bishop Woods, Charter Homes & Neighborhood's recently opened subdivision in West Donegal Township, has him pretty excited. "It's a very unique piece of property," said Bowma......
2011-12-03 15:26:00
PAULA WOLF
With only 15 building lots left in its Cheltenham subdivision in East Earl Township, Keystone Custom Homes has introduced six additional floor plans, including a couple starting at under $200,000. The single-family-home designs, part of Keystone's American Avenue Collection, repres......
2011-11-30 09:07:00
TIM MEKEEL
Shaub's LLC is opening a suburban store while it negotiates the fate of its downtown location, a part of center-city since 1880.
The men's and women's shoes, clothing and accessories retailer will open at the Shoppes at Landis Valley in Manheim Township as soon as Saturday.
Meanwh......
2011-11-26 15:22:00
PAULA WOLF
Four decades or so after being built, Wellington Chase rental complex is undergoing its first major facelift. The Mount Joy Borough community, off Donegal Springs Road and South Angle Street, has 160 garden apartments and 24 townhouses for rent. Renovation work, which beg......
2011-11-21 20:24:00
TIM MEKEEL
Fulton Financial has picked High Real Estate Group to manage the proposed expansion of its Penn Square headquarters.
The bank holding company also disclosed that the project will be completed in 2014 — a year later than initially forecast.
The additional space, to be constru......
2011-11-19 15:35:00
PAULA WOLF
When Patti Nadu shows potential buyers around a Millwood Builders home, she'll testify firsthand about its quality of construction, down to the last detail. That's because her husband, Jeff, is the general contractor. The couple, who live in Martic Township, founded Millw......
2011-11-18 15:23:00
ROCHELLE A. SHENK
Rapho Township supervisors on Thursday approved a budget that would impose its first real estate tax and pay for police service. The $3.169 million proposed 2012 budget is balanced with an anticipated $5,084 surplus, and nearly doubles the township's 2011 $1.997 million budget. A 1.75 ......
2011-11-15 19:16:00
BETH ANNE HEESEN
Marietta Borough has managed not to raise taxes in 2012, choosing instead to operate on a slightly smaller budget of $1,088,009 — down $4,628 from 2011.
Under a spending plan adopted by council Nov. 6, the real estate tax rate remains at 5.5 mills, which means the owner of a propert......
2011-11-12 15:17:00
PAULA WOLF
Avoiding the slowdown in residential construction, Costello Builders is keeping busy in its new Stonehenge Reserve subdivision. Eleven of the 52 lots in Phase I have either been sold or reserved — most over the past year — and several houses are now completed....
2011-11-11 16:04:00
PATRICK BURNS
Earl Township Board of Supervisors on Monday unveiled a $1.9 million preliminary 2012 budget that holds the line on real estate taxes. The spending plan would maintain a tax rate at 1.25 mills, meaning a resident who owns a home assessed at $100,000 would pay $125 in annual real estate......
2011-11-11 13:42:00
PATRICK BURNS
Tax bills will remain the same for Brecknock Township residents. Supervisors Tuesday discussed the proposed 2012 preliminary budget, that will keep real estate taxes at .0269 mills. The $949,191 budget is nearly $30,000 less or 3 percent lower than the 2011 budget. To keep expenses dow......
2011-11-06 00:18:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
John D. Hershey's mother was born in the "Mayer House," the ornate, gabled mansion along Fruitville Pike just south of the Red Rose Commons shopping center. Hershey, a landscape architect and Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County board member, calls the 1871 structur......
2011-11-06 00:06:00
SUZANNE CASSIDY
Fifteen years ago, a potential buyer might have walked into a house that had pink shag carpeting and knotty pine paneling in a spacious family room and thought, "This place has potential." Nowadays, that house-seeker likely would take one look at the shag carpeting and the pin......
2011-11-05 15:37:00
PAULA WOLF
Selling a historic property that needs work can be both challenging and rewarding for real estate agents. The same goes for buying one. In September 2010, four Kingsway Realty agents purchased the 18th-century Konigmacher House at 830 Martin Ave., Ephrata, with the intent......
2011-10-29 15:34:00
PAULA WOLF
Lancaster Home Builders is making its first foray into the Elizabethtown area, with two houses ready for sale in Featherton Crossing. The Mount Joy Township neighborhood, off Schwanger Road, is a project of Fiorino Co., Sinking Spring, which is also building there. Listing agent Dean Wi......
