West Australians could soon be able to skip planning approvals for small home renovation projects such as patios, decks and extensions under proposed State Government reforms.

The WA Government has brought forward its planning reform package after years of consultation in a bid to stimulate the economy and create jobs amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"For smaller projects in particular patios, for pergolas, or for shade sails we're going to remove the requirement for planning approval," WA Premier Mark McGowan said.

"A household who wants to put up a shed or a patio or some shade sails, to have to get planning approval from the local council is expensive and unnecessary."

Also included in the 26 proposed changes are measures to make the development application process easier for "significant, job-creating projects" over the next 18 months.

That would include projects valued at $30 million or more, residential projects of 100 homes or more, commercial developments sized at a minimum 20,000 square metres and some regional or tourism projects.

The Western Australian Planning Commission will act as the decision maker on those projects if the legislation to be introduced to Parliament is passed.

The Government announced the planned changes as WA reported no new cases of coronavirus overnight.

The state total remains at 557 with three active cases in the community.

There are no COVID-19 patients being treated in WA hospitals.

Mr McGowan said the reforms had been talked about for decades, were long overdue and were vital to help with the state's economic COVID-19 recovery.

"These reforms allow us to clear that red tape away and ensure that we get major developers and minor developers and householders and small businesses the opportunity to get their projects underway far more quickly," Mr McGowan said.

"With far less expense, with better design, with less bureaucracy."

Other reforms are aimed at giving small businesses and homeowners more flexibility and include a number of approval exemptions.

Those reforms include abolishing the small business change of use approval that Mr McGowan said had frustrated small business for years.

"That sort of red tape has driven small business people crazy," Mr McGowan said.

"It's cost us investment, it's cost us jobs."

When announcing the moves, Mr McGowan said he was hopeful the legislation would pass through Parliament quickly.

"So we can get jobs and activity back into the West Australian economy we can get something going after this pandemic and get those thousands of people who have lost their jobs back into the workplace," he said.

But the Government was unsuccessful when it tried to get the changes through the Lower House this afternoon just hours after releasing the bill, saying it was urgent because of the pandemic.

It later backed down with the bill now to be debated next week.

WA Opposition Leader Liza Harvey said she was furious with the Government's approach.

"How urgent is it for people to be able to put up a pergola or a patio without approval before June 30?" Ms Harvey said.

"You have not articulated that. You have not articulated why we have to trash parliamentary process.

"Give agreement to a bill we haven't seen, haven't had time to consult on?

"We are not here to rubber stamp legislation from a Government that has become arrogant in the extreme."

Ms Harvey said while her party had not yet adopted a formal position on the package, it seemed to significantly cut down on unnecessary bureaucracy.

"But we do want to make sure that there are some checks and balances in place because the community are very sensitive to planning issues," she said.

"We need to get across the bill to understand if there are any hidden grenades in there that might actually be detrimental to the community."

The WA Nationals have called for more time to consider the bill.

Housing Industry Association WA executive director Cath Hart praised the "bold planning agenda".

"Some builders have more work stuck in councils than they do on site," she said.

"With COVID causing a 50 per cent contraction in WA's residential building pipeline, getting work approved and on site is more critical than ever to support jobs and the industry."

Ms Hart said the reforms would play an important role in the industry's recovery.

If passed, the changes would give local councils less influence, a development that drew the ire of the local government lobby.

WA Local Government Association (WALGA) president Tracey Roberts said councils had been blindsided by the Government's move and she was only able to access the content of the bill after it was publicly announced.

"We are concerned because we've had no consultation," Ms Roberts said.

"There are concerns as to why this has been rushed through."

Here's a guide to help you work out what will be allowed from May 18 and what is still offlimits.

WA Planning Minister Rita Saffioti said the "significant, job-creating" projects would be a priority to ensure the state had a "pipeline of construction work".

"We need good quality projects and we need a faster way to do that. This is a significant reform for WA," she said.

"It will assist WA's economy and create jobs."

Building approvals for home projects will still be required under the changes.

"You need the planning approval and then the building approval, so we want to eliminate planning approval where we can," Ms Saffioti said.

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Coronavirus slowdown prompts move to axe WA planning approvals for small home renovations - ABC News

Kolkata: Almost after 48 hours the West Bengal government on Saturday called the Army for restoration of the situation post cyclone Amphan. The state government has also written a letter to the Railway Board, urging them to stop all trains carrying migrants till May 26 due to extensive damage caused by the cyclone.

In a letter written by the West Bengal Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha to the Chairman of Railway Board, VK Yadav, the government said, The state has been severely impacted by Super Cyclone Amphan on May 20-21 which caused extensive damage to the infrastructure.

Photo: Debajyoti Chakraborty

Meanwhile, the state Home Department said the state government is mobilizing maximum strength in unified command mode on 247 basis for immediate restoration of essential infrastructure and services asap. Army support has been called for; NDRF and SDRF teams deployed; Railways,Port and private sector too requested to supply teams and equipment. Drinking water and drainage infrastructure getting restored fast. Generators being hired where necessary.

