The vast majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs indoors, most of it from the inhalation of airborne particles that contain the coronavirus. The best way to prevent the virus from spreading in a home or business would be to simply keep infected people away. But this is hard to do when an estimated 40% of cases are asymptomatic and asymptomatic people can still spread the coronavirus to others.

Masks do a decent job at keeping the virus from spreading into the environment, but if an infected person is inside a building, inevitably some virus will escape into the air.

I am a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. Much of my work has focused on how to control the transmission of airborne infectious diseases indoors, and Ive been asked by my own university, my kids schools and even the Alaska State Legislature for advice on how to make indoor spaces safe during this pandemic.

Once the virus escapes into the air inside a building, you have two options: bring in fresh air from outside or remove the virus from the air inside the building.

The safest indoor space is one that constantly has lots of outside air replacing the stale air inside.

In commercial buildings, outside air is usually pumped in through heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. In homes, outside air gets in through open windows and doors, in addition to seeping in through various nooks and crannies.

Simply put, the more fresh, outside air inside a building, the better. Bringing in this air dilutes any contaminant in a building, whether a virus or a something else, and reduces the exposure of anyone inside. Environmental engineers like me quantify how much outside air is getting into a building using a measure called the air exchange rate. This number quantifies the number of times the air inside a building gets replaced with air from outside in an hour.

While the exact rate depends on the number of people and size of the room, most experts consider roughly six air changes an hour to be good for a 10-foot-by-10-foot room with three to four people in it. In a pandemic this should be higher, with one study from 2016 suggesting that an exchange rate of nine times per hour reduced the spread of SARS, MERS and H1N1 in a Hong Kong hospital.

Many buildings in the U.S., especially schools, do not meet recommended ventilation rates. Thankfully, it can be pretty easy to get more outside air into a building. Keeping windows and doors open is a good start. Putting a box fan in a window blowing out can greatly increase air exchange too. In buildings that dont have operable windows, you can change the mechanical ventilation system to increase how much air it is pumping. But in any room, the more people inside, the faster the air should be replaced.

So how do you know if the room youre in has enough air exchange? Its actually a pretty hard number to calculate. But theres an easy-to-measure proxy that can help. Every time you exhale, you release CO2 into the air. Since the coronavirus is most often spread by breathing, coughing or talking, you can use CO2 levels to see if the room is filling up with potentially infectious exhalations. The CO2 level lets you estimate if enough fresh outside air is getting in.

Outdoors, CO2 levels are just above 400 parts per million (ppm). A well ventilated room will have around 800 ppm of CO2. Any higher than that and it is a sign the room might need more ventilation.

Last year, researchers in Taiwan reported on the effect of ventilation on a tuberculosis outbreak at Taipei University. Many of the rooms in the school were underventilated and had CO2 levels above 3,000 ppm. When engineers improved air circulation and got CO2 levels under 600 ppm, the outbreak completely stopped. According to the research, the increase in ventilation was responsible for 97% of the decrease in transmission.

Since the coronavirus is spread through the air, higher CO2 levels in a room likely mean there is a higher chance of transmission if an infected person is inside. Based on the study above, I recommend trying to keep the CO2 levels below 600 ppm. You can buy good CO2 meters for around $100 online; just make sure that they are accurate to within 50 ppm.

If you are in a room that cant get enough outside air for dilution, consider an air cleaner, also commonly called air purifiers. These machines remove particles from the air, usually using a filter made of tightly woven fibers. They can capture particles containing bacteria and viruses and can help reduce disease transmission.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that air cleaners can do this for the coronavirus, but not all air cleaners are equal. Before you go out and buy one, there are few things to keep in mind.

The first thing to consider is how effective an air cleaners filter is. Your best option is a cleaner that uses a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter, as these remove more than 99.97% of all particle sizes.

The second thing to consider is how powerful the cleaner is. The bigger the room or the more people in it the more air needs to be cleaned. I worked with some colleagues at Harvard to put together a tool to help teachers and schools determine how powerful of an air cleaner you need for different classroom sizes.

The last thing to consider is the validity of the claims made by the company producing the air cleaner.

The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers certifies air cleaners, so the AHAM Verifide seal is a good place to start. Additionally, the California Air Resources Board has a list of air cleaners that are certified as safe and effective, though not all of them use HEPA filters.

Both the World Health Organization and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that poor ventilation increases the risk of transmitting the coronavirus.

If you are in control of your indoor environment, make sure you are getting enough fresh air from outside circulating into the building. A CO2 monitor can help give you a clue if there is enough ventilation, and if CO2 levels start going up, open some windows and take a break outside. If you cant get enough fresh air into a room, an air cleaner might be a good idea. If you do get an air cleaner, be aware that they dont remove CO2, so even though the air might be safer, CO2 levels could still be high in the room.

If you walk into a building and it feels hot, stuffy and crowded, chances are that there is not enough ventilation. Turn around and leave.

By paying attention to air circulation and filtration, improving them where you can and staying away from places where you cant, you can add another powerful tool to your anti-coronavirus toolkit.

[Understand new developments in science, health and technology, each week. Subscribe to The Conversations science newsletter.]