2011-10-23 00:02:00
PAULA WOLF
With the impact of the homebuyer tax credits further receding, housing sales in Lancaster County have resumed a stable if unspectacular pace. The number of homes sold in September 2011 was 335, down slightly from 348 a year ago. Overall in the third quarter, sales climbed......
2011-10-22 21:50:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
Seventeen years ago, a study commissioned by the developer of the Red Rose Commons shopping center on Fruitville Pike contended that Lancaster County was "understored," lacking in malls and other retail space compared to similar communities. The report was ridiculed by county ......
2011-10-22 15:28:00
PAULA WOLF
Twenty-three years after being completed, Charleston Townhomes is undergoing a major upgrade. Forty of the 68 units in the Manor Township rental community — near Charlestown Road and Route 741 — have been renovated. The project began in February 2007, and work is d......
2011-10-15 15:33:00
PAULA WOLF
For the first time, 15 continuing care retirement communities in Lancaster and Chester counties are joining forces to host an open house. The "Explore Retirement Living" event — being held 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22 — is not just for seniors in the market for ......
2011-10-14 00:01:00
AD CRABLE
A place where city and suburban kids can get on their bikes or ride a bus and experience nature in a fun sort of way.
A place where they can watch wildlife from a treehouse, or fish, or hike, maybe have their first overnight camping experience, or check the flow of the Little Conestoga Cr......
2011-10-08 15:23:00
PAULA WOLF
Rice Acres — one of the newest developments in Lancaster County's Southern End — offers farmland views. The Colerain Township subdivision, off Noble Road near Route 472, consists of seven one-acre lots. One homesite is sold and a second has a spec house that's almo......
2011-10-01 15:05:00
PAULA WOLF
Kenneth Homes purchased 12 lots in the well-established Elm Tree community with a simple purpose in mind: "Our goal is to try to [build] a very nice single home at or near $200,000," said Ken Carper Jr., president of Kenneth Homes. His entry-level plan, the Mueller, more ......
2011-09-24 15:19:00
PAULA WOLF
Dave Costello is in the business of building new homes, but he's well aware of the appeal of tradition. So while the Spring Haven development he's constructing off Buch Avenue boasts the latest in modern amenities, it's also considered an extension of Manheim Township's Blosso......
2011-09-17 15:34:00
PAULA WOLF
Patience is said to be a virtue — even more so when your specialty is converting old buildings to new uses. Lancaster developer John Meeder's latest initiative, Historic East Side Suites, took a dozen years to come to fruition, but now he's just weeks away from seeing th......
2011-09-11 00:04:00
PAULA WOLF
After 48 years in their Strasburg house, Glenn and Phyllis Runk faced a daunting task. The retired couple needed to sell their home and dispose of most of its contents so they could move to Masonic Village. "We just looked at each other and said, 'Where do we go with all ......
2011-09-10 15:45:00
PAULA WOLF
Ryan McMinn thought the first home he bought would be a town house. Until he realized he could purchase a new, single-family residence for not much more than he'd pay for a town house. Before beginning his search, "I honestly didn't think" that would be possible, said McM......
2011-08-31 17:46:00
TIM MEKEEL
There's a new star in the constellation of Lancaster County energy-efficiency leaders.
The High companies' corporate office has earned Energy Star status from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, it was announced this week.
The 1853 William Penn Way building, opened in 1988 a......
2011-08-31 17:46:00
TIM MEKEEL
There's a new star in the constellation of Lancaster County energy-efficiency leaders.
The High companies' corporate office has earned Energy Star status from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, it was announced this week.
The 1853 William Penn Way building, opened in 1988 a......
2011-08-21 00:16:00
PAULA WOLF
Late last week, a home Steve Huber listed for sale in Manheim Township's Stonehenge neighborhood went to settlement. That's noteworthy because — according to Huber's research — it's only the second resale house to sell for at least a million dollars in Lancaster Co......
2011-08-20 15:32:00
PAULA WOLF
With the public not in the mood to splurge, Keystone Custom Homes wants to offer more "spacious, value-added, practical floor plans," President Larry Wisdom said. Its newest series of single-family house designs, the American Avenue Collection, debuted this summer in Castleton......