Photo: Debajyoti Chakraborty

In a tweet, the state Home Department said, More than a hundred teams from multiple departments and bodies working for cutting of fallen trees, which is the key to restoration of power in localities. WBSEDCL and CESC asked to deploy maximal manpower, even while lockdown significantly affects the deployment potential of the latter. Police on high alert.

Relief and other measures by Bengal governmentWest Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in an administrative meeting in South 24 Pargana's most affected area Kakdwip area that The devastation and damage in the state amounts to one lakh crore loss. She said, Relief must reach people of the state immediately. There will be no compromise in this regard.

She also asked the administration to supply water pouches till water supply is restored in the state.

Mamata Banerjee expressed apprehensions that COVID-19 cases might increase now in post-Amphan situation. Post-Amphan, the damage and destruction is more serious condition than COVID-19, she said.

In South 24 Parganas alone, 45,000 electric poles have overturned. We have to reconstruct them again. We will focus on rebuilding the houses, Banerjee said. She urged people to take care and be patient.

More people should be engaged in 100 days work. More locals should be deployed and they should be utilized to clear the trees and contribute in the management of disaster, Mamata said.

Meanwhile, three columns of army have been deployed in Kolkata. The army already started removing trees in Rabindra Sarobar area, which fell due to Cyclone. Known to be the green zone of Kolkata and it has a huge number of trees. It is learnt that ten more NDRF teams are coming to West Bengal to help the state government on request.

Protests over power and Electricity disruption across West BengalProtests over power supply and water have been witnessed across the state, including Kolkata.

Citizens across Kolkata, from South to North in Jadavpur, Behala, Baishnaghata, Garia, Kasba and several others demanded power restoration and water supply after cyclone Amphan. The protesters claimed there was no water and electricity for the last three days.

A tree fell on our house. The house is damaged and we cannot enter the house because of it. The tree has not been cut after three days and we dont even know what is stuck below the tree, said Amit Sahu.

EM Bypass, the main lifeline of the city, was blocked by protesters. CESC authority has assured to restore power by tomorrow, Kolkata Mayor said. Many trees were uprooted and many have become homeless.

Photo: Debajyoti Chakraborty

CESC said power connection have been affected and there are all effort to restore it. Due to lockdown there were limited number of workers.

We have children and elderly persons at home. There is no water supply, not even drinking water. So we have blocked the road in our locality Baisnabghata and demanding immediate restoration of power, Mita Das said.

Not only Kolkata, people blocked Kalyani Expressway protesting in Nadia district demanding restoration of power and water supply.

Meanwhile, BJP and TMC activists clashed with each other on E M Bypass, after BJP state President Dilip Ghosh was prevented by police from travelling to Amphan affected districts of South and North 24 Paragans. Police said he cannot travel due to prevailing lockdown situation.

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West Bengal: Government urges Railway Board to stop Shramik Special trains till May 26 in view of Amphan - Mumbai Mirror

In the early 1970s, Bob Dylan was famously recorded on tape trying to wriggle out of a meeting with fan-turned-garbologist A.J Weberman by saying he needed to build some tables and shelves for his wife and hed been putting it way off.

During lockdown, and with his Never Ending Tour on hiatus, Dylan appears to have again put the home maintenance jobs on hold, having signalled his first album of original material for eight years.

After several years of releasing cover versions of Frank Sinatra lounge standards followed by a series of shows that placed his own canon firmly in that vein, the icon, who turns 79 on Sunday, appears back at his elusive best.

The new double album Rough and Rowdy Ways will be available from June 16, but Dylan has already dropped three of its songs online.

Such is the fervour of Dylans ageing audience of completists, theres little doubt the pre-digital types who have heard the songs will also buy the album not the least because he again appears to be giving hints about his world view.

On March 26, as the world was in the first weeks of lockdown, the 2016 Nobel laureate offered up a 17-minute opus on the assassination of President John F Kennedy, Murder Most Foul.

In a distinctly un-Bob-like message, Dylan thanks his fans for their support and loyalty, adding: This is an unreleased song we recorded a while back that you might find interesting. Stay safe, stay observant and may God be with you.

Given the reclusive star suffered in 1997 from a life-threatening fungal infection, histoplasmosis often caused by bird or bat droppings in the age of the coronavirus, it moved some fans to ask Is Bob OK?.

Turns out Dylans musings on all angles of JFKs demise was just the start of a promotional blitz for new material that offers a few hints into his thoughts on our current age.

Murder Most Foul is not perfect, its sprinkled with a fair share of clunky lines among the familiar Nobel-prize-winning brilliance, but it also places Dylan back in the spotlight as a chronicler of a place and time.

The day that they killed him, someone said to me, Son, the age of the Antichrist has just only begun, Dylan sings over lilting violin that channels the Sinatra crooning hes been practising on the road.

Air Force One coming in through the gate, Johnson sworn in at 2:38Let me know when you decide to throw in the towel. It is what it is, and its murder most foul.

