Monday, April 06, 2020 5:54 p.m. CDT by Michael Leischner

WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) -- Wausau Mayor Robert Mielke provided an update Monday on the progress of the city's Riverlife development near the Wisconsin River.

According to the developers, the apartment complex is now 50% complete and leasing for the units is underway, with a quarter of the 75 units spoken for.

The apartments will lease for $925 a month with each unit including cable TV and managed WiFi. Other amenities will include heated underground parking, secure access, and a fitness center.

An on-site manager for the apartment complex has also been hired by the management company. According to Monday's release, the units should be ready for occupancy by July 2020.

The Riverlife development began as a mixed-use office and retail space that was to be built by Mike Frantz and Quantum Ventures. The group racked up more than $2 million in debt to local contractors during initial construction and later abandoned the project. That led to legal proceedings that left the project delayed for more than a year.

RELATED: Frantz officially out as Riverlife developer

Later, the city chose Oregon, WI-based Gorman and Company was chosen to take over the project. That was later shifted to Wausau Riverlife LLC, a conglomerate of three local developers that shifted the project from mixed-use retail and residential to all apartments.

RELATED: Wausau group to take over Riverlife Development

Developers have since expressed interest in adding a complex of condominiums to the area, along with other retail and dining options. The city will also be extending Fulton Street to serve the new neighborhood, that project is currently out for bids.

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Riverlife Apartments on track for July opening - WSAU News

Sterling Construction Company, Inc. (NasdaqGS: STRL) ("Sterling" or "the Company") today announced that its subsidiary, Ralph L Wadsworth Construction, LLC ("RLW") was selected by the Woodbury Corporation for a Utah structural project totaling $26.4 million.

The $26.4 million project is part of a $500 million revitalization effort of University Place, a 120-acre multi-use development project located in Orem, Utah. RLW is contracted to provide the structural concrete for a nine-story structure with the bottom five levels consisting of 115,000 square feet of structured parking and a lobby and the top four levels with over 115,000 square feet of Class A office space, boasting unobstructed 360-degree views of Utah Valley. Construction is scheduled to begin this Spring and is expected to be completed in the Fall of 2021.

Joe Cutillo, Sterlings CEO, commented, "We are pleased to begin work with the Woodbury Corporation, one of the premier retail developers in the United States and the local community. Residents of Utah County have made their desire for growth, urban town centers and diverse housing choices known, and we are extremely glad that, we are able to aid in the redevelopment effort of University Place."

Sterling, a Delaware corporation, operates through three operating groups specializing in heavy civil, specialty services and residential projects in the United States, primarily across the southern U.S., the Rocky Mountain States, California and Hawaii, as well as other areas with strategic opportunities. Heavy civil includes infrastructure and rehabilitation projects for highways, roads, bridges, airfields, ports, light rail, water, wastewater and storm drainage systems. Specialty services projects include site excavation and improvement, foundations for multi-family homes, parking structures and other commercial concrete projects. Site excavation and improvement entails construction site preparation primarily in the Southeast region of the United States for blue-chip customers in the distribution center, warehousing, e-commerce, data center, big box retail and energy sectors, as well as other growing end markets. Residential projects include concrete foundations for single-family homes in Texas.

This press release includes certain statements that fall within the definition of "forward-looking statements" under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including overall economic and market conditions, federal, state and local government funding, competitors and customers actions, and weather conditions, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, including those risks identified in the Companys filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, such statements should be considered in light of these risks. Any prediction by the Company is only a statement of managements belief at the time the prediction is made. There can be no assurance that any prediction once made will continue thereafter to reflect managements belief, and the Company does not undertake to update publicly its predictions or to make voluntary additional disclosures of nonpublic information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200406005713/en/

Contacts

Sterling Construction Company, Inc.Ron Ballschmiede, Chief Financial Officer281-214-0777

Investor Relations Counsel:The Equity Group Inc.Fred Buonocore, CFA 212-836-9607Mike Gaudreau 212-836-9620

More:
Sterling Awarded a $26.4 Million Project in Utah by the Woodbury Corporation - Yahoo Finance

THE BUZZ WERE NOT NEW YORK: In California, theyre still building. New Yorks Gov. Andrew Cuomo had issued an executive order that shuttered most construction sites, and so did Boston mayor Martin Walsh in response to the Covid-19 crisis. But California which has taken some of the toughest and earliest measures to control the coronavirus pandemic is not going there.

Were not New York, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday, arguing that there are "very different conditions in the state of California'' than in other states and cities that have severely restricted most construction. Newsom's statements came days after Robbie Hunter, who leads the powerhouse Building and Construction Trades Council of California with a membership of 460,000 workers and 60,000 apprentices personally appealed to him on the matter.

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After seven Bay Area health officers issued updated stay-at-home orders that specifically prohibited most residential and commercial construction, Hunter spoke to Newsom about what he said are tough standards instituted since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak to protect workers including taking temperatures at work sites, sterilizing tools and equipment, banning food trucks, implementing strict measures to discourage gatherings and mandating strict social distancing.

On Thursday, Hunter spoke to POLITICO after giving a hard-hatted Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg a personal tour of the Sacramento Convention Center construction site to show him those measures. Newsom and Steinberg both said they were satisfied that the workers, and the public, were protected by the strict oversight.

HUNTER TELLS POLITICO: Weve trained our people to work in the Borax mines, in tunnels underneath the Bay and we build 80-story skyscrapers without losing a worker or even a serious injury. We are used to serious training for different scenarios and we have applied everything we've got on this. Heres the full story by Carla.

