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Heartbreak and devastation: Residents begin to venture out

There was little standing water along Nine Mile Road, but debris littered the area and surrounding residential roads. Signs above businesses were twisted and shredded like sheets of paper, and along thoroughfares like Chemstrand and Roberts roads lines of cars took turns navigating around downed trees and dangling powerlines.

In Cantonment, residents of the Bristol Park area saw a heartbreaking repeat of flooding that devasted the area in 2014. The Escambia County Sheriffs Office, National Guard and Escambia County Fire Rescue spent much of the morning using high water vehicles to rescue people in homes in area.

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Nearby, emergency responders blocked off access to Highway 297-A near Corral Drive and Ashbury Lane. A small lake had formed just outside at the nearby Ashbury Hills neighborhood, forcing commuters hoping to check on their loved ones and properties to find another way home.

Brandon Anderson, a resident of the Oak Lodge Mobile Home Park, brought out chainsaws Wednesday morning to help take a part massive trees blocking the entrance to the park on Lillian Highway.

Soon, he had more than a dozen neighbors helping the effort.

Thankfully they just came out and and started joining us, Anderson said.

During the worst of the storm, Anderson said he saw flashes of light, what he thought to be power lines snapping.

I felt my house shaking. Theres a lot of light blasts, its a little scary, he said.

He said his home sustained no serious damage, unlike many of his other neighbors, one of which had a tree land on their home.

Kenneth McElory said he woke up at 4 a.m. to screaming winds and green flashes of light around his house.

The next thing he knew, a massive tree fell into his living room.

Another tree fell on his car before he could escape.

To provide our community with important public safety information, our newsroom is making stories related to Hurricane Sally free to read. To support important local journalism like this, please consider becoming a digital subscriber.

McElroy said that besides feeling homelesss, he was optimistic that things would get better - someday, if not today.

You cant get down on yourself, it willmake it worse, he said. At least everybody is accounted for.

McElroy said that despite the tragedies that seem to be piling upon top of each other in 2020, he has hope.

A pandemic, and a hurricane, whats next? he said. Sunny days and good times.

The neighborhood surrounding Lillian Highway had many trees down and blocked roads Wednesday as well as no power.

Lillian Food Mart, a convenience store in the neighborhood, did open despite having no power. Dozens lined up to get snacks, drinks and ice.

One of those was Austin Jordan, who said he came out Wednesday morning looking for food. He said he wasnt prepared for the storm because he didnt know how bad it would be.

He said he heard loud banging and wind howling, but his home sustained minimal damage.

Emerald Coast Utilities Authority is reporting that 60% of its water wells are down from Hurricane Sally.

ECUA Executive Director Bruce Woody said a morning press conference that water customers may see lower water pressure.

Water has been cut off to Pensacola Beach after a water main to Santa Rosa Island broke.

Woody didnt have an estimate for when water service would be restored.

No boil water notices have been issued yet.

Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said there are unconfirmed reports that a section of Three Mile Bridge is missing. He is warning all residents to stay away from the bridge at this time.

Photographs posted on social media are showing damage to the surface of the Pensacola Bay Bridge. The images indicate a crane fell on the bridge and knocked away a section of the road way.

The Florida Department of Transportation said it has been unable to assess any possible damage to the bridge due to ongoing high winds. A spokesperson for the department said crews will be dispatched to assess the situation once conditions are safer.

Flooding in downtown Pensacola, Florida on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020. This was filmed on Jefferson at the Holiday Inn Express and Pensacola Little Theatre. Cars are almost completely submerged. People are standing on the hotel porch trapped. Pensacola News Journal

Much of downtown Pensacola was underwater Wednesday morning, with floodwaters turning streets into white-capped rivers and downed trees bookending Palafox Street.

Downtown was mostly empty, save for police officers and a few brave onlookers.