The song then morphs into a series of playlist requests to radio DJ Wolfman Jack featuring classic songs and pop culture moments that may, or may not, have redeemed America in the years since the tragedy in Dallas.

If Bob had stopped at this track, the Dylanologists would have had a years worth of material to write about, but he followed up in April and May with two more tracks.

They also offered some intriguing lines, which may, or may not, show us what the great man has been thinking in the eight years since he released Tempest.

First was I Contain Multitudes a riff on the famous Walt Whitman poem, Song of Myself, which sees the protaganist muse: Today, and tomorrow, and yesterday, too. The flowers are dyin like all things do.

Follow me close,Imgoing to Bally-na-Lee. Illlose my mind if you dontcome with me. I fuss with my hair, and I fight blood feuds. I contain multitudes.

Bally-na-Lee was the home of Irish poet Anthony Raftery, the only one of nine children to survive a smallpox outbreak.

In the final lines the singer could be talking direct to death, albeit in the guise of a woman: Get lost, madame, get up off my knee. Keep your mouth away from me. Ill keep the path open, the path in my mind,Ill see to it that theres no love left behind.

Then if there was any doubt that Dylans new material is rooted in both the path and the present, the bluesy False Prophet appeared to provide even more proof.

Released with an image of a skeleton holding a blood filled syringe and the image of a hanged man with a suspiciously familiar Trump-quaffed hairdo, the growling stripteaser walks a fine line between the protagonist smiting false prophets or actually being one.

You dont know me, darlin. You never would guess. Im nothing like my ghostly appearance would suggest. I aint no false prophet. I just said what I said. Im just here to bring vengeance on somebodys head.

Hello, stranger. Hello and goodbye. You ruled the land. But so do I. You lost your mule. You got a poison brain. Ill marry you to a ball and chain.

With Murder Most Foul already topping the Billboard digital charts, Dylans first No.1 under his own name, theres little doubt the new album will be picked over as one of 2020s most intriguing comebacks.

He may have been putting off releasing new original music, but now Dylan has ticked that off the list he can get back to the home renovation jobs hes been putting way off and popping up some shelves like the rest of us.

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Rough and rowdy Bob Dylan gets around to some new music - The New Daily

When Singapore's circuit breaker period ends on June 1, more businesses and activities will be progressively allowed.

On Tuesday, the Government said there will be three phases in the reopening.

Phase one, from June 2, will last for at least four weeks as some restrictions are eased.

Phase two will last several months as even more measures are lifted. This will lead to phase three, which will be the "new normal" until a vaccine or treatment is found for Covid-19.

The Straits Times answers some questions about what you can do from June 2, when the first phase begins. Government agencies say some details are being ironed out. You can also send your questions toaskst@sph.com.sg.

A Companies must adopt telecommuting to the maximum extent. Employees who have been working from home so far should continue to do so.

They should go into the office only when the employer can demonstrate that it is necessary, such as to access specialised systems or equipment that cannot be accessed from home, or to complete a contract or transaction that is legally required to be completed in person and on site.

A You can return to the workplace if your company is on the list of businesses permitted to resume operations from June 2, and if your employer has put safe management measures in place.

Your employer must also demonstrate the business or operational reasons why you are unable to work from home despite reviewing and redesigning work processes.

Ministry of Manpower (MOM) inspectors will assess the efforts put in by companies to implement work-from-home arrangements, based on whether it is practical for workers to work from home, given the nature of their jobs.

A Employees must telecommute where possible. They can report workplace safety and health issues to MOM via the SnapSafe mobile application.

A School bookshops and retail shops selling school uniforms can resume activities.

Selected services, including motor vehicle servicing, air-conditioner servicing, basic pet services and full hairdressing services, can also resume.

Businesses that still cannot resume include bars, pubs, nightclubs, theatres and cinemas. They are deemed higher-risk because they draw crowds in an enclosed space.

To manage the risks of transmission, most retail outlets will have to remain closed until further notice. Department stores will remain shut.

All libraries will remain closed and their on-site services such as book drops and reservation lockers will continue to be unavailable.ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG

A No. Such sports and outdoor recreational facilities in HDB estates will continue to remain closed to the public. They will likely be able to reopen only in phase two, at least four weeks away.

Similarly, tennis courts, pools and other recreational facilities in condominiums remain closed. So will private gyms.

A The authorities will be giving more details on this in about a week.

A No. All libraries will remain closed and their on-site services such as book drops and reservation lockers will continue to be unavailable. You will not be fined if you have not returned material that is due. You will have three weeks after libraries eventually reopen to do so.

A No, these services remain closed. Beauty salons may continue to sell products online and deliver them to customers.

However, the good news is that hair salons will be able to offer colouring and chemical treatments from June 2.

A No, foot reflexology services will not be allowed in phase one.

A No. Car showrooms will remain closed and you still cannot test-drive a car. But motor companies can continue to sell vehicles online and deliver them to customers.

Motor workshop services, however, will be allowed to reopen and resume services. Currently, they can tend to only emergency cases.

