Premier Doug Ford criticized management at Anson Place Care Centre for turning down the provinces offer of help from a SWAT team of hospital workers while grappling with one of Ontarios deadliest COVID-19 outbreaks.

The Hagersville long-term care centre has seen 26 residents die in less than a month, with 44 residents and 31 staff members still fighting the disease. The cause of another recent death at the 101-bed facility is still under investigation.

Trish Nelson, communications director with Ontario Health West, said Anson Place executive director Lisa Roth wrote to the province on Friday declining the offer to have a COVID-19 SWAT team come in.

According to Nelson, Roth said management at Anson Place, a private facility owned by Rykka Care Centres, was comfortable that we are currently able to meet the care needs of our residents and do not require additional LHIN-funded services currently.

Nelson said Roth told the ministry that Anson Place would continue to monitor this closely and assess the care needs against our staffing compliment and reach out to the LHIN if additional services are required.

To date, Nelson said the ministry has received no requests from Anson Place for increased support or assistance.

Anyone who makes that judgment call, I wonder why they are even in charge over at that home, Ford said in response to a question about Anson Place at a press conference on Wednesday.

Sometimes pride gets in the way. Well to that person Id say, Swallow your pride and start asking for help.

When you have those many deaths and those many positive cases of COVID-19, why wouldnt you? We need to bring people in.

On Friday, the same day she is alleged to have refused the offer of the SWAT team, Roth put out a call for new staff to help with residents daily needs, such as meals, laundry services, exercise and personal hygiene.

In an email Wednesday evening, Roth claimed that her memo to the ministry on Friday referred only to the retirement floor at Anson Place and not the long-term care floor.

To be clear, at the moment we are able to meet the care needs of our retirement residence with our current staff, Roth said. We are however in need of additional staff in our long-term care residence. We are meeting the care needs of our residents, but additional staff would help us shore up our care and services in these challenging times.

Roth said Fridays call for new employees had to do with meeting the need in long-term care, adding that she updated Ontario Health West to that effect on Wednesday.

To date, 23 residents in long-term care have died, along with four from the retirement residence.

SEIU Healthcare president Sharleen Stewart said she was dismayed but not shocked by the news that Anson Place had rejected outside help.

Thats the kind of management thats going on at these places. I cant explain that, she said. That just solidifies our argument that this government has got to take over these homes.

Merrilee Fullerton, the minister in charge of long-term care, rejected the unions recent call for the government to take charge of three privately run care homes in crisis, including Anson Place.

Fullerton told reporters last week that the province does not run long-term care facilities.

Ford announced Wednesday that the province will formally ask the Public Health Agency of Canada and Canadian Forces to send medical personnel and other support staff into five priority homes to bolster staffing ranks.

The army has been similarly deployed in Quebec to help contain the pandemic at long-term care homes in that province.

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Ford didnt name the facilities included in the provinces request, but Stewart hopes Anson Place is on the list.

If thats the governments way of taking over and supplying support, then good, she said. But how longs it going to take, and why did it take him so long to ask for it?

Understaffed homes like Anson Place are in desperate need of reinforcements, Stewart added.

Absolutely, we need more staff, she said. But right now, because (the government) has waited so long to take care of this, people are afraid to go in these homes.

She said workers at Anson Place and elsewhere are pushed to the brink, logging extra hours to fill in for infected colleagues and struggling to cope with the emotional toll of managing the pandemic.

Theyre afraid, terrified, exhausted now. The majority of them have lost confidence in their employers and the government, Stewart said.

They keep going in there to protect the people they love, which are the residents. (But) the workload now is becoming unbearable. These people are going to collapse soon.

In a statement, Responsive Group Inc., the management company that oversees Rykka Care Centres, pledged to better support its employees working in long-term care.

It is difficult to hear that some of our staff feel that we have not done everything possible to protect them throughout this crisis. We need to do better, the statement read.

There have been no new COVID-19 cases at Anson Place since Saturday, when Roth reported the 71st resident to become infected.

Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, Haldimand-Norfolks chief medical officer of health, said on Monday that he expected to see more deaths at Anson Place as residents who were infected up to two weeks ago started to show symptoms of the respiratory disease.

But he cited the slowdown in new cases as a hopeful sign that containment measures put in place at the facility are working.

