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Plymouth-based affordable-housing developer Dominium announced Friday it has closed on financing for two apartment buildings on the former Kmart site and the adjacent vacant Signal Hills Bank property in West St. Paul.

The $124 million project at Butler Avenue and South Robert Street will be the single most costly residential project West St. Paul has ever seen, according to the city.

The city council in September gave Dominium the OK to build the two U-shaped buildings, which will be adjacent to the Signal Hills Shopping Center. The council also agreed to give the developer $5 million in tax-increment financing funds over 16 years.

One building Hilltop at Signal Hills will be four stories tall with 146 units of workforce housing. Legacy Commons at Signal Hills will be five stories with 247 units of independent senior living. The buildings will offer one-, two- and three-bedroom homes units.

Dominium is excited about the opportunity to create 393 units of affordable housing to the local senior and working communities, Nick Andersen, vice president and project partner at Dominium, said in a prepared statement. West St. Paul is an area where there is ample demand for affordable housing, and we look forward to filling that need.

City officials long have considered the northern part of the shopping center property and its expansive parking lot underused and ripe for redevelopment. Their desire to see it redeveloped was bolstered in late 2016, when Sears Holdings Corp. closed the Big Kmart. Signal Hills Bank has been closed for nearly two decades.

Besides the TIF money, Dominium also secured a Freddie Mac Forward Tax Exempt Loan serviced by real-estate finance company Greystone, a construction loan through America First Multifamily Investors and tax-exempt bonds and 4 percent affordable housing tax credits through the Dakota County Community Development Agency.

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Developer closes on financing for $124M apartment project in West St. Paul - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press

Renters have gravitated toward larger apartmentsas they have spent more time at home over the last year, a trend that is beginning to influence the way developers think about unit sizes in their future projects.

An apartment in Mill Creek's Modern on M building in Southwest D.C.

Before the coronavirus pandemic,new apartment projects had been trending toward smaller units, as many renters wanted more affordable options and cared more about neighborhood amenities than unit size. But now those neighborhood amenities have been closed or limited for nearly a full year, andbetween working from homeand staying in at night, renters have spent much more time in their apartments than they did before the pandemic.

"Micro-units was the buzzword. It's never going to happen again," Morgan Properties principal Jason Morgan said Jan. 28 on theBisnow Multifamily Annual Conference digital summit. "That really has shifted, and now it's more about space."

Mill Creek Residential Executive Managing Director Sean Caldwell said he had begun to see a shift toward larger units before the pandemic, driven by empty nesters renting apartments.

"You go into the pandemic and that acted as an accelerant to allow the opportunity for people to look for more space," Caldwell said. "So it's really multiple things, not just pandemic-driven, that is having us look at average unit sizes that are slightly bigger."

Caldwell said studio units tend to perform well when apartment demand is strongest, with the competitive renter market driving cost-conscious people to settle for smaller, cheaper units. But that is not the case today.

Class-A Apartment absorption inD.C. last year was down 75% from 2019, and the city's vacancy rate rose from 4.9% to 10.3% over the course of 2020, according to Delta Associates. Rents for Class-A apartmentsacross the D.C. Metro area fell by 10.2% last year, the largest decline Delta Associates has recorded since it began tracking the marketin the 1980s.

"There are many deals, even in millennial locations, where they're having trouble moving their studios at all right now because of the pandemic," Caldwell said. "If I'm doing a mix today, I'm certainly going to have less studios than I would have a year ago, and I would look at more two-bedrooms and contemplate three-bedrooms in the right location."

Mill Creek has one apartment project in the planningstages in Northwest D.C. for which Caldwell said it is increasing the unit sizes. He expects the average apartment will be around 1K SF, with an emphasis on two- and- three-bedroom units.

Projects that delivered during the pandemic didn't havethe luxury of changing their unit sizes.

"Once youmake your floor plan mix, it's very difficult to make any changes. It's extremely costly virtually impossible. " J.P. Morgan Asset Management Managing Director Allina Boohoff said on thedigital summit. "There have been plenty of situations where you make the decision that at the point in time, [the market] is short on studios, but by the time you deliver, everybody else delivered studios, and you can't lease them."

An apartment at WashREIT's Trove building in Arlington, Virginia

Last year, WashREIT welcomed its first residents to its new 401-unit apartment building on Arlington's Columbia Pike corridor, with the project deliveringin two phases in February and October.

Thedeveloper designed the building, branded as Trove, with more studio apartments than its typical projectbecause it saw thatthe submarket was lacking the smaller units. But then the pandemic began to impact the market, and renter demands shifted.

"When I look at my lease-ups, the one-bedroomand larger units are flying off the shelf and the studios are sitting," WashREIT Managing Director of Multifamily Ed Murn said on thesummit.

Murn,in an interviewwith Bisnow Friday, said 25 of the building's 49 studios have now leased, adding that "it's not killing us."

He said WashREITisn'tmoving away from studios for future projects because the unitsare attractive to renters looking for affordable options. But he said he does expect theaverage size of new apartmentswillbe larger than it was before the pandemic.

"The pendulum had swung so far to smaller units," Murn said. "I do think that the square footage is going to be rethought by some developers and you'll see the average square footage go up."

Bisnow/Jon Banister

Clockwise from top left: JPMorgan's Alina Boohoff, CBRE's David Webb, WashREIT's Ed Murn, EYA's Aakash Thakkar, Mill Creek's Sean Caldwell and Neighborhood Development Co.'s Adrian Washington.