Nick Zangari, owner of New York Nicks Badlands bar, was sitting in the doorway of his dark, empty bar on Palafox looking out into the street. Zangari has been at the bar since Monday, saying he wanted to keep an eye on his building. But he didnt expect things to get as bad as they did overnight Tuesday.

I have a generator, AC unit, everything back at home (in Tiger Point), he said. But I didnt think Id need it.

On the 16th anniversary to the day of Hurricane Ivan, Zangari said Ivan may have been strong than Sally, but it packed more of a punch because it was so unexpectedly strong.

With Ivan we were more prepared, because it was coming right for us, he said. Nobody thought this was coming for us, and we didnt think it would be this strong.

A few blocks down, on Jefferson Street, floodwaters were submerging cars around the Holiday Inn Express and Pensacola Little Theatre. The floodwaters looked more like the Gulf of Mexico as winds tossed the water around.

People could be seen standing on the porch of the hotel, trapped and looking out over the water that used to be a parking lot.

The city of Gulf Breeze is reporting a water main break somewhere within city limits and citing an "immediate need" for citizens to conserve drinking water.

Escambia County Fire Rescue, National Guard and the Sheriffs Office are actively working on water rescues and life saving measures in the Bristol Park and Woods area that has 269 homes. We are working with FEMA, Urban Search & Rescue and engaging the Coast Guard.

Santa County officials are getting their first images of devastation caused by Hurricane Sally and it's every bit as bad as predicted.Emergency vehicles are only responding to high water calls, due to the high wind and the excessive rain.

"We are starting to see the impacts of the heavier eyewall cells that are coming through," wrote Santa Rosa Public Safety Director Brad Baker. "We are seeing higher winds and heavier rainfall than we've seen in the last few hours."

The county is reporting roadways flooding andmore tree and power lines down and requests residents to stay home.

"If you are home, we are having some increased water levels in the Bay area, so if you are trapped in your house and the water is rising, please call 911," Baker said. "Other than that we ask you to please stay home."

President Donald Trump has approved federal emergency aid for 13 Florida counties impacted by Hurricane Sally.

The authorization clears the release of personnel, resources and funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Emergency protective measures (Category B), including direct federal assistance under the Public Assistance program, will be provided at 75% federal funding. This assistance is for Bay, Escambia, Holmes, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton and Washington counties.

Public Assistance (Category B) emergency protective measures, limited to direct federal assistance, will be provided at 75% federal funding. This assistance is for Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jackson and Liberty counties.

According to FEMA, Category B emergency protective measures are actions taken by a community before, during and following a disaster to save lives, protect public health and safety, or eliminate immediate threat of significant damage to improved public and private property through cost effective measures.

Jeffrey L. Coleman has been named as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal response operations in the affected area.

National Weather Service inMobile reporteda trained spotter estimated 30 inches of rain in NorthwestPensacola. NAS Pensacola recorded 24.8 inches of rain and wind gusts up to 92 miles per hour.

NWS reports5.5 feet of storm surge in Pensacola Bay and two hours of high tide are ahead of us. Penascola is getting the worst of the surge.

Jimmy Patronis,Florida's chief financial officer andstate fire marshal, announced Wednesday morning that he has deployed three urban search and rescue teams to respond to widespread flooding in our area. Patronis said he will also be headed to our region this morning to meet with emergency response officials and determine what type of support they need.

East Pensacola Heights gets hammered with heavy rain and wind as Hurricane Sally hits Pensacola. Pensacola News Journal

Hurricane Sally made landfall this morning just west of the Florida/Alabama line as a Category 2 with 105 mph winds.

This put Pensacola in the eastern eye-wall, the strongest part of the storm, according to an advisory fromEscambia County's emergency manager to the Santa Rosa Island Authority. In addition, the next strongest rain/wind band has set up over Okaloosa and Walton counties.

A Flash Flood Emergency is ongoing from Pensacola to Ft. Walton Beach. Historic river flooding will also occur over the next couple of days.