2011-08-19 14:49:00
ROCHELLE A. SHENK
A Rapho resident urged township officials Thursday to seek further public input concerning a proposed real estate tax. A 1.7 mill real estate tax would pay for contracted police services from Manheim Borough and help fund fire departments. The township is currently served solely by Pe......
2011-08-13 15:26:00
PAULA WOLF
Jerry Pilgrim has a nickname for the model home at Stone Mill Estates. "We've started calling it 'the wow house,' " because the loft overlooking the two-story family room is so dramatic, he said. Whether or not the model is clinching the deal for prospective buyers, more ......
2011-08-06 15:29:00
PAULA WOLF
For real estate agents like Alex Reedy, a house sold means a job well done. But it's extra special when the property has been transformed from an uninhabitable eyesore into an attractive, marketable home. That's the case with Reedy's listing at 434 N. Mary St. The formerl......
2011-08-05 12:57:00
ROCHELLE A. SHENK
Rapho Township supervisors on Thursday discussed having the Manheim Borough Police Department provide coverage to the township.
The state police currently provide coverage in Rapho.
Township resident Tom Blank, of Meadow View Road, asked supervisors about the status of a potential......
2011-07-30 15:26:00
PAULA WOLF
Located on a hill in the midst of farmland, Windsor Meadows boasts great views and great access. Charter Homes & Neighborhoods' newest York County subdivision of single-family homes is in Windsor Township, just 10 minutes from York Galleria mall and both Route 30 and Inter......
2011-07-23 18:16:00
PAULA WOLF
To reach a larger share of the home-buying market, Rohrer's Construction has introduced two new floor plans in Woods Edge of Elizabethtown. Both are smaller than other designs in the West Donegal Township neighborhood and lower the price for getting into the subdivision, which......
2011-07-20 22:13:00
DAVID O'CONNOR
A few people in the audience were sending and receiving text messages before Wednesday's Manheim Township Planning Commission meeting began.
Such messages weren't in vogue back when the plans for The Crossings at Conestoga Creek were developed in 2005, someone said to High Associates offi......
2011-07-19 06:24:00
MAE ANDERSON,AP Retail Writer
There will be no storybook ending for Borders. The 40-year-old book seller could start shuttering its 399 remaining stores as early as Friday.
The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based chain, which helped pioneer the big-box bookseller concept, is seeking court approval to sell off its assets after it f......
2011-07-16 15:35:00
PAULA WOLF
Phase II of the city's Northgate project features condominiums converted from 19th-century brick row homes that once served as Army barracks. The three-story residences on East Lemon Street, measuring at least 2,000 square feet, feature a multitude of interior and exterior ame......
2011-07-02 15:27:00
PAULA WOLF
Todd Heck has finally moved out of his basement. Moved his business, that is. After establishing Heck Construction in 2006, he operated the residential and commercial contracting company from his Denver home until the expanding firm required more space. Heck didn't h......
2011-06-28 13:26:00
ELAINE J. JONES
Representatives from Blackford Development and LMS appeared before Penn Manor officials June 20 to request that the district give up an additional half acre to develop the site known as the commercial triangle. After a brief executive session with their attorneys, the board members announced......
2011-06-26 00:19:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
Slowed by a stagnant economy for a few years, plans for a major development on the farm across from Long's Park are back on the drawing board. But this time they're drawn differently. Earlier this month, High Real Estate Group LLC submitted a request to the Manheim Townsh......
2011-06-25 15:29:00
PAULA WOLF
Situated on a small tract that once belonged to a farmette, the Villas at Georgetown subdivision is now under construction. The Bart Township neighborhood, along Route 896, will feature 28 duplexes and six single-family homes. The residences have public sewer service and a com......
2011-06-19 00:20:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
The number of home foreclosures in Lancaster County has plummeted to the lowest average monthly level in a decade.
But that's not necessarily an indicator that the economy is on the mend and that homeowners are finding that they can suddenly pay their mortgag......
2011-06-18 15:30:00
PAULA WOLF
What Rob Bowman likes best about his Wellesley floor plan in Veranda is that it combines "all the advantages of a new house with timelessness of style." The design is being introduced to the public at this year's Parade of Homes, a nine-day event that ends today. Listed a......
2011-06-11 17:26:00
PAULA WOLF
The first thing to catch the eye in Custom Home Group's Tanglewood Manor entry in the Parade of Homes is the fiber-cement siding. Coastal Blue siding, to be exact. "It resembles a shore house," said Ken Uhrich, an estimator with Custom Home Group, Quarryville. The 5,......
