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Two programs that provide shelter for homeless individuals and several groups that look out for the needs of senior citizens will share a portion of the city of El Cajons community development block grants funding.

The El Cajon City Council last week made a preliminary decision on where the citys 2020 block grants will be spent, a plan which will be finalized at the end of April.

The actual funds, which come through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, are expected to be available on or after July 1, according to the city. El Cajon expects to get about $1.36 million from HUD for block grants.

The block grant system, as stated on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development website, is a flexible program that provides communities with resources to address a wide range of unique community development needs. Only cities with more than 50,000 residents are eligible; groups receiving money must spend it on activities that benefit low- and moderate-income residents and/or low- and moderate-income areas, as well as meet certain other requirements.

The funding the city is expected to get in 2020 will include nearly $887,000 for public facilities or capital funding.

About $500,000 of that will help cover about 40 new street lights for eligible residential areas in El Cajon; $275,000 will go toward installing or retrofitting about 80 ADA compliant curb ramps and adjacent sidewalks; $25,000 will go for the replacement of hand and guardrails at the East County Transitional Living Center; $24,000 will go to improve facilities at the Home of Guiding Hands on South Lemon Avenue; and $21,000 will go to replace a gymnasium roof at the Boys & Girls Club of East County. An additional $47,000 will help fund the citys Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program, which helps low-income mobile home owners rehabilitate their homes.

The council also unanimously decided the city would dole out nearly $205,000 to five groups for public service programs and projects.

The bulk of the funding for public services, $100,000, will be earmarked for the East County Transitional Living Centers Emergency Shelter Program, which provides housing for homeless individuals. The program proposes to serve 280 persons with emergency shelter beds and shelter for up to 28 days, as well as provide food and case management. ECTLCs program has received operational support from the city since 2005.

The council said nearly $50,000 should go toward community policing as part of El Cajons Crime Free Multi-Housing program that works to increase safety in neighborhoods.

An additional $25,000 will go to Meals on Wheels, which has received support from the city since 1992. The groups More than a Meal program will provide meals to 126 low-income, home-bound seniors in El Cajon.

ElderHelp of San Diego has been chosen to receive $15,000 for its Care Coordination Program, to help provide case management, referrals and transportation for about 50 El Cajon seniors.

The Interfaith Shelter Network will be granted $10,000 for its Rotational Shelter Program that will provide emergency shelter for up to 40 homeless individuals at East County churches on a rotational basis during the winter months. Each church in the program will provide beds, food and shower facilities.

City Councilman Steve Goble asked the city to help fund a new group that had asked the city for financial help this year - Voices For Children, which works out of the East County Courthouse. A staff report said funds would primarily support costs such as salary expenses for the group. Voices For Children requested nearly $80,000 in block grant funds in anticipation of about 200 El Cajon children spending time in foster care this year.

But because Voices For Childrens scope focuses on supporting a small group within the city - children in the foster care system - city staff did not recommend it be funded. A staff report shared with the City Council noted that past practice has been to maximize the available funds for basic services that benefit all parts of the City.

When the City Council said it might be able to provide $5,000 for the group, Christina Piranio, the groups director of development operations, grants and stewardship, said it might not be worth the staff time it would take to meet the requirements related to accepting funds. She did note that it costs the group about $2,000 to provide 18 months of foster care for one child.

The City Council said it might consider funding the group at a later date.

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Annual block grants in El Cajon will go to several groups - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Great Barrington The first Tuesday of the month arrived proffering blue skies and balmy temperatures for the long line of South County residents queuing up in the parking lot at Community Health Programs. The line, which began forming around 10:45 a.m., was bustling with energy and conversation as shoppers awaited the Mobile Food Bank of Western Massachusetts monthly food distribution. In a region where 12 percent of the population, or close to 16,000 people. find themselves without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food, the mobile is working to break down barriers and eradicate the stigma often associated with food insecurity: there are no eligibility requirements, and anyone in need of fresh food can attend.

Betsy Strickler. Photo courtesy Community Health Programs

We truly have no idea who is in line here, said Betsy Strickler, chief communications officer for CHP, as we chatted in the parking lot during Tuesdays hour-long food distribution. It feels super busy, she said, noting lots of new faces in the crowd. The program began as a pilot in 2014 when there were only six mobiles throughout western Massachusetts. We were one of them, said Mary Feuer, assistant director of South County WIC. In the past six years, the program has grown. The first time [the mobile came to Great Barrington], we had about 100 families; now, we are up over 200 families that come through each month, Feuer reported. The mobile food bank delivers a truck full of fresh and nonperishable groceries from the warehouse directly to community sites throughout the region; the program reaches underserved populations throughout western Massachusetts that dont have access to healthy foods, including families, seniors and children.

