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Fodor's Travel has released its fourth annual "No List," highlighting the destinations, activities, and businesses that they recommend travelers reconsider in the upcoming year for ethical, environmental, and political reasons.

"Every year, we use the No List to highlight issues that we're thinking about before, during, and long after we travel," Jeremy Tarr, the Editorial Director of Fodors.com, said in a press release. "Being featured on the No List is hardly a scarlet letter. Rather, it's a promise that when Fodor's covers the destinations on the list, we'll be doing so responsibly warts and all."

The Fodor's editorial team chose the destinations on the 2020 No List from over 100 potential destinations. Previous lists have included, among others,Venice and Machu Picchu, both of which have enacted measures against overtourism in recent years.

This year, Fodor's also included more general types of destinations and activities sustainable travelers ought to avoid, including select bars, hotels, and elephant riding.

From a street in Hanoi where tourists jump out in front of trains in order to capture the perfect Instagram shot to beaches in Bali strewn with trash, the 2020 list includes destinations that need some time away from tourists or ones that pose safety risks. Take a look:

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Travel destinations, activities to avoid in 2020, according to Fodor's - Business Insider

How does it feel to explore miles in a world of caves surrounded by limestonesculptures shaped through millions of years? And come across an amphibiansalamander called Olm that never sees the light of day and is white in colour andcan live without food for 10 years? A trip from Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia,through green meadows and forests, hardly prepared me for the encounter with thisdark, but fascinating Karst world at Postojna.

The topography of Karst is formed by dissolving of soluble rocks like limestone, dolomite, gypsum etc. by underground drainage systems. The 24 km long Postojna cave system has been formed by interaction with the Pivka River that enters the subterranean level at the cave mouth. The water continues to work on the soft stones still but at an excruciatingly slow pace, perhaps a few millimeters in hundreds of years. Karst features may occur only at subsurface levels and can be totally absent above ground.

Deep down

As we entered this underworld, we were led to an open-top train, the worlds first railway in an underground cave which was opened in 1872 . The temperature here is a constant 10 degree Celsius and so out came the jackets and scarves to keep away the draught. A major tourist attraction now, the operation here by the authorities, a private company, is run with clock-work efficiency. Lighting at specific corners bring out the beauty of nature-made sculptures of the stalagmites.

The cameras can hardly do justice to the amazing formations with their intricate designs. Like the pristine white Brilliant, a 5-meter tall formation with ornamentations around. As the train chugged by slowly, webs ofstalactiteshanging from the ceiling seemed to touch our heads. Once wedisembarked at the station, a 3.7 km ride, the walks started in semi-darkness which covered more than one kilometre. There are steep gradients at places and I had to admire the elderly visitors with walking sticks negotiating the bends.

Thankfully, the walkways are laid with a hard surface and despite water dripping at places it is not slippery.

An English speaking guide explained about the history of the discovery of the caves. The locals always knew about its existence but feared to enter as there was myths of dragons living there, perhaps thinking the Olms to be babies of dragons with their unusual shape. The caves were first described in 17 th Century by Johann W Von Valvasor who pioneered the study of Karst geology. Inside, explorers, however, found graffiti from the 13th century pointing to earlier human habitation.

In 1818, the cave was being prepared for a visit by the emperor of Austria- Hungary, when a local named Luka Cec, a lamplighter, accidentally discovered a new branch of the cave and declared to his co-workers, who had thought he had died after disappearing from view: Here is a new world, here is paradise. Next year, Archduke Ferdinand visited the caves after which the caves became popular as a tourist destination. Sadly, coming from a poor family, he did not get the recognition due to him in the hierarchal world, though he continued working in the cave till his death. On the walking tour sometimes with narrow passages and encircled by huge walls of stalagmites the guide also pointed out the Russian Bridge. During the First World War, Russian prisoners of war were made to construct this bridge to cover a chasm between two caves.

Duringthe Second World War, German occupying forces used the cave to store barrels of aircraft fuel but Slovene Partisans blew it up in 1944. The fire burned for a week.As I emerged to daylight outside, the past 90 minutes spent in the dark cavecomplex seemed almost surreal.

Castle in the caves

A man-made marvel in the vicinity, again with a cave connection, waited to be explored next. The Predjama Castle, 800-years-old, is the worlds largest cave castle and listed in the Guinness World Records.

The castle is perched halfway up a 123-metre cliff with its entrance at the cave mouth. The Gothic-style castle was first built in 1274 by the Patriarch of Aquileia.