Conditions will remain unchanged this morning due to the slow movement of the storm. It will likely be around 1 p.m. before we begin to see some weakening of winds and rain bands as the center of Sally moves into southern Alabama.

The south and west side of the storm is considerably weaker,howeverintermittent heavy rain bands, a few tornadoesand tropical storm force wind gusts will continue into this evening in the eastern Panhandle and western Big Bend.

There is widespread flooding and debris on roads across the area. Citizens are advised to remain in place and to stay off the roads as much as possible.

Interstate 10, eastbound and westbound, at the Escambia Bay Bridge is closed due to high sustained winds. The Three Mile Bridge, Theo Baars Bridgeand theLillian Bridgeremains closed as well, according to the Escambia County Sheriff's Office.

Gulf Power reported just before 6:30 a.m. that 72 percent of the household accounts in Escambia County were without power as rain and wind continued to hammer the Pensacola area. As of 6:30 a.m., 115,377 homes were without power.

Live: Power outage map

Pensacola is expected to get raked by Hurricane Sallys eyewall over the next several early morning hours, bringing unprecedented amounts of rain and Category 2-strength winds to the already battered western Florida Panhandle.

The slow-moving storm, which reportedly made landfall near Gulf Shores, Alabama just after5 a.m. Wednesday, surprised forecasters by strengthening into a very strong Category 2 storm overnight, with winds at 110 miles per hour just one mile per hour away from being a Category 3 major hurricane.

It got really close to a Category 3, said Dave Eversole, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Mobile. Were hoping that we see actual landfall probably somewhere along the Baldwin coast here around sunrise, and that would keep (Pensacola) in or very close to the eyewall for at least a few more hours.

Hurricane Sally is seen in this satellite image as of Wednesday morning at 5 a.m.(Photo: NOAA)

Part of the eye came ashore near Gulf Shores, Alabama just before 5 a.m.

Rainfall reports in Pensacola topped 18.25 inches as of 1 a.m., prompting a rare flash flood emergency warning from the National Weather Service.

Flash flood emergency is a rare (warning) issued by the NWS, its when we have a flash flood that is posing a significant risk to lives and property, Eversole said. That means theres people out there literally pulling people out of homes and rescuing people out of cars. Its right along with a tornado emergency, its one of our two most serious warnings.

There were several tornado warnings issued from Escambia to Bay Counties overnight Tuesday, although there have been no confirmed tornadoes yet. That is expected to change in the morning as people are able to leave their homes and assess damage.

The Pensacola Police Department tweeted at 1:48 a.m. that there are too many road issues to count.

Flooded roadways and intersections, along with hazardous debris in roadways (locations) have become too numerous to list, PPD said. Please stay off the roadways now. If you lose electricity and have a generator, do not place it inside, near an open window or in a garage. This can be deadly.

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Parts of downtown Pensacola are flooding as well. Videos posted to social media show East Main Street by the Holiday Inn Express turned into a river, and Mike Wood with PPD said floodwaters are beginning to creep up Palafox Street.

Im with The Weather Channel, they were set up at Palafox Pier but that's now flooding, Wood said. Its making its way up Palafox now. Its nothing major yet, but theres a lot of high winds and rain right now.

All bridges in the area are closed due to high sustained winds, including the Three Mile Bride, Garcon Point Bridge and Navarre Beach Causeway.

Sallys path and landfall is eerily similar to Hurricane Ivans, which made landfall on the same day Sept. 16 in 2004, 16 years ago, in nearly the exact same place that Sally is projected to land. Ivan was a stronger Category 3 storm and devastated the area.

Even after the eyewall passes, Pensacola is still slated to receive torrential amounts of rain as the system makes a very slow crawl to the north/northeast.

Tevin Wooten, an on-air meteorologist with The Weather Channel, compared Sallys speed to that of a turtle as he battled the 2 mile per hour storm from Navarre.

