Labor Day might be a time to remember the achievements of the labor and union movements in this country which brought us little things like the 40-hour workweek and unemployment benefits but many companies are using the holiday as the end of something many workers want to continue: full-time remote work.

Goldman Sachs will lift all COVID-19 protocols in its offices including vaccine mandates and mask-wearing after Labor Day, which many see as a less than gentle nudge for all staff to come in five days a week. Meanwhile, archnemesis JPMorgan Chase has not been so quietly pushing its employees to do the same, and Apple wants its workers to return at least three days a week after Labor Day.

Those might be the largest firms calling workers back in droves, but theyre far from alone as companies large and small have started calling employees back. All of this might feel like we jumped into a DeLorean with Doc Brown and went back in time to 2021, but employers apparently mean business this time.

But a five-day-a-week, full-scale return to the office might be as elusive as the location of Jimmy Hoffas grave as study after study finds people want a hybrid model and many are willing to quit over the loss of their home office.

Apple has faced numerous complaints from workers about its return to office edict, causing the tech giant to pull back on the number of days required, while Google employees have been angry over the companys three-day-a-week policy even after they keep contracting COVID.

Landlords are expecting a much larger return of tenants this week but many have more realistic expectations, with Silverstein Properties CEO Marty Burger telling CNBC he anticipates most companies to return only three to four days a week.

Feel the pain

It might have been a quiet week as many surely holed up in vacationland for one final summer weekend but there were still plenty of reminders of the current state of the U.S. economy.

Female-focused coworking provider The Wing announced that it would shutter its remaining six locations permanently after not enough members visited the spaces. The company debuted in 2016 with much fanfare and came out strong with $100 million in fundraising.

However, the wheels started to fall off and the company faced allegations of mistreatment of staff and people of color, lawsuits over its women-only admittance policy, and nearly went bankrupt in 2020.

On the retail front, Bed Bath & Beyond announced it would close 150 stores nationwide and lay off about 20 percent of its corporate and supply chain workforce after the struggling company secured $500 million in new financing to right its ship. And thats after it shuttered 37 stores in February.

In other retail news, Urban Outfitters subsidiary Free People couldnt break free of its bills as a judge ruled it will have to pay Delshah Capital $13 million in skipped rent for its 58-60 Ninth Avenue storefront.

And in a tale turning into a long and winding saga fit for a Bruce Springsteen song, the long-awaited Gateway tunnel project had its cost increase by $2 billion and the start of construction delayed a year.

The group shepherding the project which calls for renovating an existing underground rail tunnel between New Jersey and New York and building a new one blamed inflation for the bill increasing to $16.1 billion and has been seeking additional federal funding.

Labor Day deals

There was some good news last week as the deals kept flowing.

Luxury retail contractor Michilli and fashion designer PatBO each took 7,000 square feet at 126 Fifth Avenue; custom embroiderer Penn & Fletcher grabbed 3,400 square feet at 309 West 36th Street; and four tenants signed leases for a total of 21,000 square feet at 20 West 55th Street. And, in news sure to please bibliophiles, book seller McNally Jackson secured a 7,000-square-foot space at 1 Rockefeller Plaza for its fifth store, set to open in the winter.

But New York couldnt hold a candle to the Sunshine State lease-wise. Newspaper the Sun Sentinel renewed the lease for its 290,503-square-foot printing plant in Deerfield Beach, Fla.; the State of Florida Department of Revenue inked a deal to relocate to 28,610 square feet within Doral; a Sports & Social bar will open a 20,000-square-foot Miami location; kid clothier Carters and The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill took a combined 7,142 square feet in a Boca Raton shopping plaza; and wine bar The Blind Monk will debut a 2,209-square-foot West Palm Beach outpost.

Meanwhile, in the equally sunny (but with far less alligators) Los Angeles, Hudson Pacific Properties acquired soundstage and production services firm Quixote Studios for $360 million, and BLT Enterprises bought the North American headquarters of South Korean video game developer Nexon for $27.3 million.

Dont get too jealous, New York. The Big Apple had some major financing agreements this past week.

The Vanbarton Group landed $272.5 million in construction financing for its new office-to-residential conversion project at 160 Water Street; RXR secured a $260 million refinancing of 75 Rockefeller Plaza; a joint venture between Dynamic Star, Namdar Realty Group and Gorjian Acquisition sealed $70 million to refinance its planned mixed-use development in the Bronx; and First Elite Management got a $31.5 million construction loan for its condo development in Long Island City, Queens.

Long reads for the long weekend

What better way to drown out your familys infighting during Labor Day barbeques than digging into some of Commercial Observers recent features.

Learn about how, even in the wake of politicians decrying ESG as part of a woke agenda, real estate has stayed the course in its efforts to make its buildings greener and its workforces more diverse. Or how Adam Neumanns new, loosely defined startup could actually solve at least one housing problem, if it manages to live up to its billion-dollar hype. If not, were sure Jared Leto cant wait to bust out his Israeli accent again.

Finally, read about how real estate power lawyer Terri Adler came from out West to launch a career in New York City, starting with what might be a record for the shortest job interview ever.

Until next time, solidarity forever!