J.P. Antonaccis reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows him to report on stories about the regions of Haldimand and Norfolk.

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Anson Place turned down help from medical 'SWAT team,' province says - TheSpec.com

We regret to inform you ...

I am sad to report ...

Messages conveying loss continue to be delivered to the community, in the wake of more victims of COVID-19 at Hamilton-area long-term care homes.

Three more residents died over the weekend: a 92-year old man succumbed to the virus at Heritage Green Nursing Home on Saturday the fourth death at that facility since March 24.

Heritage Green sent a message to families who have loved ones living in the home, expressing regret over his death, and adding: Thank you for your ongoing love and support and remember us in your prayers.

The message also said that families should be assured that we are continuing to follow strict infection control measures and that the health and well being of our residents, your loved ones, remains our primary focus.

And on Sunday, the executive director of Anson Place Care Centre in Hagersville, Lisa Roth, emailed the Spectator to say she was sad to report that the total number of deaths at the facility had hit 24.

The total had increased by two since Friday.

Anson Place has 71 residents who have so far tested positive for the virus.

This is an especially difficult time for our families and for our staff who continue to prioritize the health and safety of our residents, added Roth.

The latest deaths once again underscore the danger of COVID-19 to patients in long term care environments, and who have existing respiratory health ailments.

As of Sunday, Hamilton has had 14 total COVID-19 deaths.

Eight of those deaths have been residents at long term care facilities Heritage Green and Cardinal Retirement residence and four have died in hospital who were ages 89, 88, 62, and 74-years old.

In Ontario, of the provinces 553 total COVID-19 deaths reported as of Sunday, 365 patients have been over 80 years-old and 521 have been 60 and over.

Meanwhile, a graph posted on the City of Hamiltons COVID-19 website suggests that the overall increase in cases has been levelling-off.

The graph shows cases spiking in March when they increased from 37 to 104 cases in one week, and then 104 to 223 in two weeks but more recently have climbed from 280 to just over 300 cases. (Hamilton has 328 confirmed cases as of Sunday.)

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The graph also shows that there have been 606 cases of Influenza A this flu season in Hamilton, and 253 cases of Influenza B.

The graph can be found at hamilton.ca/coronavirus/status-cases

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Sgt. Albert Hardy with the 601st Engineer Support Company out of Buckhannon cuts a piece of Gore-Tex fabric for use in a face mask. -- Steven Allen Adams

KINGWOOD The riggers of the 2/19th Special Forces Group at Camp Dawson in Preston County have trained to repair and pack parachutes for jumping out of airplanes.

Now, theyre cutting up those parachutes and operating Singer sewing machines to make prototype protective masks to fight their new enemy: the coronavirus.

Its just one of the hundreds of coronavirus support missions taking place across the state by members of the West Virginia National Guard.

Some are full-time guardsmen, some have taken leave from their civilian jobs to serve and some have even come from out of state to lend a hand to West Virginia, a state with a population most at risk from coronavirus spread and death. Its not a mission for which guardsmen have trained, but they have been trained to adapt to new missions. That is exactly what has allowed hardened warriors to become seamsters and seamstresses.

BEHIND THE MASK

Spec. Nick Heuring works a Singer sewing machine to create pleats in a face mask. -- Steven Allen Adams

Its not just the 2/19th Special Forces Group making masks at Camp Dawson. Members of the 601st Engineer Support Company out of Buckhannon also are in the rigging shop cutting material, making the straps for the ears and sewing pleats to allow the mask to securely fit over the mouth and nose. Even former guardsmen and staff of the Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy at-risk youth program are lending a hand to the effort.

Guardsmen are cutting 9-foot strips of Gore-Tex, a breathable waterproof fabric, then cutting those strips into 9-inch squares. While the front of the mask is Gore-Tex, the inside is made of cotton sewed into the inside. While the mask doesnt offer the same protection of the N-95 surgical mask, testing by West Virginia University found the mask does provide better protection than a basic face mask or cloth mask.

The guardsmen can make about 75 masks per day and have made more than 400, which are washed, dried, and sealed in plastic. For right now, the masks are being stockpiled should stockpiles of medical-grade surgical masks run low.

Were doing this seven days a week, said 1st Sgt. Walter Dess, a supervisor at the Parachute Maintenance Facility. Its actually a great training experience opportunity because we dont do as much parachute repair. Were more into the packing and jumping portion of it, so this is great practice for the guys. After a month of this, theyre going to be pretty good on the machines.