It was later rebuilt by its new owners, the Luegg family.

Its unique location contributes to making Predjama Castlethe only completely preserved cave castle in Europe. No wonder it has been the locale of many film shoots.

Entering the castle gives a glimpse of the construction techniques andinventiveness of its medieval builders, who built the refuge behind the entrance to the cave.

Its most well-known member was Erasmus who took on the rulers the Habsburg family of Austria-Hungary, head-on. Fleeing their wrath he took refuge in the castle.

He was known as a robber baron, too but the locals regarded him as a Robin Hood character.

The royals sent their army to capture him but what puzzled them was how he resisted a year-long siege. They did not know that he built a secret passage widening an existing shaft through which the villagers supplied his family with foodstuff.

There are stories of how his men threw apples at the soldiers below from the castle window to taunt them. But ultimately, as it has happened in many instances throughout history, one of his servants betrayed him and he was killed.

The castle has now been turned into a museum. We climbed up the precarious steps to explore the living quarters of the Lueggs.

In one room medieval weapons are displayed. In the living quarters of the family, lifelike reproductions help to understand the way they lived. The kitchen, the room where the baron held his court, all give an idea of a lifestyle centuries ago.

In 1991, restorers discovered goblets, silver-gilt items, windmill cups, etc. whichwere hidden in one of the chambers. They are now displayed in the NotranjkaMuseum in Postojna.

Trans World Features

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Secrets of the cave world - Deccan Herald

This is without doubt one of many most anticipated and indulgent holidays youll ever engage, so naturally expectations are high. As soon as-in-a-lifetime experiences similar to champagne picnics on uninhabited islands, diving with whale sharks and staying in over-water villas with their maintain chef tend possess lengthy lured chuffed couples. But now circulation and lumber are a high priority for newlyweds who possess already taken solar, sea and sand holidays together a huge assortment of cases something from gorilla encounters in Uganda to tandem skydiving in Unusual Zealand. And twin-centre honeymoons city and spa, safari and sand are also very in vogue. Some issues by no system poke out of honeymoon vogue, though: a huge mattress, incredible views, impossible meals and high-notch carrier.

30 wood water villas line a crescent boardwalk in the lagoon, and these are furnished with dapper four-poster beds and within most sunbathing decks with daybed and loungers. Its also dwelling to Lighthouse, one of many most lovely Indian Ocean eating areas; launch-sided, self-discipline over water and round with tables dotted round the threshold, you in actuality in actuality feel esteem youre dining alone together in the center of the ocean.

Read the elephantine overview: Baros, Maldives

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The worlds 50 best honeymoon hotels and destinations - Headlinez Pro

by nadignewspapers@aol.com November 23, 2019

by BRIAN NADIG

A mixed-used development with nine apartments is being proposed for a parcel at the southwest corner of Pulaski Road and Rosemont Avenue in Sauganash.

Plans call for the existing one-story commercial structures on the 9,309-square-foot site to be demolished to accommodate the construction of a three-story building with 2,628 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor, five apartments on the second floor and four dwelling units on the third floor. Plans also call for 11 on-site parking spaces.

In January a portion of the site at 6248-52 N. Pulaski Road was rezoned from B1-1 to B1-2 to accommodate the construction of a mixed-use building with six apartments. The new proposal adds the smaller lot at 6246 N. Pulaski Road to the project, allowing for a larger building.

The smaller lot would be rezoned to B1-2 and combined with the larger lot to the north.

There is no city affordable housing requirement for the project because it would consist of fewer than 10 apartments.

A four-story office building at 6232 N. Pulaski Road, which includes Pan American Bank, is located immediately to the south of the development site.

"They had community meetings (on the proposal), and there was no objections," Alderman Samantha Nugent (39th) said.

New construction projects will hopefully attract new businesses to the area, Nugent said. "East and west of Pulaski people tell me they want restaurants, a bakery," she said.

The rest is here:
Retail and apartments planned in Sauganash - Nadig Newspapers

Once completed in 2023, CityPlace Burlington will boast 318 apartments, a rooftop restaurant, a 174-room hotel and nearly 700 parking spaces.

Construction on themuch-delayed project will begin in August 2020 and is expected to wrap up 30 months later.

Thats according to new documents that project majority owner Brookfield Asset Management filed with the city late last week. The Burlington City Councils Board of Finance will review them at its meeting Monday night.