Property viewings still cannot be conducted in person, but they can be done virtually. Agents also cannot meet clients face to face.ST PHOTO: GIN TAY

A No. Such home-based cleaning services are not allowed to resume.

A No. Property viewings still cannot be conducted in person. But you can do so virtually.

As for property agents, while they still cannot meet clients face to face, they can do so where the clients' physical presence is legally required to complete a transaction. The meeting must take place in the office of the real estate company.

A All construction work, including home renovation, will need approval from the Building and Construction Authority before they can restart. Priority will be given to projects that had started before the circuit breaker and were suspended.

New renovation works will depend on factors such as whether the renovation contractor has sent its workers to be tested for Covid-19. More details will be announced later this week.

Students can choose to wear a face shield or a face mask when they return to school from June 2.ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO

A Yes, they can choose between a face shield and a face mask.

A No. Just as tuition and enrichment centres remain closed, face-to-face lessons by private tutors will remain suspended in phase one. Tutors and students can continue with online classes.

Bubble tea shops, as well as other outlets selling predominantly beverages, are not allowed to reopen. Food and beverage outlets, food caterers and canteens can provide only takeaway and delivery options.ST PHOTO: WANG HUI FEN

A No. Outlets selling predominantly beverages, such as alcohol and bubble tea, are still not allowed to reopen. Food and beverage outlets, food caterers and canteens are permitted to open, but can provide only takeaway and delivery options.

A It depends. Applications to resume business will be approved by the Monetary Authority of Singapore on a case-by-case basis.

This depends on whether a money changer is able to restrict the number of staff on site to ensure safe distancing, and whether it can implement safe management measures at its outlets.

A No. Maid agencies are not allowed to reopen their physical outlets. They can continue to operate online.

A No. To manage the risks of transmission, most retail outlets, including those selling health supplements, will have to stay closed until further notice. They may continue to sell their products online and fulfil the orders through delivery.

A No. They cannot reopen their physical outlets but can continue to operate remotely.

A No. Insurance agents still cannot have face-to-face meetings with clients, except where the physical presence of the client is legally required to complete transactions. These meetings must take place in the office of the insurer.

A Yes, basic grooming, animal physiotherapy and rehabilitation services for pets can restart on June 2.

But there will be restrictions. Grooming, for instance, includes the maintenance of skin and fur, teeth brushing, emptying of anal glands and medicated baths. It excludes cosmetic styling of pets' fur and spa baths.

If you are taking your pet for physiotherapy or rehabilitation, you will need a referral from a vet.

All services must be by appointment. Non-essential services such as pet-sitting, daycare for animals, walking, boarding and the sale of pets will remain prohibited.

See more here:
Circuit breaker to be lifted: What you can and cannot do from June 2 - straits times

Image caption Volunteers were needed to help prepare bodies for burial

Newham in east London has the highest proportion of deaths from coronavirus in England and Wales. BBC News looks at why, and what it means for the community.

For much of April, Ghouse Fazaluddin was consumed by one thought: "We couldn't just stand back and watch our dead be buried in mass graves."

Using his background as a telecoms project manager, he set to work.

A WhatsApp group was created, and volunteers from the Jamia mosque in Newham, where Mr Fazaluddin is a trustee, were recruited.

The task in hand was essential, but grim.

There had been so many deaths that a backlog of bodies had built up and people were required to prepare each person for burial.

A stream of people came forward, and over the course of 10 days, they cleansed and prayed for 32 people.

"The most important thing for me is how the community has come together," says Mr Fazaluddin.

"The common goal was, we cannot forget our deceased, we cannot just leave them to be buried without the ritual washing that takes place, and that people's dignity, the dignity of the deceased, was preserved."

To facilitate the process, a side room to the mosque was demarcated, with volunteers in personal protective equipment, sourced from builders' merchants, responsible for handling the bodies.

Adam Hussain, a 23-year-old furloughed maintenance engineer, felt a responsibility to step up.

"At first I was a little bit scared to volunteer, but I just couldn't stand back," he says.

"I thought, I'm doing this for the community, doing it for their family, and I just felt happy."

Covid-19 has preyed on Newham like nowhere else.

Data released by the Office for National Statistics shows the east London borough has suffered the highest proportion of deaths from the disease in England and Wales.

While there is local concern that some people did not take the virus seriously at first and continued mixing, a combination of deprivation and ethnicity has allowed the disease to exploit the area's mainly black and Asian population.

The victims have included key workers such as GP, Dr Yusuf Patel, teacher Dr Louisa Rajakumari, and Anwar Hussain Oli, one of several taxi drivers who've died, as well as at least nine residents of the Bakers Court care home in Little Ilford Lane.

"The past few weeks have been really depressing," says Ayesha Chowdhury, a Labour councillor in Newham who knows around 15 people who've died from coronavirus, many of them Bangladeshis.

"When they pass away, the community cannot participate in the funeral, they cannot visit the family so everything is completely shocking.