Here is the original post:
Sunday Summary: Back to the Office Commercial Observer - Commercial Observer

US Route 1 is the primary federal highway south of Miami (where I-95 ends), and consists of a 5-7 lane suburban arterial on the 25 mile stretch to Florida City, Florida. Theres nothing like a human-scale public space on that corridor, but that reality is changing.

Developers A&E Partners are proposing a 10-acre mixed-use development with a public square facing the highway. Designed by Valle & Valle Partners, town planners and architects, the development is going through approvals with the Town of Cutler, enabled by transit corridor district zoning. The town recently updated that zoning category near three bus rapid transit (BRT) stops on the South Dade TransitWay, a $100 million, 20-mile transit line which broke ground in 2021. The BRT extends the existing Metrorail from South Miami, linking to the regional transit system.

US Route 1, the nations longest north-south highway, goes from Key West to the Canadian border in Maine. It was designated in the 1920s from what used to be called the Atlantic Highway. It was the main street of the Eastern Seaboard, replaced in importance by I-95 in the 1960s. Increasingly, it took on the characteristics of a classic stroad. The introduction of placemaking could be called a return to the roots of US 1, as the highway originally had a much stronger sense of place. The width of the thoroughfare, however, requires placemaking techniques on one side of the highwayand thats where the square comes in. It will be a protected public space, bounded on three sides by buildings, and yet visible from Route 1.

The site is bounded on one side by the highway, and the other side by the busway, which will include an iconic station. The site today is another big box with tons of parking, as you can see along the entire stretch of the US 1 corridor; completely unmemorable, notes designer Erick Valle.

The site is large enough to include a diverse development program. A seven-story building will have 274 units of senior housing with about 10,000 square feet of first-floor commercial space. Another two buildings include 338 market-rate living spaces, and 19,000 square feet of commercial space. A courtyard building will have 162 units of workforce housing. The project is very compact, with 774 living spaces in totaleven while providing the new public square.

The proposed design will be introducing the first publicly visible square off US 1 corridor, Valle says. It will be also be creating an urban edge with 30-footwide sidewalks full of shade trees with continuous retail for a two-block stretch. This transit-oriented development will be providing desperately needed housing for the nearby Homestead Airforce Base, seniors, young families, and for people who made the choice not to rely on the car for transportation.

Cutlers transit corridor zoning grew out of a 2008 charrette, but had never been used. With the construction of the transit line, town commissioner Robert B.J. Duncan recognized an opportunity to modify the ordinance to make it more viable for development, Valle says. Modifications include higher densityand reduced parking requirements, leading to this development proposal.

This project is designed to demonstrate suburban retrofit, a future trend that makes sense as cities continue to handle growth, he adds.

See the original post:
US 1 is getting a public square | CNU - Congress for the New Urbanism

From left: Rockefeller Groups Daniel Moore and Park Tower Groups Marian Klein with 16 Dupont Street (Green Pearl, Rockefeller Group)

Rockefeller Group and Park Tower Group have secured a $200 million construction loan to build a 40-story residential tower at 16 Dupont Street as part of the Greenpoint Landing development.

Japan-based Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank took over financing on the project with a $230 million agreement that retires $30 million originated by Signature Bank, records show.

The tower will have 378 residential units, and 2,700-square-feet of retail space. A portion of units will be set aside as affordable per the citys now-expired Affordable New York Housing program, said Park Tower president Marian Klein. GKV Architects is listed as the architect of record for the 470,000-square-foot building, according to the Department of Buildings.

Excavation of the buildings foundation is underway, New York YIMBY reported. Park Tower bought development rights for the site last summer for $23 million, and Rockefeller joined the project in December 2021. Rockefeller Group did not immediately return a request for comment.

The 22-acre Greenpoint Landing development will deliver 5,500 units to the Brooklyn neighborhood, near where the East River meets Newton Creek. ANd 1,400 will be permanently affordable across 11 building sites.

Park Tower is working on four other Greenpoint Landing developments with Brookfield Property Partners, which last year secured $500 million for a pair of residential towers with 745 units at 227 West Street. Brookfield has already completed three buildings at the megaproject: One and Two Blue Slip, and 1 Bell Slip where market-rate one-bedrooms list from $3,100 to $5,400.

L+M Development Partners is spearheading the megaprojects three affordable housing buildings, located at 5 Blue Slip, 21 Commercial Street and 33 Eagle Street.

Contact Orion Jones

View post:
Rockefeller, Park Tower land $200M to build at Greenpoint Landing - The Real Deal

Sep. 2JEFFERSONVILLE Plans are underway to build 264 multi-family apartments connecting with Jeffersonville Town Center near Veterans Parkway.

Denton Floyd Real Estate Group is seeking to develop The Warren Apartments in Jeffersonville in partnership with The Koetter Group. The development would feature market-rate apartments at the 18-acre property located along Town Center Boulevard, Indiana 31 and Hamburg Pike.

The project has received a favorable recommendation from the Jeffersonville Planning Commission, and the Jeffersonville City Council will consider an amendment to the zoning map at Tuesday's meeting. This would change the zoning at 4405 Hamburg Pike, a portion of the land that would be used for the development, from business park/light industrial to planned unit development (PUD).

The planned development includes 11 apartment buildings with 24 units each, and there will be 400 parking spaces for residents. The development will feature amenities such as a clubhouse, pool, dog park, fire pits, a playground and more than six acres of green space, according to Clayton Pace, director of development and construction at Denton Floyd.

