Incomplete list of residential and commercial construction industry job destruction that took place, or were announced, from July to December 2014:
The U.S. Commerce Department reports a 9.3% drop in new U.S. home construction in the month of June. When broken down by region, the southern states led the country with a 29.6% drop! This is significant because the southern region makes up 40% of U.S. home construction!
Midwest: 28.1% drop
Northeast: 14.1% drop
West: 2.6% drop
RealtyTrac’s top ten list says the Kansas City area (in both Missouri and Kansas) has 305 abandoned homes!
Alabama: Maker of textiles for housing and industrial applications Johnston Textiles warned that its Phenix City factory could shutdown, 140 jobs could be lost! Company administrators are hoping somebody will buy the factory. In Birmingham, L&N Parkside canceled their plans to build 129 apartments and 12-thousand square feet of retail space. The project was dependent on a loan from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD refused to issue the loan! RealtyTrac’s top ten list says Birmingham-Hoover ties second place (percentage wise) with abandoned homes, 37%! In numbers that’s 428 abandoned homes!
Arizona: Local news reports said the Grand Canyon State lost 45-hundred construction jobs in June! British empire Australia based real estate company Colliers International says land sales in Phoenix have crashed 40% in the first half of 2014! Maville Interiors now chapter 11 bankrupt busted, 200 jobs could be lost! The company was one of the largest house painting contractors in the Grand Canyon State. Because of the housing market implosion the company has not been able to pay suppliers or federal taxes.
California: Prometheus Real Estate Group warned it will layoff dozens of real estate agents across several cities by the end of December. Discover Home Loans laid off at least four employees in November. In Los Alamitos, Aramark Management Services eliminated 51 property-facility management jobs in November. In Sunnyvale, Idaho based SummerWinds Nursery shutdown, but only because the greedy Californian property owner sold the land to a hotel developer (for $5-million)! The cities of Modesto, San Bernardino and Stockton have made WalletHub’s Most & Least Recession-Recovered Cities top five list of cities least likely to recover! Diesel, A Bookstore shutdown its Malibu Country Mart store. Company officials blame slow sales and “steep rent” saying “We’ve talked…about reducing rent….but at the end of the day, you’re tied into the lease…” In San Francisco, for the third time Home Depot killed off its planned Bayview store. This time Home Depot officials blame it on skyrocketing costs of construction (they should know).
Colorado: Michigan based Lamar Construction stopped three apartment building projects in the Centennial State, 180 jobs lost! On top of that, four other apartment projects are threatened. In Denver, Little Me’s children clothing store shutdown. The angry owner blamed never ending construction: “I knew I would face many challenges in this venture, but in the twenty years that I have been shopping in Cherry Creek North, lack of foot traffic was not one that I had anticipated. It appears the construction is only going to move closer to our area and we simply cannot make it through another season like the last.”– Jennifer Riches
West Metro Fire Rescue recommended job killing and a 3% pay cut due to voters rejecting a levy that would have increased local tax funding. Fire administrators blame their lack of funding on crashing home values. The ignorant firefighters don’t seem to realize that you can’t squeeze blood from a turnip, in other words the taxpayers are maxed out due to their own crashing revenues and even unemployment! “It’s the economy, stupid!”-attributed to Bill Clinton
Connecticut: In Stamford, after 24 years Littlejohn’s children clothing store shutdown. The co-owner blamed a lot of factors that have crashed their sales since 2008, but she said the final straw was when the greedy landlord jacked up the rent: “…an unattainable rent increase. It was honestly too much of an increase. It would be very difficult, really, or impossible to continue.”-Anda Weyher