OTHER TAKEAWAYS:

NOT OUT OF THE WOODS, but hospital trends looking good: Newsom said it was the individual acts of tens of millions of Californians that allowed him to say that hospitalization numbers, while theyre growing, are not growing as significantly as youre seeing in other parts of the country. POLITICOs tracker shows California has fewer than one-tenth the number of coronavirus-related deaths as New York, which has half the population of the Golden State and where Cuomo says theyre just days away from running out of ventilators.

LOOKING AT OPTIONS ON PROPERTY TAXES: Newsom seems unlikely to delay property tax deadline, but may consider alternative relief, by POLITICOs Colby Bermel: April 10 is the biannual property tax deadline that's by far the biggest contributor to local government coffers. A coalition of groups representing cities, counties and school districts wrote Newsom last month urging him to keep the date in place.

"We're working with the counties ... and we're seeing if there's ways to soften this, Newsom said. He added, however, that governments have also made their revenue worries clear to him, and that we're going to see what our options are and see what we can do to help in this moment, but I don't want to overpromise in this space.

BUENOS DIAS, good Friday morning. Look for President Donald Trump to issue guidelines to Americans to start wearing masks outdoors, POLITICOs Dan Diamond reports following in the steps of Californias vanguard big cities and urban region, as POLITICOs Victoria Colliver reports.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "It's not that kids don't respect their parents. It's just that they don't respect them when it comes to educating them the way they do their teachers." Newsom opines on home schooling during the Covid-19 outbreak.

TWEET OF THE DAY: Riverside County Sheriff's Dept @RSO: We are saddened to announce the passing of one of our own RSO family members, Deputy Terrell Young. Terrell Young served this department for 15 yrs & is the 1st member to succumb to the COVID-19 virus. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his loved ones during this difficult time.

WHERES GAVIN? His daily #NewsomAtNoon briefing, to be livestreamed on @CAGovernor Twitter feed, will update COVID-19 news in California.

Sign up for POLITICO Nightly: Coronavirus Special Edition, your daily update on how the illness is affecting politics, markets, public health and more.

MUST READ Trump administration ended pandemic early-warning program to detect coronaviruses, by LATimes Emily Baumgaertner and James Rainey: Two months before the novel coronavirus is thought to have begun its deadly advance in Wuhan, China, the Trump administration ended a $200-million pandemic early-warning program aimed at training scientists in China and other countries to detect and respond to such a threat.

THE MAN WHO SAVED MAIN STREET Property owner waives rent for 65 retail tenants in Half Moon Bay, by the San Mateo Daily Journals Zachary Clark.

Navy captain of coronavirus-infected aircraft carrier relieved of command, by SF Chronicles Joe Garofoli, Tal Kopan and Matthias Gafni.

AFTER SF CHRONICLES SCOOP Navy fires aircraft carrier captain who raised alarm about virus outbreak, by POLITICOs Lara Seligman. Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly has fired the captain who raised the alarm about a spike in coronavirus cases onboard his aircraft carrier, which was sidelined in Guam last week, the Navy announced on Thursday.

Modly's decision to relieve Capt. Brett Crozier of command of the USS Theodore Roosevelt comes days after an impassioned letter Crozier wrote to Navy leaders pleading for additional help to combat the outbreak was leaked to the press. It appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, Crozier's hometown paper.

via the Washington Post: California man who died of coronavirus was among those who tested positive after attending party at Trumps L.A. golf club Bert Argo, 75, died on Friday, his daughter Melanie Young said. She said Argo and his wife had visited the presidents golf club in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., on the evening of March 8 for a birthday party for Susan Brooks the towns former mayor.

BATTLE OF THE TITANS! RECODEs Kara Swisher taking on Sean Hannity and Fox News fake contagion. My brother, a doctor working on the front lines of the crisis in San Francisco, called the misinformation magical thinking and wishful ignorance that persists because none of us ever wants to believe the worst. He finds it happens a lot when it comes to dire health information. If Mom does not want coronavirus to be true, pablum from Fox News makes it easier, he told me.

NO HOLMES AT HOME? Judge, defense clash in Theranos case over shelter-in-place orders, by POLITICOs Josh Gerstein: With a trial for [Elizabeth] Holmes looming at the end of July, her defense team this week petitioned the judge overseeing her case for the right to defy shelter-in-place orders in the Washington, D.C., area, the San Francisco Bay Area and elsewhere by continuing to meet to pore over exhibits in the case, interview witnesses and serve subpoenas.

H2O STAYS ON Newsom orders moratorium on water shutoffs for residents, critical businesses, by POLITICOs Debra Kahn: Today's order explicitly prohibits water systems from suspending residential service due to nonpayment and orders them to restore any residential services that they have suspended since March 4, when Newsom first declared a state of emergency. (Pro link)

SMALL BUSINESS RELIEF Newsom announces sales tax relief for small businesses, by POLITICOs Jeremy B. White: Newsom likened the reprieve to a bridge loan worth up to $50,000 for businesses that have been devastated as the coronavirus pandemic chokes off customers and closes businesses. (Pro link)

Here is the latest list of L.A. County communities with coronavirus cases, by the LA Times Hannah Fry.

Santa Clara is Bay Areas first county with more than 1,000 COVID-19 cases, by the Mercs Kerry Crowley.

