Monday, April 6, 2020

COVID-19 Response: Suspension of ElectricWeb for March/April 2020

Issuance Date: 03/6/2020
To: Owners and Contractors
Purpose: Guidance to owners and contractors regarding enforcement of Essential vs. Nonessential construction in accordance with NYS Governor’s Executive Order 202.6 and subsequent orders, and the Guidance on Executive Order 202.6 published by NYS ESDC Item 9
Related Code/Zoning Section(s):
  • AC 28-103.8
  • AC 28-201.1
  • New York State Gubernatorial Emergency Order 202.6 and subsequent orders and related Empire State Development Corporation guidelines
  • New York City Mayoral Emergency Order 103 and subsequent mayoral emergency orders

_________________________________________________________________
In accordance with NYS Governor’s Executive Order 202.6 and the Guidance on Executive Order 202.6 and subsequent orders published by NYS ESDC Item 9, (1) All non-essential construction must shut down except emergency construction, (e.g. a project necessary to protect health and safety of the occupants, or to continue a project if it would be unsafe to allow to remain undone until it is safe to shut the site). (2) Essential construction may continue and includes roads, bridges, transit facilities, utilities, hospitals or health care facilities, affordable housing, and homeless shelters. At every site, if essential or emergency non-essential construction, this includes maintaining social distance, including for purposes of elevators/meals/entry and exit. Sites that cannot maintain distance and safety best practices must close and enforcement will be provided by the state in coordination with the city/local governments. This will include fines of up to $10,000 per violation. (3) For purposes of this section construction work does not include a single worker, who is the sole employee/worker on a job site.
Only the following construction projects permitted by the NYC Department of Buildings or otherwise regulated by the NYC Construction Codes and the NYC Electrical Code shall be permitted to continue until further notice. This guidance does not apply to construction on roads, bridges, and transit facilities that is allowable under the Governor’s Executive Orders and ESDC Guidance.
Melanie E. La Rocca
Commissioner

280 Broadway (7th Floor)
New York, NY 10007
Tel 212 393 2002


1. Emergency construction (ESDC Item 9, bullet 1):
a. Project necessary to protect the health and safety of the occupants:
i. Emergency work ordered by the Department;
ii. Restoration of essential services – heat, hot water, cold water, gas, electricity, or other utility services; or
iii. Work necessary to address any condition requiring immediate corrective action that severely affects life, health, safety, property, or significant number of persons.
b. Project required to continue to the extent it would be unsafe to allow work to remain undone. Such project may continue only until it is safe to shut the site.
2. Essential construction (ESDC Item 9, bullet 2):
a. Utilities;
b. Hospitals or health care facilities;
c. Transitional and/ or Homeless shelters;
d. Affordable housing: Construction work on public housing, or a private or multiple dwelling or real property that is a new building (NB) or that is 100% vacant; or is work on unoccupied public housing units for the designation as housing for specific populations (i.e. shelter set aside, domestic violence referrals), or work on the exterior to address emergency conditions requiring immediate corrective action, set forth in Section 1(a)(iii) or within public housing, correction of critical systems for seasonal preparedness for the 2020-2021 heating season of an existing public housing building. Construction work on a private or multiple dwelling or real property that is a new buildin (NB) or that is 100% vacant that is now used or will be converted to such use: (i) For the provisio of affordable inclusionary housing or mandatory inclusionary housing pursuant to the New Yor city zoning resolution; or (ii) Where no less than 30% of the residential units are subject to a regulatory agreement, restrictive declaration, or similar instrument with a local, state, or federal governmental entity or a local housing authority in a city with a population of one million or more.
e. Other essential construction as approved by the Department.
3. Work that is limited to a single worker, who is the sole employee/worker on a job site (ESDC Item 9, bullet 3)
                                          ALL OTHER WORK TO CEASE
All other construction and demolition work permitted by the NYC Department of Buildings or otherwise regulated by the NYC Construction Codes and the NYC Electrical Code shall cease and comply with Buildings Bulletin 2020-004.
All complaints from the public or workers should be directed to 311 where a Class “A” complaint will be generated for DOB to address.
For a determination that work is either essential or emergency work in accordance with New York State Gubernatorial Emergency Order 202.6 and subsequent orders and related Empire State Development Corporation guidelines shall be submitted to the Department in a form and manner acceptable to the Department.
Reference
NYS Governor’s Executive Order 202.6 (MARCH 6, 2020 at 11:00 AM)