Florida: In Brickell, after eight years Finnegan’s River bar being shutdown by greedy property developers. The owners of the bar sold out to a New York company for $15-million. In Coral Springs, condo builder Lauren Enterprises now chapter 11 bankrupt busted. In Fort Lauderdale, It’s been revealed that a 14 year veteran of the ‘American’ football team known as Miami Dolphins, is losing his home to a Too Big to Jail bank foreclosure. That bank is known as the Bank of New York. Bank officials say the football veteran stopped paying his mortgage last year. Records show he had trouble paying his mortgage back in 2009 as well. RealtyTrac’s top ten list says at the end of the 2nd quarter, the Palm Bay area had 2,041 abandoned homes! RealtyTrac reports that southern Florida leads the country in foreclosures; 5,853 foreclosure filings in July! Glades Brewery Partners and Palm Beach Brewery Associates now chapter 11 bankrupt busted. They own a restaurant chain called Brewzii, and recently a judge actually shutdown one of the restaurants for failure to pay rent. After 44 years Miami’s Best Pizza shutdown. The property owner pulled the rug out from under the restaurant owner’s feet, by renting the building to somebody willing to pay far more in rent. Andreas Schreiner of Pubbelly Restaurant Group said their Miami Beach PB Steak restaurant shutdown because “…the rising costs of real estate would not have allowed us to continue to operate PB Steak without raising our prices, which would go against our commitment to our customers, to be a local, everyday eating establishment.” All across southern Florida the federal government seized 21 houses, accusing the Massachusetts (Boston Strong, actually based in Marlborough) based owner, TelexFREE, of scamming immigrants from Brazil and Dominican Republic to the tune of $1-billion USD! By the way, Too Big to Jail Boston Strong (Fitchburg) Fidelity Bank agreed to pay a $3.5-million fine for their role in the TelexFREE scam. After 101 years (surviving the Great Depression and numerous recessions) Tobacco Road Bar shutdown by the greedy property owner, who refuses to renew the lease. In University Park, Shapes Total Fitness discriminatory women’s only fitness club shutdown, it’s blamed on the property owners for jacking up the rent.
Georgia: The city of Sandy Springs imposed a 60 day ban on the construction of new apartments. After 16 years the Augusta Ice Sports Center announced it’s being forced to shutdown in August. It’s blamed on the greedy property owner who has gotten a $2-million offer for the property.
Hawaii: The Kahala Shell Auto Care shop shutdown, 35 jobs lost. The new owners will operate it as a fueling station only, blaming new land lease rules. In Waikiki, Too Big to Jail Capital One shutdown their 360 Cafe in August. The property is owned by California based American Commercial Equities and it might have been sold off. In Kakaako, after only eight months the interior design eStyle Hawaii store shutdown because the greedy landowner kicked them out! The property is being redeveloped. In Honolulu, the operators of a 59 years old Foodland grocery store shutdown in December. Real estate analysts say local Hawaiian business are being killed by ‘big box’ stores and property speculators from mainland U.S.A., and Foodland customers agree: “…it’s all the construction and they’re bringing in all the mainland retailers, so it’s kind of sad…”-Eulie Villegas, loyal Foodland shopper
Idaho: Administrators with “the nation’s largest supplier of building materials for home building” ProBuild announced they’re shutting down their Sandpoint ops due to crashing sales. In November the Associated Press revealed that furniture maker Kimball International will shutdown and sell off its Post Falls metal fab shop, 250 jobs lost! Due to the bad economy the company is consolidating ops to Indiana. Despite the November revelation by Associated Press, company administrators waited until December to file a mandatory WARN with state employment administrators. RealtyTrac’s top ten list says at the end of the 2nd quarter the Boise-Nampa area had 765 properties in foreclosure, and 237 homes abandoned! In Naples, it was revealed that Washington based Alta Forest Products (whose main product is fencing for homes) laid off at least 25 employees and hours for other mill employees were reduced. Salesman Jeff Cook kinda blamed the housing market saying “We’ve lost a lot of sawmills and building products companies since 2007.” However, it’s probably due to the May 2014 merger of TMI Forest Products and Welco Lumber, which created Alta Forest Products. What’s (not) funny is company officials promised that job security was the goal of the merger: “This agreement will help secure employment to the local communities and strengthen the regional economy built on the growing lumber industry.”-company statement
Illinois: RJB Properties rendered 41 employees unemployed. Lawn and garden products maker County Stone Holdings now chapter 11 bankrupt busted. Company administrators blame crashing sales to homeowners, resulting in at least 74 employees becoming unemployed. Mattress maker Sealy announced it will shutdown its Batavia factory in 2015, at least 174 jobs lost! It’s the result of Tempur-Pedic taking over Sealy.