Originally posted here:
How to use ventilation and air filtration to prevent the spread of coronavirus indoors - The Conversation US

Photo: ODHS

The Oliver museum has been struggling with drafts, hotand cold issuesyear-round and the outside wood has been degrading due to the building'sold windows. But after a conservationproject got underway, their problems were solved.

Thanks to a grant from Heritage BCs Heritage Legacy Fund and a donation from the late Carolyn Cope, the 1924-era windows were able to be carefully restored recently.

Gerry Plantes Carpentry Ltd stepped up to repair the old wood, sand and repaint it, and replace the cracked panes on the building.The project included new putty and weather stripping to help to regulate inside temperatures.

The building was Olivers former BC Police Station, and remains in the nationally-recognized conservation standards since the completed project preserved the original material on the building.

Oliver and District Heritage Society (ODHS) are looking forward to having abetter environment for both artifacts and people.

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Old windows replaced in the museum help the 96 year old building look good as new - Penticton News - Castanet.net

Helen Holmes (Instagram @TheOfficeMuse)

The Chinese were first with the transition from commodity money to paper money, from money that was atoms to money that was atoms about atoms. They had the necessary technologies (you cant have paper money without paper and you cant do it at scale without printing) and, more importantly, they had the governance. In 1260, Kublai Khan wisely decided that it was a burden on commerce and drag on taxation to have all sorts of currencies in use, ranging from copper coins to iron bars, to pearls to salt to gold and silver, so he decided to implement a new currency. The Khan decided to replace metal, commodities, precious jewels and specie with paper. A paper currency!Imagine how crazy that must have sounded!

Just as Marco Polo and other medieval travellers returned along the Silk Road breathless with astonishing tales of paper money and the end of commodity currencies, so modern commentators (e.g., me) came tumbling off of flights from Shanghai with equally astonishing tales of a land of mobile payments, where not only paper money but also payment cards are vanishing as consumers pay for everything with QR codes. That must have sounded pretty crazy in America too, or at least it did until PayPal PYPL announced they would be bringing mobile QR code payments to 8,000+ CVS stores.

Chinas thinking has been evolving for some time. Back in 2016, the Governor of thePeoples Bank of China(PBOC), Zhou Xiaochuan, set out the Bank's thinking aboutdigital currency, saying thatit is an irresistible trend that paper money will be replaced by new products and new technologies. He went on to say that as a legal tender, digital currency should be controlled by the central bank and after noting that he thought it would take a decade or so for digital currency to completely replace cash in China, he went to state clearly that the bank was working out how to gradually phase out paper money. Rather than simply let the cashless society happen, which may not led to the optimum implementation for society, they were developing a plan for a cashless society.

But how will they do it? I got a window into the likely way forward when I listened toKevin C. Desouza(Professor of Business, Technology and Strategy in the School of Management at the QUT Business School, a Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Governance Studies Program at the Brookings Institution and a Distinguished Research Fellow at the China Institute for Urban Governance at Shanghai Jiao Tong University). He is someone with a pretty informed perspective. I heard him in conversation with Bonnie S. Glaser (senior adviser for Asia and the director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, CSIS) on theChinaPower PODCAST.

Kevin and Bonnie were discussing China's plan to develop a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). I have looked at Chinas CBDC system (the Digital Currency/Electronic Payment, DC/EP) in some detail and have speculated on its impact myself, so naturally I wanted to double-check my views (coming from a more technological background) against Kevin and Bonnie's informed strategic, foreign policy perspective.

One particularly interesting aspect of their discussion concerned Chinas ability to advance in digital currency deployment and use because of the co-ordinated plans of the technology providers, the institutions and the state. The technological possibilities are a spectrum and there are a wide variety of business models and many institutional arrangements to investigate, balance and optimise. Hence it needs some co-ordination to make something happen. This is where China can bring co-ordinated and effective governance to bear.

To take one example, consider the issue of the relationship between central bank money and commercial bank money. Yao Qian, from the PBOC technology departmentwrote on the subject in 2017, saying that to offset the shock to commercial banks that would come from introducing an independent digital currency system (and to protect the investment made by commercial banks on infrastructure), it would be possible to incorporate digital currency wallet attributes into the existing commercial bank account system" so that electronic currency and digital currency are managed under the same account.

This rationale is clear and, well, rational. The Chinese central bank wants the efficiencies that come from having a digital currency but also understands the implications of removing the privilege of money creation from the commercial banks. You can see why this is a potential problem for a digital currency created by the central bank, even if it is now technologically feasible for them to do so. If commercial banks lose both deposits and the privilege of creating money, then their functionality and role in the economy is much reduced. Whether you think that is a good idea or not, you must agreed its a big step to take.

This why I think that the PBOC position,reinforcedin 2018 by Fan Yifei, Deputy Governor of the Peoples Bank of China, that Chinese digital currency should adopt a double-tier delivery system whichallows commercial banks to distribute digital currency under central bank control make sense. I dont doubt that this will be the approach adopted by the Federal Reserve when the US eventually decides to issue a digital dollar, which is why we in the West should be studying it and learning from it.