One of the men on the machines was Spec. Nick Heuring, who has been with the 2/19th Special Forces Group for three years, moving to Kingwood in October to join Echo Company. Heuring said the work theyre doing is both a great training exercise and a way to help the public.

Sgt. Adam Kerns, foreground, and Sgt. Brendan Hughes, background, work with fellow guardsmen on missions for Task Force CRE. -- Steven Allen Adams

Being relatively new compared to these guys to the section, I havent gotten much hands on work doing the sewing, so its a great help to improve my skill for that, Heuring said. And of course, joining the guard I knew wed be in situations where we have to help with the community, so its just a great opportunity to get to do that.

Heuring said preparing to slow the spread of the coronavirus isnt much different than any other combat situation. Soldiers must learn to adapt and pivot as the situations of a battle change. He said his training has allowed him to handle this new situation.

You always see different things, Heuring said. You learn to adapt and learn with new equipment, especially when theres new procedures or we get new equipment. Were learning on the fly, adapting, and then coming up with a way that we can mass produce the masks quickly and efficiently.

And its not just Gore-Tex masks. The National Guard is working with WVU and state community and technical colleges to churn out 3D printed masks. Nearly 400 printers working eight hours a day can make a mask every two hours, with more capacity coming on every day. The National Guard and the West Virginia Hospital Association also have created a process using hydrogen peroxide vapor to clean and sanitize N-95 masks for multiple uses.

Between all of these efforts, the Guard estimates they can produce 2,500 masks per day, with the goal of producing enough for every West Virginian.

A NEW BATTLEFIELD

As of the end of the week, the National Guard has conducted more than 414 missions with 619 guardsmen on active duty across the state. Thats not counting the 900 guardsmen stationed around the world on military deployments. The National Guard has been working on coronavirus preparations since Gov. Jim Justice issued the state of preparedness order at the beginning of March.

Since then, guardsmen have helped deliver thousands of meals to seniors and those in need, have manned phones for the coronavirus hotline, have delivered personal protective equipment to healthcare workers and first-responders, have assisted epidemiologists with the Bureau of Public Health conduct tests and complete case investigations, have helped process unemployment compensation applications for Workforce West Virginia, have worked to support broadband expansion for telehealth services, and have helped set up St. Francis Hospital in Charleston in case of a surge of new cases.

The first coronavirus-related mission was on March 10 when members of the National Guards Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High Yield Explosive Battalion, 35th Civil Support Team, and the 35th CBRN Enhanced Response Force Package helped train staff at Cabell Huntington Hospital for use of personal protection equipment in anticipation of coronavirus cases. At the time, the state still had no positive cases.

Since then, those three National Guard groups combined to form Task Force CRE. These guardsmen have trained nearly 400 first-responders, hospital staff, and retailers. These essential workers are learning how to properly use personal protective gear, how to take masks and gloves on and off, how to unload supply trucks safely to avoid contamination.

Sgt. Adam Kerns is a former volunteer firefighter from Williamstown. Now he works full-time with Task Force CRE at the West Virginia National Guard Armory in Fairmont helping train retail workers how to stay safe and avoid contamination while making sure the public has the food and supplies it needs.

Were just trying to get as many people as we can out just to help, Kerns said. Were just here to help advise people and say hey, this is how you take care yourself. And then by taking care of yourself, you can take care of everyone else.

With nursing homes in Monongalia, Kanawha, and Wayne counties becoming coronavirus hotspots, Kerns and other members of the task force are heading into these facilities to help test patients and staff. Thats where Sgt. Brendan Hughes, the senior medic, comes in. His job is to make sure guardsmen returning from missions where they might be exposed to the coronavirus are medically capable of going out on the next mission.

Our mission here as med support is not only first off to take care of all of the troops and make sure that they are mission-capable and capable of doing anything and everything that we need of them, but its also to make sure that theyre medically safe and prepared for any mission that they come up to, said Hughes, who is a police officer in Maryland. When it comes down to it, were also helping along with the chemical and biological experts in here as well to make sure that they are medically able to go out and be safe.

Part of Hughes mission also is to coordinate with doctors and hospitals and help train staff who normally dont deal with infectious diseases so they can train others.