Indiana: In Evansville, Springleaf Finance announced they are shutting down their mortgage operation, 170 jobs lost!
Iowa: In Des Moines, after 92 years (surviving the Great Depression & numerous recessions) Owen Crist Auto Body Service shutdown. The family owners were bought out by property developers.
Kansas: RealtyTrac says Wichita leads the U.S. (percentage wise) with abandoned homes, 49%! In numbers that’s 146 homes! In Kansas City, after 50 years Quick’s Bar-B-Q shutdown. The owner says road construction is killing off mom-n-pops: “…I want to get out on my terms and while things are good. It is hard and these little mom-and-pop folks, you see them dropping.”-Ron Quick
After 91 years (surviving the Great Depression and numerous recessions) Jilka Furniture announced it will shutdown in December: “With the many changes taking place in the furniture industry, we felt it was a wise decision to close our store.”-Bud and Loretta Jilka
Kentucky: O’Brien & Gere engineering laid off 27 employees as it shutdown its Louisville office, blaming a decline in taxpayer funded government construction projects.
Maine: After 61 years window maker Waterville Window now chapter 7 bankrupt busted and liquidating. The company began laying off employees in December 2013. Old Town Fuel & Fiber shutdown without notice: “Effective immediately all Old Town mill operations will be indefinitely suspended. All employees not needed for securing the facility will be furloughed.”-Patriarch Partners statement
180 employees affected: “We don’t need you to come in tomorrow. Go sign up for unemployment!”-unnamed employee relating to local news media what they were told
Local news reports say the new owners of the mill shut it down to address environmental problems caused by the dilapidated former Georgia Pacific mill and “We shut down to make repairs to our biomass boilers and ended up finding more work than we expected.”, said HR director Dan Bird. Bird also blamed competition from mills using low grade eucalyptus trees.
The mill also owes $1-million in local taxes!
Maryland: In Rockville, RoundPoint Mortgage killed off 68 mortgage jobs. In Silver Springs, after 64 years Dale Music Company shutdown. The co-owner blamed the bad economy and greedy property developers: “We have done what we can. It would be too expensive to move, and with Silver Spring redevelopment happening now, we decided it was best to close our doors.”-Carol Warden
Massachusetts: The Andover Bookstore threatened to shutdown, the owner says they can no longer afford to pay the rent. In New Bedford, after 82 years (and surviving the Great Depression and numerous recessions) Converse Photo Supply shutdown. Don’t blame technology, the owners had gotten into the business of recovering pics off memory cards that were thought to have been erased. The owners said they sold the building after they were approached by a property speculator. RealtyTrac’s top ten list says at the end of the 2nd quarter Worcester had 394 abandoned homes! After just eight months The Rug Department store shutdown one of its two stores. The bankrupt owners are selling it off. After 56 years Hyannis based Mill Stores chain furniture store shutdown at least nine of its brick-n-mortar outlets across several states.
Michigan: British empire Australia based real estate company Colliers International shutdown their Detroit office. Company officials blame it on the loss of their brokers. WalletHub’s Most & Least Recession-Recovered Cities ranks the Failed State of Detroit as being the least likely of all failed U.S. cities to recover! After 125 years the building housing the iconic and elitist Detroit Club went up for auction only seven months after the new owner spent more than a million dollars buying and renovating the building. The starting bid was less than a million! The Failed State Detroit Land Bank dumping homes in the Boston-Edison area. Those homes have been labeled “disasters” by local news media. In East Lansing, after 50 years Goodrich’s Shop Rite shutdown. The owners said their lease expired and the property owners wanted mo money. Washtenaw County reports that by July of this year they’ve held 259 tax foreclosure sales. In Hudsonville, after 76 years Lamar Construction Company shutdown without notice, 280 jobs lost! Local news reports said company officials made “vague references” to the bad economy.