2011-05-21 15:46:00
PAULA WOLF
The large, vacant building that formerly housed Keener Manufacturing Co. is now home to a local ad agency. The 1920s-era brick edifice, at 533 Janet Ave. in Lancaster city, was purchased in September by Weber Advertising & Marketing Inc., which has been renovating it over ......
2011-05-17 21:29:00
CHAD UMBLE
A new Giant To Go opens 8 a.m. Thursday at 2339 Oregon Pike in the Shoppes at Landis Valley, the shopping center at Oregon Pike and Landis Valley Road.
The 4,000-square-foot store owned by Giant Food Stores expands the typical convenience store by offering more grocery items as well as a ......
2011-05-14 15:52:00
PAULA WOLF
Using the upcoming Parade of Homes as a showcase, Metzler Home Builders is debuting a new townhouse design in the Willow Bend Farm subdivision. The residence has a first-floor master suite. "We're following the requests and the demands of our buyers," said Kris Lundquist,......
2011-05-10 19:22:00
AD CRABLE
The value of farmland in Lancaster County is not increasing at the astronomical rates found in the Midwest.
In fact, in four of five geographic regions in Lancaster County, farms are selling for less per acre than they did three years ago, when the economy tanked, according to new figures......
2011-05-07 15:30:00
PAULA WOLF
To attract buyers in a difficult market, more builders are offering homes in the sub-$200,000 range. But it's still uncommon to find new houses priced at less than $150,000. An exception is Plantation at Southern Village, where two-story condos start at $149,900. The Lanc......
2011-04-30 15:42:00
PAULA WOLF
The seventh and newest phase of Crossgates, Sawgrass features 99 townhomes starting at $189,900. The Manor Township neighborhood, bordered by the front nine holes of Crossgates Golf Club, will also include 22 duplexes with first-floor master suites, beginning at $280,000....
2011-04-27 12:58:00
LYNN COMMERO
Tow-truck operator Gary Hoover told the East Lampeter Township supervisors April 19 that he is still not happy with a new township policy. The policy, which went into effect Nov. 1, 2010, establishes a rotating list of towing businesses to be called by township police when needed. Each ......
2011-04-24 00:06:00
PAULA WOLF
Economics professor Sean Flaherty can't find anything about home-sale trends here that really stands out. "It's just kind of a 'blah' market," said Flaherty, who teaches at Franklin & Marshall College. Not too many real estate agents would disagree with that interpretation. The......
2011-04-23 15:46:00
PAULA WOLF
"I always wanted to own an inn," Georgie Blymier-Heisey said. When the Lancaster County resident began looking for a bed-and-breakfast site, her quest didn't start in the Garden Spot, where there are already quite a few B&Bs. The jewel she eventually found was right in her backyard,......
2011-04-16 16:08:00
PAULA WOLF
After living in Mount Gretna, Kim and Ric Petrosky wanted to move to Hempfield School District, where he teaches fifth grade at Centerville Elementary School and she's an eighth-grade English teacher at Landisville Middle School. The couple, parents of a 1 1/2-year-old daughte......
2011-04-09 14:15:00
PAULA WOLF
Three years after purchasing the former Hungerford Insulation warehouse in Elizabethtown for its youth center — to include a new skateboard park — Cornerstone Community Ministries is close to completing major improvements to the building. Executive Director John My......
2011-04-02 15:50:00
PAULA WOLF
For much of the past 10 years, the county housing market was running on all cylinders. But now sales activity could use a little post-recession boost, and the Lancaster Housing Opportunity Partnership is stepping in. After a decade-long hiatus, LHOP — in conjunction......
2011-03-26 16:26:00
PAULA WOLF
This weekend, Tim Hershey moved into his new home in Arbor Rose Estates. An account manager with Concept Connections in Manheim Township, Hershey said he was able to modify the floor plan by widening the house a few feet, adding a finished basement and installing French doors.......
2011-03-19 20:16:00
PAULA WOLF
Accommodating buyer demand for more living space, Cedar Hollow has added a second townhouse floor plan. The 1,456-square-foot design — highlighted by a 22-by-13-foot living room and a basement that's easier to finish — starts at $179,900. When completed, Cedar......