Some of the offerings available from the Mobile Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. Photo: Hannah Van Sickle

Volunteers are integral to the process, as many hands make light work. Its always different, but a nice combination of fresh, frozen and packaged food is available each month, said Sonya Seward of Sheffield. As a regular volunteer, Seward has seen offerings run the gamut from organic asparagus to yogurt in addition to a lot of the basics. As I made my way through the line, Bill Nappo of Housatonic helped me fill my cardboard box; he has been a volunteer since the beginning and Tuesday morning, he was handing out frozen turkey breasts. There were onions (2 pounds); potatoes (5 pounds); carrots (5 pounds); a fresh head of cabbage; beets (two handfuls); apples (12);and a bunch of bananas. Thanks to a donation from Big Y, there was stuffing and cranberry sauce as well as a special treat: pumpkin spice creamer. Its all fresh,nutritious food none is expired or old, Feuer explained.

Julia Jarvis, left, and Mary Feuer of Berkshire South WIC, part of Community Health Programs Family Services. Photo: Hannah Van Sickle

Equity is the order of the day: Each shopper receives the same amount of food, whether single or feeding a family of five. We want to take the stigma out of [food insecurity] said Feuer, so we keep it as honest and simple as possible. The only information gleaned at the distribution site is how many individuals are in the family, age ranges of family members and whether or not the shopper has been before. Food security is part of the health of the entire family, Feuer explained, pointing to the excellent fit among a trio of organizations. CHP Family Services coordinates the South Berkshire regions WIC nutrition program, which provides pregnant and breastfeeding women and their young children with healthy diet education, access to nutritious food and nutrition counseling. If there are any drawbacks to the mobile, they are few. I wish [food distribution] were later in the day, one shopper remarked. Or that the days alternated, said another who, along with a friend, commutes from Pittsfield to Great Barrington for work. It happens, very infrequently, that we can cut out of work and come, the woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said.

A pallet of onions from the Mobile Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. Photo: Hannah Van Sickle

Maddie Elling of Housatonic has contemplated this challenge; with a young child at home, she receives WIC benefits and gets text message alerts as to the community programs offered by CHP Family Services. It makes me think of all those who cant make it here, she said on Tuesday, citing inflexible work schedules and lack of transportation as the biggest obstacles. As we chatted, I carried my box of groceries to her car. I have employees who would benefit, she said, understanding the wealth of opportunities that exist for those who know about them. Elling told me about a second monthly food distribution at CHP/WIC in Great Barrington on the third Wednesday of each month organized by Berkshire Bounty as part of the nonprofits efforts to reach more people and supplement the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.

The mobile rolls into town rain or shine, and it has yet to run out of food. They kind of know our numbers, and they always pack the truck for 10 percent over, Feuer said. CHP also coordinates the Mobile Food Bank in Dalton on the fourth Wednesday of the month, also from 11 a.m. to noon. For many, attendance is a bit of a social experience, equally integral in building healthy communities. We welcome people from all walks of life, said Strickler, and we have learned its not our business to ask why they are here.

Community Health Programs, based in Great Barrington, Mass., is a federally qualified health center practice network serving more than 30,000 Berkshire County region residents with primary health care for adults and children, womens health care, dental care, physical therapy, vision care and nutrition services. CHP Family Services reaches parents and children in Southern Berkshire County with parent-child networking, parenting education, WIC services and nutrition classes. CHP accepts all patients, regardless of ability to pay, and accepts all forms of public and private health insurance.

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Mobile food bank answer to area food insecurity | - theberkshireedge.com

The international agency that regulates water levels on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River could find itself the target of lawsuits if some upstate New York congressional representatives have their way.

Legislation has been introduced in the House by Reps. John Katko (R-Camillus), Anthony Brindisi (D-Utica) and Joe Morelle (D-Rochester) that would allow shoreline communities impacted by high water levels to take legal action against the International Joint Commission.

Katko, whose district represents lakeshore residents in Wayne, Cayuga and Oswego Counties, said Monday the IJC hasnt listened to the plight of communities being destroyed by flood damage thats taken place since Plan 2014 was put in place four years ago.

"You get double speak. You get half justifications for things, and were not getting action from them. So today, the gloves come off," Katko said.

That tougher stance comes in the form of the IJC Accountability Act. Katko said legal action may be the only way to get the IJC's attention.

"This legislation is going to remove immunity from judicial proceedings the International Joint Commission is currently provided under federal law, and will allow shoreline communities to pursue lawsuits against the International Joint Commission for damages caused by flooding and persistent high water levels," Katko said.

Cathleen Goodnough is one of the owners of the Greene Point Marina and Mobile Home Park in Sandy Pond in Oswego County. She estimates flood damage to her business adds up to almost $5 million. So shes ready to go to court, and she said shes not the only one.

"It affects the businesses inside, not on the water," Goodnough said. "The bars, the restaurants, anybody thats relying on local tourism to keep them going in the summer months. It affects everybody."