A turtle swims at about 10 to 12 miles per hour. Turtles crawl, or walk if you will, between 3 and 4 miles per hour, he said. So Sally, quite literally, is moving at a turtles pace, if not slower.

Sally has been an unusual storm due in part to the uncertainty in her path and intensity. She was originally forecast to make landfall near New Orleans, then Mississippi, then Mobile Bay, and now, finally, shes partially come ashore near Gulf Shores and is expected to completely come ashore around Baldwin County.

Annie Blanks can be reached at ablanks@pnj.com or 850-435-8632.

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Heartbreak and devastation in Pensacola after Sally: Residents begin to venture out - Pensacola News Journal

Howard

LUMBERTON Two Lumberton City Council members walked out of Wednesdays special called meeting after one of them claimed racism was the reason the governing panel voted to deny a rezoning request.

After Council voted 4-3 against approving the request made by Moss Neck Trust regarding a property on Hornets Road, a second motion was made to officially deny the request, at which time John Cantey said he felt racism was the reason for the councils action.

Over this past year, in 2020, this council has systematically set back the people here in the City of Lumberton, Cantey said. This council has systematically voted nay, 4-4, broken ties by the mayor, that its almost on the borderline of racism.

Cantey, one of three African American council members, cited a previous vote to deny housing in East Lumberton, a vote against the wishes of the people concerning a cell tower in South Lumberton and a vote against allowing an African American individual to remain on the Airport Commission.

As long as this council is going to be split, it only hurts the citizens of this city, Cantey said. Until somebody calls this council out on it, it will never stop.

After Canteys comments, Councilman Leroy Rising said his vote had nothing to do with the issues raised by Cantey.

I want to go on the record and say it has nothing to do with racism, Rising said. It has to do with drainage, thats a big factor in Lumberton, and lot size. And I would encourage anyone to bring a development with R11 (zoning) or larger, that would create quite a better situation for Lumberton and the future of Lumberton.

After Cantey and Councilman Chris Howard left the meeting, the vote to deny the request passed 6-1. City Clerk Laney Mitchell-McIntosh, citing procedural rules, said Cantey and Howard would be recorded as having voted in favor of denying the rezoning request because they left the meeting without being excused.

On the first motion, Cantey, Howard and Melissa Robinson voted to approve the request. Rising, John Carroll, Karen Higley and Owen Thomas cast no votes. Robinson was the lone no vote on the second motion. Councilman Eric Chavis, whose absence was excused, was not at the meeting.

Moss Neck Trust requested the property be rezoned as R6-residential so a subdivision of class-A manufactured housing could be developed.

Carroll said when making the motion to deny the request that the citys Planning Board had unanimously recommended the council not approve the request because of drainage issues on the property.

Its not that Im opposed to the development, Carroll said. I just think we need more time, and if they want to bring it back they can address some issues we have, and maybe wed be willing to look into it.

Drainage concerns were raised by Rising during the Sept. 9 regular meeting when the rezoning request was first brought before Council. The issue was tabled until Wednesdays special called meeting.

Earlier in Wednesdays meeting, Cantey said he felt an accurate assessment on drainage couldnt be determined without a hydraulic study.

That is normally something that happens later in the process, during the subdivision planning phase, City Attorney Holt Moore said.

Rising also raised concerns about the lack of a conditional use permit containing the conditions stated by Moss Neck Trust in their request. The rezoning request included conditions that all units would be new class-A manufactured homes, all would have concrete footings and brick foundations, all lots would be a minimum of 8,000 square feet in size and there would be no more than four lots per acre.

The normal requirements for R6 zoning, which is designed to allow mobile homes, include less square footage per lot, more lots per acre allowed and homes built as long ago as 1976.

Rising and Carroll questioned what would happen to the zoning if for any reason Moss Neck Trust didnt follow through with the project. They asked if the property would then be available for any potential use allowed in an R6 zoning district.