Friday, March 6, 2020

COVID-19 Response: Suspension of ElectricWeb for March/April 2020

Issuance Date: 03/6/2020
To: Owners and Contractors
Purpose: Guidance to owners and contractors regarding enforcement of Essential vs. Nonessential construction in accordance with NYS Governor’s Executive Order 202.6 and subsequent orders, and the Guidance on Executive Order 202.6 published by NYS ESDC Item 9
Related Code/Zoning Section(s):
  • AC 28-103.8
  • AC 28-201.1
  • New York State Gubernatorial Emergency Order 202.6 and subsequent orders and related Empire State Development Corporation guidelines
  • New York City Mayoral Emergency Order 103 and subsequent mayoral emergency orders

_________________________________________________________________
In accordance with NYS Governor’s Executive Order 202.6 and the Guidance on Executive Order 202.6 and subsequent orders published by NYS ESDC Item 9, (1) All non-essential construction must shut down except emergency construction, (e.g. a project necessary to protect health and safety of the occupants, or to continue a project if it would be unsafe to allow to remain undone until it is safe to shut the site). (2) Essential construction may continue and includes roads, bridges, transit facilities, utilities, hospitals or health care facilities, affordable housing, and homeless shelters. At every site, if essential or emergency non-essential construction, this includes maintaining social distance, including for purposes of elevators/meals/entry and exit. Sites that cannot maintain distance and safety best practices must close and enforcement will be provided by the state in coordination with the city/local governments. This will include fines of up to $10,000 per violation. (3) For purposes of this section construction work does not include a single worker, who is the sole employee/worker on a job site.
Only the following construction projects permitted by the NYC Department of Buildings or otherwise regulated by the NYC Construction Codes and the NYC Electrical Code shall be permitted to continue until further notice. This guidance does not apply to construction on roads, bridges, and transit facilities that is allowable under the Governor’s Executive Orders and ESDC Guidance.
Melanie E. La Rocca
Commissioner

280 Broadway (7th Floor)
New York, NY 10007
Tel 212 393 2002


1. Emergency construction (ESDC Item 9, bullet 1):
a. Project necessary to protect the health and safety of the occupants:
i. Emergency work ordered by the Department;
ii. Restoration of essential services – heat, hot water, cold water, gas, electricity, or other utility services; or
iii. Work necessary to address any condition requiring immediate corrective action that severely affects life, health, safety, property, or significant number of persons.
b. Project required to continue to the extent it would be unsafe to allow work to remain undone. Such project may continue only until it is safe to shut the site.
2. Essential construction (ESDC Item 9, bullet 2):
a. Utilities;
b. Hospitals or health care facilities;
c. Transitional and/ or Homeless shelters;
d. Affordable housing: Construction work on public housing, or a private or multiple dwelling or real property that is a new building (NB) or that is 100% vacant; or is work on unoccupied public housing units for the designation as housing for specific populations (i.e. shelter set aside, domestic violence referrals), or work on the exterior to address emergency conditions requiring immediate corrective action, set forth in Section 1(a)(iii) or within public housing, correction of critical systems for seasonal preparedness for the 2020-2021 heating season of an existing public housing building. Construction work on a private or multiple dwelling or real property that is a new buildin (NB) or that is 100% vacant that is now used or will be converted to such use: (i) For the provisio of affordable inclusionary housing or mandatory inclusionary housing pursuant to the New Yor city zoning resolution; or (ii) Where no less than 30% of the residential units are subject to a regulatory agreement, restrictive declaration, or similar instrument with a local, state, or federal governmental entity or a local housing authority in a city with a population of one million or more.
e. Other essential construction as approved by the Department.
3. Work that is limited to a single worker, who is the sole employee/worker on a job site (ESDC Item 9, bullet 3)
                                          ALL OTHER WORK TO CEASE
All other construction and demolition work permitted by the NYC Department of Buildings or otherwise regulated by the NYC Construction Codes and the NYC Electrical Code shall cease and comply with Buildings Bulletin 2020-004.
All complaints from the public or workers should be directed to 311 where a Class “A” complaint will be generated for DOB to address.
For a determination that work is either essential or emergency work in accordance with New York State Gubernatorial Emergency Order 202.6 and subsequent orders and related Empire State Development Corporation guidelines shall be submitted to the Department in a form and manner acceptable to the Department.
Reference
NYS Governor’s Executive Order 202.6 (MARCH 6, 2020 at 11:00 AM)


Monday, February 10, 2020

Eli Lilly to Build $470M Plant in North Carolina

Eli Lilly and Company will invest over $470 million and create more than 460 new jobs in Durham, Governor Roy Cooper announced.  The project will bring a new state-of-the-art pharmaceutical manufacturing facility to North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park.