That way, we can cross train and educate between both civilian and military components so that everybody out there is being as safe as possible, trying to reduce the amount of spread, and to continue our mission and also to assist the civilian populace in any way possible, Hughes said.

For both Hughes and Kerns, its important to be where they are and doing the things theyre doing. Service in the National Guard is something they wanted to do and whether theyre helping during a natural disaster, deployed overseas in a war zone or now combating a virus, theyre committed to their missions.

Everybody here is in a voluntary status, Hughes said. No one has been ultimately ordered to be here. So, every soldier that you see thats walking around, they every one of them have raised their own self to say, Yes, I will voluntarily come in here and do this on my own.'

This is why I get paid, Kerns said. Our work is being received better and better each day. As we head out to these clerks and stores, we get asked to come in to other stores. The more were out there and the more were in the public eye and theyre seeing what were doing, the more supportive they become.

(Adams can be contacted at sadams@newsandsentinel.com)

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Minutemen: How the West Virginia National Guard is adapting to face the coronavirus - The Daily Times

One of Dallas top legal firms is eyeing a major investment in Plano.

Haynes and Boone LLP, a 50-year-old law firm with more than a dozen offices around the country, is planning a new location in Planos Legacy West development.

The almost 30,000-square-foot office will be in a new building under construction on Headquarters Drive at Windrose Avenue, according to filings with the state of Texas.

The Haynes and Boone office will be near Liberty Mutual Insurances regional office campus and across the street from the Legacy Hall food and entertainment venue.

Haynes and Boone representatives declined to provide any details about the new office.

The law firms headquarters is in the Victory Park development on the northwest corner of downtown Dallas. Haynes and Boone also has a smaller office at 2505 North Plano Road in Richardson.

The office Haynes and Boone is planning in Plano would be in a building being developed by Legacy West developer Karahan Cos.

Designed by Gensler architects, the project will include almost 87,000 square feet of office space and more than 24,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. There will also be a large parking garage.

On the west side of the building, facing Communications Parkway, will be five stories of apartments 161 units.

Karahan is building the mixed-use project in partnership with Columbus Realty, which has developed apartments in Legacy West Urban Village.

The building is under construction on one of the last sites in the $3 billion Legacy West development.

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Haynes and Boone eyes new Plano office - The Dallas Morning News

PLANS to convert part of a disused city centre building into apartments has been given the green light.

Phoenix House in Broad Street in Worcester, which was built in the 60s, can now be made into a mix of17 apartments and retail space after the plan by Deansway Regeneration was granted permission by Worcester City Council.

The upper floors of the four-storey building could also be converted into a hotel, under the new plans.

The upper floor office space has been empty, apart from a section retained for occasional use by the previous owner, for several years, with some parts having fallen into a serious state of disrepair.

The rear of the building will be converted into apartments with around half the space remaining as a shop.

A statement included with the application said: The proposals would positively contribute economically to the city through the creation of temporary construction jobs and improved retail and commercial space, which has over recent years suffered from a lack of investment.

There would also be new residents bringing disposable income into the city.

The proposals would contribute socially through the creation of new housing choices for a range of different population cohorts and would offer short term accommodation options for visitors to the city; the scheme would also offer environmental benefits through the improvement to the appearance of the building within a sensitive part of the city, and create accommodation which is sustainably located, reducing dependency on motorised transport.

Overall, we consider the proposals constitute sustainable development, and would positively enhance the conservation area and settings of neighbouring designated heritage assets.

The proposals would bring activity and people into the city centre, improving natural surveillance and vitality to a building that contributes nothing to the city at present.

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Empty building in Worcester to be converted into flats - Worcester News

The office market in the West Loop neighborhood of Fulton Market was all set for a historic year. The now-trendy district started 2020 with a total inventory of around 4.2M SF, but developers attracted by the robust leasing thatbrought in Google, McDonalds and WeWork have an additional 2M SF under construction and set for delivery in the next 12 months.

Courtesy of Shapack Partners

167 North Green St. in Fulton Market

But with so much new space coming online and a dense concentration of coworking space, what had been the central business districts hottest submarket now faces a lot of uncertainty, according to Colliers International, which just released stats on Q1.