Moore said other potential uses of R6 would be allowed, but the conditions regarding lot size, foundations and the density of lots would be passed on to future owners of the property.

Cantey at that point acknowledged the drainage concerns, but he and Robinson both said providing Lumberton residents still displaced after hurricanes Matthew and Florence took precedence.

I dont want to see us in the paper again denying the residents of the City of Lumberton a place to live, Cantey said. If weve got to get out here and find some grants to fix the drainage or borrow some money, thats what we need to do, but its been four years (since Hurricane Matthew) and we still have people not in their homes. Right now, our residents need a place to live and a place to start rebuilding with their families.

Ive spoken with residents who are still displaced, Robinson said just before making the motion to approve the request. I think this will help address the housing shortage for affordable homes for people who are displaced. I understand about drainage and appreciate the information weve received from the Public Works Department. But I think this housing is what we need right now.

City Manager Wayne Horne said there are more than 200 homes being built in Lumberton at various locations, including a pair of 72-unit housing developments.

Moore said after the meeting there are no official sanctions or repercussions that can be levied against Cantey or Howard for leaving the meeting unexcused, other than their votes being counted as positive by default.

The rezoning request was the only item on Wednesdays agenda.

Chris Stiles can be reached at 910-816-1977 or by email at [emailprotected]

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Cantey says racism behind Lumberton City Councils halting of housing project - The Robesonian

Under a sky ashy from Californias wildfires, demolition of the L.A. County Museum of Arts Ahmanson building has continued. The Ahmanson is the last structure of the four being torn down to make way for a new Peter Zumthor-designed building.

Demolition of the Ahmanson is expected to be completed in October, museum representative Jessica Youn said, adding that the project has not been delayed by air quality issues due to the fires. Beyond COVID-19 safety precautions, additional measures were taken to protect Clark Construction workers from wildfire smoke, including providing them with N95 masks.

Meantime, preparation has begun to lay the foundation for the new building, and excavation of the Spaulding parking lot across Wilshire Boulevard is still underway. That is where a 300-seat theater and cafe will rise.

The Leo S. Bing Center as well as the Hammer and Art of the Americas buildings have been completely removed, including their foundations.

The remainder of LACMAs Ahmanson building.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Demolition of the Ahmanson building at LACMA.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

The $750-million building project has sparked criticism over its design, as well as its square footage and cost. The project is still on schedule, Youn said, with completion planned for the end of 2023.

On Thursday, 17 months after county supervisors released $117.5 million of public funds for the $750 million (originally $650 million) project, LACMA released a floor plan of the future museum for the first time.

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LACMA demolition is nearly complete. Here are the latest photos - Los Angeles Times

WKBN First News received messages that some people are unhappy with the decision; the Western Reserve Port Authorly explains it

by: Brandon Jaces

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) A new Dunkin is coming to the corner of Market Street and Midlothian Boulevard. Some people loathe the loss of a historic building, but John Moliterno, executive director of the Western Reserve Port Authority, said they tried to find a tenant but werent able to, so they did the next best thing.

What we did was we had numerous conversations with other businesses and non-profits, showed the building numerous times to entities throughout the Valley to try and encourage them to take this building, he said.

After two years, no one bit. Moliterno said after seeing the inside of the building, many people realized it would take a lot of money to renovate the property.

We offered to give the building, he said. We were trying to give the building to an entity to move in there, but it was simply too much money for all the people we showed it to.

Moliterno said its an old bank building they acquired from Chemical Bank, who moved. He said its a great location and thinks what they are talking about doing with the property will fit in well with the community.

That was an area that didnt have a coffee shop, he said and so we thought this would fit because it would help that general area get something it doesnt have right now.

It wasnt as if local officials just decided to take a building and demolish it. They spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to clean up the property and looked into what they could do to support the area that sits at the entrance to Boardman and Youngstown.

What we did was we arrived at the fact that we needed to demoltion the building, which is going to be done, Moliterno said.