Jason Livesey of Rudys Lakeside Drive-in in Oswego said these lawsuits would be about more than money. The goal is forcing the IJC to get rid of Plan 2014, which many believe led to record high water levels and massive flooding along the south shore of Lake Ontario in 2017 and again last year. It forced property owners and state and local governments to pour millions of dollars into repairs.

"This plan is going to directly impact the residents of New York state going forward for many, many years. So I think we would be doing a disservice if we didnt sue."

New York state is currently suing the IJC. This legislation would allow that lawsuit to proceed.

In a statement, IJC spokesman Frank Bevacqua said the IJC is not responsible for high water on Lake Ontario, nature is.

"The announcement appears to be based on the false belief that IJC can prevent flooding on Lake Ontario. Our International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board has taken every action to reduce the risk of flooding by directing record-high winter outflows from Lake Ontario," said Bevacqua. "However, nature determines whether or not it will flood, not the IJC, particularly when inflows are extremely high both above and below the Moses-Saunders Dam."

Bevacqua said if this legislation passes, it would make the IJC's job of regulating water levels more difficult.

"The IJC was granted immunity from lawsuit because the courts and domestic political institutions are not in a position to oversee international waterways. If Lake Ontario communities file a lawsuit, downstream communities and other interests could as well. It would not be possible to manage Lake Ontario outflows in the face of conflicting lawsuits in different jurisdictions," Bevacqua said.

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Federal legislation introduced to allow lawsuits over Lake Ontario flooding - WBFO

The international agency that regulates water levels on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River could find itself the target of lawsuits if some upstate New York congressional representatives have their way. Legislation has been introduced in the House by Reps. John Katko (R-Camillus), Anthony Brindisi (D-Utica), and Joe Morelle (D-Rochester) that would allow shoreline communities impacted by high water levels to take legal action against the International Joint Commission.

Katko, whose district represents lakeshore residents in Wayne, Cayuga and Oswego Counties, said Monday the IJC hasnt listened to the plight of communities being destroyed by flood damage thats taken place since Plan 2014 was put in place four years ago.

"You get double speak. You get half justifications for things, and were not getting action from them. So today, the gloves come off," Katko said.

That tougher stance comes in the form of the IJC Accountability Act. Katko said legal action may be the only way to get the IJC's attention.

"This legislation is going to remove immunity from judicial proceedings the International Joint Commission is currently provided under federal law, and will allow shoreline communities to pursue lawsuits against the International Joint Commission for damages caused by flooding and persistent high water levels," Katko said.

Cathleen Goodnough is one of the owners of the Greene Point Marina and Mobile Home Park in Sandy Pond in Oswego County. She estimates flood damage to her business adds up to almost $5 million. So shes ready to go to court, and she said shes not the only one.

"It affects the businesses inside, not on the water," Goodnough said. "The bars, the restaurants, anybody thats relying on local tourism to keep them going in the summer months. It affects everybody."

Jason Livesey of Rudys Lakeside Drive-in in Oswego said these lawsuits would be about more than money. The goal is forcing the IJC to get rid of Plan 2014, which many believe led to record high water levels and massive flooding along the south shore of Lake Ontario in 2017 and again last year. It forced property owners and state and local governments to pour millions of dollars into repairs.

"This plan is going to directly impact the residents of New York state going forward for many, many years. So I think we would be doing a disservice if we didnt sue."

New York state is currently suing the IJC. This legislation would allow that lawsuit to proceed.

In a statement, IJC spokesman Frank Bevacqua said the IJC is not responsible for high water on Lake Ontario, nature is.

"The announcement appears to be based on the false belief that IJC can prevent flooding on Lake Ontario. Our International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board has taken every action to reduce the risk of flooding by directing record-high winter outflows from Lake Ontario," said Bevacqua. "However, nature determines whether or not it will flood, not the IJC, particularly when inflows are extremely high both above and below the Moses-Saunders Dam."

Bevacqua said if this legislation passes, it would make the IJC's job of regulating water levels more difficult.

"The IJC was granted immunity from lawsuit because the courts and domestic political institutions are not in a position to oversee international waterways. If Lake Ontario communities file a lawsuit, downstream communities and other interests could as well. It would not be possible to manage Lake Ontario outflows in the face of conflicting lawsuits in different jurisdictions," Bevacqua said.

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Legislation introduced in the House would allow lawsuits over Lake Ontario flooding - WXXI News

NewsA shortage of effective stopping places and reluctance from police to adopt the measures could impact the human rights of the community

Wednesday, 4th March 2020, 3:27 pm

No place left to go

Police will be tasked with arranging the removal of the groups, who will be expected to find settlements in sites approved by local authorities. But the legislation, said Helen O'Nions, an associate law professor and traveller expert at Nottingham Trent University, is not supported by the community - or the police.