Minnesota: In Minneapolis, after nine years Social House restaurant shutdown, the operators blame the property owner for kicking them out, saying “We had absolutely no control over this situation…” Minneapolis based retailer Target eliminated 120 real estate manager jobs (80 occupied, 40 vacant) as the company decided to drastically cut back its plans to open new stores. In Duluth, after 12 years the Brownie Furniture store shutdown.
Mississippi: After only two years Margaritaville Casino warned of bankruptcy and that it will shutdown in September, 350 jobs lost! Attorneys for the casino said the property owner refused to allow the building of a hotel, which was part of the original plan: “Everybody wants a better outcome, everybody but the landlords.”-Michael Cavanaugh
Missouri: RealtyTrac says Saint Louis ranks 34% with abandoned homes! HVAC company Nordyne shutting down their Poplar Bluff and Boonville operations by June 2015, at least 700 jobs lost! In numbers, Saint Louis has 847 abandoned homes! In Saint Louis, Concrete Coring went chapter 11 bankrupt busted. Attorneys for the company blame the bad economy saying the company “…has been unable so far to work out from under its debt generated following the faltering economy in late 2008 and into 2009 and beyond.” Builder of hospitals, HBE Company, has ceased building new hospitals due to Obama Care! Former employees blamed it on the Obama Care funding crash, saying loses accelerated into Death Spiral mode in 2013. Here’s what HBE President and CEO Fred Kummer said: “The reason for the decision to stop seeking future work is a result of the very real changes that the current administration in Washington has brought about in healthcare.”
In Universal City, after 33 years the Good Works Furniture Store shutdown, the owners blaming the city’s $43-million trolley public transportation plan for blocking access to the store: “It will make the traffic pattern in the Loop that much more difficult. In the end, we will end up with a Trolley that’s going to increase the tourism traffic.”-Rita Navarro
Montana: In Columbia Falls, F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber laid off ten sawmill employees. It’s blamed on a federal court ruling that says no logging can be done in ‘protected’ grizzly bear habitat.
Nevada: RealtyTrac’s top ten list says at the end of the 2nd quarter the Las Vegas area had 1670 abandoned homes! In Las Vegas, inside sources revealed that Downtown Project killed 30 corporate jobs. The Project is a joint venture between public and private sectors, in an attempt to revitalize East Fremont Street. It sounds more like an excuse to sell off properties cheap. Project administrators refuse comment on the reported layoffs.
New Jersey: Newark has made WalletHub’s Most & Least Recession-Recovered Cities top five list of cities least likely to recover! In Hamilton, Congoleum shutdown their vinyl flooring plant, 65 jobs lost in September. Company officials blame it on the bad economy and lawsuits over its products. Membership store Costco (formerly known as Price Club) announced they’re shutting down their Hackensack store sometime in 2015. But it’s only because they’re building a new store three miles away in Teterboro. Company administrators told local news media they haven’t decided what to do with the Hackensack property, yet. The move might result in huge property tax losses for Hackensack. In Raritan, after 11 years women’s clothing store Chaos shutdown. The owner, Karen Brooks, said “With rent, utilities and other operating costs, it’s hard to see the value in trying to keep up.”
New Mexico: The Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors says July 2014 homes sale crashed 12.35% from July 2013! However, the average sale price went up by 3.7%. The U.S. Census Bureau says homeownership is crashing in the Land of Enchantment. For the 2nd quarter of 2014 it fell to 63.9%, compare that to 1st quarter 2011 when it was 72.8%. Crashing homeownership rates correspond to skyrocketing unemployment in New Mexico.