A local man who lived down the street from the building when he was younger doesnt want to see it go.

Its been here since 1957, said Thomas Sheehan. Its very unique architecture was made to look like a cruise ship, and it has a lot of history, and I just hate to see everything being torn down in this town.

The job of the port authority is to help the economy and bring jobs to the area. Dunkin alone would bring over 50, Moliterno said.

Sheehan said he would like to see a business make use of the existing building. He thinks the introduction of new business at the site is positive but doesnt think a Dunkin is necessary, and he even admitted he drinks a lot of Dunkin. .

Theres a vacant lot across the street. I just dont see why this has to be done, he said. They could preserve a unique part of the Valley.

A renovation into a restaurant or shops would be what Sheehan would like to see.

It has two stories, he said. I think they could do a lot with it.

Moliterno said they gave it their best shot to give the building away. The demolition will happen in a couple of weeks.

The second franchise that will occupy the building with Dunkin has yet to be locked down.

The last thing we wanted to do was to just tear a building down that we would have another use for, he said. We simply found a case where we couldnt find someone that would be a fit and because of the amount of money it was going to take to really get it into working condition.

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Some disheartened with demolition of cruise ship bank in Youngstown - WKBN.com

KWTX has published a video of the demolition of the exterior of the American Bank in Bellmead, Texas, also known as the Round Bank.

The bank stands along Interstate 35 in Central Texas. It was designed by then Dallas-based architect Durwood Pickle and was completed in 1979.

The exterior of the building is being demolished because the owner, American Bank, claims that it would be too expensive to rehabilitate the existing building for contemporary use. The exterior will be replaced by a new design, and the new building is scheduled to open next year.

The round building sits on a single-story landscape plinth. The buildings multistory drum-shaped mass doesnt have any visible windows and is crowned by supersize letters spelling out the banks name. Pictures published last year show the building relatively well preserved with retro signage by the buildings entrance and a few topiaries punctuating the buildings base.

The video from KWTX shows machinery removing the buildings facade and distinctive signage.

Preservation Texas reports on its website that the building was designed to be a landmark and was made tall enough that travelers on the nearby interstate could not see down onto its roof. The group also says that the buildings facade is made of 25-foot-tall lightweight fiberglass-reinforced concrete panels.

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Demolition begins on Bellmead, Texas's Round Bank - The Architect's Newspaper

Its been over six months since the Electric Umbrella permanently closed at EPCOT, but some elements of the quick-service restaurant were still recognizable in the construction zone behind Spaceship Earth. For a while, we could still see pieces of the iconic awning that used to shade the front of the restaurant, but now it is gone for good.

The umbrella-like awning used to stretch out from the brown portion of the roof.

Inside, a few umbrellas on the ceiling are still visible, but demolition has begun as you can see by the absence of windows and some walls.

The windows have been completely blown out. This segment of the building that juts out is set to be completely demolished.

This area will eventually be home to EPCOTs new Starbucks location and a different quick-service restaurant. This will use the whole building, so the temporary MouseGear location will need to close at some point to facilitate this.

Hey, can I have an umbrella if youre just going to demolish them???

Do you miss the Electric Umbrella? Let us know in the comments.

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BREAKING: Canopy Removed and Demolition Begins On Former Electric Umbrella at EPCOT in Preparation for New Starbucks and Counter Service Restaurant -...

Upstairs, bedrooms radiate under the eaves from a large central hall, each room interconnected with closets. One bedroom was converted to a bathroom.

The house also features a hidden room, just three feet wide and six feet long. Inside the room, the couple found a packet of love letters, tied with a tattered pink ribbon, dating from 1887 to 1891.

The origin of these letters is unknown, the application reads. According to the names on the letters, they do not appear to have been written or received by anyone known to have lived in the house.

The love letters predate the house. Theres no access to the hidden room except for a ceiling panel in a closet.

It was definitely somebody special place, Jo Anne said. It was obviously somebody having an affair.