Considering possible social distancing changes, the businesses of this community may see a dip in attraction in the near term, Colliers said. The coworking model is expected to change dramatically and such a high percentage of coworking firms in the area may make the area vulnerable to vacancy increases, in particular sublease vacancy, in the near term.

By the end of the year, the neighborhood will host more than 600K SF of coworking space, including WeWorks 133K SF on three floors at 167 North Green St., a new towerthat developers Focus and Shapack Partners began building in April 2019 and plan to finish by the end of 2020.

The submarkets vacancy rate shrank to 7.5% by the end of last year, but with the completion of several major office projects, including Sterling Bays 333 North Green St., a 19-story, 553K SF office and retail building, the rate jumped in Q1 to 15.2%, even after 228K SF of positive absorption.

Courtesy of Colliers International

Fulton Market statistics

Among CBD submarkets, River North may have the best chance of making it through the pandemic without permanent damage, Colliers said. Like Fulton Market, its a former warehouse and industrial loft district attractive to creative users. But River North is already highly developed, and its more than 16M SF inventory has a diverse mix of tech firmsandcreative firms, along with residences and entertainment options that keep attracting new tenants.

The neighborhoods vacancy rate now stands at 10.3%, and many new lease deals were completed in the last two years, Colliers said.

Tenants in these assets looking elsewhere for a deal will have a difficult time finding comparable space with the same amenity access and ease and proximity of public transportation, according to the Colliers report.

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River North May Prove Resilient To Pandemic, But It's Going To Hurt In Fulton Market - Bisnow

The languishing site of the On The GO Mimico condo developmentwhich ceased construction before reaching grade when its developer failedcould soon be host to a two-tower mixed-use project. A rezoning application was submitted for the property at 327 Royal York Road in October, 2019 by VANDYK Group of Companieswhich envisions 29 and 44-storey residential towers and commercial space along with a reconstructed Mimico GO Station integrated into the podium.

Looking northwest to 327 Royal York, image via submission to the City of Toronto

The 27-storey, 242-unit On The GO Mimico project was placed into court-receivership in 2017 after developer Stanton Renaissanceran into financial problems. Metrolinx had partnered with the developer on the project, which would have contained 141 underground parking spots for GO commuters.

The site at 327 and 315 Royal York, image via submission to the City of Toronto

The development site is located directly north of the existing Mimico GO Station at 315 Royal York Road in the Mimico Triangle, an area currently characterized by light industrial land uses. Purchasing the property in 2017, VANDYK is the largest landowner in the area, and has proposed other high-density developments at 23 Buckingham Street and 39 Newcastle.

Looking northeast to 327 Royal York, image via submission to the City of Toronto

In October, 2018, Metrolinx announced that they had partnered with VANDYK in a deal which would see the developer pay for the construction costs of a revamped Mimico GO Station in exchange for the air rights above the transit hub. Mimico Station was built in 1967, the same year GO Transit began operation. Serving about 1,200 riders daily, ridership at the station is expected to triple by 2031.

Looking west towards 327 Royal York, image via submission to the City of Toronto

VANDYK's plan calls for 104.4 and 146.4-metre-high residential towers designed by SvN. There would be 499 one-bedroom units, 121 two-bedroom units, and 67 three-bedroom units for a total of 687 residences. Along the south face of the project facing the rail corridor, VANDYK proposes 8,809mof office space. A further 276m of retail and 1,096mof transit-related space is proposed. A combined 514 parking spaces for residential, visitor, office and retail users would be held within a three-level below-grade and a three-level above-grade garage. 103 of these on-site parking spaces would be reserved for commuters on the 315 Royal York portion of the site.

The reconstructed Mimico GO Station would include direct connectivity to Royal York Road, pick-up and drop-off spaces, a west tunnel providing platform access, a transit plaza, and bicycle facilities. A multi-use pedestrian and cyclist path would form part of the Mimico-Judson Greenway contemplated by the Mimico-Judson Secondary Plan.

View of the west facade along Royal York Road, image via submission to the City of Toronto

Paying deference to the height of the townhouses to the north, adjacent to Christ Church Cemetery, the podium would rise four storeys. On the east and west sides, the podium climbs to eight storeys to accommodate parking and office spaces. The long east-west massing of the podium also has the benefit of mitigating noise for condo residents. Diagonal precast concrete fins are employed to frame views outwards and reduce solar heat gain. The cantilevered podium provides protection from the elements for GO commuters and Greenway users below.