2011-03-12 16:02:00
PAULA WOLF
To Rick Frescatore, the Spring Home Show is a way to educate the public about sustainability, which he defines as "not depleting resources for future generations." "We're a mission-driven organization," said Frescatore, president and co-owner of Fresco Green Building Supplies.......
2011-03-05 15:45:00
PAULA WOLF
A York developer plans to buy the former Gerberich-Payne Shoe Co. factory in Mount Joy and turn it into retail space, offices and 30 upscale apartments. Real Services Inc. is behind the mixed-use project, called Sole Flats. The company's president, John Woodward, said he hopes......
2011-02-26 16:04:00
PAULA WOLF
Keystone Custom Homes' Worthington at Town Square is moving into high gear as it enters its third phase. The Manheim Township subdivision, off Oregon Road next to the Lancaster Jewish Community Center, is one of the builder's signature projects, Keystone President Larry Wisdom......
2011-02-19 16:26:00
ERIC G. STARK
In Paul Stoltzfus' world, the men are good carpenters and craftsmen. They build barns and homes. "I'm not one of them," the 52-year-old Amish man said, smiling as he eased back into a chair at his office. "You can't lump us all together." Stoltzfus, owner of Leola Coach S......
2011-02-12 21:58:00
PAULA WOLF
After living in their home 17 years, a Lancaster County couple faced the unthinkable: The prospect of losing that house because they fell behind on their mortgage payments. The financial nightmare started when the wife lost her job in the medical field. But instead of awa......
2011-02-12 16:53:00
PAULA WOLF
SACA Development Corp. is nearing completion of 13 townhomes on North and Locust streets in Lancaster, representing the third phase of its Homeownership Choice Program. The 2 1/2-story mostly brick residences, which sell for $99,600, reflect the corporation's commitment to imp......
2011-02-06 00:01:00
PAULA WOLF
Spring might not be right around the corner, but the Suburban Pennsylvania Spring Home Show is. The three-day event featuring local and national exhibitors of housing products and services will be held at the Lancaster County Convention Center, 25 S. Queen St. The conve......
2011-01-30 00:04:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
The weak housing market in Lancaster County has taken its toll on homebuilders, homeowners and real estate professionals. It also has walloped the bottom line for virtually every county school district and municipality. Revenue from real estate transfer taxes plunged by 38 percent be......
2011-01-30 00:02:00
TIM MEKEEL, Business Editor
Local Realtors like to say Lancaster County is a great place to buy a home. Last week, they got some research to back that up. Lancaster County is the seventh-best place in the country to buy a house this year, according to Zillow.com, ......
2011-01-23 00:04:00
PAULA WOLF
Offering her take on the Lancaster County real estate market, JoAnne Freidly was guardedly optimistic. "It does seem to be picking up a little bit," said Freidly, who co-manages Prudential Homesale Services Group's Centerville Road office. And given the difficult economic......
2011-01-23 00:03:00
PAULA WOLF
With its Winters Ridge development, New Providence's Gerard Builders continues to expand its reach into York County. The neighborhood straddling East Prospect Borough and Lower Windsor Township features 35 single-family lots. Including a discount in effect till April 1, some h......
2011-01-20 21:51:00
STAFF REPORT
The Lancaster County Association of Realtors honored three members and installed 2011 officers and directors at its 76th annual banquet Thursday at the Lancaster Host Resort.
Honored were:
• Glenn Yoder of Hometowne Realty Professionals as Realtor of the Year......
2011-01-20 10:42:00
TIM MEKEEL
An Elizabethtown property that was among the Historic Landmarks for Living redevelopments has been sold for $5.0 million.
Peach Alley Court apartments has been sold to two Huntingdon Valley brothers, according to courthouse records filed Jan. 5.
Allen N. and Gary R. Segal, of AGM ......
2011-01-16 00:05:00
PAULA WOLF
Edington Place, Lancaster Township's newest development, is targeting first-time homebuyers and others, with floor plans starting at less than $190,000. The neighborhood at Millersville Road and Honeysuckle Lane will feature 34 duplexes. The model home there has just been comp......
2011-01-09 00:08:00
PAULA WOLF
More than four years after building its first spec home in The Farm on Quarry Road, Simeral Construction has completed a second one. The 3,528-square-foot residence — reflecting Bucks County farmhouse influences — features an abundance of custom features and is lis......