But increasing unit sizes comes with drawbacks for developers. Having largerunitsmeans they can fitfewer units in the building and will bring inless total revenue. Studio units, while the cheapest for renters, are cash cows.

"The challenge everyone's going to tell us is the cost and being able to get that pro forma to work, because the studio units pay the highest price-per-square-foot and help the overall pro forma," Murn said on the summit.

Part of the reason developers had been moving toward smaller units was so they could maximize revenueasconstruction costs have been rising,Moya Design Partners Design Principal Federico Olivera Sala, an architect who works on apartments, said in an interview.

"Units are more price-driven, and when the cost of construction goes up, they tend to get smaller and smaller, not bigger and bigger," he said.

Hickok Cole Director of Housing Laurence Caudle said construction costs haven't decreased during the pandemic, so cost is still a driving factor for unit size decisions.

"It seems that construction costs haven't really gone down in all this, so that is still a huge financial factor as clients are planning these buildings," Caudle said. "They need a certain number of units to make the numbers work."

Sala saidhe doesn't expect a major change in unit sizes, but he thinks the percentageof studios within new buildings may come down from around 15% to around 10%.

"What they're doing now is junior one-bedrooms as an alternative for studios," he said. "That bedroom typically doesnt have a window, but at least you have your own space you can enclose, and keep your messiness under control, and then you have your living room and public area of the unit more tidy."

Neighborhood Development Co. CEO Adrian Washington said on BMAC he thinks the long-term effects of the remote work movement will push developers to increase unit sizes.

"I think people have seen the advantages of working from home and will do it a bit more than before," Washington said. "There will be subtle shifts in adding more space, more outdoor space. That will be with us for the long term."

Evendevelopers that have already delivered projects, or those who don't want to increase unit sizes for cost reasons, are finding ways to cater to remote workers.

A built-in desk for remote work in Jefferson Apartment Group's J Linea building in D.C.

Caudle said he is still designing new projects downtown with small units, because somedevelopers can't afford to reduce their unit count. But he said unit size has been discussed much more frequently during the pandemic, and those developers thatdecide against larger units are finding ways to make their apartments more flexible.

"You can't afford to build bigger units, so we're just going to have to make the current square footage we use look bigger with more flexibility, and be thoughtful about how we space plan these units," Caudle said.

At Jefferson Apartment Group's J Linea, a building Hickok Cole designed that deliveredin June, units come with built-in desks for remote workers.Caudle said the firm is also designing units with dedicated spaces for home workout equipment.

"When we space plan the unit, the way we position kitchens, or the living room area or bedroom, we're identifying a place where you could put the yoga mat, where you could put the stationary bike, and the unit will still lay out and live with more flexibility," Caudle said.

Urban Atlantic Managing Partner Vicki Davis said on BMAC that her company is looking at ways to rearrange units to cater to remote workers, such as turning walk-inclosets into home offices.

"We're experimenting with our product to see what's going to work in the future," Davis said. "A lot of people are working at home, and there are a lot of opportunities for how do we create more flexibility in the space so people can use that creatively."

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Apartment Developers Increasing Unit Sizes For New Projects In Response To Pandemic - Bisnow

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) In the 1960s, Bishop D. Lawrence Williams of the Church of God in Christ had a dream. In the town that staged Massive Resistance, rather than integrate schools and the birthplace of the racist poll tax, Williams dreamed of a high-rise apartment building to house the City of Norfolks elderly residents who were in financial need.

It was a bold plan that was met with pushback, but his dream came true when the 150-unit, 11-story, COGIC High-Rise building opened in March of 1974, not far from the historically Black Norfolk State College, now Norfolk State University, and the historically-Black Booker T. Washington High School.

Pastor Toney McNair, now vice president of the COGIC High-Rise Board, has a gleam in his eyes when he flashes back to that day when the first proud residents entered their deluxe apartments in the sky.

That was a most exciting time after knowing what Bishop D. Lawrance Williams had to do to get to that point. We were surprised but blessed to see that day, said McNair.

Lemuel Williams was also on the front lawn on that historic day and he has been there ever since as the buildings sole manager for 47 years.

This is the first senior citizen high-rise in the whole state of Virginia and we were operated by African Americans, said Williams with pride.

Over the years, portions of the 150-unit building have been upgraded to include a modern hair salon, a computer center, and professional offices. In two weeks, crews will begin an $11.7-million top-to-bottom renovation. It will include a new roof, new windows, a new facade, plumbing, new heating and air conditioning systems, and new kitchens.

The city and state are pitching in for the funding.

We had to use tax credits from the state of Virginia. They allotted tax credits for low-income housing so then the housing authority issued us bonds for financing, said Williams.

Because of the pandemic, extra precautions will be taken to protect residents once construction crews arrive. Anyone entering the building must stop at a temperature-check station for screening and construction workers must use designated entrances and exits.

Temperatures will be checked, one designated elevator will be used We have an exit in the back, so we have that all in place. Every morning, temperatures will be checked, just as we do now, said Williams.

Starting at the top, the building will be renovated two floors at a time with residents moved temporarily to hotel-style apartments while improvements are made to their units.