Glazing, wood framing and wood fins are proposed as the primary materials cladding the new station. The north wall of the station building, which faces the Greenway, is imagined as a canvas for public art.

Sectional perspective of the podium, image via submission to the City of Toronto

The towers adhere to the 750 m floor plate and 25-metre tower separation policies under the City of Toronto's Tall Building Guidelines. Two-storey faceted precast panels are applied uniformly across the two towers, continuing the architectural expression established on the podium. Indoor amenity spaces are proposed on the fifth and ninth floors and would provide for views to the exterior terraces and green roof spaces.

In their 2018 announcement, Metrolinx said a temporary station will be in place by 2023 while the new building is constructed. The rezoning application is currently being reviewed by the City.

You can learn more from our Database file for the project, linked below. If you'd like to, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.

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Mimico GO Station to be Integrated in VANDYK Mixed-Use Development - Urban Toronto

On Yonge Street north of the North York Centre Centre area of Toronto, a block-long pit is forming at the future site ofAoyuan International'sM2M Condoscommunity. Work on the five-towerWallman Architects-designed development, namedin a nod to the local postal code, has been active since last year when the former Newtonbrook Plaza and an adjacent office building were demolished to make way for the new density.

Panorama looking east across M2M site, image by Edward Skira

Demolition activity wrapped up last Fall, a few months after the first cuts were made into the office tower at the site's south end. Drilling activity followed around the perimeter of the site, forming the first elements of a pile and lagging shoring systemvertical steel piles bracing slats of horizontally-placed timber laggingwhich holds back the surrounding soil as the pit reaches its final four-storey depth.

Looking southeast across M2M site, image by Edward Skira

At the south end of the site, where the first phase towers will rise, digging has bottomed out at a 13.3-metre depth below street level. Digging continues in a south-to-north orientation, with only a section at the north end of the site yet to begin excavation. From this area, a long soil ramp extends into the heart of the pit, providing access to the base of the excavation that will eventually be replaced by a crane and sets of construction stairs.

Looking northeast across M2M site, image by Edward Skira

The installation of a first tower crane will mark the next major milestone in the construction process, marking the first steps in forming for the underground garage that will span the site. The initial phase that will rise first from the south end will include 34 and 36-storey condominium towers with a total of 810 units atop a commercial/retail podium. Three additional buildings will eventually populate the remaining block to the north.

Phase 1 of M2M Condos, image courtesy of Aoyuan International

You can learn more from our Database file for the project, linked below. If you'd like to, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.

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Excavation Bottoming Out for M2M Condos in North York - Urban Toronto

Opposite Bond Street tube station can be found a small brick building, with a lion on top. At least, you can usually, as for the past few years its been covered in Crossrail hoardings, as the building next to it was demolished to make space for an upgrade of the tube station.

Fortunately, the tiny brick building was saved, and new images of the planned shops/block of flats that will be built here have confirmed that the odd little thing will remain in place.

But what is it?

It is the remaining one of a pair that used to stand on either side of the road fronting onto Oxford Street.

This was the London residence of the Earl of Aldborough, who leased the land from City of London (it used to be their Banqueting House), where he built a grand residence, Stratford Place, in 1771-4. Consisting of two uniform rows of houses, leading to a small square to the north side closed by the Classical front of Aldborough House (now Stratford House). The entrance was marked on the Oxford Street front by two brick gatehouses, crowned by lions, originally closed by railings and a gate.

The road is the sort of road that grand people visiting grand buildings would expect to see staff waiting for them and the odd little building on the corner is a porters lodge, to carry bags and the like for the grand visitors.

There used to be two, but sadly the western partner was removed in 1915 when the current building there was erected as a Lyons tea house.

Fortunately the remaining lodge is now protected as a heritage asset.

The protection is a slight surprise, as it sat next to a rather of its time concrete building from 1969, replacing an 1890s bank, and keeping the totally out of place 18th century brick box next to their new concrete block must have irked the architects Seifert and Partners no end.

There have been attempts in the past to reuse the porters lodge as a small retail cubicle, but Westminster Council keep refusing, which is wise.

The 1969 building was demolished during Crossrail works, as underneath two huge shafts were dug down to the tunnels to provide access to the construction site, and one of them was later reused as a lift shaft.