A Chinese bank employee counts 100-yuan notes and US dollar bills at a bank counter in Nantong in ... [+] China's eastern Jiangsu province on August 6, 2019 (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images).

Im fascinated that Chinas long experiment with atoms about atoms is almost over and will soon be replaced by bits about bits. This will come about not because of Bitcoin or Libra, Unionpay or PayPal, but because the PBOC has beenstrategicin its thinking andtacticalin its governance. Their decisions on the topic for many years have been measured and consistent. Digital currency is coming, and China will take the lead in digital currency just as it did in paper currency.

Link:
The Great Chinese Money Experiment Is Over - Forbes

Club Industry was not involved in the creation of this content.

New CDC Guidelines Call for Changes as Business Reopens with Heightened Health and Safety Awareness

Denver, COJuly 7, 2020--With the CDC recommending that office building employers, building owners and managers, and building operations specialistsreplace high-touch communal items, such as water coolers, in Americas workplaces, FloWater announces the addition of a foot pedal mechanism to its already self-sanitizing FloWater Refill Stations, making them fully touchless.

FloWater CEO and Co-Founder, Rich Razgaitis, sees a workplace where new tech, fully touchless and self-sanitizing water refill stations replace traditional water coolers. There is no need for offices, hotels, gyms and retail outlets to return to the expense and plastic waste involved in bringing back the single-use plastic water bottle, says Razgaitis. There is a far better and less costly way to provide unlimited and continuous access to clean, purified, and hygienic drinking water for your employees, guests and customers.

Already in place at the likes of Google, Microsoft and RedBull, the FloWater Refill Stations award-winning design and advanced technology include:

The FloWater technology also alkalizes and oxygenates the water and adds electrolytes for better hydration. Surveys show a 2-5X increase in water consumption where FloWater Refill Stations are in use and a reduction of 50% for consumption of coffees and sugary drinks. According to the CDC, proper hydration is essential for a healthy immune system to optimize our bodies natural defenses for maximum protection against COVID-19. A carbon coconut filter finishes the chilled water for a great taste.

FloWater Refill Stations are free-standing and easy to install, connecting to any potable water line within 10. The new FloWater Touchless foot pedal activation device will be available in July 2020 for both new FloWater Refill Stations and for the over 5,000 units already in place in offices, hotels, stores, gyms, and schools across the country.

About FloWater

Recognized by Inc. and the Financial Times as one of Americas fastest growing companies and honored by Fast Company as a World Changing Idea, FloWater is the worlds first company building a comprehensive platform of water purification products. The FloWater team is passionate about eliminating plastic waste and providing safe, great-tasting drinking water to everyone, wherever they are. Today, some of the worlds best brands hydrate with FloWater, including Hyatt, Google, Red Bull, Play Station, Specialized Bikes, Microsoft, Club Pilates, Hulu, Urban Remedy, and ONeill. FloWater delivers meaningful impacts for health and well-being, boosting hydration 200-500% while reducing the consumption of coffee and sugary beverages by 50%. Since the companys launch, FloWaters Refill Stations have saved over 300 million plastic water bottles from entering the environment and are on target to hit one billion by the end of 2022. For more information, visitwww.drinkflowater.com and follow FloWater on Facebook and Instagram.

Here is the original post:
FloWater Set To Replace Water Coolers In America's Workplace With Fully 'Touchless', Self-Sanitizing Water Refill Stations - Club Industry

Knoxville artist Paris Woodhull is one of at least 10 women artists painting murals across Tennessee for the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Knoxville News Sentinel

What's new in your community? Find out here at the Shopper-News blog. We'll have updates on people, places, businesses, schools and sports in your community. Check back throughout the week.

BEARDEN

John Shearer, Shopper News

While many families have grown restless being stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic, the Akards of West Knoxville have taken the opposite route.

Kevin Akard and his 12-year-old son, Luke, have been outside,completing all of the roughly 800-900 miles of trails inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Luke Akard is shown on his very first hike in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2012 shortly after he turned 4.(Photo: Submitted)

They have literally taken the term like father, like son to a new and inspiring level.

Although the National Park Service does not keep records or tallies about such accomplishments, his father believes Luke might be about the youngest ever to complete the feat.

For the youngster, though, the multi-year journey was just as rewarding as the destination. Just getting to spend time away from civilization and being able to get out and experience nature and have time with Dad was nice, said Luke.

According to father Kevin, a mechanical engineering professor at Pellissippi State who developed an early interest in hikingin the Boy Scouts in Bristol, they started hiking together in the Smokies in 2012, not long after Luke turned 4.

I thought it might be something he would be interested in and would give us time together, he said.

However, he said they did not initially start with any goal in mind other than enjoyment. They actually were very sporadic the first few years and did not hike there in either 2014 or 2016.

After they began setting a goal of hiking somewhere in the Smokies once a month in 2018, they were on their way to covering some distance and enjoying some accomplishments.

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Through some multi-day hikes, they realized at the beginning of 2020 they were about two-thirds of the way to hiking all the trails. But they still did not think it was possible to achieve the goal this year.