STAY HOME California could see 5,000 coronavirus deaths a week if social distancing eases too soon, by the LA Times Rong-Gong Lin: That would mean 600 deaths a week from the disease known as COVID-19 in the central San Francisco Bay Area, and 100 to 200 deaths a week in Contra Costa County, he said.

STAGGERING California unemployment claims top 878,000 as coronavirus pushes US jobless to new high, by McClatchys David Lightman: Nationally, more than 6.6 million people filed for the first time in the week that ended Saturday.

"California resumes disclosing how many health workers have coronavirus," by the SF Chronicle's Mallory Moench.

With the help of The COVID Tracking Project a volunteer-run accounting of every coronavirus test conducted in America POLITICO is monitoring how many Americans have been tested in all 50 states. Our live tracker will continue to update with the latest numbers across the country as they come in.

HER NEXT MOVE Pelosi forms new select committee to oversee $2 trillion coronavirus relief package, by POLITICOs Heather Caygle, Kyle Cheney and Melanie Zanona: The committee is Pelosis most aggressive effort yet to streamline the Houses efforts to hold President Donald Trump accountable for his implementation of the massive coronavirus response law, as well as to ensure that recipients of the historic taxpayer bailout use funds the way Congress intended.

California sues student loan servicer over records on federal aid program for teachers, by POLITICOs Michael Stratford.

FOCUS ON THE GOVERNORS Trump Is Politicizing the Pandemic. Governors Can Fight Back, by Eric Posner and Emily Bazelon in NYT: Unwilling to take the blame for shutting down the economy when he thought there was little public support for the move, [Trump] sparred with governors like [Andrew] Cuomo and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan while also hiding behind them.

Trump's federal coronavirus quarantine isn't happening (for now). But what can states do? by Jessica Levinson for NBC: In one corner, we have the states, armed with their power to protect the health, safety and welfare of their residents. In the other corner, we have the federal government, charged with regulating interstate commerce and protecting federal constitutional rights like the right to travel.

Ro Khanna: 'This is not some large bailout for the startups,' by Protocols Sofie Kodner.

EDITORIAL in his hometown paper, the Fresno Bee: Devin Nunes of Tulare CA has dangerous views on coronavirus: he should keep them to himself.

CALIFORNIA CANDIDATE? Biden says hell put a black woman on Supreme Court. This California justice is a leading candidate, by the LA Times David G. Savage.

SIDERS TAKE How the coronavirus is shaping the 2024 presidential race, by POLITICOs David Siders: People who do not follow politics are tuning into livestreams of their governors for the first time and learning the names of governors of other states.

INVITES ARE OUT to Joe Bidens virtual fireside chat hosted by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Jed Katz, via Recodes Teddy Schleifer. See the invite here.

SPLIT ROLL DUST-UP: OPPONENTS REACTION coming in to the announcement by Schools and Communities First the coalition of education and labor groups that theyve collected 1.7 million signatures to get the split roll measure to revise Prop. 13 on the November ballot, as reported by POLITICO this week:

From California Business Roundtable president Rob Lapsley: After spending more than $3 million to qualify their first flawed property tax hike, proponents have spent millions more to qualify a second, equally flawed measure. Its clear that the public employee unions behind the largest property tax increase in state history are willing to spend and do whatever it takes to raise the cost of living for working families.

FRONT AND CENTER Nancy Pelosi plays familiar role in 2020 elections: GOP talking point, by SFChronicles John Wildermuth: Republicans are once again trying to tie California Democratic congressional candidates to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, arguing that anyone supporting the party leader is just too liberal to represent the states purple swing districts.

AND THERES THIS...Caltrain, battered by the coronavirus, pushes ahead with November sales tax measure, by the SF Chronicles Rachel Swan: [O]fficials are taking steps to put a one-eighth cent sales tax on the November ballot in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

POLITICO MAGAZINE The nations best and worst governors in COVID-19 response, by Bill Scher. Hint: none of them are Andrew Cuomo, one of them is Gavin Newsom.

PG&E customers to receive climate credit in April, by KRONs Alexa Mae Asperin: The credit totals $62.91 for PG&E residential customers receiving both natural gas and electric service.

WHERE TO GO? You cant move and you cant stay: Top Democrats say COVID renter protections wont work, by the Sac Bees Sophia Bollag: Two top Democrats in the California Legislature say Gov. Gavin Newsoms executive order temporarily protecting tenants who cant afford rent because of COVID-19 doesnt stop landlords from initiating eviction proceedings and could allow a wave of evictions once the order ends on May 31.

UC and Cal State relax admissions criteria due to coronavirus: What you need to know, by the LA Times Nina Agrawal and Teresa Watanabe.

Once-disputed Costa Mesa site will house non-coronavirus patients as part of surge effort, by POLITICOs Victoria Colliver.

SHELTER FOR THE VULNERABLE Inside L.A.'s scramble to open shelters and find hotel rooms for coronavirus patients, by the LA Times Doug Smith.

PRIORITIZING PEOPLE San Francisco to prioritize placing some homeless street-dwellers in hotels after much coaxing, by Mission Locals Joe Eskenazi: Mayor London Breed on Wednesday declared that homeless street dwellers over age 60 and suffering from underlying health conditions would be prioritized for vacant hotel rooms during the COVID-19 outbreak.

FORE! Deemed essential, Sacramento golf courses remain open - and crowded - during coronavirus, by the Sac Bees Theresa Clift, Joe Davidson and Michael Finch.