The clubhouse would include an exercise room, cybercafe, mail room and leasing office.

Pace said bringing in residential development will create a mixed use space to complement the businesses at Jeffersonville Town Center on Veterans Parkway, which was also developed by The Koetter Group.

"This is a great example of how connectivity and mixed use work together," he said.

Pace said it's a "terrific location" to combine residential and commercial developments.

"Within a walking distance, you have Menards, you have a gas station across the street, you have all the retail, and a bank is right there," he said. "Then there's some more upcoming retail that's just broken ground."

Chad Reischl, director of planning and zoning for the City of Jeffersonville, said he is excited about the opportunity to create a multi-use site featuring offices, restaurants, retail and apartments.

Story continues

The residential development will be beneficial for helping business grow in that area, he said.

"It's a place where people could live, work and go down the street and grab a coffee or a burger at a restaurant without having to go far," he said.

The goal is to break ground on The Warren Apartments at the end of the year, according to Pace.

Read the rest here:
Developers seek to build 264 apartments near Jeffersonville Town Center - Yahoo News

Labor Day weekend is great news on its own but for everything else weve rounded up all the news you might have missed when it comes to the goings on in Hoboken + Jersey City. Catch up on all there is to know, including the following headlines: Six26 honors transgender activist Marsha P. Johnson; Prato Bakery is expanding to Jersey City Heights; 400 people attend Hobokens Spaghetti Dinner Block Party; and so much more. Keep reading for all the news you missed this week in Hoboken, Jersey City, + beyond.

Theres been a lot happening this week in North Jersey news, including a 2.3 magnitude earthquake that rattled Morris County on Tuesday, August 30th. The quake was located just under 3 miles away from Morris Plains and hit at 5:14PM on Tuesday, August 30th, per USGS.NBC New Yorkreported that the quake lasted about 30 seconds and was located about 3 miles underground. This event was likely related to the Ramapo Fault Line, which is considered an active fault line and runs through Morristown. Just after the earthquake, a small aftershock (1.7 magnitude) was reported in nearby Lake Telemark, perPatch. Click here for everything we know.

We know Jersey City ismany things to many people, and starting in 2023, it will be the site of a USA Track and Field sanctioned marathon and half marathon event. In fact, the marathon will be a Boston marathon qualifier and the course will be designed to show off the best of all of JCs neighborhoods for both local runners and out-of-town participants. The Jersey City Road Runners organization is working with the City to host the event, and they have a lot to do to prepare for the big day on April 23rd, 2023. Registration officially opened for both the marathon and the half marathon on September 1st. Click here for what we know so far about the upcoming 2023 Jersey City marathon and half marathon as well as how to register.

Prato Bakery recently announced that it is officially opening a fourth location. After years of customers asking for a location to open in Jersey City Heights, the Prato Bakery owners are granting their wish. Coming to 296 Palisade Avenue, Pratos new space will be opening its doors this fall and will be the new home base for the Italian cafes kitchen. Click here to read allabout Prato Bakery expanding.

Community members gathered at Six26 Lounge + Rooftop in Jersey City to celebrate the life of LGBTQ+ activist Marsha P. Johnson. Marsha was a veteran of the Stonewall riot who has been credited with the birth of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. Marsha grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey and eventually moved to Hoboken. Click here to learn more about Marsha P. Johnson.

Local wine shop Wine Dads announced this week that it will be opening a second New Jersey location in Jersey City any day now. According to the new Instagram account @WineDadsSohoJC, the new shop will be housed within SoHo Lofts, located at 273 16th Street in Jersey City.

On Monday, September 26th, White Eagle Hall in Jersey City will host a pro wrestling concert in conjunction with the release of The Last Match: A Pro Wrestling Rock Musical. According to Broadway World, the musical features wrestling superstar Matt Cardona, Tony-nominated actor Ramin Karimloo, and Broadway favorite Amber Ardolino.

Local officials announced the return of the First-Time Homebuyer Program, known as the Golden Neighborhood Homeownership Program, with major impact. Pre-applications for the First-Time Homebuyer Program started being accepted online as of September 1st. The program is designed to assist low- to moderate-income residents looking to buy a home within Jersey City with down payment assistance and closing costs up to $150,000. For more information about the application process, please contact the Division of Community Development by phone at 201-547-6910 or at GNHP@jcnj.org.

Local officials announced this week that the City of Hoboken will distribute over $750,000 to the Hoboken Housing Authority and other local non-profits that service low- and moderate-income residents. According to the press release, this funding comes from the Community Development Block Grant.

A Federal appeals court upheld Jersey Citys short-term rental regulations last week, per TapInto. A city ordinance doesnt ban short-term rentals like Airbnb but it does restrict the total stays per year to 60 days. It also prohibits short-term rentals in buildings with fewer than 4 units.

The 2022 Annual Women Rising Celebration of Service Gala has been announced for Thursday, October 20th. The event will be held at 6PM at Liberty House restaurant, located at 76 Audrey Zapp Drive in Jersey City.

As of Wednesday, August 31st, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the nations first variant-specific COVID-19 vaccine, per Patch. This new vaccine will specifically target Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5. Updated boosters could be available in New Jersey as soon as the next few days.