The farm also has changed in the almost 30 years the Millers have owned it.

When they closed on the farm, Jo Anne and Jay talked about what they wanted to do with the land. Jay suggested raising cattle, but Jo Anne didnt want to raise a cow only to find it on her dinner plate. Before long, they began taking in abused and neglected horses and nursing them back to health.

Jo Anne has an education background and soon began using these horses in a therapeutic riding program to help teenagers deal with their own traumas. The farm has helped 504 horses recover from malnutrition, abuse and neglect, while pairing them with teens that may have similar difficulties in life. All of the students who have gone through Brook Hill Farms programs have graduated high school and many have gone on to receive college degrees.

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Unique Bedford County farm house saved from demolition - Lynchburg News and Advance

ANN ARBOR, MI Demolition work has begun to make way for the next high-rise development in downtown Ann Arbor.

Crews have been busy since last week tearing down a 1980s office building that housed DTE Energy at the southeast corner of Main and William streets.

Rising in its place over the next two years will be a 10-story building with apartments and ground-floor retail.

The Standard, as the development is called, was approved by City Council in early March just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. But the novel coronavirus outbreak isnt stopping the project from moving ahead.

Well move forward with foundation work as soon as demolition is complete, and we expect to start going vertical early next year, said Eric Leath, development manager with Georgia-based developer Landmark Properties.

We look forward to welcoming residents to The Standard in fall 2022, he added.

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10-story development planned for corner of Main and William

The apartments are designed primarily for young professionals, University of Michigan students, faculty and visiting professors, according to plans.

There are no notable changes to the building since it was approved, said architect John Myefski.

Plans call for 218 apartments with 421 bedrooms and over 6,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.

Amenities include fitness/yoga rooms, study areas, a small outdoor deck/lounge on the east side of the second floor, and a larger outdoor deck with a hot tub/pool on the west side of the second floor overlooking Main Street.

Ann Arbor high-rise proposal features pool deck with hammocks

The unit mix includes 89 studios, 22 one-bedroom units (two dedicated as affordable housing for people earning 80% of the area median income), 60 two-bedroom units, 12 three-bedroom units and 35 four-bedroom units.

The developer agreed to include at least 1,250 square feet of rooftop solar panels, estimated to meet over 1% of the buildings annual energy needs and public art features.

The demolition of a 1980s office building to make way for a new high-rise at Main and William streets in downtown Ann Arbor on Sept. 11, 2020.Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

Adhering to the citys height limits for the property, the block-long building will step down from 10 stories to five stories as it approaches Packard Street.

The buildings facade is to include a combination of brick, steel panels and glass.

There are 102 car parking spaces planned, including 90 interior spaces and 12 exterior spaces on the east side.

Plans include one underground parking level and one first-floor parking level in the building with access via the adjacent alley. Four spaces are to be for electric vehicles and two for car sharing, plus 84 bicycle parking spaces.

MORE FROM THE ANN ARBOR NEWS:

5-story hotel proposed on west edge of downtown Ann Arbor

19-story high-rise behind Michigan Theater delayed until 2021 amid pandemic

Timeline: Ann Arbors downtown housing boom and whats to come

Before-and-after views of downtown Ann Arbors dramatic transformation

52-unit Liberty Townhomes development gets unanimous OK in Ann Arbor

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Demolition work making way for another apartment high-rise in downtown Ann Arbor - MLive.com

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.(KRQE) Squalid conditions inside a now vacant, former Albuquerque restaurant are causing problems for a neighboring non-profit. In response, the city is now considering tearing down the problem property along Central Avenue.

Just west of Wyoming Boulevard, the property at 8411 Central Avenue NE has been on the Albuquerque Code Enforcement divisions radar since 2014. While the location remains boarded up, the neighboring non-profit Street Safe New Mexico says it continues to deal with issues coming from the next-door property it shares a wall with.