That was in part because they had a spring break cruise planned with wife and mother, Kathy, to enjoy their otherinterest of scuba diving.

But then the pandemic began sweeping the country, and they realized they would have to traverse the countryside closer to home. However, even the outdoors was affected by the coronavirus, as the national park was closed for several weeks during the spring.

That did not dampen their enthusiasm, though. When it reopened in May, we were there on the morning it reopened, said Kevin.

They covered 161 miles in May through multiple day and overnight hikes, 70 in June and about 120 in July.

They saved the 72 miles of the Appalachian Trail through the park for last, finishing the five-day route from Fontana Dam at the south end to the Davenport Gap area near where Interstate 40 crosses into North Carolina on July 29.

For young Luke, reaching the completion point of an eight-year journey offered mixed emotions.

It was happy but at the same time kind of sad, said the youngster, who is entering seventh grade at West Valley Middle School and was featured in the Shopper News in 2018 for a patch he designed that won a trip to the International Space Station. But when I got there, it was awesome.

A representative of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park 900 Miler Club for those who have completed all the trails told the family that they also dont keep detailed information, but that she knew of only two teenagers who have completed it.

We dont know for certain, but we are pretty confident he is the youngest one to do it, said Kevin.

Luke Akard stands atop a rock at Charlies Bunion along the Appalachian Trail a couple of days before he and his father, Kevin, completed all the trails inside the park.(Photo: Submitted)

Also along the way, almost as many memories as miles were secured. Besides all the breathtaking views, they also had their breaths taken away once when they realized a black bear had been outside their tent after they cooked and ate inside due to rain. They also saw plenty of birds, chipmunks and squirrels, and an occasional snake.

Luke said his favorite path was probably Old Settlers Trail between Gatlinburg and Cosby.

It is pretty long but very flat for the Smokies, and before the park was made, there was a community there, he said, adding that ruins of old houses and cabins are still visible.

As far as new goals, the father and son might look at going down into the water instead of up some mountains by scuba diving in all 50 states, even though the youngster has already set foot in all of them.

For that adventure, Luke is game once again. I havent experienced a whole lot of scuba diving, so that would be fun, he said.

KARNS/HARDIN VALLEY

Nancy Anderson, Shopper News

Most places you can have it quick, cheap or done right. If you are lucky you get to pick two. At this place you pleasantly get all three. Punctuality, quality, and value, wrote Scott Toomey in a Google review about Asian Auto Specialists at 7130 Oak Ridge Highway.

Owner Kenny Allison checks out an engine at Asian Auto Specialists at 7130 Oak Ridge Highway. Monday, Aug. 3, 2020.(Photo: Nancy Anderson/Shopper News)

Many other reviews added a fourth pillar, honesty.

Ive worked at five or six different shops over the years and Ive seen the way people are overcharged or oversold on parts, said owner Kenny Allison.

We dont do that in this shop. Giving honest service is the only way I can sleep at night. We dont have a service writer who is paid commission. Its me and my word, which means a lot to me.

I want customers to come back. If you maintain your client base, you dont have to spend a lot of money on advertising and you get to know people.

I dont have people coming back to me saying they were overcharged or the repair wasnt done correctly. Thats the last thing I want.

Allison opened the shop April 1, 2019, and specializes in Asian imports. He said he does work on American cars too, but prefers not to work on European models.

Owner Kenny Allison, lead mechanic Tony Smith and shop assistant Trevor Allison all say they are proud of their work at Asian Auto Specialists at 7130 Oak Ridge Highway. Monday, Aug. 3, 2020.(Photo: Nancy Anderson/Shopper News)

Ive been working on all the imports for more than 33 years. European cars have gotten a lot more technical and require specialized tools. Imports are more straightforward.

Allison said he tries to repair a car quickly.

Scheduling is really hard, because you never know if the problem is as simple as a belt or as complicated as replacing an engine. It could take a couple of hours or three days, but we work hard to get the cars back out the door as soon as possible. Its still got to be done right, so you do have to take your time and make sure of that.

He said he doesnt hold up small jobs in favor of the big expensive ones.

If someone needs a belt or something simple, I dont let that sit on my lot for days, I get that done quickly.

He said it didnt take long for the shop to see a fair amount of customers. He and his customers posted on social media, which seemed to do the trick.

Lead mechanic Tony Smith said its satisfying to repair a vehicle and get it running just right at Asian Auto Specialists at 7130 Oak Ridge Hwy. Monday, Aug. 3, 2020.(Photo: Nancy Anderson/Shopper News)

When I first opened, I did a lot of advertising, which did nothing. It really is all about reputation and word of mouth.

The shop has two full-time mechanics, including Allison, and a shop assistant. While the sign on the door says the shop closes at 5:30 p.m., Allison finds himself staying late often.

He has big plans.

Id like to have five or six bays with mechanics for each. Someday Id like to just work the office or maybe even not have to be here at all, just stop by and make sure things are going smoothly.

Info: Contact Asian Auto Specialists at 865-240-3004.

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NORTH/EAST

Carol Z. Shane, Shopper News

Fred Mister Rogers famously extended his mothers advice, during times of crisis and fear, to his young viewers. He said, Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.