“Life science companies like Lilly continue to choose North Carolina,” said Governor Cooper.  “Our exceptional workforce draws global companies as we continue to grow North Carolina into a worldwide hub for the biotechnology industry.”

Lilly, with headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana, has a long heritage in discovering and making medicines.  Established in 1876, today Lilly is attacking some of the worlds most serious and debilitating chronic health issues — diabetes, cancer, autoimmune conditions, chronic pain, and Alzheimer’s disease, all among the world’s leading causes of death or disability.

This new manufacturing site will be a state-of-the-art facility that produces parenteral (or injectable) products and delivery devices. To operate the site, Lilly will create more than 460 jobs in highly skilled positions such as scientists, engineers, quality professionals and manufacturing operations. 

Lilly currently has seven manufacturing sites located in the United States in Indiana, New Jersey and Puerto Rico.

In the past two years, Eli Lilly has invested billions of capital in new U.S.-based manufacturing because the 2017 tax reform rebalanced the playing field in favor of the American worker. 

North Carolina is one of the nation’s leading centers for innovation in the life sciences and roster of biomanufacturers.

Although wages will vary depending on position, the average salary for all the new positions will exceed $85,000, which is greater than the current average wage in Durham County of $68,756.

Lilly’s project in North Carolina will be facilitated, in part, by a Job Development Investment Grant approved by the state’s Economic Investment. Over the course of the 12-year term of this grant, the project is estimated to grow the state’s economy by $4.1 billion. 

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

$700M Mixed-Use Development in Northwest DC

Located on the former Fannie Mae headquarters site at 3900 Wisconsin Avenue, this historic-preservation project by Roadside Development will provide 1.2 million square feet of mixed-use development in the heart of Washington's prestigious Northwest, DC neighborhood.  

City Ridge will have nine buildings, 750 residential units, 194,000 square feet of retail anchored by D.C’s first Wegmans. and 250,000 square feet of office space. 

The site sits directly adjacent to the city's popular Glover-Archbold Park, and within walking distance to some of the area’s most well-known schools and academic Institutions.



The City Ridge development will preserve the historically designated Fannie-Mae building, as well as the gracious front lawn, which will become an open and activated green space for the community to enjoy.

The project is expected to cost more than $700 million and completion is scheduled for 2023.



  • 10-minute walk from Tenleytown metro station
  • 2 metro stops from bustling downtown Bethesda
  • 15-minute drive from downtown DC
  • Down the street from National Cathedral
  • Nestled against Glover Archibold Park’s trails and bike paths
  • Steps from the city’s most popular eateries and shopping destinations



Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Giant Waterfront Station II Redevelopment in Southwest D.C.

PN Hoffman, a developer of urban communities across the Washington Metropolitan Area, has been selected to develop Waterfront Station II, a 59,000-square-foot lot at 1000 Fourth Street, SW. The District-owned property is the last residential parcel to be developed at Waterfront Station.

The redevelopment plans for the parcel include a 400,000-square-foot, mixed-use community of 443 units, in addition to 22,500 square feet of neighborhood-serving retail space and a 10,000-square-foot black box theater.

The mixed-income housing will be comprised of 310 market-rate apartments and 133 affordable units - 30 percent of the total.


The development team is comprised of PN Hoffman, Paramount Development, ER Bacon Development, CityPartners and AHC Inc.

The entire project is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification.

Site Features:
•   One block from Waterfront Metro Station (Green Line)
•   Adjacent to CVS and one block from 55,000-sq-ft Safeway grocery store
•   Across from Southwest Branch Library and Amidon-Bowen Elementary School
•   Four blocks from I-395 on-ramp
•   Daily traffic volume on I-395: 163,800
•   Three blocks from newly expanded 1,400-seat Arena Stage
•   Less than half-mile to Southwest Waterfront
•   Less than one mile from Nationals Park
“The Southwest Waterfront is experiencing a renaissance unlike anything else in the District,” said PN Hoffman CEO, Monty Hoffman. "We are confident that our plan to revitalize a key portion of 4th Street SW will enhance the livability and allure of the neighborhood.”

“We are excited for the opportunity to continue our work in Southwest, and we look forward to providing significant new mixed-income housing, cultural space and retail to help complete the transformation of 4th Street SW,” said Shawn Seaman, senior vice president of development at PN Hoffman.