"I do not think the government wants to hear from the community at all. There are well established groups representing the community and an all parliamentary group that represent the rights and needs of gypsies and travellers, but their requests have not been taken on board," Professor O'Nions told i.

"The police do not support the proposals either.

"Research by group Friends, Families and Travellers using FOI requests found that 75 per cent of police respondents felt existing powers were adequate and 84 per cent did not support the criminalisation of unauthorised encampments."

Daisy, who cannot disclose her full name for confidentiality reasons, is a member of the travelling community. She tweets from the account @RoadsideMum, and lives in her mobile home with her husband and young children. She fears her family could become homeless. Furthermore, if their home itself is declared illegal, it could leave them vulnerable to hate crime.

"From the moment the law comes into place (if it does, and I am petrified it might) then the police can seize my vehicles, which means by force. They can kick my door in and forcibly eject me from my home and car," she toldi.

"They can destroy my home and everything in it, even down to the last fork and spoon, or my children's teddies and passports. We could transform in an instant from a lawful family, with a home I love, to a street homeless family. It's actually worse than that even, because under the law I can be banned for a period of up to 12 months from returning to the area.

"This area I am parked in now is the local authority area where my children go to school and where my GP is. It's the only Local Authority area that I have spent enough time in to be offered emergency B&B accommodation in, in the event I suddenly didn't have a home. If I am banned from it, that leaves only cardboard box street homelessness in the nearest big city.

"Should the law change as proposed, we would never be able to ask the police for help ourselves or even report crime as witnesses, because our whole life would be essentially criminal. This opens the season for anti-traveller violent crime. At the moment, if we are threatened or worse, I can make a police report. I will never be able to do that again if these proposals pass unchallenged," she added.

Professor O'Nions shared Daisy's concerns.

"A report in 2017 by the Traveller Reform Movement found that 91 per cent of the 214 gypsy travellers surveyed had experienced racism and discrimination, far higher than for any other ethnic group, with a total of 77 per cent had experiencing hate crime or hate speech." she said.

77 per cent could lose their homes

Unlike Roma communities in most of mainland Europe, the nomadic lifestyle is still a significant part of gypsy identity in the UK. But with a shortage of legal stopover sites, the community could be left with no place to go, warned the academic, with dwindling local authority budgets leaving little room for councils to approve new sites.

"Only eight local authorities, out of 68 local authorities in the South East of England, have identified a five-year supply of specific deliverable sites for gypsies and travellers," Professor O'Nions continued.

"There are currently an estimated 1035 caravans on unauthorised land, and a further 2,000 are unauthorised but living on sites owned by travellers. This is 13 per cent of the total number of gypsy traveller caravans a small proportion of the total number, which raises questions about the proportionality of the governments proposals."

The consultation also proposes that no more than two vehicles can be present on a site, which could separate the community from family and friends.

"If there's a two vehicle limit, it leaves one little family on their own that might be easily picked on," Dr Siobhan Spencer MBE, a gypsy and academic from Derbyshire Gypsy Liaison Group, told i.

"Taking away peoples homes, apart from the trauma, is going to cause more issues than resolve them. Where is the government going to house all of the people? Obviously, if someone is committing a crime, reprimand them. But one mistake by one individual doesn't mean there should be implications for the whole community."

An easy target for the government?

While discrimination against the group is all too common, the academics believe the consultation proposals will only make tensions worse.

"It will also create increasing tension in local communities between police, local residents and the traveller community, thus fuelling intolerance and providing a justification for racism and hate crime. Discrimination toward gypsy travellers was described by the Commission for Racial Equality as the last acceptable form of racism and these proposals only endorse that message.

"The gypsy traveller community are an easy target for the government as they tend to lack a strong cohesive political voice to challenge racial stereotypes. At the same time both gypsy and Irish traveller identifies are protected by the Equality Act and therefore there is a legal duty to ensure that they are not treated less favourably on account of their ethnic origins."

"What concerns me is that the government are acting like they'd have the legal powers to do this," Dr Spencer concluded.

"Irregardless, what concerns me is that some people are willing to try, even if it destroys lives, making them significantly more awkward and miserable."

Excerpt from:
Thousands of gypsy families could be left without a safe place to go as Government consults over criminalising stopping places - inews

Home Smart Realty franchise opens in Bedford, NH-based Clear Choice opens Mass. office and moreJeremy Belanger, left, senior project engineer at TFMoran was recently selected by New Hampshires Joint Engineering Societies as the 2020 New Hampshire Young Engineer of the Year. The American Society of Civil Engineers-New Hampshire Section nominated him for his work ethic, integrity, enthusiasm for the civil engineering profession and his volunteerism in the community.