Currently, the building has an 18- to 24-month waitlist for new tenants. Veteran manager Williams says the demand only underscores the need for Norfolk officials to pave the way for the construction of more affordable rental units for senior citizens.

The renovation is expected to be completed by New Years Eve 2021.

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A makeover for Norfolks deluxe apartment in the sky - WAVY.com

As Palo Alto continues to lag in its effort to build affordable housing, Santa Clara County is advancing its own plan to create an apartment complex for teachers in neighborhood that is already undergoing a dramatic transformation.

The county's plan, which the City Council will get its first look at on Monday night, would bring 110 apartments to 231 Grant Ave., across from the Palo Alto Courthouse in the California Avenue business district. Developed by nonprofits Mercy Housing and Abode Communities, which specialize in affordable housing, the apartments would be open to teachers and school district employees from participating districts in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.

Unlike other proposed developments in Palo Alto, the Grant Avenue development would be built on county land and, as such, does not require formal approval from the city. The county enjoys "sovereign immunity" when it comes to adding government functions and, as such, has the power to exceed the city's zoning rules.

To date, county staff had signaled their intent to adhere, to the extent feasible, to the development standards in the city's recently created "workforce housing" zone, according to a new report from the city's Department of Planning and Development Services. At the same time, the project exceeds several design standards. With a height of 55 feet, the apartment complex would exceed the city's 50-foot height limit. Its density of about 80 dwellings per acre is twice the number that the city typically allows in its multifamily zoning districts (RM-40). The recently created workforce zone, however, does not set limits on units per acre.

The project's building density, however, falls below the city's limits. The proposal would have a floor area ratio (FAR) of 1.85, below the 2.0 FAR allowed in the workforce housing zone. And even though it would exceed some development standards, city staff had concluded that the project is "generally consistent with the City's housing goals, which express an interest in providing high density multi-family housing near transit," according to a report from the Department of Planning and Community Environment.

Plans for the project show two C-shaped, four-story buildings, each with a courtyard. A third courtyard separates the two buildings. The project also includes a community room and a "flex room," which could accommodate a caf or another use, at the portion of the property closest to the corner of Grant Avenue and Park Boulevard. An at-grade garage behind the apartment buildings would include 112 spaces for cars through the use of stacked parking structures, along with 134 spaces for bikes. A report from the county's Facilities and Fleets Department notes that the project's "proximity to transit and farmer's markets, groceries, shops, restaurants, parks and libraries can help residents reduce trips for daily tasks, cutting down on vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions."

If the county Board of Supervisors ultimately approves the project, as is expected, the apartments would go up in an area that is already going through a dramatic transformation. The teacher complex will go up just blocks from the city's newly built parking garage at 350 Sherman Ave., and from an adjoining site at 250 Sherman Ave. where the city is about to commence construction on a public safety building. The housing complex would replace an existing office building near the intersection of Grant and Park Boulevard. The project is also just a few blocks from the Ventura neighborhood, where the city is preparing to adopt a new land use vision with the goal of encouraging more housing, park space and community amenities.

While city and county staff have been discussing the teacher housing project for nearly two years, the Monday hearing will give the council and residents their first chance to offer feedback on the preliminary plans for the proposed development, which will go through the environmental review process later this year.

So far, the city has requested that the county refrain from adding any curb cuts along Park Boulevard, a popular bike route. The city is also urging the developers to consider measures to regulate the volume and speed of traffic in the area. Claire Raybould, a senior planner at the Department of Planning and Development Services, also requested that the county consider the cumulative traffic impacts of both this project and the concurrent construction of the city's new public safety building. This includes ensuring that adjacent properties maintain their access to the streets during construction.

"Coordination between the County and City of Palo Alto must occur to minimize potential impacts associated with street closures, vehicle deliveries and other construction activities," Raybould wrote.

The Grant Avenue project was spearheaded by county Supervisor Joe Simitian, who in 2018 suggested using county land for teacher housing. The county and the city agreed that year to commit $6 million and $3 million to the project, respectfully. The county approved its partnership with Abode Communities and Mercy Housing in August 2019 and Facebook gave the project a boost in October 2019 with a donation of $25 million.

The housing will be available to teachers and school staff from the Palo Alto Unified School District, Mountain View Whisman School District, Mountain View-Los Altos High School District, Ravenswood City School District, Menlo Park City School District, Las Lomitas School District, Sequoia Union High School District, Los Altos School District and Foothill-De Anza Community College District.

In a Thursday statement, Simitian said that "no one wins when local teachers have to commute from miles and miles away."

"It's just that much harder to attract and retain the best teachers available," Simitian said. "Time in the car is time not spent with students or preparing lesson plans. And our teachers become more and more remote from the communities where they teach."

Teri Baldwin, president of the Palo Alto Educators Association, said in the statement that the local school district has teachers who commute from Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Aptos and Dublin.

"This long commute takes a toll on our teachers' quality of life and decreases the value of their salaries," Baldwin said. "It also adds to traffic and pollution problems in the county.

"When teachers live in or near their school communities, students also benefit. We want to be part of the community we teach in. We want to organize or attend after school events and support and encourage our students."

The county plans to go through the design and environmental review processes this year, with the goal of launching construction in August 2022 and completing the project in February 2024.