Ben Maney is a helper.

June Hopper and Ben Maney, married since 2008, now both work at home because of the coronavirus pandemic. Its nice! says Maney. I feel like I have an office mate as well as a life mate. Feb. 20, 2017.(Photo: Carol Z. Shane/Shopper News)

The Lincoln Park resident, who teaches piano at the Community School of the Arts, Green Magnet Academy and in his private studio, is well known in Knoxville as one of the citys finest jazz pianists and composers.

He says he generally feels extremely lucky during this time of financial uncertainty. His wife, June Hopper, who investigates credit card fraud for TVA Credit Union, is able to work at home, and Maney has continued with almost all of his students in virtual lessons. Though hes lost income from evening gigs hes a regular at The Bistro at the Bijou he says he and Hopper are pretty secure.

But from the start of the coronavirus pandemic, hes been acutely aware that not all of his colleagues have fared so well.

I noticed that there were professional musicians that I knew who were out in the cold, as well as other gig workers restaurant and bar workers. And I was also starting to worry about some of my students especially some that I had been working with at Green Magnet. I wanted to do something.

Community School of the Arts teacher Ben Maney helps student Joshua Washington become fluent in the musical language of jazz. October 3, 2017.(Photo: Photo courtesy Community School of the Arts)

So he did a virtual benefit concert. Then he did another. Maney donated the proceeds to his friends in need and to Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee (CAC).

Hes also released an album with local musician, composer and producer Matt Honkonen, who runs Pitchwire, a music production company. Available on Bandcamp, its called A Space for Us. All proceeds will benefit the Community School of the Arts, which provides after-school music and art lessons to underserved children and teens.

Now, six months after the start of the pandemic, Maney is concerned about the mood of the nation. Something has changed, he says.

In the initial stage, I thought maybe people will galvanize over this. Maybe well all work together. Its a virus; its not political; it affects everyone. But that hasnt happened.

So Maney whose humanitarian instinct is every bit as big as his talent has decided to do another virtual concert. This time, its just for the joy of playing and lifting peoples spirits. Unlike the fundraisers, its free, though Maney wont turn away tips. So everyone, near and far, can hear one of Knoxvilles jazz luminaries from the comfort of home.

In pre-pandemic days: Ben Maney helps his student Makaia Gray get in a festive mood to practice her piece for the 2016 Community School of the Arts Holiday Concert. Sept. 26, 2016.(Photo: Carol Z. Shane/Shopper News)

Our government is in shambles and its failing people, says Maney. Its hard to live in this pressure chamber and find places to decompress. He hopes his concert will provide that. Were all trying to navigate through this.

You can hear A Solo Performance by Ben Maney on Facebook Live at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 14. Go to facebook.com/events/640786969866612 for more info. Buy the album A Space for Us at MattHonkonen.bandcamp.com/album/a-space-for-us.

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POWELL

Al Lesar, Shopper News

After more than a dozen tries, Carolyn Duffey knew it was right. She had found the connection she sought.

Carolyn Duffey and Ayah, her PTSD support dog, are ready to share their training secrets with other support dogs.(Photo: Submitted)

Duffey, who moved to Powell from south Texas more than three years ago, suffers from Post-traumatic stress disorder that stemmed from an abusive relationship. She was in search of a service dog that would help her deal with the tough times. Two years ago, she was scouring area animal rescues until she found Ayah.

The day I met her, I knew she was the right one, Duffey said. We just had an instant connection.

At the time, Ayah was a 6-month-old Mountain Cur pup, looking a lot like a bulldog.

I was looking for an older dog, but when its right, its right, she said.

Duffey and Ayah went through a year of training. The results have been impressive.

We can go to a restaurant now and shell quietly sit under the table, Duffey said. That wasnt always the case. Its nice to have people who knew her before come up to me and say how well behaved she is.

Duffey has turned the experience she had with Ayah into a business of her own. In June she started Duffeys Dog Training, which is available for any dog but can specialize in PTSD service dogs.

Rosie and her handler Terry are one of Carolyn Duffey's training clients in July 2020.(Photo: Submitted)

Not long ago, Duffey said she was cooking dinner when she felt a panic attack coming on. She turned off the stove and went to her room to lie down. As always, Ayah followed.

She saw me lie down and she knew something was wrong, Duffey said. She went to me, then she went to my husband (in another room) and barked, went back to me, then went to my husband and barked. He finally came.

Duffey said the bond between her and Ayah is strong.

Shes like a toddler. Wherever I go, she goes. If I put my hands over my face, shell come up to me and put her face in mine. She understands when Im having a tough time.

While in a shoe store recently, Duffey said there were several young boys doing what young boys do. Ayah completely ignored the commotion and stayed right by Duffeys side, which is a quantum leap from the limited focus she had had just months earlier.

Ayah is a sensitive dog, Duffey said. You can tell the progress shes made.

One of the important parts of training for a support dog is to stay calm amid chaos.(Photo: Submitted)

If theres one noise that dogs dont like to hear, its coins rattling around in a tin can.