The non-profits Executive Director, Christine Barber recorded video of a recent indoor tour of the property. Barbers video shows the vacant business has large piles of trash inside. Barber describes the overwhelming smells of feces and rotting trash.

That smell, Barber said. Holy crap, no wonder everyone thinks someones dead in here.

Barbers next-door non-profit has been dealing with the mouse problem since May. The mice were determined to be coming from the vacant building next door. Barber estimates the non-profit has killed around 120 mice in the last four months. She says the rodents are getting into health supplies that the non-profit provides to women living on the street.

We have so much damage thats been done to our building, Barber said. Theres Tom and Jerry mouse holes in all of the walls, they are coming from next door, they have to be coming from the abandoned building next door.

Photos gathered by the city show inspectors recently found piles of trash, bloody needles and signs of homeless camps around the property.

Monday night, city councilors voted to move forward with a demolition of the old restaurant but councilors did not vote to expedite the process so the soonest it could happen in mid-November. Street Safe says thats not soon enough for them to stay in the building safely in the meantime, so for the moment, they will not operate out of that space.

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City eyeing demolition of vacant, mouse-infested Central Ave. business - KRQE News 13

This is a view of Ormond Beach.(Photo: STAR FILE PHOTO)

With new energy contracts secured for Oxnard's Ormond Beach Generating Station, the plan to end the power plant has begun.

Starting next year, GenOn, which owns two coastal power plants in the city, will begin setting aside monthly payments to a trust that will eventually pay for the demolition of the gas-fired plant at Ormond Beach. The trust will be established through theVentura County Community Foundation.

It remains to be seen what will become of the Mandalay Generating Station, which unlike the one at Ormond, is no longer operating and can't generate any revenue. Developing the site could be a possibility to generate money for demolition.

In the meantime, the Ormond facility will continue operations through 2023, years beyond the original decommission date at the end of this year.

The City Council on Tuesday was briefed on the latest developments, which included the State Water Resources ControlBoardvotingunanimously on Sept. 1to extend the life of the power plant.

Depending on future energy contracts and electric grid needs, the Ormond Beach power plant could come down some time between 2025 to 2027.

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"Im really glad that we, unlike other communities, are going to have a fund to take this down," said Councilwoman Carmen Ramirez.

Ramirez has been a staunch advocate of ridding industrial uses along the coast. But she, along with others on the council, spoke on behalf of the city urging the state board to approve the power plant extension.

This December was supposed to be the deadline for the two Oxnard power plants and others in the state that useocean water to cool down heated operations to decommission. But the state agency is extendingthe deadline for Ormond and three others in Southern California to ensure power grid reliability and to give more time for alternative energy sources to get on line.

City Manager Alex Nguyen and City Attorney Stephen Fischer negotiated a deal for GenOn to set aside $25 million for demolition of the power plant and remediation of the soil and groundwater at the site. According to the pact, if the funds set aside are not enough fordemolition, GenOn agrees to pay the difference.

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"Had we not done this and assumed they were going to close at the end ofthis year, we would have been the biggest losers," Nguyen said.

That's because state leaders might have approved an extension due to grid reliability and there wouldn't have been a payment plan to take the facility down. Other decommissioned power plants in the state, like the one in Morro Bay, have such a fate.

A similar deal wasn't reached before the closure of Mandalay power plant, which is just north of Ormond Beach near Fifth Street. In an interview on Thursday, Nguyen said that site requires development in order to generaterevenue for demolition.

"I was working on a deal there most of last year. The recession put a massive halt on it," Nguyen said. "Theres still a deal to be made there, and I intend to pick it up as soon as feasible."

Previous: Ormond Beach approved for continued operations; plan for demolition in the works

Wendy Leung is a staff writer for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at wendy.leung@vcstar.com or 805-437-0339. You can also find her on Twitter @Leung__Wendy.

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Ormond Beach power plant in Oxnard to come down in five to seven years; Mandalay uncertain - VC Star