2011-01-08 18:51:00
PAULA WOLF
To one local man whose family experienced foreclosure on their home, the process was as demeaning as it was traumatic. Lending institutions, he said, "look at you as a number." Plenty of others are finding themselves in the same boat. Despite a measurable slowdown the pas......
2011-01-02 00:06:00
PAULA WOLF
Steve Lehmann and his wife, Cindy, checked out a number of 55-and-older communities before choosing Alden Place in Lebanon County. The 283-acre Cornwall Borough subdivision — on land that once belonged to Peter Grubb, builder of historic Cornwall Furnace — is in a ......
2010-12-26 00:06:00
PAULA WOLF
Nine years ago, on a lark, Charter Homes & Neighborhoods included a "man cave" in one of its Millcreek model houses. "It was our attempt at humor," said Charter President Rob Bowman, who saw the male sanctuary "as a place to smoke cigars." But because it turned out ......
2010-12-19 00:02:00
PAULA WOLF
Prudential Homesale Services Group announced last week that it has acquired five Long & Foster Real Estate offices in southcentral Pennsylvania, including the one in Lancaster County. The Lancaster-based company, which reported more than $1.4 billion in sales last year, al......
2010-12-12 00:16:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
Indian Springs Drive LLC figured the value of its property had fallen. And so should its tax bill. The firm owns the Jay Group headquarters in West Hempfield Township; Jay Group CEO and president Dana Chryst is also president of Indian Springs Drive. The offices, storage and d......
2010-12-12 00:04:00
PAULA WOLF
Rob Bowman has two words for anyone thinking of purchasing a new home: "Buy now." With material costs going up and regulations adding expense, the price of new houses may rise next year, the president of Charter Homes & Neighborhoods said. But deciding whether to......
2010-12-05 00:04:00
PAULA WOLF
When Marilyn Berger and Lou Naumann took over the stagnant Northgate condominium project, they wanted to hit the ground running. So there they were Memorial Day weekend — before their purchase of the property at North Queen and East Lemon streets was finalized — pl......
2010-11-02 17:17:00
CHAD UMBLE
Mill Creek Square shopping center is adding the county's first Red Robin restaurant.
The 228-seat gourmet-burger eatery is due to open in the spring, Mill Creek developer High Real Estate Group said Tuesday.
Red Robin franchisee Lehigh Valley Restaurant Group has signed a ground l......
2010-10-23 14:26:00
PAULA WOLF
After bottoming out in July, Lancaster County home sales continued their steady rebound in September, posting a 12.3 percent increase over August.
And while the number of settlements through the first nine months of 2010 lags 4.5 percent behind the total at this time last y......
2010-10-14 22:37:00
BERNARD HARRIS
The Lancaster County Convention Center is decorated with dozens of paintings, sculptures, photographs and other art works to showcase the talent of local artists.
Yet on the second level of the downtown meeting center is a two-story wall that remains blank 14 months after the building ope......
2010-10-11 21:14:00
JOAN KERN
There's a little house on North Plum Street that's waiting for a family to make it a home.
And that family is going to be very happy.
The three-story circa 1900 row house offers the best of both worlds: historic charm and modern conveniences.
The beautifully renovated, ene......
2010-10-07 20:54:00
JANET KELLEY
A Lancaster Township woman has been ordered by a Lancaster County judge to pay more than half a million dollars to an insurance company. Melanie Beasom, 32, of Spring Ridge Lane, sold real estate title insurance under the name of Rhino Settlement Services Inc., an underwriter ......
2010-09-19 00:06:00
TIM MEKEEL, Business Editor
So you felt left out when you weren't invited to the big party last night. But at least you don't have a hangover this morning. That's sort of what the Lancaster County's real estate market has gone through. It missed the wildest and craziest parts of the infamous re......
2010-09-15 22:46:00
DAVID O'CONNOR
If "we don't get a price that we feel is appropriate, we just won't sell it," is how John Bingham put it.
"We're not going to take a low bid" on the land just to sell it, the East Hempfield Township supervisors' chairman added.
The board took major steps toward marketing and selli......
2010-09-15 21:20:00
CHAD UMBLE
Just weeks away from the opening of Kohl's at Mill Creek Square, its developer has announced that Staples and three other new tenants will be part of the $40 million shopping center along Route 30.
Staples will be the first anchor store in the second phase of the project, set to open next......
2010-09-05 17:56:00
CINDY STAUFFER and JANE HOLOHAN
They all have risen to the top of businesses: restaurants, real estate, software, car sales.