Springfield, Vt.-based One Credit Union has opened a new branch in the Shaws Plaza on John Stark Highway in Newport, NH the credit unions seventh branch and its second in New Hampshire. The building was designed by the NES Group of Massachusetts and built by JLN Contracting out of Auburn, NH. The branch will be managed by Patty Kober, who has over 33 years of experience in financial services.

Infinity Realty Group of Londonderry has merged with Bedford-based Keller Williams Metro. Broker-Realtors Cheryl Hazzard and Amanda Butler, along with Realtors Terri Byerly and Julie Dolliver, will continue to serve clients from the IRG location in Londonderry.

Munise Ulker has opened HomeSmart Success Realty in Bedford, part of HomeSmart International, which has a 100% commission brokerage model. As part of HomeSmart, Success Realty agents will get to keep 100% of their commission and have free access to productivity software, online marketing materials, live and on-demand training sessions and agent support, Ulker said.

Manchester-based Clear Choice Home Improvements has opened a second office in Taunton, Mass. The decision to expand across New England and open a second office that allows us to service central Massachusetts, southern Massachusetts, Cape Cod and Rhode Island was a logical step in our business growth strategy, said Jennifer Lanigan, marketing director.

The University of New Hampshire has awarded the Parsons Hall-Iddles Wing renovation project to Chapman Construction/Design of Newton, Mass. The 13,000-square-foot project includes improvement of two large lecture halls, two flat-floor classrooms and adjacent corridors and stairwells as well as replacement of the associated HVAC system. In addition, a new student commons space will be created. Architect and engineer is Harriman Associates, based in Portland, Maine.

Paula L. Scales, president of Brookstone Builders Inc., Manchester, has been included in the 2020 Trademark Women of Distinction Honors Edition. The publication highlights the professional accomplishments and stories of women in business.

Versona, a retailer of womens fashion and accessories, has announced it will be opening its first two locations in New England this spring one at the Pheasant Lane Mall in Nashua and the other at The Mall of New Hampshire in Manchester.

New England Family Housing will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, March 20, to celebrate its revitalization of the Goddard Block in downtown Claremont. The renovation has created 36 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments and three retail and commercial spaces. The event begins at 10 a.m. at 54 Pleasant St., Claremont.

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People and Property: Real Estate and Construction News From Around NH - New Hampshire Business Review

Developers are breaking ground this week in Carrollton on a mixed-use development.

Called The View, the 440,000-square-foot project will include 268 condominiums and 31,000 square feet of retail space.

A project of JK & JY Development LLC, the four-story property at 2700 Old Denton Road is within walking distance of the rail stops for both DART and Denton Countys A-Train.

The View will feature contemporary design with quality amenities that celebrate community, health, shopping and dining, Farooq Wazirali, managing partner of JK & JY Development, said in a statement. We were inspired by the natural beauty of nearby Furneaux Creek Nature Trail, so we brought in the award-winning firm of Humphreys & Partners Architects to help us create our vision of a fine urban living project.

The View will have for sale residences with terraces and ground-level villas with private courtyards.

Prices will start at about $200,000.

This will be a place where people will not only live but can come to shop, dine and spend time with family and friends, said Wazirali. The View is located within walking distance to the Spa Castle, H Mart shopping center and many more stores and restaurants.

There will be large pool deck with waterfalls, and the community center will have a social lounge, fitness center, yoga studio, game room, business center, and fully equipped kitchen and bar.

The project is set to start construction Thursday and will open in 2022.

Links Construction of Denton is the general contractor, and the development manager is Epperson Co of Dallas. The Way Realty Advisors is marketing the project.

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Carrollton project will bring condos and retail - The Dallas Morning News

On a typically bright and crisp fall afternoon in Los Angeles last November, Abbey Ehman and Brad Cox of Trammell Crow Company showed Commercial Observer around the future site of its District NoHo project in North Hollywood.

The starting point was just south of the development, on the rear patio at the historic Lankershim Depot building at 11275 Chandler Boulevard. Today, its a Groundwork Coffee, catering to an ethnically diverse population on a busy corner of North Hollywood. The building, which once housed the Pacific Electric Red Car line, sat dormant for 30 years until its recent resurrection. With new apartments rising nearby and a bustling street-life scene, it was an apt setting to absorb the plans Trammell Crow has for District NoHo and for North Hollywood itself.

Contrary to its name, North Hollywood is not contiguous with Hollywood and is located in East San Fernando Valley, just east of the 170 freeway and north of the 134 freeway. Its long been known as a nondescript area that housed the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and borders places like Sun Valley, Burbank, Toluca Lake and Studio City.

But recently, North Hollywood has become an all-important, millennial workforce-courting hub. With 40,000-square-feet of the We Companys WeWork NoHo space at Lankershim and Magnolia Boulevards unfurling this fall; a savvy community branded the Noho Arts District; and quirky, colorful eateries such as Kahuna Tiki, Urban Kebab and Republic of Pie dotting Magnolia Boulevard, North Hollywood has become a hip, quasi-bohemian destination.