Now that the concrete office block has gone, its to be replaced with a less distinctive, but more appropriate for the area brick building with shops and flats, and the old porters lodge, temporarily removed during the Crossrail works, is to be restored.

The old lion of Oxford Street will be back.

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The old lion of Oxford Street - IanVisits

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"I'm just so glad we're spending our vacation at home," newlywed Barbara Maitland (Geena Davis) declares at the beginning of Tim Burton's 1988 horror-comedy Beetlejuice. She means it, too. This isn't someone who's making the best of a bad situation: She likes the house she shares with Adam (Alec Baldwin); she's happy with the way they've decorated it; she seems to be really into cleaning; and there's a model of the town they live in sitting in the attic waiting to be tinkered with. The Maitlands have what so many of us wish for: the time and space to sit around the house, pursuing little side projects and hanging out with a significant other. Or, I should say, they have what so many of us wished for. But things look different on the other side.

After dying in an accident, the Maitlands find themselves haunting their home. Though it takes a moment to get used to, it's not all that different from vacation mode. There are small issuesBarbara can't use the vacuum cleaner because it's in the garage, and any time they step out of the house they fall into a Dali-esque purgatorybut for the most part, it's fine. They adjust to the new normal. That is, until the house gets sold to the Deetzes, New Yorkers fleeing the city who have big plans for remodeling. The arrival of the home's new owners, coupled with the realization that they'll be haunting their home for 125 years, troubles the deceased couple's extended vacation. But Beetlejuice isn't a cautionary tale about being careful (or at least specific) about what you wish for. The real problem posed by the film comes down to process: To get the Deetzes out, the Maitlands have to learn new skills, follow a complex set of rules for the recently deceased, and navigate a labyrinthine afterlife casework system. Dying is no big deal; it's the bureaucracy that'll kill you.

Beetlejuice consistently surprises with what it chooses to emphasize and what it treats as commonplace. The film repeatedly makes the point that death is the least strange aspect of the Maitlands' journey. For instance, Burton gives the film's idyllic set-up a foreboding gloss: In the opening moments, as the camera soars over the town, the streets are completely empty. It looks like Adam's modelor like Dustin Hoffman and the crew from Outbreak already came through. Seconds later, a spider climbs across buildings on the actual model, and Adam gently plucks it from the structure, coos at it amiablyand throws it out the window. I don't know anything about spiders that wasn't covered in Charlotte's Web, but this seems a bit intense.

Delia Deetz (Catherine O'Hara), meanwhile, has very little trouble adjusting to the idea that there are ghosts in the house, but she simply cannot abide their taste. "They're in there?" she asks when her goth stepdaughter Lydia (Winona Rider) tells her the Maitlands are in the attic. "They must live like animals!" Minutes later she's reminding Lydia of a life lesson that seems to precede their extraordinary circumstances: "You have got to take the upper hand in all situations, or peoplewhether they're dead or alivewill walk all over you." The key to navigating the world in Beetlejuice, then, is to know the rulesor make up your own. And that's especially clear with the introduction of the titular character (Michael Keaton), who must be invoked three times to be released. He's not vanquished until Barbara decides she's can, in fact, go into the Dali desert and ride a sandsnake into the house. To best the bureaucratic strangeness of life and afterlife, you have to know when to follow the rules and when to rely on your own inventiveness.

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As is the case with many horror-comedies (including Death Becomes Her, which we revisited earlier this week), piercing the veil between life and death has an effect not unlike pulling back the curtain on the Wizard of Oz: it exposes the small but consequential untruths we've glommed onto because we think we need them to survive. In Beetlejuice, one untruth is that the living know how to live. When Adam asks Lydia how she's able to see dead people, she replies that she's read the whole Handbook for the Recently Deceased. "It says, 'Live people ignore the strange and unusual.'" The Deetzes are presented as the otherworldly intruders in the home, rather than the ghosts who walk the halls. In this world, it's the living who are haunting their own lives.

The opportunity presented by the filmand by the Maitlands' staycation, to which they happily returnis the chance to pay attention to the strange and unusual, and to treat it like a part of the fabric of every day: to be present in the strangeness, even while absent from lifemetaphysically or otherwise.

Read more from the original source:
In Beetlejuice, Haunting Is Another Kind of Quarantine - ELLE.com