Oakland gets 91 trailers to house homeless during coronavirus outbreak, by The Mercury News Marisa Kendall.

Google revises COVID-19 ad ban after backlash, by Protocols Emily Birnbaum: The tech giant in a memo to advertisers on Thursday said it will allow some advertisements this week from government entities, hospitals, medical providers and NGOs who want to advertise about COVID-19, with guidance expected in the next few days for political advertisers specifically.

National Governors Association Partners with SF-based Nextdoor, per a statement: During this unprecedented time, the number of public agency posts on Nextdoor has tripled since the beginning of March.

SF-based Zoom booms as coronavirus pushes connection into the virtual world, by The Hills Alexandra Kelley: The spike in usage comes as the FBIs Boston office warned of Zooms privacy being compromised.

DiCaprio, others launch $12M coronavirus relief food fund, by The APs Jonathan Landrum: [Leonardo] DiCaprio serves as a co-founder of Americas Food Fund with philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs. Apple and the Ford Foundation are also providing money to help launch the new initiative.

Oprah Winfrey announces she is donating $10 million to assist Americans during COVID-19 pandemic, by the Daily Mails Christine Rendon.

Disney To Furlough Employees Whose Jobs Arent Necessary At This Time Starting April 19, by Deadlines Jill Goldsmith.

Santa Clara County bans in-store, curbside sales of recreational marijuana, by POLITICOs Alexander Nieves: The decision, issued Tuesday as part of a revised shelter-in-place order, still allows cannabis shops to make in-person sales to individuals with medical marijuana cards or on a doctors recommendation.

SILVER LINING? You can thank the coronavirus for plunge in robocalls, by the LA Times David Lazarus.

SURFS NOT UP Coronavirus at beaches? Surfers, swimmers should stay away, scientist says, by the LA Times Rosanna Xia.

San Francisco homeowners are pulling listings off the market by the hundreds, by the SF Business Journals Ted Andersen.

Can you fix ventilators? A fuel cell engineer figures it out, by The APs Adam Beam.

OP-ED via the LA Daily News: UTLAs latest shameful attack on charter schools

CALIFORNIA POLICY IS ALWAYS CHANGING: Know your next move. From Sacramento to Silicon Valley, POLITICO California Pro provides policy professionals with the in-depth reporting and tools they need to get ahead of policy trends and political developments shaping the Golden State. To learn more about the exclusive insight and analysis this subscriber-only service offers, click here.

Want to make an impact? POLITICO California has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Golden State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause youre promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness amongst this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: [emailprotected].

Continued here:
NEWSOM gives thumbs up to CA construction NAVY fires whistleblower carrier captain GRANDFATHER who attended TRUMP LA property party dies of Covid-19...

Owners of a 9.8-acre parcel on Point Meadows Drive want to change the Baymeadows propertys zoning to allow up to 15,300 square feet of retail, commercial or office space.

DER Investments LLC, led by David Ergisi, owns the site. Ergisi, president and CEO of Cross Regions Group, is listed as the manager of the LLC. He bought the property in 2019.

A site geometry and layout plan filed with the rezoning request show a two-story, 15,300-square-foot professional office building. Theres a pond on the parcel that owner intends to fill for the project.

Ergisis MRED Investments I LLC owns the adjacent parcel to the south at 8100 Point Meadows Drive. He paid $862,000 for the vacant 2.6-acre site in 2018 and built a two-story, 30,000-square-foot structure in 2020.

The parcels are west of Interstate 295 and north of Baymeadows Road.

The Touring Company, a Jacksonville-based civil engineering and construction company, is listed as the applicant for the rezoning application.

Ergisi said April 6 his plans for the property were not yet certain and declined to comment further on the project.

DER Investments LLC wants to change the zoning from one Planned Unit Development to another with no change to its land use.

It is called Point Meadows Phase II.

Excerpt from:
Rezoning would allow office building on Baymeadows property - Jacksonville Daily Record

As business interruption risks become increasingly complicated during COVID-19, will Insurtech be able to step up and find ways to cover losses?

Coronavirus crept through the world methodically. First came warnings of international cases. Soon social media feeds were filled with images of desolate Chinese cities and videos of Italians singing in unison from their balconies.

In what seemed like a sudden flash, the virus was on American shores closing down schools, shuttering restaurants and leaving far too many casualties.

The economic damage was swift and heavy. The stock market crashed, unemployment claims skyrocketed, and industries like construction, retail and hospitality were decimated.

Everyone seemed to have the same question: Would insurance companies cover business interruption resulting from the pandemic?

The short answer: no. Business interruption is typically part of property insurance and doesnt kick in unless theres actual damage to property.

Attorneys will undoubtedly get creative as they fight for coverage. One recently claimed that contaminated surfaces inside a New Orleans restaurant counted as property damage. Perhaps courts will agree. Perhaps business interruption becomes part of a government stimulus package. The answers remain to be seen.

What is immediately clear? Business interruption (BI) coverage has quickly become top-of-mind for companies of all types.

BI has always been the red-headed stepchild of insuring your business, said Matthew Struck, partner and co-founder of Treadstone Risk Management.

Everyone is always concerned about traditional risks. What happens if my building burns down? What happens if someone sues me? Only if you were a risk management purist were you thinking of Black Swan events like coronavirus.

Traditionally, business interruption hasnt been tough to underwrite or assess. If a business were shut down for the entire month of August due to a natural catastrophe, a simple analysis of financials could determine probable revenue loss during that time.