The state is recommending a 25-year sentence for a man who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of a Bayonne woman in 2019. Sentencing is scheduled for Friday, December 5th, according to Patch. The Bayonne Police Department responded to 484 John F. Kennedy Boulevard on September 22nd in 2019, to find an unresponsive female, later identified as Diamond Robinson, who was pronounced dead at the scene at 5:30AM.

A redevelopment project in downtown Jersey City has begun with a new section restoring a historic factory, according to Jersey Digs. The industrial building will be converted into loft-style residential units and include ground-floor retail space. The property is located at 301 16th Street in Jersey City.

Jersey City Police Department detective Joel Chaviano has been charged with forging insurance documents to a private company, reported TapInto. Chaviano was arrested on Tuesday, August 30th and taken to the prosecutors office where he was released on a summons pending a September 13th court date.

In a recent statement, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy criticized the proposed congestion pricing plan in New York, per NJ.com. The plan would charge as much as $23 to drive in the Central Business District south of 60th street in Manhattan. Murphy pointed out that New Jersey commuters who work in the city are already double taxed. He also cited previous funding to build two new rail tunnels under the Hudson River and renovate Port Authority Bus Terminal, plans for which have been slow to progress.

Every year, Hoboken holds a block party with spaghetti as the main dish of choice, per Patch. This year, about 400 people attended the waterfront event to eat pasta, chat, and make new friends. The block party was catered by The Brownstone and featured pasta, meatballs, sausage, eggplant parmigiana, salad, bread, and of course cannolis.

Two individuals were shot in an early morning incident outside a bar in the West Side neighborhood of Jersey City. According to NJ.com, the victims were brought to the Jersey City Medical Center on Thursday, September 1st around 1AM. The shooting occurred outside the Halftime Bar + Grill, located at 746 West Side Avenue in Jersey City.

Hoboken is no stranger to water main breaks, and this week, Veolia Water alerted the community to avoid one in downtown Hoboken, per Patch. On Tuesday, August 30th, the company tweeted, Crews are conducting emergency repairs on an 8-inch main at Adams Street between Third and Fourth streets. The previous water main break in Hoboken was located one block away, just the week before.

On Monday, August 29th, the Stevens Institute of Technology campus received a shelter in place order following reports of a man with a weapon near campus. The man was eventually located with a rifle-style BB gun. He was charged with aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a weapon, and possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes after allegedly getting into an argument with construction workers about beginning their work too early. Click here for everything we reported on the incident.

The Jersey City Planning Board approved an application to redevelop the vacant parcel of land on top of a former railroad embankment that runs along 10th street in Newport. According to Jersey Digs, Newport Associates Development plans to construct a 246-unit residential building to the 3-acre plot near Hamilton Park. The building will be called Rampart House, located at 535 Monmouth Street.

Local tech company Propelify announced information for this years Propelify Innovation Festival, reported Patch. The event will take place on Thursday, October 6th at Maxwell Place Park in Hoboken. Speakers include TV personality Al Roker, Pricelines Jeff Hoffman, CMO of MindMed Dr. Dan Karlin, founder of Primary Ventures Ben Sun, and more.

New Jersey real estate moguls the KRE Group plan to build two new skyscrapers in Journal Square, just behind the historic Loews Jersey Theatre. According to NJ.com, the buildings would top out at 55 stories and 49 stories tall with 1,189 units between them, none of which are affordable housing. The land is currently used as a parking garage. The Jersey City Planning Board is scheduled to review the proposal on Tuesday, September 6th.

A relatively unknown law went into effect about nine months ago, requiring shoppers to be above the age of 21 and show ID when purchasing canned whipped cream. According to Today, the cartridge inside the can which uses nitrous oxide to expel the cream is the issue. New York State Senator Joseph Addabbo received numerous complaints from constituents of whipped cream cans littering the streets, allegedly used to do whippits, or inhaling the nitrous oxide to get high.

The next Hoboken Public Safety meeting is scheduled for this Friday, September 9th at 8:30AM at Onieals, located at 343 Park Avenue in Hoboken. According to TapInto, the meeting will focus on public safety initiatives. The meetings are held every other month and hosted by Public Safety Director Ken Ferrante and Councilman Joe Quintero.

On Monday, August 29th, road closures along Route 440 began for emergency sewer repairs, reported Patch. The specific section being repaired runs along western and southern Jersey City, passing Route 9. Construction is expected to take about 14 days.

A lawsuit, which was filed in 2019 against Hoboken Councilman DeFusco for campaign donations, has been dismissed, according to Patch. It is anticipated that the dismissal will trigger a controversial Hoboken ordinance to go into effect, which impacts how much unions can donate to political campaigns.

Last week, we reported on the passing of Hoboken mom Kyelia Colon on Friday, August 19th. According to Patch, a GoFundMe account has been launched in her honor to help support the financial burdens now placed on her six children. At this point, $2,138 has been raised. Little information has been released about circumstances related to her passing.

The Jersey City Police + Fire 9/11 Memorial Blood Drive is happening on Friday, September 9th to honor the heroes of 9/11. According to @JerseyCityNJ, The community is invited to participate and donate blood by making an appointment at redcrossblood.org using sponsor code: Jersey City 911. The blood drive will take place at Hyatt Regency Hotel from 8AM to 6PM.