The memos provide the first glimpse into the new design since Brookfield unveiled its scaled-down proposal nearly a month ago. The 14-story towers in the original design, which spurred lawsuits and financial challenges, were replaced by 10-story buildings.

The submitted designs don't include plans for the former Macy's building, which was not part of the original project but is now envisioned as the future home of the University of Vermont Medical Center offices.

In July, Brookfield announced that the scope, scale, and the timing of construction would change.

The scaled-down design uses lighter weight steel and is now projected to cost $120 million to build, according to the documents.

The memos reveal that the development agreement between the developers and city will likely need to be amended. And still uncertain is the exact amount of revenue the new proposal will bring in to pay back debt incurred by tax-increment financing.

In 2016, Burlington voters approved a $21.8 million TIF bond toto fix up sidewalks and rebuild streets lost to the former Burlington Town Center mall decades ago. Such debt is meant to be repaid with additional tax revenue, known as increment, generated by the new project.

Jeff Glassberg, a liaison between the city and the developers, wrote in a memo that TIF funds from the project will pay for the reopening of Pine and St. Paul streets and "streetscape upgrades" to parts of Cherry and Bank streets that abut the project. It's unclear if the money will fund everything initially envisioned.

The memos also outline the projects phasing and amenities. New schematics for the hotels southern tower show seven retail spaces on the ground level, topped off with a rooftop restaurant, community space and observation deck.

The residential tower on the north side of the site will feature 121 studios, 142 one-bedrooms and 55 two-bedroom units. The designs dont specify the rental rates, but Brookfield has committed to making 20 percent of them affordable as required by Burlington's inclusionary zoning ordinance.

Brookfield also anticipates having to undergo state permitting under Act 250 because of the hotel concept. The developers say a hotel is responsive to market demand and can contribute to the continued dynamism of downtown Burlington.

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CityPlace Burlington to Be Fully Built by 2023, New Docs Show - Seven Days

A new apartment community may be the first construction to replace Dallas old Valley View mall.

Pennsylvania-based builder Toll Brothers has filed permits to construct a rental community on Preston Road just north of LBJ Freeway on part of the old mall property.

The new apartments are part of a $1 billion mixed-use development to be constructed on 25 acres of the mostly demolished Valley View site.

Toll Brothers is building apartments in the project along with Dallas developer KDC and property owner New York-based Seritage Growth Properties.

Almost 2 million square feet of offices, apartments, and retail and restaurant space are planned in the Park Heritage development, which is going up where a Sears department store, auto center and parking lots once stood.

In May, the developers knocked down the old Sears buildings as part of a redevelopment of the 173-acre Valley View property.

Toll Brothers filed permits to build the first 266 apartments at Park Heritage. At the same time, KDC and Seritage are working with office, retail and potential hotel companies interested in the rest of their site.

Toll Brothers Apartment Living is already active in the Dallas area. The rental home division of the big national homebuilder is constructing a 22-story, 270-unit apartment tower in the Oak Lawn neighborhood. And the builder has a 280-unit project in West Dallas.

Most of the 46-year-old Valley View mall has been demolished to make way for a planned 430-acre neighborhood redevelopment dubbed Dallas Midtown.

Plans for the district on the north side of LBJ Freeway include a variety of new construction surrounding a 20-acre park.

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New apartments on the way at old Valley View mall site - The Dallas Morning News

Construction has reached the first setback on HAP Eight at215 West 28th Street in Chelsea. The 20-story, 210-foot-tall residential project is being designed by DXA Architects and developed by HAP Investments, and consistsof two separate buildings spanning over 300,000 square feet. The two structures are addressed as 215-219 West 28th Street and 221-229 West 28th Street.

215 West 28th Street sits directly across the street from The Fashion Institute of Technology, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. Photos from the sidewalk show the bare reinforced concrete superstructure awaiting the start of the curtain wall installation. It is uncertain when that process will begin, but the metal clips on the edges of each floor plate to which each faade panel will be attached are in place.

Looking west at 215 West 18th Street. Photo by Michael Young

215 West 18th Street. Photo by Michael Young

215 West 18th Street. Photo by Michael Young

215 West 18th Street. Photo by Michael Young

The development will contain 112 rental units and 87 condominiums and feature amenities including a fitness center and spa, a rooftop deck, and bicycle storage. Both structures will contain 20,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor, as well as feature identical architectural designs, with the only difference being the color of their faades. The setbacks will act as landscaped terraces for several residents.

