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]

Fiserv Inc., a provider of financial services technology solutions, has announced the availability of its new Aperio Lending solution. Aperio Lending from Fiserv is an integrated, thin client loan origination platform for secured and unsecured loans, such as mortgage and home equity loans, car loans, education loans and staff loans. The solution is available for organizations located in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

“Aperio Lending comes at exactly the right time for financial institutions concerned about consistency, process and control in lending,” said Nick Wilde, managing director, Asia-Pacific, Bank Solutions, Fiserv. “Aperio Lending simplifies and streamlines any complex loan origination process and provides integration with the front office, back office and external service providers. With a single, real-time view of the customer, Fiserv clients using Aperio Lending can improve their decisioning, enter the market faster with new products and deliver a more responsive service to their customers. In addition, the solution?s best-in-class business process, automated workflow and exception management provide better risk management and mitigation capabilities.”

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The American Society of Landscape Architects has announced a new series of comprehensive online resource guides on sustainable design and planning. Created for national and local policymakers, government agencies, design professionals, planners and students, the guides include hundreds of project case studies, research papers, organizations and other government resources on sustainable design aggregated for the first time. The announcement took place at the ASLA 2009 Annual Meeting and EXPO in Chicago.

With expanding urbanization and increased competition for scarce resources, cities and local communities face immense challenges ranging from overburdened infrastructure to decreasing amounts of green space. Sustainable design practices can mitigate the effects of rising greenhouse gas emissions, aid in adaptation to climate change, clean air and water, reduce the urban heat island effect and increase the health and well being of residents all while providing significant long-term savings through lower heating and cooling energy costs, higher property values and viable, livable communities. The guides provide the “best of the best” resources and award-winning projects that offer real economic, social and environmental benefits.

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