Photo credit: GoFundMe

A GoFundMe campaign has been launched with the goal of raising $90k for a Hamilton Park bartender and community friend Mel, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. According to the GoFundMe page, she advocates mutual aid, raising money and often paying out-of-pocket to support community fridges, local causes, and small businesses. Shes also a talented artist, a loving dog mom, and incredibly caring friend. She most likely has memorized your drink order, too. At this point, $29,697 has been raised to support Mel as she faces surgery and chemotherapy.

Local officials recently announced that Jersey Citys on-demand, affordable transit service Via has surpassed one million rides since it was launched in 2020. Today, Via is a go-to form of transportation for around 50,000 Jersey City residents and visitors each month, most of whom, according to Mayor Fulop, are lower-income and people of color. The system was put into place to serve areas previously recognized as transit deserts where public transportation was less available.

On Monday, August 29th, industry icons, friends, and family gathered at Liberty House in Jersey City to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Landmark Hospitality. Over the past two decades, Landmark Hospitality Group and its founders, Jeanne and Frank Cretella, have built up a portfolio of restaurants, venues, and boutique hotels in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The first property developed by Landmark Hospitality was Liberty House, located at 76 Audrey Zapp Drive.

The Newport Liberty Half Marathon will take place on Saturday, September 24 beginning at 6AM. The course will span from Newport Green Park to Liberty State Park in Jersey City. According to @JerseyCityNJ, the race will start just north of Newport Green Park and feature seven water stations before finishing at 12th Street and Washington Boulevard. Street closures for the race will affect traffic patterns during these hours so drivers should be aware this may affect normal routes.

Follow this link:
32 Hoboken + Jersey City News Stories You Missed This Week - hobokengirl.com

A vacation resort in the northwest Cape Coral is pending approval by the city and could arrive by 2025.

The Lake Shadroe Resort will be located at 218 Burnt Store Road and will feature 48 resort-style waterfront units with unobstructed views.

The four-floor resort is being brought to life by Cape Coral based developer White Stone Developments, LLC.

It was a real honor to be able to share our vision for the future of the northwest Cape, stated Robert Knight, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of White Stone. Not only will it bring visitors to this beautiful area of the country, it will bring business and jobs to this quickly growing part of Florida.

The Lake Shadroe Resort also includes a two-floor commercial space with spa facilities, retail stores, coffee shop (Because Coffee Co.), waterfront restaurant, tiki bar, and on-site management offices. The marina will have slips and boat rentals, a fuel pump station, and is conveniently located next to the Burnt Store public boat launch.

There will also be a bait and tackle shop where guests have access to marine supplies, souvenirs, and snacks. The Pool Deck will have a resort style pool and Jacuzzi, plenty of lounging chairs and a small private beach.

Its retail, dining, and waterfront amenities will provide great additions to northwest Cape Coral, Knight continued.

The city accepted permits from White Stone Developments in July, and once approved, construction will begin.

Connect with this reporter on Twitter: @haddad_cj

Originally posted here:
Vacation resort planned for northwest Cape Coral | News, Sports, Jobs - Pineisland Eagle - Pine Island Eagle

Photo courtesy Senator Skinners office

By David M. GreenwaldExecutive Editor

Sacramento, CA This week the state legislature approved two bills that they hope will spur housing development (assuming the governor signs them).

AB 2011 and SB 6 would allow for the development at underutilized commercial and retail spaces such as largely vacant strip malls.

These bills will change the trajectory of Californias housing crisis, said Assemblymember Buffy Wicks. The impact will be historic no longer will lack of land be an issue for housing production.

These are the latest efforts by the legislature to attempt to streamline housing and address the housing crisis where some experts believe around 2.5 million additional homes need to be constructed over the next eight years.

As Smart Cities Dive pointed out this week, Housing experts and real estate industry leaders during the Urban Land Institutes spring meeting in April said retail space is overbuilt in the U.S., and the shift to online shopping has prompted retailers to reduce their square footage.

Thus, Replacing those vacant and underutilized strip malls and shopping centers with developments that mix residential housing with stores, restaurants, hotels and commercial space could help the state address its affordable housing needs.

However, many believe that local laws have prevented residential housing in commercially designated zones.

Naturally, California YIMBY praised the effort. In a tweet, Darrell Owens, policy analyst for California YIMBY, praised AB 2011 noting that it upzones for more than 2.4 million additional homes and offers around a 45 percent reduction in GHG over sprawl.

This bill could result in 400,000 low income subsidized units, many of which may be in my own NIMBY backyard, Owens added.

In a statement, state Sen. Anna Caballero said the Senate bill would spur the creation of housing in existing commercial and retail space, and help make homeownership more attainable for working families.

The assembly bill, meanwhile,would accelerate production of millions of affordable and mixed-income housing along transit-friendly commercial corridors, Caballero added.

But, of course, the bill has attracted complaints.

Livable California for instance, called it the worst bill of 2022 for taking away local control.

Among other things, It requires ministerial approval of construction across a broad category of zones including office, retail, and parking.

They add, AB 2011 is a massive state taking of flexibility needed by local jurisdictions to place housing where it best meets the needs of the community. CEQA is circumvented on these projects. CEQA is an important source of information to the community and developers and helps protect the environment.