The property is the largest new development on the parcel and is located next door to Skidmore Owings & Merrills upcoming 12-story office at 322-326 Seventh Avenue, aka 28 & 7. Both sites are right by the entrance to the 1 train at the 28th Street station, while Pennsylvania Station is six streets to the north.

A completion date for HAP Eight has not been announced, but sometime in the second half of 2020 is probable.

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Construction Reaches Halfway Mark on HAP Eight, aka 215 West 28th Street, in Chelsea - New York YIMBY

The Grand at 130 S. Grand Ave. is a mixed-use project being developed by Related Cos. It will have more than 400 units.

Those cranes that have become a fixture of the downtown skyline arent going away anytime soon.

The area has delivered more than 50% of L.A.s new rental units since 2018, and that pace is expected to continue in 2020.

At the same time, average rents in the area have increased a mere 1% compared with an 8% increase citywide, according to the Downtown Center Business Improvement District.

Were delivering a record number of units, but over time, downtown is able to absorb them, said Nick Griffin, executive director of the DCBID.

Projects that have been on the market for a year are already seeing occupancy rates of 90% and higher, he added.

The market remains strong downtown, said Laurie Lustig-Bower, an executive vice president at CBRE Group Inc. We would expect that even with the buildings that they are forecasting to build, that are coming on, that the market would absorb them.

The third quarter saw fewer units delivered than in previous quarters, which Griffin said helped with occupancy rates.

During the third quarter, there were 5,744 residential units under construction and an additional 33,315 units proposed, according to DCBID data. Griffin said roughly 1,200 units would open by the end of the year.

Multiple projects

Projects under construction now include Park Fifth, a property with nearly 350 units and retail space being developed by MacFarlane Partners; 1133 S. Hope St., a property with roughly 200 units and retail being developed by Z&L Properties Inc.; The Grand, a massive mixed-use project being developed by Related Cos.; and Oceanwide Plaza, a $1 billion project being developed at 1101 S. Flower St.

The high number of units coming online, Griffin said, helps with affordability.

Across the city and the region, rents continue to rise because of the shortfall of supply, he said. Downtown L.A. is a perfect case study of what happens when you deliver more supply.

Brokers expect the units coming online to be filled quickly.

Were only running at a six-week vacancy period, said Kitty Wallace, an executive vice president at Colliers International Group Inc.

Lustig-Bower said there is a severe shortage of units compared to the workforce in downtown, adding that the large number of units in the works would likely be absorbed.

Condos cooling

The number of condo sales downtown tells a slightly different story.

In the third quarter, 79 units sold for an average price of $690 per square foot, compared with 99 units for $723 per square foot the same time the previous year, according to DCBID data.

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Downtown on the Upswing - Los Angeles Business Journal

Developers have submitted their first detailed plan to begin transforming 10 acres of former industrial land along Portlands eastern waterfront.

Portland Foreside Development Co. filed a site plan application for the first phase of development of the former Portland Co. complex. That phase will touch three out of the six development blocks at 58 Fore St., plus the construction of a public plaza that will connect Fore Street to the waterfront.

The initial phase will include a new office building on the westernmost portion of the site that is expected to be used by Sun Life U.S. and its subsidiary FullscopeRMS. Sun Life would join the payment processing firm Wex, which relocated to that area earlier this year. It will also include a local market hall, event space, housing, structured parking and other restaurant, retail and service uses.

As a whole, this proposed development presents an unparalleled opportunity to grow the citys tax base, add housing, and create jobs, the application states.

A neighborhood meeting has been scheduled on Monday from 5-6 p.m. at the St. Lawrence Arts Center on Congress Street. And the Planning Board will conduct its first workshop on Tuesday.

The development of the former Portland Co. complex has been in the works for years.

Founded in 1846, the Portland Co. complex was built to connect Portland to Montreal by rail and was the first locomotive factory in the United States that brought all of the necessary shops and a foundry together on one site. It remained in operation for 137 years and was deemed eligible for the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

The redevelopment efforts began with a controversial rezoning process in 2015 that prompted area residents to launch a citywide referendum to protect waterfront views that was ultimately rejected by voters.

A master development plan was approved in late 2016, locking in key programming and land uses.

At full build-out, the plan calls for 638 units of rental and resident-owned housing, 132 hotel rooms, nearly 60,000 square feet of retail space, a new marina and nearly 124,000 square feet of office space. A total of 736 parking spaces are proposed for the site, mostly on the ground floors of the buildings.