See the rest here:
Shopper News blog: Luke Akard hiked every trail in the Smokies, almost 900 miles. He's 12. - Knoxville News Sentinel

Parkview Financial announced it has provided a $7.2 million construction loan to GA Views Management, LLC for the completion of The Views at Georgia Avenue, a Class A, 20-unit apartment property. Located at 3557 Georgia Avenue NW in the Park View neighborhood in the northwestern quadrant of Washington, D.C., the six-story property is currently in the framing stage and will be completed in summer 2021.

The 23,000-square-foot (sf) building will include 10 two-bedroom floor plans ranging between 696 sf and 835 sf, and 10 one-bedroom floor plans ranging between 530 sf to 545 sf with ground floor retail space totaling approximately 3,358 sf. In addition to the retail component, amenities for the residences include storage areas of 442 sf in the basement, a rooftop deck totaling of 964 sf, and patio area totaling 600 sf. Each unit will include hardwood flooring and carpeting, double pane windows, a full kitchen with upgraded appliance package, and in-unit washer/dryer.

Parkview is pleased to provide construction financing for The Views at Georgia Avenue, said Paul Rahimian, CEO of Parkview Financial. Demand for housing in this area is strong and this property will offer high-quality, upgraded rental living in a gentrifying neighborhood.

The Georgia Avenue NW area features an eclectic mix of residential and commercial properties, including many restaurants and bars, small locally owned shops, and supporting commercial and civic uses. The neighborhood is adjacent to the Petworth and the Columbia Heights neighborhoods and is three miles north of the National Mall in a dense, urban infill area. It will provide convenient public transit for residents linking to the entire D.C. metro area. The commute to the downtown Washington D.C. is a 16-minute drive and 40 minutes via transit.

Link:
Parkview Financial provides $7.2 million construction loan for 20-unit apartment property in Washington DC - Yield PRO magazine

The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting every facet of the economy, including commercial construction and real estate. While the depth of some of the impacts may not be known for months, if not years, there are several emerging trends shaping these industries now.

Construction Financing Issues

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic this spring, many companies looked at stopping, or at least pausing, construction projects due to the uncertainty about the economy. Many projects remain paused as owners continue to worry about their long-term viability or if there is demand for office or retail space when so many businesses are closed or people are working remotely.

A survey conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) in June found that 68% of contractors had seen a project canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; 48% saw a project that had begun before the pandemic halted.

While some projects were paused to meet with shelter-in-place orders in states and cities where construction was not deemed essential, financial considerations also were a major concern. More than one-third of projects were stopped because of a loss of revenue to pay for the project, whether that be from lenders, investors or government revenue such as taxes.

Under many contracts, if an owner decides to pause construction, it will ultimately be responsible to pay the contractor for the delay.Similarly, if an owner cancels a project, under the standard American Insititute of Architects (AIA) contract documents, the owner will be responsible for a termination fee or the contractors lost profit on the project.With project financing also drying up, however, it may be uncertain where that funding will be coming from.

With projects on pause, banks are also seeing an increase in defaults on construction loans. Construction loan delinquencies at U.S. banks climbed 23.8%during the first quarter according to the Standard & Poors Global Market Intelligence Report.Anticipating this, the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) passed by Congress made it easier to modify construction loans. Under the CARES Act, an owner may qualify for a forbearance arrangement, an interest rate modification, or a revised repayment plan.The CARES Actalso provides that any loan modification does not constitute a reportable troubled debt restructuring (TDR) or a default, and therefore will not negatively impact the credit of the borrower.

Construction Supply Chain Issues

One major challenge impacting still ongoing construction projects is difficulty in getting the needed materials on time. During the peak of COVID-19 shut downs this spring, many producers of building supplies either closed completely as they were not deemed essential businesses by their local governments or reduced their staffing and capacity to help support social distancing efforts among employees. This has led to a shortage in numerous supplies and ongoing supply chain issues.

In June, the ACG found that 25% of contractors were experiencing project delays or disruptions due to a shortage of construction materials, equipment or parts. Additionally, 38% of respondents said suppliers had notified them or their subcontractors that material deliveries would be late or cancelled.

Depending on the materials being delayed, supply chain disruptions can impact the timing of a construction project by days, weeks, even monthstime that in many cases cannot afford to be lost as contractors often face tight deadlines for delivering projects.

To help minimize disruption, contractors should request weekly updates from suppliers on the availability of necessary materials. A contingency plan for obtaining materials that may face shortages or delays should be developed. Contractors should also provide updates, in writing, to their clients both on potential supply chain issues and the steps that are being taken proactively to mitigate those risks and, if needed, look to renegotiate potential changes to the project completion schedule.

While it is generally the responsibility of the contractor to ensure a project is completed on time, there may be some contractual remedies for unexpected supply chain delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, many contracts contain force majeure clauses or other language around impacts arising from circumstances that could not be foreseen or outside of the control of either party involved in the contract. Often these clauses call for an extension of time to complete the project but may not change the payment terms.

Lease Issues

The pandemic is also triggering force majeure clauses in commercial leases. A June bankruptcy court ruling in In re: Hitz Restaurant Group offers some guidance to landlords and tenants seeking to enforce force majeure language in their leases.