"Besides dealing with the sadness, they also have to think about the finances of a funeral."

Newham has long been recognised as one of the poorest areas of England, the 2012 Olympic Park was located there in an effort to regenerate the area.

That has brought benefits to some parts, but long-standing high levels of both overcrowding and underlying health conditions, such as cardiovascular disease and asthma, have remained.

Despite its problems, the government has cut around 6m, in real terms, from Newham's public health budget since 2016.

The recent ONS data, which showed people in poor areas dying at twice the rate seen in more affluent districts, mirrors earlier research on the impact of pandemics.

A 2012 paper, looking at the much smaller consequences of the 2009 swine flu outbreak in England, found deaths were three times higher in poorer communities and recommended socio-economic disparities be part of future pandemic planning.

Researchers say there is little evidence that happened.

"This is not an equalising virus. This is a virus with a disproportionate effect on poor communities," says Rokhsana Fiaz, Labour Mayor of Newham.

"If you want to avoid a second wave, if you want to minimise deaths, we've got to be given the resources and flexibility to spend at a local level.

"Top down, command and control, will not work in light of the evidence we have."

Public health experts agree that a targeted approach will be needed as the disease develops.

Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard, a public health researcher at Imperial College London, says communities deemed to be most at risk from Covid-19 should get priority whenever a vaccine is developed.

"Once those most in need, such as health and care workers are vaccinated, it's very reasonable to assume that those most at risk would be next in line to receive the vaccine."

In Newham, the community that has lived through this crisis, must now rebuild the borough.

At the East London Science School, they have been hit hard - about 40 staff members have had symptoms, at least 10 pupils have lost relatives and one staff member is caring for two children who have been orphaned after both their parents died of Covid-19.

For head teacher, David Perks, bringing hope means restoring normality.

"Being serious about the education we offer gives them a way of seeing a future for themselves," he says.

"We can't obviously turn things back, but the fact that they can see a future is the best thing we can give them."

See the rest here:
Coronavirus: Restoring hope in the hardest-hit community - BBC News

Construction is complete on VYV East, a 432-unit residential building at 444 Warren Street in Jersey City. Designed by Perkins Eastman anddeveloped by Brookfield Properties and G&S Investors, the structure is the second building to rise in the 18-acre Hudson Exchange West development following the completion of its sibling VYV at 474 Warren Street. Both edifices feature a curtain wall of dark gray brick and glass panels, and culminate in relatively flat parapets. The entire development will consist of 12 new towers with 5,400 units and 350,000 square feet of amenity, retail, and dining spaces.

A select few apartments on the southeastern corner of VYV East have balconies that run the height of the building from the top of the podium to the pinnacle. They provide views across the Hudson River of Hudson Square, Soho, Tribeca, and the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan. The structure also contains 9,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space that is being marketed by RKF.

VYV (left) and VYV East. Photo by Michael Young

VYV East. Photo by Michael Young

VYV East. Photo by Michael Young

VYV East is bound by Warren Street to the west, VYV and its multi-story parking garage to the north, light rail tracks to the east, and Metro Plaza Drive to the south. The waterfront is only two blocks away to the east, while the Harsimus Cove Hudson-Bergen Light Rail station is right across Metro Plaza Drive. TheNewport Centre mall is a short walk from the front doors, as are big-box stores like Bed Bath & Beyond, BJs, and Shop Rite, which are located immediately to the west.

A completion date for the entire masterplan has yet to be announced, but is likely several years off.

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Construction Wraps on Hudson Exchange West's Second Tower, in Jersey City - New York YIMBY

A rendering of the Ellsworth building, planned on the southwest corner of Fifth and South Streets.(Photo: provided by the City of Lafayette)

LAFAYETTE Withother developments in various stages of completion around downtown Lafayette, financing for another new project adding both commercial and residential space was approved Thursday morning.

The newest project is The Ellsworth,a $17.7 million mixed-use project slated for downtown. The five-story building is planned to be built on the southwest corner of Fifth and South streets, on a parcel of land next to Regions Bank. Its development waspart of a resolution passed by the Lafayette Economic Development CommissionThursday morning.

Once completed, developers say The Ellsworth will include 97 loft-styleapartments, 2,000 square feet of commercial space along South Street and 40 public parking spaces in a garage during business hours.

More: $20M downtown Lafayette project aims to fill 600 block of Main Street for first time in half-century

The building will be designed to be C-shaped with the inside of the C facing downtown, Shelby Bowen, president of Rebar Development, said Tuesday. The shape will allow a second-story courtyard and dog park, and the fifth floor will have an outdoor patio space overlooking downtown Lafayette.

The Regions Bank parking lot, located on South Street between Fourth and Fifth Streets, Thursday, May 21, 2020 Lafayette.(Photo: Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier)

Bowen said it was a five-year process to identify the right spot, then another two years to work with Regions Bank and get site control.

Lafayette is an attractive place for us to invest, Bowen said. It will be one of the jewels of downtown Lafayette.