In December, El Segundo-based Trammell Crow and partner MetLife officially submitted plans to the city of Los Angeles, topping off nearly four years of complex planning for a public-private partnership with the LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. If approved, the transit-centric mixed-use project will breathe new life into the North Hollywood Metro station portal at Lankershim Boulevard and South Chandler, a major junction in the area.

We are enthusiastic about the growth, especially of the entertainment industries located in and around the eastern San Fernando Valley, with District NoHo as the anchor of the creative community, said Ehman, who serves as a vice president at Trammell. The project is representative of the way Los Angeles County will grow access to transit, community open space, quality jobs, experiential retail, and a dense residential community that includes affordable housing. Our vision for the project is an urban village in the Valley, rooted in transit, and infused with art and culture.

Plans for District NoHo call for eight buildings that will house 1,500 apartment units (of which 300 will be affordable units), 500,000 square feet of office and 100,000 square feet of retail space.

The hope, Ehman and Cox explained, is that most of the tenants occupying the 1,200 market-rate apartments will be entertainment or tech professionals; if they are not working at the local North Hollywood overage of various media companies, they will be commuting by Metro to nearby media and tech hubs in Burbank, Studio City, Hollywood and Downtown L.A.

Over the next several years, the San Fernando Valley will continue as a highly desirable location to live, work and play, with the North Hollywood Transit Center at the epicenter of the growth, Cox, a senior managing director of Trammells housing arm High Street Residential, said. When it opens in 2023, the project will bring a diverse offering of residential, office, retail and affordable housing to North Hollywood.

Construction is set to kick off late next year, with the project opening across six phases, and the work is expected to take six to eight years to complete.

Trammell Crow purposefully hired three different design firms master architect HKS, plus KFA and Gensler in order to ensure that the sum of its live-work-play parts did not appear to be drawn by the same hand, as Ehman phrased it.

HKS and KFA have designed the residential buildings, and by agreement, the affordable housing must go up first before any commercial buildings go online. Meanwhile, Gensler has designed the 10-story, 400,000-square-foot office tower that will be laminated with retail shops, as Cox, put it.

North Hollywood has been overlooked for a long time, added architect Greg Verabian, an associate principal at HKS Westwood office, who grew up in nearby Studio City and calls this addition to NoHo transformative.

I drank the Kool-Aid of transit transforming neighborhoods, Verabian said. Its a mechanism that can help a neighborhood evolve.

Trammell Crow and MetLifes proposed redux of the Metro station represents a $1 billion investment in North Hollywood, and the developers are not the only ones gambling on the East San Fernando Valley neighborhood. They have worked their District NoHo plan around the historic train depot building occupied by Groundwork Coffee as well as a 127-unit multifamily structure that Richman Group is currently constructing behind it.

Meanwhile, the developers of NoHo West, an ambitious 170 freeway-adjacent mixed-use project, are racing to open in 2020. When finished, the 25-acre complex at 6150 Laurel Canyon Boulevard, located in the most eastern part of the San Fernando Valley, will encompass 642 apartments, 230,000 square feet of office, and 300,000 square feet of retail with 60 dining and shopping sites, including a Trader Joes, Regal Cinemas and 24-Hour Fitness.

NoHo Wests developers, Los Angeles-based GPI Cos. and Lake Forest, Calif.-based Merlone Geier Partners, have anchored the propertys commercial side with office space carved out of the bones of a longtime Macys department store. Key tenants shoring up the retail component include Urbane Caf, The Stand, California Fish Grill and Ulta Beauty. The property will also feature green space, water fountains, a dog-friendly park and playgrounds.

Construction began in 2018 on NoHo West, which will usurp the erstwhile Laurel Plaza space. Designed by DTLA-headquartered Stir Architecture with design work by Orange County-rooted Architects Orange, the complex will inject some modernity into the largely refurbished-looking community, with signage facing the 170.

This is beyond live-work-play, said Patrick Church of JLL, whos been helping to handle the office leasing at NoHo West. Now the flavor is having a project that has a whole community feeling to it.

Church, along with his JLL colleague, oversees 22 buildings and 6 million square feet of office space from Pasadena to NoHo. Of all of their assignments, Church said that this multi-faceted, multi-genre complex has been the most ambitious they have undertaken. The office specialist, who recently firmed up WeWorks floors at nearby 5161 North Lankershim Boulevard, said he believes NoHo West will benefit from the nearby NoHo Arts District, which he said has boomed really over the last 10 years.

Church recently led CO on a hard-hat tour of the former Macys structure, which rises four full floors [five counting mezzanine level). He said he expects to land either four tenants or a single tenant for the entire 230,000-square-foot building.

More than likely its going to be all entertainment, he said.