You likely have seen her signs or watched his commercials. You may have eaten at his places. You might have used his software and not even known it.
You also might have wondered: How did t......
2010-08-29 00:20:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
Ed Diller calls himself the "Lot King." And for a while, it was good to be the king. Diller, a Realtor with Long & Foster Real Estate, likes to match builders or developers with an available piece of ground. In fast-growing Lancaster County, it kept him pretty busy. B......
2010-08-26 18:15:00
ROXANNE McROBERTS
When you're having a summer picnic or a holiday party, you sweep the patio and wipe down the porch furniture or light candles and primp the house by putting the pile of mail and magazines in a cabinet and other "stuff" out of sight.Considered one of the biggest sales ventures......
2010-08-21 17:33:00
PAULA WOLF
Like a lot of people, when Debbie Martin heard the word bilevel, she thought of boxy, 1970s-era homes that seemed well past their prime. So when she went to check out new bilevels in West Lampeter Township's Summer Breeze development, Martin was a bit, well, skeptical. She also didn......
2010-08-21 17:29:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
The number of foreclosures in Lancaster County is up 5 percent for the first seven months of the year — but the pace may be slowing. According to figures from the Lancaster County Prothonotary's office, 816 foreclosures were filed here from January to July, up from 779 during the f......
2010-08-16 22:06:00
TIM MEKEEL
Correction Aug. 17, 2010 — Due to an editing error, the article below about the sale of the Best Buy property incorrectly stated its location. It is in Lancaster city.•••The G......
2010-07-29 21:20:00
TIM MEKEEL
High Steel Structures and High Concrete Group have settled alleged violations of toxic chemical reporting requirements, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday.The alleged paperwork violations, which High brought to the attention of EPA inspectors, were at High Steel plants ......
2010-07-03 21:12:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
Ciara Young calls it the story of the ever-shrinking house. Young is a real estate attorney who bought her 3,000-square-foot home in a Penn Township development called Sweetbriar Creek nearly three years ago. She thought she knew what her neighborhood was going to look like once it was built......
2010-06-27 17:32:00
STAFF
Summaries of local news stories from the pages of the Intelligencer Journal and Lancaster New Era appear in this space each Monday. They are researched and compiled by staff member Tim Buckwalter. Full versions are available on microfilm at Lancaster Public Library, 125 N. Duke St....
2010-06-14 22:37:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Lancaster County transportation officials are downsizing their ambitions four months after they were passed over for a huge federal grant to improve Harrisburg Pike.Their original application seeking $91.5 million is being pared to $30.8 million.The scope of the work also is being r......
2010-05-27 23:34:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
An East Drumore Township barn was destroyed by a two-alarm fire Thursday afternoon.A witness said the barn, on a farm at 672 Wesley Road, had flames coming through the roof when the alarm was called in at 3:15 p.m.By the time firefighters arrived, the entire barn was involved....
2010-04-25 00:04:00
PAULA WOLF
Buoyed by the advent of warmer weather, Lancaster County buyers signed 542 contracts last month to purchase homes — a 24.2 percent increase over the 422 pending sales recorded in March 2009. It's the 10th straight month pending home sales topped the previous year's numbers, off......
2010-04-18 00:21:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
If America's foreclosure crisis has an epicenter in Lancaster County, Dave Porter's neighborhood might be it. Porter lives on Ruby Street in the City of Lancaster, where a decade ago he built a basketball court behind his house, "Tornado Alley," which became a hangout for l......
2010-04-08 21:14:00
CINDY STAUFFER
A partner in a real estate settlement business has been charged with wire fraud and unlawful monetary transactions for an alleged scheme that cost the firm about $258,000 and forced it out of business in 2008. Shawn Chambers-Galis, 47, of Mount Joy, is being charged with a "scheme to defraud......
2010-03-28 00:04:00
PAULA WOLF
Last year, Laurel Heinley decided it was time to start looking for a house. "I didn't feel like renting anymore," said the 20 year old, who graduated in November from the Lancaster campus of YTI Career Institute, where she's now employed. With her father assisting in h......
2010-03-24 07:33:00
TIM MEKEEL
It's a rare sight these days in Lancaster County, or anywhere else across the country — construction workers busy on a shopping center.And the contractors hustling to build Mill Creek Square signify another unusual event — a spike in construction work here.Total cons......