But business isnt that simple anymore. Supply chains have gotten complicated. Technology is quickly evolving. Industries are changing. Its made business interruption underwriting and claims adjusting much more difficult.

Matthew Struck, partner and co-founder, Treadstone Risk Management

Even before the coronavirus crisis took hold, companies specializing in Insurtech technological innovation meant to create savings and efficiencies in the insurance industry have been making business interruption underwriting and claims adjusting easier and more accurate.

Thats due to the rise of Big Data and technology like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. Insurtech companies have created models to predict business interruption losses; analyze mountains of data; and output metrics in easy-to-understand charts and digital dashboards.

Companies are creating more sophisticated modeling techniques for specific losses in order to understand what a business interruption event might look like from a financial standpoint, said Chris Cheatham, CEO of RiskGenius.

Typically, actuaries, underwriters and brokers are not necessarily technology wizards. And when you dont fundamentally understand technology, its hard to understand what constitutes business interruption in the technology space.

Cheathams company has raised more than $60 million in venture capital funding, according to Crunchbase, and hes a frequent commentator on the subject to his 150,000 LinkedIn followers.

RiskGenuis uses artificial intelligence to quickly and accurately review insurance policies to streamline work for brokers and underwriters. In the business interruption space, RiskGenius can analyze which policies will cover it and what that coverage may look like. It counts FM Global, Liberty Mutual and Everest Insurance as partners.

Its surprising, but a lot of carriers dont have that kind of analysis done on their portfolios, said Cheatham.

We call it emerging risk analysis, where you can look at all the insurance policies in a portfolio, find out which ones fall into which buckets and then triage around those.

Another company born out of Insurtech is Bold Penguin, a commercial insurance exchange that uses artificial intelligence and natural language processing to match small businesses with insurance companies.

Our process makes it 300% faster. It gets done without calling around and guesswork, said Amber Wuollet, director of marketing at Bold Penguin. We dont pass along any risk that doesnt meet an insurance companys underwriting criteria.

Wuollet said coronavirus fears quadrupled inquiries for business interruption coverage on Bold Penguin since February 9.

We have had many owners and risk managers calling in specifically mentioning business interruption coverage, said Wuollet.

With so many slight differences in language from policy to policy, Bold Penguin helps small businesses easily find the coverages or bundles of coverage that fit their businesses and unique needs.

Corvus Insurance uses machine learning and AI to make cyber coverage around business interruption more accurate. Corvus analyzes a companys web hosting, ISP providers, email providers and software to learn about its cyber security posture.

There is tons of information about individuals online. That same idea applies to companies, said Brian Alva, vice president of cyber underwriting at Corvus.

Were able to look at all their public-facing infrastructure to see what security they have then we map that to see which providers have above average or below average histories of client breaches. We can scan the dark web to see if employee credentials are for sale. These things can show evidence of a past breach or prevent a future breach.

An advantage of using tech like Corvus is not having to rely on error-prone questionnaires filled out by clients who unknowingly submit incorrect or out-of-date information.

Chris Cheatham, CEO, RiskGenius

We can get more up-to-date information automatically without relying on clients to answer applications. That gives us a lot more insight into what were doing on the underwriting side, Alva said.

The cyber risks that Corvus and others are working to stop have broadened in recent years.

Historically, cyber issues meant a health care organization losing records or retail companies suffering a breach of credit card information. But cyber is now a major business interruption risk due to dangerous ransomware and malware attacks.

Ransomware attacks have extracted an average of $2,300 per victim in 2019, up from $210 four years prior. One called Samsam infected more than 200 U.S.-based victims and collected $6 million and counted local governments as victims.

Before any attack occurs and stops business in its tracks, Corvus analyzes a companys email security protocols to recommend things like email filters and other security measures.

From an underwriting standpoint, calculating a business interruption claim from the actual costs incurred is still difficult but we can look at things that make someone more or less likely to suffer a claim and tailor underwriting that way, said Alva.

With the economy suffering in the wake of the coronavirus, expect Insurtech innovation to suffer in the short-term.

Startup funding is expected to dry up and companies could struggle to keep internal innovation teams afloat. Still, business interruption is so top-of-mind that innovation from Insurtech is all but inevitable.

Another wave is coming. Call it wave two of Insurtech, said Cheatham. Thats going to be great, because youre going to see a lot of ideas that are more tangible and salient start to take hold.

What will wave two look like? Expect more specialization and modeling for specific business interruption events. Data will continue to be accessible and abundant helping to further refine what constitutes business interruption and the damages associated with it.

And expect the data to be disseminated in ways that are easy to understand, like cellphone apps or interactive dashboards.

All these new data points available to people will be extremely helpful in modeling out scenarios for business interruption that we just never thought of before, said Cheatham.

I think youre going to see a lot of specialization around that.

With the coronavirus proving that business interruption coverage is hardly a given, many could look to insurtech to make sure the data and risks are disseminated accurately, so businesses are better prepared next time around.

As that demand grows, youll see new forms of companies particularly Insurtech companies coming to market to help meet those needs, said Alva.

This pandemic has brought business interruption to the forefront. As an industry were going to view the demand there to see what solutions we can come up with. &

Read the original here:
COVID-19 Is Threatening the Ability of Insurtech to Combat Business Interruption - Workers Comp Forum

By: Michael Young 7:30 am on April 4, 2020

YIMBY checked in on141 Willoughby Streetin Downtown Brooklyn, the site of a forthcoming 23-story office building. Demolition has concluded and the land sits awaiting excavation for the360-foot-tall structure, which is being designed by Fogarty Finger Architectswith SLCE Architectsas the architect of record. Gregory Jaffe ofSavannais listed as the owner on the applications that were filed in June 2019.