On the other hand, the bill comes with affordability requirementsfor infill and mixed-use housing, often affordable requirements fall short.

The Senate Bill analysis points out a housing development project may submit an application for a housing development that shall be a use by right and subject to a streamlined ministerial review in a zone where office, retail, or parking are a principally permitted use but one of the keys to ministerial review is that it must meet the affordability requirements where 100% of the units are affordable to lower income households.

It also offers a path for mixed-income housingwhere it requires the project to meet the 15 percent affordability for lower-income households or 8 percent for very low and 5 percent for extremely low. For owner-occupied units, 30% of the units are required to be affordable to moderate-income or 15% affordable to lower-income households for 45 years.

If people dont want peripheral development, then there has to be a way to build housing that is infill. One of the best places to do so is with antiquated and underutilized commercial parcels.

The problem as we know is that it is difficult and expensive to build infill, and especially to redevelop existing structures. While this bill isnt going to address cost, it will make it easier to gain approvals.

This will allow housing projects to get approved and permitted by staff without further approval from elected officials.

The bill analysis notes, Projects reviewed ministerially, or by-right, require only an administrative review designed to ensure they are consistent with existing general plan and zoning rules, as well as meet standards for building quality, health, and safety. Most large housing projects are not allowed ministerial review. Instead, these projects are vetted through both public hearings and administrative review.

Unlike SB 9 and SB 10, with huge amounts of underutilized commercial centers, this bill has a chance to be the kind of gamechanger that the legislature needs to address the housing shortfall.

Excerpt from:
Commentary: Will Housing Bills Help Address Housing Shortfalls? - The Peoples Vanguard of Davis

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. Very little vacant land is left for building homes in South Florida, but just how scarce are the options? As the region struggles with a housing shortage, the amount of vacant land zoned for residences is down to less than 1% in parts of the region.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel requested the amount of all vacant land parcels that are currently zoned vacant residential or vacant commercial from the Palm Beach County and Broward County property appraisers office.

According to an analysis of the data, there are only about 20 square miles, or less than 1%, of land that remains vacant and zoned for residential use. For perspective, Palm Beach County is 2,383 square miles. On top of that, those 20 square miles are fractured into hundreds of lots all over the place.

Its even worse in Broward County. Of the countys 1,323 square miles, only 5 square miles, or less than 1%, remain vacant and zoned for residential use.

Miami-Dade County did not return the request for information.

Much of the vacant land in Palm Beach County is parceled in the western parts of the county, such as Belle Glade, Clewiston and in areas such as Westlake and Loxahatchee. For Broward County, the land is more scattered, with areas of remaining land concentrated in the areas of Southwest Ranches, Davie and west of Sunrise.

Broward County is a sought-after place to live as people from all over the world are making it their home. Although impossible to say for certain, it is my belief that the lack of vacant land is a contributing factor in the increase in value for the existing homes and properties and likely will be for the foreseeable future, said Marty Kiar with the Broward County Property Appraisers Office.

South Florida is in the midst of a real estate boom fueled in part by record low inventory and an influx of new residents. One of the most important factors in the housing shortage, however, is the scarcity of land on which to build. Developers are having a hard time finding vacant land zoned for residential commercial use, as each county is braced by the ocean on one side and the Everglades on the other.

Broward County is one of the most land-constrained markets in the country, said Brent Baker, division president with Pulte Group, who builds homes throughout Palm Beach County and Broward County. Palm Beach County is slightly better.

Many of Pultes projects are reflective of the land constraints that South Florida is facing. Theyve had to turn to land-use conversions, building on areas that were once golf courses or flea markets.

Pulte isnt the only developer turning to outlying areas in a quest to find land.

AKAI Estates turned to Southwest Ranches, out in the western part of Broward County, and Symphony at Jupiter, a new housing community, is built on one of the few remaining parcels of land in Jupiter, that was at one point a nursery.

Land scarcity will drive up land prices, explained Ken H. Johnson, real estate economist with Florida Atlantic University.

It causes the price to be significantly higher. Its pure supply and demand, added Baker. As the availability of land dwindles, that reduces the supply, and that ultimately makes it harder and more expensive for the builder and the developer to get housing on there.

It also motivates developers to build costlier homes. The more expensive land gets, the more value you need to put on it on the land, said Michael Sochaczevski, a developer on the AKAI Estates team.

The AKAI Estates development sells custom homes built on about 2 acres of land ranging from $8 million to $13 million.

All of these factors help fuel South Floridas affordable housing crisis.

Beyond vacant lots, there are other open spaces in South Florida, some held as nature preserves, while other areas consist of agricultural lands, golf courses or industrial lands. These could be rezoned in the future to accommodate residential developments.

Broward County currently has about 19 square miles of land that are golf courses, agricultural properties and other large parcels, while in Palm Beach County, around 684 square miles are zoned as agricultural or agricultural residential.

Were going to be looking for land, said Johnson.

Case in point, former President Donald Trump announced plans to convert the Blue Monster golf course at Trump National Doral, one of four golf courses there, into a luxury housing, retail and commercial space.

And last year, Miami Dade County commissioners voted 10-2 to redevelop the Calusa Country Club into a 550-home development by GL Homes.

The land shortage is happening as population growth in the tri-county area is expected to rise over the next 10 years: Palm Beach County should see the population increase by 14% over the next 10 years, while Broward County should see increases of 12% and Miami-Dade 8.7%, according to numbers provided by Johnson.