Hitz Restaurant Group, which operates a number of restaurants around Chicago, filed for bankruptcy on Feb. 24, 2020. One of its landlords, Kass Management Services, Inc., asked the court to require Hitz to pay rent due under the lease even after filing for bankruptcy. Citing force majeure language in the lease, Hitz argued that it was excused from the rent obligation as a result of the executive order prohibiting on-premises consumption of food and beverages in restaurants issued by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker on March 16, 2020.

The court ruled that Hitz had to pay its full March rent, since it was due before the executive order was issued, but the obligation to pay rent thereafter was reduced in proportion to the ability of Hitz to generate revenue.Based on Hitzs estimate that 75% of the restaurant was unusable due to the executive order, Hitz only owed 25% of its rent obligations for April, May and June. The court also rejected the landlords argument that Hitz could not enforce the force majeure clause because it did not apply for a Small Business Administration loan to meet its rent obligations.

In reaching its decision, the court found the force majeure clause in Hitzs lease unambiguously applied to rental payments and the executive order was the cause, at least in part, of Hitzs inability to pay rent because it restricted the restaurant to take-out, curbside pick-up, and delivery.

Although the Hitz decision is not binding in other jurisdictions, other courts may use a similar analysis for businesses required by law to shut down or reduce operations during the pandemic. Tenants should review their leases to see if the force majeure clause specifically references governmental orders and allows for excused performance of lease obligations, including payment of rent. For landlords, the Hitz case is a reminder to carefully draft force majeure clauses to allow for more time to pay rent, instead of excusing payment altogether or to include express language that force majeure does not apply to rent.

Regardless of how long the COVID-19 pandemic lasts, or how long the residual economic effects linger, it is likely this pandemic will create a lasting impact on the commercial construction and real estate market. What those changes are remains to be seen, but it will be vitally important that contractors, building owners and tenants more carefully consider things like force majeure clauses and their potential impact on contracts long into the future.

Brooks Pierce is dedicated to keeping our clients fully informed during the COVID-19 crisis.

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COVIDs Lasting Impacts on Construction and Real Estate Trends - JD Supra

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New Home Construction and Residential Renovations - TAPinto.net

Dead malls have been viewedas attractive targets for industrial conversion projects in recent years, but nowthe retail-to-industrial conversion trend is expanding to shopping centers that are merely wounded, but still alive.

The Metro Mall in Queens, where Amazon leased industrial space formerly occupied by retailers Toys R Us and Kmart.

Mall owners this year are increasingly considering projects that wouldconvert vacant department store space in existing malls into last-mile distribution facilities as demand for industrial space has far outpaced retailduring the coronavirus pandemic.

Simon Property Group is in talks with Amazon to turn some of itsvacant department store spaces formerly occupied by JCPenneyand Sears into e-commerce distribution centers, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. Simon CEO David Simon, speaking on the REIT's earnings call Monday, said he could notrespond to "market rumors," but he did speak to the larger trend.

"Generally, the important thing going on that we're seeing is that moreand more retailers are distributing their e-commerce orders from their stores, so they're fulfilling from their stores and there are also the curbside pickup and all sorts of fulfillment options available," Simon said. "That's a good trend long term for us, but beyond that I don't want to get into logistics or any kind of speculation around Penney or Amazon."

Brookfield Properties, another major U.S. mall owner,isbeginning to experimentwithusing space at its active shopping centers for industrialdistribution space. The CEO of Brookfield'sretail group, Jared Chupaila, discussedthe strategy on the firm's earnings call last week.

"We have begun to test and trial with retail tech companies that are providing solutionsforlast-mile delivery and other fulfillment solutions where we can use otherwise unused space at the back end of shopping centers to help consolidate the packages and provide greater convenience to the couriers, all of which is expediting the delivery of the product and the volume of the product that couldbe delivered to the end customer," Chupaila said on the call, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript.

Amazon has already shown a willingness this year to lease space formerly occupied by retailers for its distribution facilities. In February, it signed a 10-year deal for 300K SF at the Rentar Plaza mall, also known as the Metro Mall, in Queens,Commercial Observer reported.

About 190K SF of the space Amazonwill take at the Queens property was formerly occupied by Kmart and Toys R Us. The property continues to operate as a mixed-use asset with existing retailers such as BJ's Wholesale Club, Jennifer Furniture and Burger King.

The REIT analyst who asked Simon about the Amazon deal, Mizuho Americas Managing Director Haendel St. Juste, toldBisnowthe conversion projects make more sense now because of the damage the coronavirus has wroughtin the retail market.

"Post-COVID, we now have a scenario where we have bankruptcies and store closures on top of what we've already seen the past couple years," he said. "Right now, the prospect of filling up a bunch of empty anchor boxes, who is the next user of that space? It's not like you've got a line of people queued up to take that space. You can read the tea leaves. The times are changing. The nature of the mall itself is changing."

A map from CBRE showing the retail-to-industrial conversion projects that have moved forward across the U.S. since 2017.

A CBRE report released last monthfound 59 retail-to-industrialconversion projects that have been completed, begun construction or been proposed since 2017.That is up significantly from January 2019, when there were24 such projects.