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Teacher housing plan moves ahead in Palo Alto - Palo Alto Online

GUILDERLAND Claiming that a lower court judge overstepped the bounds of established judicial review, the town of Guilderland and Pyramid, owner of Crossgates Mall, have asked an appeals court to reverse the lawsuit that stopped both the construction of a 222-unit apartment development on Rapp Road and a proposed Costco Wholesale store.

Kevin and Sarah McDonald, along with other Westmere residents Lisa and Thomas Hart, and gas-station owner Jonathan Kaplan in September of last year filed a lawsuit against both the town of Guilderland and Pyramid Management Group after the towns planning board approved the companys Rapp Road and Western Avenue projects.

In November 2020, Albany County Supreme Court Judge Peter Lynch ruled in the groups favor. Pyramid filed its appeal with the Third Appellate Division on Dec. 11, 2020; Guilderland filed three days later, on Dec. 14. The Appellate Division is the middle level in the states three-tiered court system.

The issue at hand, Lynch wrote in his Nov. 20 decision, was whether the Guilderland Planning Board complied with its obligations under the State Environmental Quality Review Act procedurally and substantively. It did not, on both counts, Lynch concluded.

In his decision, Lynch wrote that the planning board had violated the procedure set out by the act as well as the hard look test, a three-part test that requires an agency reviewing an action to: identify the areas of environmental concern; analyze the areas of concern to determine if the action may have a significant adverse impact; and support its determination with evidence.

Since the board violated the SEQRA procedure and the hard look test, Lynch declared null and void the boards acceptance of: both the draft and final environmental impact statements; the August issuance of a findings statement justifying its approval of the project; and the October granting of site-plan approval for Pyramids 222-unit apartment and townhome development.

In its Jan. 25 appeal, Pyramid claimed that Lynchs decision was not made based on arguments presented by either the plaintiff or the defendant. Rather, Pyramid argued, Lynch chose to identify specific issues that had not been in dispute, and handed down a decision for a case that neither side had actually presented.

Lynch in effect took it upon himself to amend the original petition, Pyramid argued in court papers, and then didnt give the town or company time to respond, violating the states prohibition against litigation by surprise.

The Third Appellate Division, Pyramid claimed, has repeatedly recognized that a lead agencys rational and substantiated SEQR finding is to be complied with. But Lynch did not defer to the planning boards judgement, Pyramid states in its filing; he chose instead to ignore the boards nearly two-year hard look and assumed the role of lead agency and substituted [his] judgment for that of the planning boards.

In an affidavit, Guilderland Supervisor Peter Barber stated, At its core, the trial courts decision discarded the Towns 20-year effort, as shown in its Comprehensive Plan, Westmere Corridor Study, and Transit Oriented District, to redevelop the former pig farm and vacant residential subdivision with new large scale commercial and multi-family development, because of their placement on an underutilized four-lane road with direct access to the Northway, and walking distance, for residents, retail workers, and shoppers, to CDTAs busiest area transit station and terminus of its planned rapid bus line to downtown Albany.

The trial court improperly annulled the Planning Board's two year hard look by claiming that the Board should have blindly ignored this planning process and Town Zoning Code by finding that the proposed action was incompatible with its surroundings.

Barber helped town attorney James Melita write Guilderlands appeal.

He told The Enterprise he had taught SEQR classes in the past, and that Melita has had very little bit little experience with [SEQR]. Barbers affidavit notes that he chaired Guilderlands zoning board for 16 years

In October of last year, the town let Pyramid take the lead in responding to the plaintiffs original complaint, addressing only a specific records-request denial made by the plaintiffs lawyer, James Bacon.

Barber said that Guilderland let Pyramid take the lead then because the company had been defending, basically, [the] application process.

The difference between now and October 2020, Barber said, is: We have a decision from [a] state Supreme Court judge that we think was wrong. And, with the town itself as well as its planning and zoning boards being sued, he said, We want to provide the best defense that we can.

Pyramids plan included developing three sites:

Site 1, a 19-acre plot at Rapp and Gipp roads for 222 apartments and townhouses, with the possibility for another 90 apartments to be built on the site.

Specifically, Pyramid was proposing three two-story townhouse-style buildings, with 10 units in each building, totaling 30 units, on the west side of the property. On either side of the entrance to the property, the developer was proposing two five-story apartment buildings, one with 94 units and the other with 98 units. The project additionally included about 3,900 square feet of commercial space. The company was also proposing a total of 362 parking spots: 84 indoor spaces and 278 outdoor spots;

Site 2, sixteen acres at Western Avenue and Crossgates Mall Road for a Costco, a membership-only, 160,000-square-foot warehouse-price club, that would offer gasoline service and 700 parking spots; and

Site 3: Eleven acres between the Costco site and Pyramids hotel on Western Avenue that could be used for retail, offices, or apartments. There are no current development plans for Site 3 however, Pyramid did present a zoning-compliant conceptual plan that could include 115,000 square feet of retail space, 50,000 square feet of office space, and 48 apartments.

Bacon previously told The Enterprise, The heart of an environmental impact study is a reasonable analysis of alternatives thats at the heart.

He then pointed to examples of his argument penned by Lynch:

In context of the proposed density, the project sponsor did not identify any alternative to the Site 1 use/design. To the contrary, the project sponsor affirmatively represented that there were no alternatives. This claim is false, Lynch wrote.