NoHo West is just the latest project to capitalize on the NoHo renaissance. The neighborhood is currently dotted with mixed-use plans in development, from the Richman Groups project which will deliver 127 apartments and 12,000 square feet of retail near Metros North Hollywood Station next year to more compact projects like Warmington Residentials Cue NoHo, a set of 20 single-family residences at 10907 Otsego Street.

Yet for the community of North Hollywood, NoHo West represents the culmination of a community that has transformed in only a few short years from an invisible suburb to serious business.

In early 2019, Hollywood-based Titmouse Animation expanded into NoHo as they assumed some 25,000 square feet at 5200 Lankershim Boulevard and 4640 Magnolia Boulevard.

The rents they signed are close to Burbank Media District [rents], said Nico Vilgiate of Colliers International, who negotiated the expansion. As of the third quarter of 2019, Burbank office space rents for $3.59 per square foot, according to Colliers data.

Thats because the Hollywood-heavy Burbank submarket is tapped out.

Burbank [Media District] is close to single-digit vacancy, Vilgiate said. That Hollywood trend has been going on for a while, for the last six years. Theres hardly any space left in the Media District.

Suffice it to say, content continues to grow, Vilgiate continued, alluding to a slew of oncoming subscription streaming services, including Disneys launch last November and WarnerMedias in early 2020. I believe Disney took the place almost as a defensive measure, for future employees as they consolidate the workforce from their acquisition of Fox, he added.

In September, ITV Entertainment announced a high-profile leap from offices at Sherman Oaks Galleria to 5250 Lankershim in North Hollywood. Taking over space currently filled by Kaiser Permanente, ITV signed a 10-year lease for 42,000 square feet and expects to relocate in May. Its fellow tenants will include Bento Box animation studio, Tremendous Entertainment and Sada Systems.

North Hollywood was what I called the backlot of Hollywood, said Glendale-based Colliers International Senior Executive Vice President Gregory K. Barsamian, whose expertise lies in the industrial sector. Proximity is a big issue because the studios are nearby. It was affordable, it was close to the studios. Its been the nucleus of the industry.

Barsamian traces NoHos rise all the way back to 1990 with Hewlett-Packard on Lankershim and Magnolia circa 1990. Back in the 1970s, this tweener little community developed machine shops supporting Lockheed, and leasing later shifted to include porn industry production through the 1980s.

Since 2018, NoHo is seeing an influx of cannabis producers moving into industrial buildings, post-legalization of marijuana.

Now theres a Metro stop [in NoHo], Barsamian said. Its attracting artistic people.

But for all of its submarket heat, the communitys industrial product is rarely top tier.

From an industrial perspective, theres nothing special or pretty (in North Hollywood), its a nondescript Steady Eddie, Barsamian said, adding that its warehouses often have terrible parking, the loading sucks.

While not Class A material, NoHo warehouse space has attracted people running companies out of their bedrooms and their garages needing to grow, he said.

In general across the Valley, where warehouses are being converted into piecemeal soundstages to feed the content frenzy for streamers such as Netflix and Disney Plus, the supply of straight industrial space has been frustratingly low, Barsamian said.

What needs to happen in NoHo, Barsamian continued, is what culminated last year in nearby Sun Valley, when Xebec re-developed a former landfill into two mammoth, state-of-the-art warehouse facilities, one of which is occupied by Amazon distribution-enabler OnTrac. That was a case of taking land that wasnt buildable in the past and figure out what the cost is to make it buildable, Barsamian said.

That strategy was also seen at 11200 Peoria Street, where Penske Truck Rental created a building sitting on pylons like a freeway overpass [with gravel in-fill], he said.

Overall, the submarkets actors do not see North Hollywood cooling anytime soon.

More here:
North Hollywood Grabs the Spotlight - Commercial Observer

Developers in Lewisville have gotten the go-ahead for a huge mixed-use development that will bring new offices, apartments and hotel space.

Bright Realtys 140-acre Crown Centre project is planned on State Highway 121 near the developers Castle Hills community.

Lewisvilles city council just approved final plans for the project that include up to 2,000 multifamily units, 3 million square feet of office space and as many as 500 hotel rooms.

Plans for Crown Centre ultimately include 35 buildings connected by open space with lakes and trails.

Construction is already underway on the first Crown Centre office building, a four-story, 109,000-square-foot project at State Highway 121 and Regent Way.

The building will open in mid-2020.

Crown Centre will serve as a substantial employment center for the city as well as a walkable live, work and play destination, Chris Bright, Bright Realty CEO, said in a statement. It is designed with the multifamily components spread throughout the office and retail spaces to encourage pedestrian activity and use during both daytime and evening hours.

The project is also designed with a large amount of green space and water features throughout, which provide areas to take a break during the hectic workday and places to recharge over the weekend.

The Crown Centre project is one of two major mixed-use projects Bright Realty is doing.