Many of the conversion projects CBRE found are full-scale redevelopments of completely vacantmalls, but CBRE Associate Director of Industrial and Logistics Research Matthew Walaszek said he is increasingly seeing owners look to convert vacant space in malls that continue to operate.

"That's something we have seen and we would point to as the next phase for the blending of retail and industrial," Walaszek said of the conversion projects in existing malls. "We will absolutely see more and more of that."

The conversionstrategyhad begun prior to the pandemic, asthe industrial market has performed much better than retail in recent years, but thecoronavirus has accelerated the trend as more people shift their shopping behaviors to online deliveries, Walaszek said.

"COVID has accelerated a lot of the trends that have been happening already," Walaszek said. "We're looking at new forecasts where e-commerce as a proportion of overall retail is higher than what we had previously anticipated."

Walaszek said CBRE has one retail landlord client, which he declined to name, that is looking for opportunities across 15 different markets to convert retail spacesto industrial. In addition to mall owners converting vacant big-boxspace, Walaszek said he is also seeing a growing trend ofdepartment store tenants shrinking their retail footprint to set aside space for delivery facilities.

"We're going to start seeing more concrete examples of retailers repositioning their footprint and incorporating logistics, especially as e-commerce grows and there's going to be a need for returns," Walaszek said.

Transwestern Senior Managing Director Mark Glagola, a D.C.-area industrial broker,said he has heard a great dealof talkin the market about the conversion projects and sees it as an emerging trend, but he has yet to see completed examples of projects that mix industrial and retail space.

"The industry appears to be really kicking this tire hard, and I do think things will happen, they just haven't happened yet," Glagola said. "We haven't figured out the logistics of how the fulfillment centers fit into a retail environment, and does it remain a retail environment? I do think they will happen, but they're still sizing each other out."

Glagola said he sees several potential logistical issues withusing vacant department stores in existing malls as industrial space, such as malls not having enough loading docks and the industrial and retail traffic mixing in the parking lot.

"The issues include the physical logistics and the potential mix of retail and industrial tenants from an asset management perspective," Glagola said. "Some facilities may be able to do it because they may be able to segregate the uses, others won't because they can't. Not every retail property is the same."

In addition to thelogistical concerns, St. Juste said there are also potential issues involved with the lease agreementsmall owners have with inline tenants, some of which depend on having a retail anchor.

"What does the mall look like if you don't have two or three anchors? And then there are co-tenancy risks that come into play," St. Juste said. "Inline tenants that have struggled and are looking to reduce square footage and get lower rents now could potentially get a get-out-of-jail-free card at some malls with potential co-tenancy clauses."

While there could be challenges withconverting department stores to industrial, St. Juste said mall owners don't have many better options.

"Priority No. 1 right now is, 'Let's figure out what we can do with all this excess space in a market where clearly retail is at risk and we need to think of a better path,'" he said. "It's just one more thing to try to make the best use of their space and stay ahead of the curve a bit."

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'The Nature Of The Mall Is Changing' As Simon, Brookfield Eye Converting Anchors To Industrial - Bisnow

After years of construction, the $80 million River Place facility is almost ready

Downtown Wilmington will soon welcome the grand opening of a high-rise neighbor.

River Place, an $80 million, 13-story mixed-use development slated to contain residential, parking and retail space, has not only made strides in attracting commercial and residential tenants, but is almost finished with construction.

Lucien Ellison, Senior Managing Partner for East West Partners, who has worked with the city on the project, said the to-do list is "getting smaller and smaller."

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The building welcomed its first apartment resident last week, and more residents are expected to move in by the end of August. So far, 10 out of the 79 apartment apartment units have been leased, Ellison said. A majority of condo residents have already moved in with only 10 more left for sale out of 92 units.

Along with the influx of condo and apartment residents came the project's 403 parking spaces, which finished construction in May and is currently open to the public.

Meanwhile, the buildings commercial tenants - Axis Fitness, Bank of America, Mellow Mushroom, the Nutrition Spot, and more recently, Dollar General-owned DGX - are working on outfitting their spaces, with some expected to open in September.

Among the other completed projects are a multi-level staircase connecting Front Street to Bijou Park with Water Street. An access to Bijou Park that would re-connect Chestnut Street to Water Street is expected to be finished in the next six weeks.

The current focus is to finish up the roadwork around the building, including the portion of Water Street between Grace and Chestnut streets. This portion, which has been closed for construction since 2018, should be paved in the next four weeks.

Although much has been accomplished, Ellison said the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down the projects completion, decreasing the amount of workers on the site by about 25%.

Hurricane Isaias didnt help either. As a result of the storm, the building was left with water intrusion on the first floor, an issue workers are currently addressing.

Nonetheless, Ellison thinks the project could be fully completed within "the next couple months."

"I was thinking wed be way done by this point but were not so the timeline has changed so much that I dont even want to speculate on it," Ellison said.

Reporter Noah Johnson can be reached at 910-343-2364 or njohnson12@gannett.com.

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Downtown Wilmingtons 13-story development nears grand opening - StarNewsOnline.com