Pyramid argued in its Jan. 25 court papers that the planning boards Site 1 alternate-review had to be viewed in context: The board had already determined that the Rapp Road apartment-and-townhome development would not have a significant adverse impact on the environment, which negated the board from having to consider any alternative but the no-action alternative.

However, Pyramid claimed, the board did consider some Site 1 alternatives, like moving the entire development closer to Macys in nearby Crossgates Mall; different site layouts in order to protect the butterfly-management area; and nine different ways of routing traffic.

Lynch also wrote that the apartments and townhomes and proposed Costco had represented a maximum build scenario, and wrote that nowhere in the record was there any evidence of a scaled-down alternative, which would have enable[d] a comparative analysis to mitigate impact

The Costco was not a maximum-build scenario, Pyramid countered, stating that retail facilities of up to 250,000 square feet are permitted in the Transit-Oriented Development District (TOD). The company was proposing a 160,000 square-foot price club, approximately 36-percent smaller than the maximum allowed.

Bacon previously told The Enterprise that the court, in its decision, was mindful of its role in looking at the project: The role of the court was not to substitute its own judgement for that of the planning board, Bacon said; the role of the court was to determine if the lead agency, operating under the hard look standard, followed the correct procedure.

It did not, in Lynchs opinion.

One thing the plaintiffs were looking for in asking for a redo of the SEQRA review process was re-establishing a lead agency in order to obtain an impartial examination of the projects environmental impacts .

Lynch, citing case law, wrote that the lead agency is principally responsible for determining whether or not a project would have a significant impact on the environment.

The planning board had the authority to review site plans for each of the three sites, Lynch wrote, but it was the zoning board that had the sole responsibility of issuing a special-use permit for Costco. So, Lynch wrote, It is arguable that either entity is principally responsible to conduct the SEQRA review for the project. As such, the lead agency determination was required to undergo the coordinated review process.

Lynch wrote that its undisputed the planning board had a procedural failure with its SEQRA review process because it failed to coordinate Lead Agency determination with the Zoning Board of Appeals. Lynch went so far as to say, The Zoning Board was simply left out of the process.

The Planning Board had every opportunity to re-establish lead agency but failed to do so, Lynch writes. This was a blatant, material procedural failure which undermined the integrity of the EIS review.

In its Jan. 25 court filing, Pyramid argued that the planning board did not violate the coordinated review process laid out by SEQR, because the zoning board had been established as an involved agency, and had been notified of that fact after Costco and Site 3 were added to the planning boards scope of review, a move that triggered an in-depth environmental review.

When it adopted the positive SEQR declaration that triggered the in-depth review, the planning board identified the zoning board as an involved agency, Pyramid stated. The zoning board was fully apprised at the start of and throughout the EIS process, Pyramid claimed, and had a free hand to participate in the review process.

The positive SEQR declaration form that triggered the in-depth review stated that the scoping process would be undertaken, a draft scope would be prepared, and that draft document would be sent around to all involved and interested agencies and anyone requesting a copy.

Copies of the positive SEQR declaration were sent to nine potential involved and interested agencies, the zoning board among them, which also never objected to the planning board declaring itself lead agency, Pyramid noted.

Pyramid claimed that Lynch evaluated the SEQR record, de novo, as if the planning board had never adopted a negative declaration, and determined that a closer look was needed on already-settled issues. Lynch also identified three new areas of concern that were never addressed by the complainants, Pyramid argued, but were nevertheless cited by the judge in his decision to overturn the planning board.

According to Pyramid, Lynch claimed the planning board had failed to:

Take a hard look at the impacts the project would have on birds in the Pine Bush (later in its court filing, Pyramid claims that the birds were taken into account when the planning board undertook its hard look test);

Take a hard look at the visual impact a multiple five-story apartment buildings would have on the Rapp Road Historic District; and

The board failed to consider shorter alternatives to the apartment-and-townhome development on Rapp Road and a a residential alternative for the Costco site.

Pyramid stresses that the planning board took a hard look at the visual impacts associated with the Rapp Road apartment-and-townhome development. The appeal argues that Pyramid, to eliminate visual impacts, had to incorporate features the planning board had found in its study, features beyond the TOD minimum.

Pyramid had engaged in extensive outreach with residents in nearby neighborhoods during the early stages of the Rapp Road development review process, the company claimed.

Although the company also consulted with residents of the [Rapp Road Historic District], at no point during the Planning Boards SEQRA review did any resident of the RRHD raise any concerns regarding visual impacts, Pyramid claimed. Nor did the Historical Association or the SHPO, the appeal said of the State Historic Preservation Office.

Regardless, the planning board still analyzed visual impacts to the Rapp Road Historic District when it undertook SEQR, the appeal claims.

The district is a neighborhood of small homes, many of them hand-built by African Americans who arrived in the pinebush, largely from Mississippi, during the Great Migration.

Throughout his November 2020 decision, Lynch pointed to omissions that the planning board failed to consider when making its determination. The historical and cultural significance of the Rapp Road Historic District, Lynch wrote, cannot be overstated, and, in turn, cannot be ignored under the hard look test.

With the closest homes just a few hundred feet away from proposed five-story buildings, the planning board failed to consider any alternative with reduced building height.

But Pyramid counters that Lynch pointed to omissions that were actually omissions in the residents suit. Strikingly, Pyramid asserts in its Jan. 25 court filing, the Rapp Road Historic District was not mentioned a single time in the original complaint.