The overall Waterfront Station project includes twin office buildings at 1100 and 1101 Fourth St. SW, the Lex and Leo apartments (formerly Sky House East and West) at 1150 and 1151 Fourth St., a new mixed-use building from Forest City Washington at 1001 Fourth St., and future office buildings at 375 and 425 M St. SW.

The Capitol Vista site at Second and H streets NW will be redeveloped as affordable housing and 3,000 square feet of retail by Voltron Community Partners (Dantes Partners and Spectrum Management).

At Truxton Circle, 1520-1522 North Capitol St. NW., Urban Green and Flywheel Development will build a net-zero, mixed-use, all-affordable project with a ground-floor restaurant.

PN Hoffman is investing heavily in Southwest DC. They are developing The Wharf, a 3.2 million square foot neighborhood on one mile of Washington, DC’s southwest waterfront, as well as 525 Water, a luxury condominium building adjacent to The Wharf, and Riverside Baptist Church.

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Plans to Build Two of Region's Tallest Residential Towers

JM Zell Partners and Hines Ltd. are planning to construct the first building within the 6-acre Carlyle Plaza Two, a long-planned four-tower office and residential complex south of Eisenhower Avenue in Alexandria, Virginia.

A 382-unit apartment building, designed by Bernardo Fort-Brescia of Miami-based Arquitectonica International, will rise to 34 stories and 375 feet, offering virtually unobstructed views of Mount Vernon, MGM National Harbor and the Washington Monument.

The second residential tower in Carlyle Plaza Two, the closest building to the Capital Beltway to the south, may rise to 354 feet.

Both towers will be among the region’s five tallest residential buildings, rivaling those planned for Rosslyn.

The developers expect to break ground on the four-tower office and residential complex in late spring 2017.

The design features three rectangular blocks of nearly equal height, with the middle block slipped roughly 25 feet to the south to create a cantilever effect.

The result of the cantilever is two large outdoor terraces, one on the 16th floor and another on the 26th. There will be a fifth-floor amenity terrace, with pool, as well.

The unit breakdown: 22 studios, 238 one-bedroom apartments and 122 two-bedroom units.

“They want an iconic building,” Jeffrey Zell, JM Zell president, said of Alexandria. “They now have an iconic building.”

The development site is immediately east of The Alexan apartment building and north of the Alexandria Renew Nutrient Management Facility.


Alexandria approved the development plan for Carlyle Plaza Two in 2012 — for 755,114 square feet of office in two towers and 632,056 square feet of residential in two more towers.

The plan was later amended to offer the option of converting 325,000 square feet of office space to hotel and residential use.

Thursday, December 26, 2019

Reagan National Airport to Undergo Massive $1B Renovation

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, across the Potomac River from the nation's capital, will undergo a massive $1 billion renovation, its managers announced this week. 
 
The airport in Arlington, Virginia turned 75 years old this month. Despite its being in better condition than other major airports, such as New York's La Guardia, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority plans to add 1.1 million square feet to the airport.

The added space would shorten security lines and improve customers' experiences while traveling, the authority said.

More than 23 million passengers used National last year, making it the second-busiest airport in the region, after Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport. Last year was its sixth straight year of record-high passenger traffic. And there is little indication it will taper off.

And that’s the problem.

Such phenomenal growth was not part of the original plan for the airport, which sits on 860 acres of infill in the Potomac River.

But in the years since President Franklin D. Roosevelt watched the first American Airlines DC-3 aircraft touch down on the runway, the airport has grown in ways that few could have anticipated. It now serves more passengers than Dulles International — an airport 14 times its size.

The irony is that while airport officials have fought against growth at National, they have been forced to accommodate it.

They have reconfigured space, even re-purposing storage closets and conference rooms to manage the passenger boom. In 2014, they spent $37 million to remake historic Terminal A, adding security lanes and brightening the interior.

This fall, they will break ground on the airport’s biggest building project in nearly two decades. The centerpiece of the ambitious $1 billion program will be a new commuter concourse on the airport’s north side.

The building will replace Gate 35X — a notorious choke point where travelers, in rain, sun or snow, are required to board shuttle buses to get to their planes.

"Over the next four years, there's going to be a transformation of the passenger experience at Reagan National to decrease congestion near the gate and to improve passenger flow through the terminal," said MWAA spokesman Rob Yingling.

The authority released a video that shows security checkpoints being moved and housed under the roadway west of the airport, toward Crystal City.

 
Some of the checkpoints will be underground and have natural light coming in through glass ceiling panels. Terminal C, which currently houses the airport's executive offices, will be transformed to hold short-hop flights.

The authority said much of the construction will be done overnight so as not to interfere with airport traffic.