Whether and how that land is rezoned remains to be seen.

Golf courses have seen a resurgence in popularity, preventing some of the courses that may have been converted from doing so, said Baker. There is a chance that some of the larger nurseries could be redeveloped. The rezoning process can take anywhere from 18 months to 24 months, Baker said.

2022 South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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New Construction? S. Fla. Is Almost Out of Land - | Florida Realtors

TOWN OF NEWBURGH - A New Jersey developer with four warehouses in Orange County is addingtwo more to its stock, across from the Newburgh Mall.

One of the new Matrix Development Group buildings will be 927,041 square feet, andthe other will be 215,200 square feet. Both will be built on a 90-acre property at thecorner of Route 300 and Interstate 84, near Matrix's other warehouse by Stewart Airport.

Developers will use local labor on the construction, which is alreadyunderway.

This new project is one of the latestin a steady stream of warehouse proposals that have come to Orange County since2019.

Currently, some 40 warehouse projects are in the works or in the planning stages, saidAlan Sorensen, the county's planning commissioner.These includenew construction and expansions.Some are undergoing lengthy environmental reviews and approval processes, he noted.

Most of the Orange County warehouse projects are locatedin the village of Goshen, and towns of Wawayanda, Montgomery and Wallkill.

Walgreens is considering leasing the smaller warehouse for a micro-fulfillment centerin one half and subletting the other half, according to a presentation at the Orange County Industrial Development Agency's Jan. 19 meeting.

A determining factor for Walgreens moving in will be if it gets asales tax exemption for the cost of specialized robotics needed at the site, according to paperwork filed with the IDA.

Gary Hans, head of acquisitions at Matrix, based in Cranbury, New Jersey, said in an interview on Jan. 14 he wasn't worried about not immediately having tenants for the project.

"We're confident enough in the market that we think both buildings will probably be leased before we're done constructing them," Hans said.

He expects construction to wrap by the end of the year or early 2023, depending on weather and supply issues.

Matrix estimates the project could produce 300-500 temporary construction jobs and 300-400 permanent jobsonce it is finished.

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Newburgh Supervisor Gil Piaquadio isn't thrilled with the warehouse plans, but is not entirely opposed to them either.

"That particular location on Route 300I always felt would be our retail area," Piaquadio said. "And it pretty much is." He acknowledged that attempts to further the retail landscape have not been successful."So, we'll have to live with the warehouses," he said.

Past efforts to turn the land into another mall have failed. Waterstone Properties Group originally pitcheddevelopingitinto a bustling town center with 700,000 square feet of retail space. It later tweaked its plans by scaling backtheretail to 275,000 square feet, but still could not fulfill the retail leases, Piaquadio said.

"Right now, everybody's buying so much online that it's created such a need for these warehouses and retail stores are really being shorted,"Piaquadiosaid.

In some of Orange County's more rural communities, warehouse development has roused locals.

"The problem I have is that the infrastructure doesn't exist to take care of this business correctly," said Chris Miele,president of Concerned Citizens of the Hudson Valley.

That's true in Hamptonburgh, Miele said, where New Jersey-based Real Deal Management is building warehouses. But Miele said the small hamlet doesn't have the services or facilities to support this industry.

"We don't have parking spaces. We don't have hotels ... We don't have repair shops. When a truck breaks down, we don't even have enough tow trucks that are big enough to tow a tractor-trailer.And we have all these low underpasses," Miele said.

But the Matrix site in Newburgh is"actually not a terrible, horrible location for a warehouse" because the area is already industrial, Miele said.

Matrix, which develops, ownsand operates office, residential, hospitalityand industrial properties, has developedmore than 40 million square feetin New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York, including 5 million square feet in the past five years in Orange County and Staten Island.

When the Newburgh buildings are finished, Matrix will have about 2.7 million square feet of warehouse space in Orange County, Hans said.

Another New Jersey developer, Real Deal Management (RDM Group), had as many as 19 pending plans for warehouses in Orange County last year.

Development has been steady since before the pandemic, said Sorensen, Orange County's planning commissioner,and he sees that continuing for the foreseeable future.

E-commerce has boosted demand for warehouses, Hans said, but there are many other reasons to develop here.

While some of this growth can be attributed to local stores' need for extra storage, it is perhaps the region's access to major roads (Route 17, the Thruway, Interstate 84) thatis key, according to Hans and Orange County'sSorensen.

"One-day travel time from Orange County, they (drivers) can cover all of New England," Hans said. "They can get to Toronto and Montreal.They can go as far west as Detroit and Indianapolis and as far south as Charlotte."

And while warehouse development is booming, Miele believes that Orange County needs to further diversify economic development.

Miele pointed to the county's growing film industry, noting that it employs various types of local labor, including carpenters, painters, artists,and pumps money into hospitality businesses.

"They (economic develop agencies) are taking advantage of a good, solid roadway system, but they're not taking advantage ofeverything else the area has to offer, which are beautiful rolling hills, beautiful vistas, great tourism potential, smaller or at-home type industries or service industries," Miele said.

lbellamy@th-record.com

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Newburgh warehouses add to steady development in Orange County - Times Herald-Record

Ocala Mall To Open In March

The Ocala Mall is scheduled to open in March at the old Kmart location on east Silver Springs Blvd. They will have about 120 vendor spots.

