Maas Companies of Rochester, Minn. will auction the former Wind River Mushroom Farm facility including real estate, equipment and three late model modular homes Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. onsite at 1008 West 7th Street, Shoshoni, Wyoming.

Wind River Mushroom Farm operated from 2004 to 2006 but was forced to close two years later after a repeated labor shortage. The facility is state of the art and cost more than $8 million to build.

The auction will offer as one parcel: 158 acre site, 82,902 sq. ft. heavy industrial processing warehouse, 10,000 sq. ft. industrial shop and three late model modular homes. The property has tremendous potential and the ability for on-site staff housing.

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Pulte Homes, Inc. (NYSE: PHM) today announced it has entered into a second amendment (the “Rights Amendment”) to the Section 382 Rights Agreement between Pulte and Computershare Trust Company, N.A., as rights agent, dated as of March 5, 2009 as amended as of April 7, 2009 (as amended, the “Rights Plan”).

The Rights Amendment made a number of revisions to the expiration date of the rights. If the Pulte shareholders do not approve the Rights Plan at the 2010 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, it will expire on June 1, 2010. The final expiration date was changed from March 16, 2019 to June 1, 2013.

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Officials of Hilton Garden Inn, the global brand of upscale, yet affordable hotels, today announced it remains on pace to reach near-record development numbers in 2009 with 60 new hotels expected to open and 200 hotel projects in the pipeline. This pace is slightly off 2008’s record-breaking openings, but is still one of the brand’s fullest pipelines of hotel projects approved, in design or under construction.

“The past 18 months have been the most challenging for hotel development in the brand’s 13-year history,” said Adrian Kurre, Global Head, Hilton Garden Inn. “Financing has been difficult, but our franchisees have found that strong brands with high consumer acceptance and a proven track record in all phases of the economic cycle still attract lender interest. The industry has not overdeveloped in this past cycle, compared to the past several decades, and even though demand has diminished temporarily, there is still a need for fresh new hotels in growing markets.”

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The Real Estate Rangers, the premier real estate firm serving the city of Tucson Arizona and surrounding Pima County metropolitan area, proudly announced the launch of its enhanced website- RealEstateRangers.com. Redesigned to be the ultimate resource for Tucson AZ real estate, the site promises to be an extension of the firm’s reputable services and to offer all of the necessary tools and information that is required by both buyers and sellers.

RealEstateRangers.com is a new interactive online resource focused on providing real estate tools, information, and property listings for Tucson, AZ. Created and launched by the local Real Estate Rangers of Century 21, the goal and purpose of the company and the website is to provide the very best real estate services for the local community.

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The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today hosted a Residential Real Estate Appraisal Summit with federal regulatory agencies and the major housing and financial institution stakeholder and appraisal organizations to discuss constructive solutions to appraisal problems.

Among the problems discussed at the summit was the use by some appraisers of foreclosed or other distressed properties as comparables without proper adjustments. Summit participants also addressed unintended consequences from the implementation of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) which are impeding the ability to obtain appraisals of the quality required in today’s distressed markets.

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In my Native country they have a proverb that say “If you live in a Glass House, Don’t throw stones”. I know the owner of this Amazing Glass house adhere to that proverb. The house above, it is located in a forest in the Japanese Town of Karuizawa. The house is made from solid glass walls which are punctuated with bands of wood that both connect it to and separate it from the surrounding forest.

The building site itself was a dark and uninviting space, but the architects managed to make this incredibly beautiful home look perfectly in sync with its surroundings.

[weburbanist]