New York: In NYC, after 60 years iconic Smith’s Bar & Restaurant shutdown due to the rent being jacked up, employees were given a one week notice. In Albany, Capital Region Multiple Listing Service showed home sales dropped 5% from June 2013 to June 2014. Median home prices fell 6%. After 77 years the Subway Inn announced it will shutdown in August. It’s being done in by a greedy property developer, the son of the bar owner said “It is upsetting but times have changed.” RealtyTrac’s top ten list says at the end of the 2nd quarter, Syracuse ranked with 33% abandoned homes! In Greenwich Village the Pink Elephant bar went chapter 7 bankrupt busted. It’s blamed on the greedy property owner. In Latham, amusement park Hoffman’s Playland shutdown. It turns out the owners can make more money re-developing the property as something else! In Brooklyn, pre-fab building maker FC + Skanska Modular shutdown in October due to a lost contract, 157 jobs lost! In Buffalo, the Pizza Plant restaurant shutdown because of the greedy landlord: “We couldn’t come to terms with the landlord on a lease.”-Bob Syracuse, owner
North Carolina: In Greensboro, after 18 years Mahi’s Seafood Restaurant shutdown. The owner said he wanted to move to a cheaper location, but the economy is so bad he couldn’t pay for the move. Internet based RoundPoint Mortgage laid off 166 employees in September! In Havelock, an 18 years old Food Lion grocery store shutdown in October. Company officials said the high rent killed it off. After 29 years Forbes Custom Cabinets of Apex went chapter 7 bankrupt busted, which usually means they’re ‘dead’. Iconic furniture maker La-Z-Boy announced they will shutdown their High Point office by the end of 2016, at least 38 jobs lost.
Ohio: RealtyTrac reports that Ohio’s foreclosure rate jumped 23% from July 2013 to July 2014. Assurant (which is mainly a health insurance company) laid off 75 Specialty Property jobs in Springfield. The Assurant Special Property unit deals with mortgages, and apparently the job losses are the result of Assurant losing a big client. In Dayton, the Dayton Mall and the Mall at Fairfield Commons are both up for sale. They are the biggest malls in the city. Also in Dayton, after 27 years Patio & Hearth shutdown. In Cleveland, California based Too Big to Jail Wells Fargo shutdown a commercial real estate office. In the Toledo area, RealtyTrac reports that foreclosure rates jumped 100% from June 2013 to June 2014! But wait there’s more. From May 2013 to May 2014 the foreclosure rate in the Toledo area jumped 149%! Local news media showed many rental properties with “free rent” signs in the windows! Landlords said the problem is that potential renters claim they can’t afford the rent. On top of that, if they try and sell the property many buyers are being denied loans by the Too Big to Jail banks! One property owner says this problem goes way back before the 2008 market crash: “Between 1999 and 2001 I thought this town was going to move, that something was going to happen. It didn’t happen…..This was a huge investment ….”-Dino Sarris, Macid Corporation
Montgomery County reports that property values have crashed by more than $1-billion, affecting “…more than 70% of residential home owners…”! Karl Keith, Montgomery County auditor, puts it succinctly: “Property values are at their lowest level in more than a decade. Clearly, the recession has been a kick in the gut!”
Oregon: What housing market recovery? RealtyTrac says the Portland area ties second place (percentage wise) with abandoned homes, 37%! In numbers, the Portland area has 804 abandoned homes!
Pennsylvania: After 69 years Shehadi Appliance shutdown. The owners are pissed because their prices were in line with ‘big box’ stores, but it didn’t matter: “You can see the surprise in people when they say ‘Wow, you are the same price as Lowe’s.’ Then they walk out the door and go to Lowe’s!”-Richard Roman, co-owner
Shopping center owner Pennsylvania REIT laid off about 10 employees. The commercial property owner said they are responding to “changing consumer dynamics”. In Peckville, after 50 years PJ’s Home Center shutdown, the owner demanded to know where the economic recovery was! In Lawrenceville, Paragon Foods canceled their plans to build a distribution center. The female president of the company said “It was unaffordable for us…” In Harrisburg, Zia’s at Red Door shutdown. The owner blames jacked up rent and the fact that the idiot A-hole city officials jacked up the cost of parking at the restaurant: “Parking definitely has a lot to do with it. We lost a lot of customers. A lot of customers won’t come down because of it.”-Rocco Rama
Tennessee: In Memphis, the Memphis Area Association of Realtors report that home sales have dropped 24.7% from August 2013 to August 2014, but it could be because prices have gone up 11%.