Bowen said while working with Mayor Tony Roswarski on the project, Roswarski was insistent upon high-quality project that was going to look good now and look good in 100 years.

"It has been a long process, but we do want this to be a signature piece," Roswarski said. "It's a great project that helps to continue to increase that density in downtown, which keeps it vibrant and growing."

More: $16.8M Nova Tower planned as southern gateway to downtown Lafayette

The project was led by Rebar Development, a Fishers-based firm that focuses on downtown redevelopment projects and public and private partnerships in central Indiana.

In addition to The Ellsworth, Rebar Development has also worked on other mixed-use projects in central Indiana, including The Levinson in Noblesville, The Barlow in Plainfield and 1300 Block in Speedway.

The Ellsworth also received a $2.3 million redevelopment tax credit from the Indiana Economic Development Commission. After an investment has been made, the state is providing a tax credit that can be sold as equity to make the project possible, Bowen said.

To help fund the project, Lafayette will issue up to $4.5 million in bonds,which the city expects will be paid back with taxes generated by the new development.

This is not the only project currently being planned fordowntown Lafayette developers are also looking to fill a parking lot on Main Street across from Lafayette Brewing Co. with a $20 million project, 631 Main Street Apt & Retail with retail space and 100 apartments.

Among other projects finished or just started:The Marq at Second and Columbia streets; a $16.8 million, five-story Nova Tower project on South Fourth Street; and Pullman Station, a $10.5 million, five-story mixed-use project expected to feature 76 apartments and 7,900-square-feet of commercial and retail space on the first floor on a former Lafayette City Hall parking lot at Fifth and South streets.

Construction for The Ellsworth willbegin infall 2020.

Emily DeLetter is a news reporter for the Journal & Courier. Contact her at (765) 201-8515 or via email at edeletter@jconline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @EmilyDeLetter.

Read or Share this story: https://www.jconline.com/story/news/2020/05/21/17-m-retail-apts-project-fifth-and-south-adds-downtown-lafayettes-recent-run/5235481002/

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$17M retail-apts project coming to Fifth and South, second in recent weeks for downtown Lafayette - Journal & Courier

By: Michael Young 8:00 am on May 21, 2020

Activity has yet to begin at 444 Washington Boulevardin Jersey City, the site ofa 722-foot-tall skyscraper from Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel Architectsand Tower Cove Jersey City Urban Renewal. In addition to the70-story tower, which will contain 950 residential units, there will be a second 575-foot-tall structure, as well as a neighboring six-story building containing 17,192 square feet of retail space and a 382-vehicle parking garage.

Recent photos show the state of the site, which is bound by Washington Street to the west, Thomas Gangemi Drive to the north, and 2nd Street to the south. The northern section of the Avalon Cove residences is where construction is planned to proceed. This area is currently occupied by two one-story car garages and several surface-level residential parking spaces separated from the sidewalk by a black gated fence.

The northwest section of the Avalon Cove property where the main skyscraper will rise. Photo by Michael Young

The car garages that currently stand where 444 Washington Boulevard will rise. Photo by Michael Young

Both skyscrapers will be clad in sleek aluminum and brushed stainless steel faades. 444 Washington Street will yield 505 studios, 265 one-bedrooms, 160 two-bedrooms, and 20 three-bedroom homes. Residential amenities include a multipurpose terrace on the second floor and an outdoor terrace and swimming pool on the 59th floor. A pair of open-air public spaces called the East Coast Greenway Plaza and Overlook Plaza will be built along Thomas Gangemi Drive and sit adjacent to the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway. These plazas will include a pedestrian terrace, a childrens play area, and a dog run. The existing 498 Avalon Cove apartments will bring the total number of units in the development to 1,448.

Aerial rendering of 444 Washington Boulevard

A start and completion date for 444 Washington Boulevard has yet to be announced.

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AvalonBay's 70-Story Tower Planned for 444 Washington Boulevard Appears to be on Hold, in Jersey City - New York YIMBY

How is a retailer supposed to survive when he is restricted from opening? How should he deal with his landlord in these unprecedented times? As a tenant representative agent, my real job is to determine how much business my customer can do in a given space and negotiate for a rent that is prudent. We enter into our retail leases and negotiate rent based upon our expectation of retail sales. Today with the current COVID-19 epidemic, we find ourselves in a situation where the vast majority of retailers are restricted from doing any business but are expected to pay rent.

Call Your Landlord Before He Calls You. It acknowledges that you are having a problem and sets the stage for a discussion towards how the two of you can together work things out.

Know what to ask for. The initial alternatives are either a full or partial rent forgiveness or a postponement of rent. Landlords are rather unrealistic in their understanding of the narrow margins existent in the restaurant business.

Retail space is unique. The value of retail space is directly proportionate to the ability to do retail sales in that space. The more sales you can do, the more valuable the real estate. So initially plead for a forgiveness of rent. No sales = No ability to pay rent.

A landlord and tenant originally made a deal, based upon an expectation of a certain level of sales. However, when they are precluded from full operations, they have not made the expected sales and therefore cannot afford to pay the contract rents.