Doug Engle, Ocala Star-Banner

Right now, the old Kmart building at 3711 E. Silver Springs Blvd. in Ocala doesn't look like much. Piles of wooden planks are scattered around the unfinished floor. Stray chairs, trash cans and ladders dot the 83,000 square feet of show floor that has been vacant since the department store closed in April 2018.

Despite the appearance of the abandoned space, Greg Park and around 40 vendors who have signed up for spaces in the Ocala Mall see its potential to be a bustling market with a unique variety of offerings once doors open in March.

Though the mallhas been labeled as an "indoor flea market,"those associated with the operation hesitate at the term and consider it more of a miniature mall.

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I think people, when they first heard that we're opening up the flea market here, were kind of nervous. They don't want a flea market here in town, Park, owner of the new mall, said. It's not your traditional used sneakers and T-shirts. It's going to be majority all brand new items at half the price that you're going to pay anywhere else.

Park also operates the Tampa Mall, which he says has been very successful and sold out for the past two years. He initially passed on the opportunity to open the mall in Ocala a few years ago but came back to it last year after another owner tried to start the operation and ran out of money, leaving many expectant vendors without a location.

Due to fire code, Park is able to use only around 63,000 square feet of the space for 100 to 120 or so vendors. About 10 will be restaurants, and there is space outside for five food trucks. A garage will offer space for automotive service vendors, and there will be new air conditioning and bathrooms in the building.

Permanent booths vary in size but start at 10 feet by 10 feet for $400 a month. Some anchor stores are as big as 5,000 square feet. Vendors can also sell outdoors in the garden center for free. Park plans to sell produce at wholesale prices to attract customers too.

That's going to give opportunities to our vendors to make sales, and I can only be successful here if my vendors are successful, he said. These vendors that I met here are really great people, and I want all of us to be successful together.

Katherine Zuniga, owner of LuZunika, was one of the vendors who had previously paid a deposit and prepared to open under the last owner. She plans to sell various hand-crafted productsincluding soaps, creams, bath bombs, bath salts, candles, resin art and crochet items.

It's all about hoping, she said of opening a business and putting faith in the new space. It's important to Ocala to have small businesses, and right now with what's been happening around with COVID and everything, a lot of people are opening small businesses and they need that outlet.

For Zuniga, its a way to evolve her side business, which she considers her passion, and begin to pursue a dream of having a physical location rather than only selling at events and online.

Audra Caffrey, owner of The Ice Queen, also sees the Ocala Mall as a way to maintain a brick-and-mortar presence without the cost of going it alone. She recently sold her mobile Italian ice truck, opting for a 10 feet by 15 feet space at the mall.

We're just really excited that this is an opportunity that's going to help a lot of vendors who can't get out to events for whatever reason, and the prices are within reason. How can you pass it up? she asked. You can tell (Greg is) somebody who cares about the vendors that are going to be in here, and that is really important.

Caffrey will sell homemade Italian ice, shakes, real fruit smoothies, floats, gourmet sundaes, hot pretzels and popcorn.

This is going to be something new and fresh, and I think a lot of people are excited that this has been vacant for so long to have something to regenerate this area over here, she said, noting that Marion Countys other flea markets have been around a while.

Melanie Henson, who refurbishes furniture under Mels Marvelous Finds, is also pleased about expanding into a bigger space in the air-conditioned Ocala Mall.

This gives me an air conditioning type of environment so that my furniture doesn't get ruined, because when you deal with natural wood, the weather kind of warps it, she said. To bring it into an environment like this, it'll give me a better opportunity, and at my age, the air conditioning is good for me too. When I move in here, I'll be 70 years old."

Henson describes her business as taking old furniture and bringing it back to life. She creates one-of-a-kind pieces of various themes, including steampunk, Victorian, coastal and country.

She also hesitates to call it a flea market, instead opting for a mall of exceptionally different kinds of eclectic things.

This is an opportunity for the neighborhood, she said. This is something that gives everybody in the city of Ocala something different to look forward to. It gives them a place to go. It gives them a variety of things to look at.

Married couple Rocky Newman and Tressa Sanchez own RTS Liquidations in Anthony and will be expanding their business to a second location with a 2,000-square-foot anchor store at the Ocala Mall.

We do a little bit of everything from tools to housewares to small appliances, furniture, Sanchez said. We do a lot of liquidations, which is overstocks, customer returns, things like that, but we also do furniture restorations.

They aim to keep their prices around 50% of retail stores.

We're very particular about who we buy from and how much we'll pay for it so we can keep that margin where we want it to be, which is low, Newman said. Were all in it to make money, but the whole idea is to save people money.

Newman and Sanchez are also excited to be part of a community of vendors rather than another standalone building.

I think its absolutely great that theyre going to do something with this instead of just let it sit here and be dormant, Newman said. It'll bring a little bit more commerce back to this side of town.

Park is working with the city to approve construction plans and hopes to hold a grand opening forthe Ocala Mall in March. He plans for it to be open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Contact reporter Danielle Johnson at djohnson@gannett.com.

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Retail vendors, restaurants, food trucks: New Ocala Mall will be housed in old Ocala Kmart - Ocala