Photos show the state of the trapezoidal plot, which is bound by Willoughby Street, Gold Street, and the southbound lanes of Flatbush Avenue. The site was formerly occupied by a three-story low-rise building that housed the Institute of Design and Construction.

141 Willoughby Street. Photo by Michael Young

141 Willoughby Street. Photo by Michael Young

141 Willoughby Street. Photo by Michael Young

The proposed development will span 363,336 square feet, with 310,077 square feet designated for offices. The steel superstructure will include retail space on the cellar and ground floors. No official renderings for the upcoming office edifice have been seen, but the property will certainly be conspicuous when exiting the Manhattan Bridge and entering the heart of Downtown Brooklyn. Though far short of the skyscraper status boasted by nearby developments like Brooklyn Point, 141 Willoughby Street would nevertheless bring a wealth of new office space to the expanding neighborhood.

The site is one block away from the DeKalb Avenue subway station, serviced by the B, Q, and R trains. The 2 and 3 trains at the Hoyt Street station are also nearby to the south on Fulton Street.

A start and completion date for 141 Willoughby Street has not been announced.

Subscribeto YIMBYs daily e-mailFollowthe YIMBYgram for real-time photo updatesLikeYIMBY on FacebookFollowYIMBYs Twitter for the latest in YIMBYnews

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141 Willoughby Street Cleared and Ready for Excavation in Downtown Brooklyn - New York YIMBY

Construction is underway for a distribution facility at 2505 Bruckner Blvd., with completion slated for first-quarter 2022. The property is situated nine miles from LaGuardia Airport, 15 miles north of John F. Kennedy International Airport and at the intersections of Interstates 95, 278 and 295.

NEW YORK CITY Innovo Property Group (IPG) and equity partner Square Mile Capital Management LLC have received $305 million in financing for the development of a 1 million-square-foot, two-story industrial facility in New York Citys Bronx borough.The joint venture acquired the land in 2017. Construction is underway with completion slated for first-quarter 2022.

The last-mile distribution property is situated on 20 acres at 2505 Bruckner Blvd., nine miles from LaGuardia Airport, 15 miles north of John F. Kennedy International Airport and at the intersection of Interstates 95, 278 and 295. Additionally, the facility is located within 30 miles of 9.4 million people.

The facility will feature 133 exterior parking spaces for trailers and box trucks as well as 664 interior parking spaces for cars and sprinter vans. The building will offer direct loading on the first and second floors, each with a 130-foot truck court. The first floor will feature 32-foot clear heights, 40-foot-by-40-foot column spacing and cross-docked loading with 74 dock doors and two drive-in doors. The second floor will be accessible to 53-foot tractor-trailers via two double-wide ramps and will feature 28-foot clear heights, 80-foot-by-80-foot column spacing, 37 loading dock doors and two drive-in doors.

As in many U.S. metro areas, New York Citys need for well-located, last-mile distribution facilities has been underserved, says Square Mile Capital CEO Craig Solomon. The current pandemic has certainly exacerbated that need for sufficient supply-chain infrastructure as demand for secure deliveries is threatening to far outstrip our warehouse space supply. This is not just a momentary spike in demand; it will continue to grow. Accordingly, we have established a focused last-mile property investment strategy and will continue to seek more opportunities.

Bank OZK and Denver-based EverWest Real Estate Investors provided the $305 million construction loan to the developers. Adam Spies, Adam Doneger, Steve Kohn and Alex Hernandez of Cushman & Wakefield arranged the financing on behalf of the borrowers. JLL will handle leasing efforts of the property, targeting a variety of users including e-commerce, third-party logistics and omnichannel retail companies.

New York City-based IPG is a privately held real estate investment and operating platform focused on acquiring and managing assets in and around New York City. Andrew Chung founded IPG in 2015, and the company is backed by Nan Fung Group, a Hong Kong-based global conglomerate with core businesses in property development and investment.

Square Mile Capital, also based in New York City, is a privately held, integrated institutional real estate and investment management firm that supplies flexible equity and debt capital solutions.

Alex Tostado

Excerpt from:
Innovo Property, Square Mile Capital Receive $305M Construction Financing for Industrial Facility in the Bronx - REBusinessOnline

BENGALURU :The three-week lockdown to contain the covid-19 pandemic has deeply impacted Indias real estate sector, which was already reeling from a liquidity crunch and weak residential sales.

The impact on discretionary spending may disrupt the retail mall business for a long time, while a sharp drop in home sales will heighten liquidity and cash flow pressures for developers. Affordable housing, which has held up in the five-year-long slowdown, may also get hit by the ongoing crisis.

However, the commercial office business, which has been an outlier of sorts, may face limited impact though this may be determined by how the information technology (IT) sector, one of the largest occupiers of office space, performs in the near future.

Residential sales are down by 70-80% because of the lockdown and distancing, and there is a postponing of decisions by buyers that may take some time to return to normal. However, housing is a necessity and we hope that those who need homes will buy at some point. The situation is critical and the impact on the sector would depend on how the government handles the situation and the incentives it gives," said Niranjan Hiranandani, co-founder and managing director, Hiranandani Group.