Courts have a nice phrase regarding rents: Use and Occupancy. But if there legally cannot be any use, should there be a legal obligation to pay rent?

A survey of Long Island retail landlords show that 46.6% of them have received less than 50% of scheduled rents due April 1st.

The landlord must pay real estate taxes (no government has given any relief on that), along with insurance and some security and utilities. An offer to help cover those items is a compromise position. The largest obligation is probably his mortgage. Well, maybe its time for landlord to go to his mortgagee and ask for a forbearance, or delay, or interest only. On one webinar, a representative of the Federal Reserve revealed the Fanny and Freddie may be open to such discussions.

Ask an understanding landlord to simply hit the pause button for 90 days. Then resume the rent and extend the term by that postponement. That way the landlord will receive every dollar he had initially bargained for.

You can put a landlord in a better position by offering to extend your lease term for additional years, in exchange for forgiving rent now. He will know that he will have some certainty of scheduled income for a longer time.

Some landlords are willing to help tenants by not forgiving, but by allowing a tenant to defer rent for perhaps 90 days and then pay it back over the next year or two as additional rent. That would amount to a 12.5% increase if spread over the next two years.

Do you have something that could benefit landlord? In exchange for rent forgiveness, you might relinquish an exclusive on a product category. For instance, a 2,000 s/f tenant such as Row House might have an exclusive on fitness, when a yoga studio would want to take other space in the center.

This is not the end. This is not the beginning of the end. But this may be the end of the beginning - Winston Churchill.

If restaurant tables are required to be 6 apart, either by edict or by social convention, seating capacity in restaurants will be reduced to about 50% of current levels. Fewer seats equals lower sales. As we emerge from this, we will have to crawl before we can walk.

In recovery, what is a fair and equitable rent? A restaurant can endure a 10% gross occupancy cost (Rent + CAM + RE Tax). Will your landlord be willing to accept that as a workaround for the next year until we all get inoculated?

After 9/11 and Superstorm Sandy, it took six months before markets returned to something resembling normal. We would like to think that with flattening the curve It is time to declare victory. Not nearly! Right now, New York has an infection rate of 1.6%. So, if we lift restrictions, we only have 98.4% of the population to worry about. Who will the customer be on the other side of this crisis? Will it be part of the 98.4% who cares to be reckless? Or is it the worker who has not had a paycheck for 90 days?

The Gap or Old Navy has an advantage. They can close for 90 days, but when they reopen, they still have 100% of their inventory. In a restaurant, all the perishables will have perished. Most of the food in a restaurant is sold before it is paid for. So the restaurants have an outstanding payable even before they accept new inventory to reopen.

What is a landlords BATNA?

What is their Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement?

The National Restaurant Association did a survey in mid-March. 3% of their membership had closed their restaurants PERMANENTLY! Another 11% of their members said that they might have to close permanently, if this lasted for 30 days. Now, a month past that survey, and we have no vision of where is the light at the end of the tunnel. Some experts have predicted anywhere between 20% - 40% of all restaurants closing permanently.

With a glut of restaurant spaces available, and a significantly slackened demand, how long with it take to find a suitable replacement tenant. With the supply / demand curve so distorted, what percentage of the previous rent can he achieve? With uncertainty in the marketplace, how long will it be before he can achieve parity with previous rent?

An in-place tenant is valuable. A landlord is far better off accepting a viable rent from a tenant in place rather than having to go out and find a replacement. Otherwise he needs to search for a new tenant, pay fit out costs, absorb down time during construction, have to pay an additional leasing commission, await liquor license approval and probably settle for a lower rent than he has in contract rent presently.

Whatever happens, the landlord has a high safety net in that he still owns the real estate. If the operator cannot reopen, or operate profitably, then there is no value to his leasehold or his unamortized investment in the space.

Is someone wants to buy a car, and cannot do that today, he can buy that durable in 3 months and the retailer gets the sale at full price. However, the restaurateur who does not sell a meal today, cant make that up next week or next month. There is no shelf life to a restaurant demand.

A restaurant is a low margin, high turnover business. It is a warehousing, storage, preparation, cooking, assembly, and sales facility. It is a labor intensive undertaking. A restaurant doesnt go broke on its P&L. It goes broke on its cash flow.

People will not stop eating. We are social animals and will still want to gather. The industry can weather a storm but needs to be able to meet reasonable obligations and maintain cash flow along the way.

Landlords need to understand the demands. It is going to be a challenge.

Partial List

Tenants who did not pay their rent April 2020

Cheesecake Factory GAP WeWork Knotel VMH - Staples - Victorias Secret - Subway Foot Locker - H&M - Old Navy Nordstrom LOFT - Dave & Busters - Barnes & Noble -Kirklands - LA Fitness - Party City

AMC Theaters, Cinepolis, Harkins Theaters and Regal Cinemas.

75% of the stores in NYCs most expensive neighborhood, the $25 billion Hudson Yards didnt pay their April rent.