Pyramid also states that there are nearly 1,000 feet between the southernmost occupied home in the historic district and the northernmost five-story building at the site.

Whenever Pyramid makes an assertion like Lynch being way off in his measurement of the distance between the historic Rapp Road homes and proposed apartment building, or claims that the zoning board had actually been notified about its agency status with the project, the assertion is accompanied by a five-digit code that refers to a paper record in the companys voluminous court filing, which runs over 8,400 pages.

Lynch, the town asserted in its Jan. 28 court filing, claimed that the planning board failed to consider the impact the project would have on the historic Rapp Road neighborhood, committing a seismic failure in the process.

The record soundly defeats this false statement, the town states.

Rapp Road residents, according to the towns filing, confirmed that we get more help from the Town of Guilderland from what Ive seen going through this process going on two years, that it recognizes that this a gem and the amount of communication is very open with Pyramid and the Town of Guilderland.

The town argued that the planning board went well-beyond what is required of a hard look, for example, receiving expert opinions and comments from the states conservation and transportation departments, and says the proof is in the pudding.

Guilderland claims that a comparison of the project from when SEQR first began to when the board adopted a Findings Statement two years later shows that the planning boards review was proper and thorough. The town lists what it considers 10 substansial measures to illustrate its point, with four traffic-related measures and a requirement that Pyramid hand over 8.4 acres of land to Albany Pine Bush Commission, among them.

Justice Lynch wrote that the draft environmental impact statement also fails to mention, let alone account, for the fact that Costco will not improve the environment for non-automobile-oriented modes of transportation, will not reduce the number of required parking spaces, and will not focus intense development away from existing residential neighborhoods, all in contravention of TOD.

Pyramid countered in its court papers the plaintiffs conceded that Costco was fully consistent with the Transit-Oriented Development District, and that the plaintiffs objected to the project on economic grounds. The Court nevertheless faulted the Planning Board for relying on the fact that the Costco Project was permitted under local zoning, the company states.

Pyramid argued that it was only as the planning board was nearing completion of its environmental review for the proposed 222 apartments and townhouses on Rapp Road, that the company first made the town aware of its intention to apply to the zoning board so that it could develop the second of its three adjacent sites, a Costco.

With this new information, Pyramid states in its filing, the planning board decided to postpone taking any action on the apartment-and-townhome proposal and instead, on its own initiative, expanded the scope of the SEQRA action to include the [Rapp Road Development site], the proposed retail site on Site 2, and potential future development on Site 3, and declared itself SEQRA lead agency for the redefined action.

James Soos, the director of development for Pyramid, stated in an affidavit, Put simply, if resolution of this appeal is delayed, it is likely that Costco will abandon its proposed development on Site 2 and restart its search for other development sites in the region to construct its facility. Should that occur, the consequences would be devastating for Pyramid and the Town.

Then Pyramid argues in its court filing, Costco Project will create numerous construction and retail jobs, inspire local business growth, and significantly increase tax revenues to the Town, Albany County, and Guilderland School District.

Pyramid is currently suing the town in an attempt to knock $139.2 million off of Crossgates Malls $282.5 million assessment. In tax year 2019, the seven parcels of land that collectively make up Crossgates Mall paid entities within Guilderland the town itself; Guilderland schools; and the public library about $7 million in property taxes. If Crossgates were to win its lawsuit, the taxes it pays could be cut by about half.

Barber, in his affidavit, citing a paid-for-by-Pyramid economic analysis, asserted that Costco would generate significant annual property and school tax ($141,707; however, $16,160 would be the countys money) and sales tax revenues ($2 million; of which $157,516 would be Guilderlands take) at a time when State, local, and school budgets are under extreme pressures.

Barber goes on to state that Costco alone is projected to generate 142 jobs, over $3.9 million in earnings, and over $114.4 million in sales in Albany County, annually, and 187 jobs, over $5.1 million in earnings, and over $133.3 million in sales in the Town, every year, in terms of the direct, indirect, and total impact on employment and wages, according to an economic impact analysis.

But economists of all stripes left, right, libertarian, in the academy, and at think tanks caution readers of economic impact analyses to take their findings with a grain of salt, in part because, most economic impact studies are commissioned to legitimize a political position.

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Guilderland and Pyramid seek to reverse ruling that halted companys projects - The Altamont Enterprise

Wreaths Across America (WAA) is proud to announce the start of the 2021 national tour for its Mobile Education Exhibit (MEE). The MEE will hit the road this month in Maine and head Southwest towards Texas for both private and public scheduled events.

The goal of the Wreaths Across America Mobile Education Exhibit is to bring community together and teach patriotism while remembering the service and sacrifice of our nations heroes, said Karen Worcester, executive director, Wreaths Across America. However, over the last year, in light of the current health crisis, we feel this exhibit has taken on even more meaning by providing the opportunity for people to safely participate in something that is both educational and inspiring, while supporting and giving back to the communities it visits.

The MEE achieves this goal by bringing the local community, veterans, active-duty military and their families together through interactive exhibits, short films, and shared stories. The exhibit serves as a mobile museum, educating visitors about the service and sacrifice of our nations heroes as well as to serve as an official welcome home station for our nations Vietnam Veterans.

When the MEE pulls into your area, all veterans, active-duty military, their families, and the local community members are invited and encouraged to visit, take a tour and speak with WAA representatives and volunteers. They can also share more about the national nonprofit, and the work its volunteers do to support our heroes and their communities year-round.