Shopping malls would see a 10-12% year-on-year erosion of rental income, given the temporary closure of malls and the risk of reduced footfall and discretionary consumption spends in 2020-21, a 27 March note by India Ratings and Research said. Cash flow gaps could widen in the residential sector, with limited sales in the coming months and debt servicing could be a challenge, especially for non-Grade 1 developers, it said.

The situation has added to the liquidity and cash flow crunch in the sector, said Gautam Chatterjee, chairman, Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA).

There is a lot of uncertainty now on how long this crisis will last and what happens after that. How long will construction remain stalled? When will migrant labourers return because it is a labour-intensive sector? Lack of money had stopped construction work in many cases and with this crisis now, its important that the construction cycle resumes soon," Chatterjee said.

On Thursday, Maha-Rera extended the completion deadline of registered projects by three months. However, Hiranandani said the impact could last longer and a one-year moratorium would be better.

Given the impending economic slowdown and job losses, if housing finance companies and banks were to tighten their home loan disbursements criteria, sales or collections could see further pressure especially in the affordable segment, the India Ratings report said.

Bengaluru-based Brigade Groups residential sales were good until the lockdown, said its chief financial officer, Atul Goyal. However, once the lockdown kicked in, customer bookings stalled, though Brigade is now taking bookings online. Payments are still coming but the run rate is down. A lot will also depend on job and salary cuts and how the IT sector performs. It helps that Brigade has a diversified real estate portfolio because those only into residential or retail projects may face challenges. Well-capitalised developers will survive, but many others may go for loan deferments," Goyal said. Brigade has already made interest repayments for March, he said.

Embassy Group chairman Jitu Virwani said fund-raising may be a problem if this continues, but so far, there has been no significant impact on the office leasing business.

The liquidity crisis has been a concern for over a year, with non-banking lenders staying away. The epidemic couldnt have come at a worse time, when the residential sector was expected to slowly recover over the coming months.

Originally posted here:
Realty braces for the worst amid cash flow pressures - Livemint

The coronavirus pandemic has affected every part of business, especially after the UK lockdown was announced on 23 March.

In the first of a series of features, we take a look at how different sectors are coping with with the measures brought in by the UK Government. In the first of a two-part article, we look at how the commercial property sector in the East Midlands is faring.

Bradgate Estates is a family-owned property development company that specialises in student and PRS blocks.

The company has built and sold over 90m worth of property over the last four years, consisting of Private Rented Sector and student blocks in Russell Group university cities such as Leicester, Nottingham and Sheffield.

Joseph Levy, managing director, said: The investment side of our business has been put on ice, with 100m of pipeline projects paused until at least September and maybe beyond.

The developments that are currently in construction are continuing, if maybe a little slower than before. But we are proud of our contractor, J A Ball and his team, who are continuing to stay on site until the supply chain or the Government dictates otherwise. But we are under no illusion that delayed completion will be inevitable.

We have circa 350 flats in the city [Leicester] and a large part of my business is being a landlord to both students and residential tenants. This is the sector of the business that has been affected the most.

We are trying to make sure our tenants feel as safe as possible, so we have a brave team of dedicated cleaners who constantly patrol all of our properties, ensuring that all the communal areas are continuously disinfected.

Our student tenants are also a concern as we are expecting a fall in rent, particularly from overseas students.

Richard Sutton, managing director of commercial property agent NG Chartered Surveyors, has grown his business on being accessible to clients, something, which for the moment, has been taken away in a

physical sense. He said: At the moment its hard to say how this is affecting our business. Of course, we have been impacted, like all in our sector, but, as yet to what extent, its hard to say.

Our technology, remote working protocol and the quality of our team has made us as if not more resilient and adaptable than other firms.

Were using remote working platforms, keeping in contact via teams and zoom and continuing to deliver the service needed by our clients, above all we are still here for the them.

Haroon Shaikh, director at Obstrat, which offices, residential, retail and leisure space In Leicester, says his firm has stopped work on one of its landmark schemes in Leicester.

He said: We have temporarily paused construction works at Universal Business Park on Humberstone Lane. Although the UK Government have not suspended construction, the health and safety of our workers and supply chain is our primary concern during these unprecedented times. We fully support the recommendations to stay home, protect the NHS and save lives.

With MIPIM 2020 postponed we have had to reschedule meetings and travel arrangements, we look forward to continuing to support Team Leicester when it returns.

But what is the East Midlands property sector doing to try and minimise the disruption brought about by the coronaviurus outbreak.

Stephen Pratt is Group land director at Godwin Developments, and works across both the East and West Midlands. He says that keeping communication flowing is key.

We are deploying technology to keep us all talking, growing and developing relationships, and winning business, he said.

In fact, we are encouraging all our staff to interact via video conference using Microsoft Teams rather than emails and messages, and we are working successfully across platforms with landowners, national and regional agents, planners and all other stakeholders.

Levy said: Like most sensible businesses, we are taking every step we can to minimise the loss of profit during this disruption. And to do this we must be flexible to change, adapt to the ever-changing situation as it unfolds and look for opportunities that may arise out of adversity.

An example being, we now unexpectedly have 250 empty flats for the next three months and we have developed many great ideas which will both fill them and help the community.

The effects will be minimised if we all help each other were we can.

With physical contact all but put on hold then it wouldnt take a great leap of imagination to assume that many property deals have been put on hold.

Wayne Oakes, director at engineering consultancy Dice, is refreshingly candid when he is asked if any deals he was working have fallen through since the lockdown was announced.