Paul Fetscher, CCIM, CRX, CLS is president of Great American Brokerage Inc. a New York based commercial real estate firm.

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How to deal with landlords in the age of COVID-19 - by Paul Fetscher - New England Real Estate Journal Online

In June, the Downtown Investment Authority board will consider development terms for a proposed $136 million mixed-use project at the Ford on Bay and a redevelopment agreement for the former Independent Life Insurance Company building.

DIA CEO Lori Boyer told the board at its May 20 meeting that those projects would be discussed along with more projects at the next meeting.

Ford on Bay

DIA planned to consider the deal between the city and New York-based Spandrel Development Partners LLC to redevelop the former Duval County Courthouse and City Hall sites at 220 and 330 E. Bay St.

Boyer told the DIA board May 20 that a number of terms in the agreement were not sufficiently resolved at the seven-day deadline prior to the meeting.

The DIA selected Spandrels bid for the site Feb. 21. The developer proposes a two-phase project with 520 apartments and up to 74,000 square feet of retail space on the riverfront property.

City attorneys are negotiating with owners of the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront to resolve the first right of refusal on the sale of the former City Hall site at 220 E. Bay St.

The land is north of the hotel and the first right of refusal is in the hotels 1998 redevelopment agreement with the city, Boyer said in a May 18 phone interview.

Until the contractual impasse is resolved, the project will focus on phase one planned for the 330 E. Bay St. parcel.

A Spandrel representative said Feb. 11 that phase one would comprise 279 residential units and 40,000 square feet of retail space anchored by a 10,000-square-foot riverfront restaurant.

To gain the Hyatts approval, Boyer said in February that the city and Spandrel could agree to add exhibit space in phase two that the hotel sought.

Spandrel has preliminary plans for a 5,000- to 25,000-square-foot grocery store as part of phase two, but Spandrel will examine the market feasibility before committing to one. A food hall, gallery exhibition or meeting space could instead be added.

The development agreement is expected to include a Recaptured Enhanced Value grant, providing a 50% tax refund to Spandrel for 20 years on the increased value of the property.

Boyer told the Daily Record she is not aware of issues in Spandrels ability to obtain financing for the project in the face of changing market conditions because of COVID-19.

But were all mindful that we dont want to make commitments we cant keep, Boyer said.

The Independent Life Insurance Co. Building at 233 W. Duval St.

Independent Life

Boyer said DIA staff promised Independent Life developer Augustine Development Group that the board would consider its proposed redevelopment agreement in June while the company waits for final federal historic landmark approval.

The agreement would award the $28 million mixed-use project money from the citys Downtown Historic Preservation Trust Fund, contingent upon the final historic designation from the National Park Service.

DIA has not released the award amount.

Building owner PEP10 LLC, a subsidiary of Augustine Development Group and investment partner DLP Capital LLC, told Boyer before the May 20 meeting the designation process slowed, presumably because of COVID-19.

Apparently, the National Park Service has been very slow to respond, not really working and some of them are on furlough, Boyer said. It is our hope to move the project forward.

City Council has designated the Independent Life Insurance Co.Building in the Downtown core a local landmark, easing the way toward renovation.

The Independent Life building was completed in 1955 and designed by KBJ Architects Inc., the firm responsible for designing 17 of Jacksonvilles tallest buildings, according to city documents.

It is within Jacksonvilles 2016 National Register District designation footprint.

PEP 10 LLC bought the 65-year-old, 19-story office building at 233 W. Duval St. on Sept. 30. The developer plans to renovate the 180,000-square-foot building with apartments and retail space.

The Downtown Development Review Board granted conceptual approval for the plans Nov. 14, but it needs final approval.

Plans show 140 market-rate apartments and a rooftop terrace with an all-glass, rooftop infinity pool.

A lounge and a sushi and seafood restaurant will fill the 17th and 18th floors. The space was Independent Lifes executive sky lounge, Augustine Development Group President Bryan Greiner said in February.

Full June agenda

Proposed development and financial incentive programs put on hold because of COVID-19 will return to the DIAs June meeting agenda, Boyer said.

The board will have a final vote on an Enhanced Food and Beverage Retail Enrichment program that would provide business and commercial property owners financial incentives.

Boyer says the programs goal is to create a dense restaurant and retail district Downtown.

The board also will review terms for a transient dock proposed by an Atlanta-based developer on 0.5-acre of city-owned submerged land southeast of Berkman Plaza II, Boyer said.

The property is part of a 23.58-acre parcel at 750 E. Bay St. that includes a vacant lot. The lease deal would be for a portion of the submerged land.

The term sheet drafted by DIA staff shows developer Greg Esterman and the city will consider a 50-year lease for the property with a 25-year renewal option. The dock would be open to the public for periods up to 30 days.

The developer would be responsible for the design, permitting and construction costs associated with the dock built parallel to the concrete pier at the end of Catherine Street.

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Ford on Bay and the Independent Life Building are headed to DIA in June - Jacksonville Daily Record