To host the MEE in your community, whether it be for a parade, a school-related or veterans organization, or a public or private event, visithttps://wreathsacrossamerica.org/meeto make a request.

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Wreaths Across America Announces Start of the Mobile Education Exhibit's 2021 National Tour Homeland Security Today - HSToday

The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Tribal Development Division (LLTDD) is asking for feedback as part of its feasibility study for a vertically-integrated construction workforce program. We are seeking survey participants with construction experience or those wanting to pursue a construction-related job and are open to working in Leech Lake Reservation (LLR).

The survey is accessible at https://arcg.is/1SfCmK0, or you may scan the QR-code below with your mobile phone. It should only take around 10 minutes of your time. You will be eligible for a $100 prize by doing so (there will be five $100 drawings).

If the vertically-integrated construction workforce program is shown to be feasible; its development will help increase employment, housing development, and homeownership opportunities in our communities. The Leech Lake Tribal College (LLTC) will provide four- to five-week construction trades training certification courses to educate the workforce laborers needed to manufacture home panels and to develop needed construction trades to build housing homes within LLR. Collaborations between LLTC and non-profit agencies and private sector contractors also ensure a path towards on-the-job trainings and apprenticeship programs. The Leech Lake Financial Services (LLFS) role will be to assist potential homeowners with a budget, proper credit score, savings plan and guidance to keep them on the right path.

This effort being led by the LLTDD is funded by the EDA with the following partners: LLTC, LLFS, and regional and state networks such as Region 5 Development Commission, Widseth, Rural Minnesota Concentrated Employment Program, and Sweet Grass Consulting, LLC.

If you would like to chat with someone regarding this survey or project, please call Michael Brydge, Principal Director, Sweet Grass Consulting, LLC at 540-448-1826 or email at [emailprotected]

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Construction Workforce and Home Manufacturing on the Horizon - Leech Lake News

A mule deer buck faces an elk feedground fence near Pinedale, Wyoming. A Cody group has formed to help make fences more wildlife friendly in the region along important migration routes.

The toughest deer in the West are found wintering outside of Cody, Wyoming.

Thats the assertion of Tony Mong, a Wyoming Game and Fish Department wildlife biologist who has monitored mule deer, elk, pronghorn and bighorn sheep migrations in the region.

As evidence, he points to one collared mule deer doe that traveled from west of Cody near Sheep Mountain about 164 miles into Yellowstone National Park in three weeks one spring. Along the way, the deer gained and lost thousands of feet in elevation in the steep terrain of the Absaroka Mountains, all while avoiding an array of predators and carrying that years unborn fawn.

Im blown away how tough these animals are, Mong said.

In the fall, the mule deer doe crossed the same terrain to return to the Cody area in only a week. About 5,000 deer and 2,000 to 3,000 elk are using historical migration routes every year, twice a year, in the region.

AFI volunteers modify a fence to make it more wildlife friendly near Clark, Wyoming, last year.

Help

To ease these wildlife migrations, Mong has helped form a new coalition the Absaroka Fence Initiative. The AFI is a combination of local, state and federal groups, as well as ranchers and landowners. The groups goal is to remove fence obstructions along migration routes that WGFD, the Wyoming Migration Initiative and Montana State University have identified.

Its a true collaborative effort, Mong said. Theres not just one group driving this.

Similar groups in Jackson Hole and the Platte Valley improved wildlife migration corridors, but werent formed specifically to address fencing issues, Mong said. The Absaroka Fence Initiative took form in 2019 as Mong met with several of local agencies and nongovernmental organizations.

Everyone had fencing work and conversion on their radar, but they werent working all together, he said.

By unifying the various groups, concentrating their funding and volunteer power, and by using data provided on migration routes, they could identify common projects to get work done more efficiently. In January 2020 the group was formed and by December they had finished their first project making about a mile of fence on public and private land wildlife friendly near the community of Clark, just south of the Montana border.

For deer and elk, which jump fences, a lower top wire can help prevent them from getting tangled and dying.

Project 1

Fifteen volunteers showed up in December to alter the fence on land owned by Kathy Lichtendahl and her husband.

Lichtendahl said she has long been aware of fencing-caused wildlife problems, prompting her family to modify most of their fences. Pronghorn go through her property on a daily basis to reach a spring, and elk winter in the area, as well. Mule deer numbers on her ranch have declined, she noted.

To me, its an invaluable resource to work on some of these projects around the Bighorn Basin to allow much easier movement of wildlife across the landscape, she said.

Landowners frequently dont have the time or money to alter their fences, Lichtendahl added, so having a group to help with the cost and work is a real godsend.

Making a fence wildlife friendly often means raising the bottom wire 18 inches above ground to allow pronghorns ease of access underneath, while dropping the top wire so deer and elk dont get snagged when leaping over the fence.

The coalition has another project scheduled for May in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management. The group will focus its efforts from the Montana border south to near Meeteetse, Wyoming.

A group of collared pronghorn antelope in southwest Wyoming encountered fences an average of 248 times a year, about 40% of which changed the animal's behavior.