Texas: Austin based construction contractor and designer Biscayne Group went chapter 7 bankrupt busted. Biscayne Group is a major operation that has worked on big projects across the country. Chapter 7 usually means the company will cease to exist. Also in Austin, the Villa de Soliel mansion was auctioned off in August, reportedly with no set minimum starting bid! The Pour House Pub shutdown. The property is being demolished for a big retail development. In Dallas (Oak Lawn), after 22 years Good Eats shutdown. The owners blame the greedy property owner saying “our landlord has refused to renew our lease”. Also in Dallas, Riverstone Residential Group killed off 101 jobs! It’s blamed on the loss of an apartment management contract. And maker of roofing materials GAF (General Aniline & Film) Materials laid off 40 people in December. In Houston, J Sussan Interiors shutdown. Local news reports said the owner retired, however, it turns out the entire area is being drastically affected by a huge apartment “tower” building project that’s resulting in many businesses and existing apartments being shutdown! BidClerk reports 2nd quarter 2014 construction funding crashed by $12.2-billion compared to 1st quarter 2014! In Temple, maker of laminate products for homes or business, Wilsonart, laid off at least 57 people: “Today, Wilsonart International announced that it will eliminate certain positions throughout its North America operations as part of a strategic restructuring.”
That “restructuring” includes off-shoring U.S. jobs to other countries. U.S. employees said they got no warning of layoffs: “On my way leaving, they stopped me, and told me that we needed to have a meeting, and they terminated me when we had the meeting.”-unnamed employee interviewed by local TV news
Vermont: The city of Brandon is dealing with crashing tax revenues and as such is warning of slashed funding for public services and the possibility of layoffs. The town treasurer says the crashing tax revenues are the result of unpaid property taxes. A fire killed 170 jobs at the Rutland Plywood Corporation. Firefighters thought they had put out the fire, but then later the warehouse re-ignited. Firefighters are blaming the fire on mechanical failures.
Virginia: In Reston, the largest electrical contractor in the region, Truland Group, now chapter 7 bankrupt busted after ending operations without notice and failing to pay employees (filing for bankruptcy will mean those employees are shit-outa-luck for getting their paychecks). Local news reports said the sudden demise of the company shocked the “commercial real estate industry”. More than 1-thousand jobs lost!
Washington: In Vancouver, after 105 years (surviving the Great deflationary Depression and numerous recessions) Luepke Florist announced they will shutdown after Xmas due to the new landlord jacking up the rent. The asphalt division of Spokane Rock Products laid off 45 people in Washington and Idaho, due to being taken over by a competitor. In Shelton, it was revealed that Alta Forest Products laid off employees and reduced working hours (see Idaho for reason). In Seattle, 15 businesses forced to shutdown because of construction of the Elliott Bay Seawall. However, city officials are paying the business owners compensation to ensure they can come back once the construction is done. Also in Seattle, after 20 years the owner of Hurricane Cafe announced he is forced to shutdown. The restaurant owner blames the greedy property owner: “It’s not the way we wanted to go out for sure, losing a lease and getting torn down!”-Neil Scott
Wisconsin: Concrete maker Ojibwa Ready Mix went chapter 7 bankrupt busted, and is being liquidated! The Fox Valley reports a 14% drop in new home starts during the first six months of this year, compared to last year. After getting a $6-million tax break from the state, Ashley Furniture announced they are expanding and killing jobs at the same time! A local news report says the tax deal could end up killing half of Ashley Furniture’s jobs, potentially 1,919 employees!
“Next week marks 6 years since our economy suffered its worst setback since the Great Depression. Yet despite these shocks; through the pain we have felt and the grueling work required to bounce back – America is better positioned today to seize the future than any other nation on Earth. Our technology companies and universities are unmatched; our manufacturing and auto industries are thriving. Energy independence is closer than it’s been in decades. For all the work that remains, our businesses are in the longest uninterrupted stretch of job creation in our history. Despite all the divisions and discord within our democracy, I see the grit and determination and common goodness of the American people every single day – and that makes me more confident than ever about our country’s future.”-Barack Obama, 10 September 2014