The developer is also building Realm at Castle Hills, a 324-acre project that includes offices, restaurants, retail, entertainment and apartments.

The first office building in the $1.5 billion Realm opened last year and is almost fully leased.

Both of the mixed-use projects are being built on land thats been in the Bright family since the 1950s.

Construction started on the 3,000-acre Castle Hills in 1997.

Castle Hills is 11 miles from DFW International Airport and a few miles from Planos $3 billion Legacy West development.

The community has almost 5,000 single-family homes, and thousands of new apartments, condos and townhomes are planned.

Crown Centre will be the largest commercial section of the Bright Realty project.

We have a great partner in Bright Realty and we are excited about the future of Lewisville and Castle Hills, Donna Barron, Lewisville city manager, said in a statement. We look forward to the opportunities Crown Centre will provide for both Lewisville and Castle Hills.

See original here:
Lewisville development to include offices and apartments plus open space - The Dallas Morning News

Proponents of a major mixed-use, transit-oriented development immediately west of SkyTrains Braid Station in New Westminster have returned to the municipal government with a significantly larger proposal that includes a significant additional infusion of rental housing.

Last week, New Westminster city council advanced the public consultation process for the revised master plan in support of the rezoning application for Sapperton Green at 97 Braid Street on a 38-acre industrial site currently occupied by a 650,000-sq-ft Amazon fulfillment centre,and former warehouse buildings that now contain Extreme Air Park and Futbol 5 Indoor Soccer.

The southernmost parcel of the property is a satellite parking lot for Royal Columbian Hospital staff, and to the north the site is framed by the Central Valley Greenway and the Brunette River. There is also direct access to the Trans Canada Highway via the Brunette Avenue interchange.

Site of Sapperton Green at 97 Braid Street, New Westminster. The property is largely occupied by an Amazon fulfillment centre. (Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership / QuadReal Properties)

Planning for the redevelopment began in 2011, when it was managed by commercial developer Bentall Kennedy on behalf of the propertys owner, the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCIMC).

But QuadReal Properties took over management of the project in 2017, when it took over Bentall Kennedys BCIMC portfolio and submitted the first iteration of the application. The architectural firm for the project isMusson Cattell Mackey Partnership.

The new revision increases the projects market residential floor area from 3.4 million sq. ft. to 4.2 million sq. ft. an increase of 800,000 sq. ft. About 1.2 million sq. ft. of this market residential floor area will be set aside by secured market rental housing.

This increased density will be accommodated by additional heights for the residential towers and an additional 26-storey residential building.

February 2020 proposed phasing plan of Sapperton Green at 97 Braid Street, New Westminster. (Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership / QuadReal Properties)

There will also be 255,000 sq. ft. of affordable rental housing, between 750,000 sq. ft. and 1.5 million sq. ft. of office space, and between 100,000 and 150,000 sq. ft. of retail space.

Changes to the proposal are consistent with the citys new Inclusionary Housing Policy, which focuses on catalyzing non-market rental homes.

The office component of the project is significant for New Westminster, given that its scale would increase the citys office supply by between 37.5% and 75%, depending on the option chosen.

The projects residential uses are largely located on the northwest half of the site, while retail and office space are oriented on the southeast half, closest to the SkyTrain station and bus exchange. The tallest buildings are generally located on the northern half and core of the property, as well as next to the transit hub.

Retail and restaurant uses will line the street along the northern foot of Rosseau Street on the property, and the Transit Way leading to the bus exchange.

A 35,000-sq-ft community centre with a childcare facility is located next to a 2.4-acre central public park.

February 2020 proposed site plan of Sapperton Green at 97 Braid Street, New Westminster. (Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership / QuadReal Properties)

A pair of plazas are planned, and the Central Greenway will be rerouted through a new greenway and open space going through the core of the site.

The entire project calls for eight acres of green and open spaces, parks, and plazas, including dedicating 3.5 acres for riparian area improvements, particularly along the propertys northern edge with the river.

With city councils latest decision, public consultation will be held from Spring to Fall 2020, with an aim to finalize the master plan by the end of this year.

If the master plan is approved, the entire redevelopment will be built in three phases, with each phase comprised of 85,000 sq. ft. of affordable rental housing. Construction on the affordable housing component of the first phase could begin in 2021, providing 110 units within a six-storey building.

The first phase will develop the southernmost parcel of the site. Amazons 2012-opened facility on the site will not be affected until construction of the second phase begins. Two other Amazon fulfillment centres serving Metro Vancouver are located in Delta.

QuadReal Properties is also behind the redevelopments of the old Canada Post building and Oakridge Centre in Vancouver.

February 2020 artistic rendering of Sapperton Green at 97 Braid Street, New Westminster. (Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership / QuadReal Properties)

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Massive redevelopment proposed to replace Amazon warehouse in New Westminster | Urbanized - Daily Hive