2010-03-16 00:01:00
JACK BRUBAKER
Don Ranck said he hasn't changed his mind about Lancaster County's farm preservation program since it began three decades ago.
"I don't see any redeeming value in it," the Paradise Township farmer and chairman of township supervisors said bluntly.
"Let the marketplace work. Keep g......
2010-02-12 21:48:00
TOM KNAPP
The Pennsylvania Music Expo is on the move again.Keystone Record Collectors, a 30-year-old nonprofit group for music and vinyl enthusiasts, has lost its lease at the Ramada Inn, 521 Greenfield Road.The exposition had been held only once at the Ramada location, in January, according ......
2010-02-07 00:04:00
PAULA WOLF
Though she's the first female president of the Building Industry Association of Lancaster County, Connie King doesn't think of herself as a pioneer. "I've always kind of looked at gender as being a nonissue," she said. "I grew up with a 'girls can do anyth......
2010-01-24 00:18:00
PAULA WOLF
In 2009, home sales in Lancaster County dropped slightly from the year before, recording a 1.8 percent decrease. But that doesn't come close to telling the whole story. To paraphrase Charles Dickens, 2009 was a tale of two markets when it came to residential real estate, with double......
2010-01-14 07:29:00
TIM MEKEEL
The region's biggest real estate firm is forming a joint venture with the nation's biggest mortgage lender.Prudential Homesale Services Group and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage are creating HomeSale Lending LLC, effective Feb. 1.The new firm will combine Prudential's existing......
2010-01-09 09:29:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Ben Bamford didn't know he was making history. He just wants to get people involved.Bamford, 45, took office this week as the second Democrat on the Lancaster Township supervisors board. In doing so, he shifted the board to Democratic control for the first time in Lancaster Township......
2009-12-28 00:00:00
STAFF
Summaries of local news stories from the pages of the Intelligencer Journal and Lancaster New Era appear in this space each Monday. They are researched and compiled by staff member Tim Buckwalter. Full versions are available on microfilm at the Lancaster County Library, 125 N. Duke St....
2009-12-22 07:14:00
TIM MEKEEL
Ross Dress for Less will arrive in Lancaster County by opening a store at Mill Creek Square, it was announced Monday.The California-based apparel chain will be the fourth anchor at the Lincoln Highway East property, due to open in fall 2010.Ross will join Kohl's, Bed Bath & ......
2009-12-13 00:19:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
Out on Route 30 in East Lampeter Township, Rodney Gleiberman is partying like it's 1999. And he's not happy about it. Gleiberman, general manager of the Continental Inn, says the sluggish economy continues to punish the local hospitality industry. "I've endured probably ou......
2009-12-13 00:10:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
Another chapter in the saga of the former Holiday Inn at 521 Greenfield Road has come to an end. And so might its life as a hotel. Friday, High Real Estate Group announced its affiliate, High Properties, purchased the building and an adjacent parcel of land in a foreclosure sale conduct......
2009-11-22 00:06:00
PAULA WOLF
Thirty-one years ago, when Earl Hess became president of Hess Home Builders, residential construction was on the verge of a major downturn. Now as his son Randy Hess prepares to assume the reins of the family business, the industry is again struggling. But it's the ability to adapt ......
2009-11-16 00:00:00
PATTI S. SPENCER
The first Home Buyer Tax Credit program was established by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. It provided for a fully refundable tax credit of 10 percent of the purchase price (up to a maximum of $7,500) for "first-time home buyers" (defined as those who had not owned a home in the th......
2009-11-15 00:15:00
PAULA WOLF
After renting for years, Trish Salvadia is on the verge of owning a house, thanks in part to the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit. The credit was set to expire at the end of this month, but because President Barack Obama signed an extension Nov. 6, more buyers like Salvadia will be able to take a......
2009-11-12 07:17:00
TIM MEKEEL
The owners of Red Rose Commons have refinanced their shopping center, ending the foreclosure threat posed by their previous lender.The Goldenberg Group and the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust have obtained a new mortgage for $24.9 million from M&T Bank.With that fresh ......
2009-11-11 07:17:00
TIM MEKEEL
A New Jersey investor has bought the land for the newly opened Lowe's for $10.2 million, according to courthouse records.Paul Schmidt Sr. bought the 16.1-acre parcel from the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust.The transaction was filed in the courthouse Nov. 2.Schm......