At least 10 percent of the housing units would have to be made affordable to middle-income residents. However, the developer could buy its way out of that requirement for $105,000 per unit. More than $6 million could be infused into the citys housing trust fund, which provides incentives for affordable housing developments.

Development activity has been evident this year.

Over the summer, crews demolished buildings that were deemed to be noncontributing structures within the newly created Portland Company Historic District. Crews dismantled the historic Pattern Storehouse brick by brick so it could be rebuilt during this phase closer to the waterfront, where its expected to become a restaurant.

A new marina was also completed over the summer.

The citys Development Review Services manager, James Rather, said last week that the staff was still working its way through the weighty application ahead of the Planning Boards first workshop on Tuesday. Rather said the staff in the citys bustling planning office was like a snake trying to digest a wolf.

Its a big project, Rather said. Were still learning about the project. Its still early, and there will be multiple workshops on this.

Casey Prentice, a principal for the Portland Foreside Development Co., did not respond to requests for an interview on Wednesday or Thursday.

According to the project description, phase one will touch three of the six development blocks.

The westernmost parcel, Block 1, is located at the end of the newly constructed portion of Thames Street.

A new, 95,100-square-foot office space for Sun Life with ground floor retail is proposed for the upland side. And a reconstructed Pattern Storehouse, or Building 12, is proposed along the waterfront and is expected to be occupied by Evo restaurant with office space and two residential units above it.

Block 2 is located in the center of the site and referred to as the historic core.

Plans call for the restoration of seven historically significant buildings. One of the buildings is described as Market Hall, which will showcase local food and beverage vendors, chefs and culinary-focused entrepreneurs and retail space. The upper floors will consist of 17,900 square feet of event space and 12,400 square feet of office space. A total of 35,900 square feet of space will be devoted to retail, restaurant and other service uses on this block.

Blocks 1 and 2 will be separated by a public plaza that will be constructed within a 50-foot-wide public easement. The project summary states the plaza will include an expansive public upper viewing level and a public lower plaza to provide for the enjoyment of views of both the rehabilitated buildings of the Portland Company Historic District and Casco Bay.

Block 4 is located to the east of the historic core and comprises the last upland redevelopment site.

There, developers are proposing to build a five-level parking garage for 652 vehicles. The garage will be used as a foundation for a future residential building that will be built on top during a future phase. But the first phase includes 12 units of housing, totaling 12,900 square feet, along the west side of the garage. Its unclear what type of housing that will be. And the south side of the garage will include 1,100 square feet of retail, restaurant and services uses.

The application also includes plans to relocate a portion of the Narrow Gauge Rail Roads rail line farther inland, so an existing pathway can be relocated closer to the waterfront.

From a planning perspective, its a transformative project for that area of the city so its pretty exciting to see, Rather said.

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Developer seeks permit to begin ambitious redevelopment on Portland waterfront - Press Herald

It was in June 2016 that the former Orchard Hills Golf Course property on Ga. Highway 16 on Newnans southeast side was rezoned as a major industrial and commercial site. Today, the property is about to become the home of a 1.5 million sq. ft. Goodyear Tire and Rubber distribution and warehouse facility. Thats the equivalent of a facility covering more than 34 acres.

Coweta County Development Authority President Trae Westmoreland on Nov. 21 said Goodyear is consolidating facilities around the metro Atlanta area and will be locating at a 1.5 million sq. ft. distribution and warehouse facility on the property of the former Orchard Hills Golf Course on Hwy. 16. Thats in the triangle formed by Interstate Highway 85, Ga. Highway 16 and Turkey Creek Road, less than two miles south of the Piedmont Newnan Hospital complex and just southeast of downtown Newnan.

The new development is expected to bring up to 250 jobs to Coweta, Westmoreland said.

The facility being built to accommodate Goodyears needs represents a $140 million investment, Westmoreland said.

Westmoreland said the infrastructure for the development has been completed, with the expectation that construction could begin in the near-term, and with a construction period of approximately 12 months.

The property is adjacent to Interstate 85 and is in close proximity to the recently completed extension of the Newnan Crossing Bypass and the I-85 interchange at U.S. Highway 29.

The Coweta County Commission in June 2016 voted to rezone the 281-acre former golf course site to accommodate 3 million sq. ft. of industrial property and 300,000 sq. ft. of retail space along Hwy. 16.

Original post:
New Goodyear plant in Coweta to bring 250 jobs - The Citizen.com