Data

The Absaroka Fence Initiatives work was finished not long before researchers at the University of California Berkley provided hard evidence of the difficulty fences cause for wildlife. In a recently published study, they used collared mule deer and pronghorn in western Wyomings Green River Basin to identify specific sections of fence that cause the animals problems. These species navigate through an estimated 3,728 miles of fencing enough to almost span the U.S.-Mexico border while walking to summer range near Grand Teton National Park.

The data is so specific it showed how the collared animal reacted when it reached a fence. Did it jump the obstacle, as mule deer do? The data can even show the animal pacing back and forth, looking for a way to cross, or walking away. Wenjing Xu, a Ph.D. student at UC Berkeley, was the lead author of the study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology.

Xu compared maps to GPS tracking data from 24 tagged mule deer does and 24 pronghorn. She found that each year mule deer encountered fences an average of 119 times. In comparison, pronghorn encountered fences about 248 times a year. About 40% of these fence encounters resulted in a change in the animals behavior, according to the study.

Anybody whos spent time in the West knows youll find a lot of fences, said Arthur Middleton, an assistant professor of wildlife management and policy at UC Berkeley and senior author of the paper. But seeing such frequent encounters, 40% of which result in a failure to cross, is kind of mind-blowing especially when you multiply those numbers across whole populations and landscapes.

Along with the study, the team is also publishing a software package that will help wildlife managers around the world analyze GPS tracking data to identify fences and other barriers to wildlife movement.

With so much fence on the landscape, identifying those key crossing points can save time, money and effort for groups like the Absaroka Fence Initiative.

We hope to use some of that data to drive decisions, Mong said. Thats all great information.

The other technology that has helped Mong monitor wildlife in his region are trail cameras. A network of 30 cameras have shown specific routes the animals take, what day and time of day they use the trails and in what weather conditions. Photos can also show the body condition of the deer, elk, pronghorn and bighorn sheep. Fifteen years ago, this technology wasnt available.

Alex Few carries her daughter, Kaia Cadwallader, as she works on a fence modification project in Clark, Wyoming, alongside other volunteers with the Absaroka Fence Initiative.

Why?

Wildlife migrate in the spring to find the most nutritious food. As they trek through the mountains, the animals are targeting new growth, which contains the most nutrients. This movement has been called surfing the green wave as they travel to continually find the newest vegetation to dine on.

Along the way, GPS collars have shown key spots where animals will linger, known as stopover sites. These sites account for 90% of the deers migration time in the Hoback region.

The animals return along much the same routes, often more quickly as they rush to avoid being trapped or hampered by heavy autumn snowfall.

In the Cody area, wildlife is lucky because much of their migration takes place in wilderness areas, Grand Teton or Yellowstone national parks. So its along the eastern edge of those wild places that the Absaroka Fence Initiative will concentrate its efforts.

I foresee us being able to make a real difference on the landscape in a quick manner, Mong said.

The real power in this group is its collaborative nature. Were all in this together and that drives change and good conservation.

Absaroka Fence Initiative

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Group formed to make fences more wildlife friendly in Cody area - Billings Gazette

ESCONDIDO, Calif. (KGTV) - Two Escondido women are hoping a dog they found abandoned at a dog park will soon be adopted into a safe home.

The dog was found tied up to a fence at Mayflower Dog Park in Escondido, reportedly left by two men.

Justine Hollins and Taylor Reynold saw a post about the dog late Sunday night. It was about 9:20 p.m. when they decided to drive over to the park to try and help.

The women say it was cold and that the dog was terrified, howling, and crying.

Animal Control showed up and was able to take the dog.

The women say the dog did not look abused. They say he looked clean, had a harness and a leash, but say if the owner could no longer care for him, they should have looked for a better way to re-home him.

Rescuing dogs is a passion for Hollins and Reynold, who frequently help rescue street dogs from Mexico, nursing them back to health and help them find forever homes. The women are now hoping the dog they found Sunday night will find a new home with loving owners.

Escondido Police referred questions about a possible animal abuse investigation to the San Diego Humane Society. The Humane Society said in a statement that officers are investigating and currently working to identify the owner.

There is a listing for the dog on the website, where it says dogs not claimed within the four-day holding period may be made available for adoption.

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Dog abandoned, left tied to fence in Escondido park - 10News

You can find aspects of Londons rich history dotted around the city in even the most simple and seemingly unremarkable of places.

Many walk past one particular piece of hidden history everyday, unaware that the simple objects that line some London streets have an incredible link to the past.

The black steel and mesh railings, mostly found in the estates of South London, are actually made out of old World War 2 stretchers.

These interesting fences can be found in Peckham, Brixton, Deptford, Oval and in parts of East London too.

The curved metal on the corners of the panels of the railings is not simply a design choice, but instead a reminder of their first life and initial purpose.

As London faced a barrage of bombings from German forces in WW2, hundreds of thousands of stretchers were produced to carry the wounded.

The emergency stretchers were used by Air Raid Protection officers who would bravely carry those injured during the Blitz to safety.

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When the war ended there was no longer such a demand for these items.

However, there was a need to replace metal fencing which had been lost during the war and manufactured into weaponry.

With a large amount of stretchers suddenly free, the London City Council decided to have the stretchers welded vertically together, fixed onto poles, and used to replace this missing fencing.

Now The Stretcher Railing Society works for the promotion, protection and preservation of London's stretcher railings.

Have you ever spotted the interesting railings around London? Let us know in the comment section here.

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Unusual history behind the fences on South London estates dating back to the war - My London