He said: In short, yes. A significant portion of our private work with developers has been placed on hold, along with schemes and projects in and around the retail and leisure sectors.

The retail sector has been on life support for a long time and we have grave concerns that COVID-19 could cause British high streets to decline even further as more people become reliant on online food shopping and on-demand orders via retailers like Amazon.

However, said Oakes, even though we have seen some schemes placed on hold, there are still some areas of positivity most notably in the public sector where there appears to be added resilience and a desire to proceed as planned.

He added: Weve also held numerous discussions with longstanding clients regarding innovative procurement measures. We cannot reveal too much of course, but were excited at the prospect of altering our working pattern and procurement routes with certain clientele, so there are definitely still opportunities there if you are prepared to innovate.

Simon Gardiner, managing director at Peter James Homes, told us his company is in a fortune position.

He said: No deals have fallen through. We were in a fortunate position having just completed our 48 housing scheme in Bestwood Village with two larger sites in the design/procurement phase. Our sites have been paid for and consequently with do not have issues on this front.

Fellow housebuilder, Ian Hodgkinson, said he is thankful to his legal team: We havent lost any deals and finances are still in place, there has been a remarkable effort by our legal team and our clients to move the deals on. I expect that this is just in case funding is impacted due to the coronavirus.

Architects and design teams have also been active with regards to still bringing opportunities to us most people are being positive at the moment.

Pratt says his firm is still actively looking for opportunities. We are actively seeking to hear from landowners and agents who may have brown or greenfield land for development. Because we work across the entire property lifecycle from site identification and acquisition through to development and asset management we are in the best position to advise on the optimum outcome for their assets in the current climate. In addition, we are pleased that all deals that we secured prior to the lockdown are still progressing well and on schedule.

In the next part of this feature, well look to the future and ask: how will the crisis change the property industry?

Read the original post:
Communication is key as commercial property industry fights the coronavirus crisis - The Business Desk

Chances are that the world returns to normal. From SARS to Bird Flu to Ebola, it seems there is always some type of health scare that we are told will alter the course of our existence. Hopefully, a few years from now we are able to put coronavirus into the category of other close calls. But this one feels different. And it is already altering our lifestyle in dramatic ways that prior health scares did not.

Just this week, the NCAA said that it will hold March Madness without crowds, SXWS canceled its annual event, the Coachella Festival announced that it will be postponed, Google told its 100,000+ employees to work from home, countless other companies encouraged their employees to telecommute, and toilet paper has become an unusually hot commodity. While the real estate industry as a whole appears (at least so far) to not be affected to the same degree as the travel and entertainment industries, what impact can we expect the coronavirus to have on the real estate industry over the course of the next few months and years?

The answer, of course, depends on numerous factors, such as how quickly the outbreak spreads, the duration of the outbreak, and the actual impact of the coronavirus on humans once we are able to analyze data from the inevitably larger sample size that we are certain to get. Even if the coronavirus is gone tomorrow, the impact on the real estate industry could be significant.

James Bond is a director at Fennemore Craig.

Telecommuting has certainly gained momentum in the past few years. But with more and more employers now encouraging their employees to work from home during the outbreak, employers are getting an unexpected preview of what a significantly smaller office footprint could look like in the future. Technology companies such as Zoom and Slack are being thrust into the spotlight as businesses try not to skip a beat with their employees working from home. If the technology companies can facilitate a work environment outside the office that delivers results for employers during this outbreak, then expect demand for smaller office footprints to accelerate as a result of the coronavirus.

On the other hand, demand for co-working spaces could decline significantly. As people try to avoid interacting with others in the office environment, the allure of leasing space in a co-working environment could diminish. The operators of co-working spaces will need to innovate in order to retain and attract new tenants.

Any discussion about the coronavirus often includes recommendations about social distancing. In its simplest terms, health experts suggest that avoiding crowded areas can be a helpful tool in avoiding the coronavirus. If the population at large follows this advice, the immediate impact on the retail sector could be significant as people avoid grocery stores, shopping centers, and malls.

But what will this mean long term? People still need food, clothes, and other essentials. And of course, they want other non-necessities. More and more people are already using Amazon and other online services to do their shopping from home. But there is still a large untapped market of people who have never used online shopping. There will be a significant number of these people who try online shopping for the first time as a result of coronavirus fears. This could be a tipping point that forever alters some brick and mortar stores and how they accommodate the online consumer. As at-home and curbside deliveries increase in popularity, retailers will need to consider store sizes, layouts, and pick-up points when they design stores.

The industrial sector will also feel the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, both good and bad. If online shopping becomes more prevalent as a result of the coronavirus, more industrial space will be required to house inventory at distribution centers. However, larger industrial spaces likely will mean more employees in close proximity to each other, so employers will need to be cognizant of how this will impact their operations during future outbreaks of the next major virus.

The coronavirus outbreak has led to a sharp decline in U.S. Treasury rates, which has driven down the interest rates on real estate loans. Many borrowers who were already in the process of refinancing existing loans will reap the benefits of these lower rates. If rates continue to stay low, more borrowers will rush to refinance and lock in rates that are at historically low levels.

While the coronavirus may not seem like it will have a major impact on the real estate industry, a closer examination suggests that it actually may have a far-reaching impact. From office to retail to industrial, expect that the real estate industry could see major changes regardless of whether the coronavirus is short-lived or is here to stay.

James Bond is a director at Fennemore Craig.

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The coronavirus impact on the real estate industry - AZ Big Media