Monthly Archives: October 2013

Construction bids: City will no longer let lying dogs sleep

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Construction on Oct 29, 2013.

Only after the city had paid $275,000 to a contractor did officials realize the business had lied on its application. According to the Philadelphia inspector general’s office, the incident has prompted a number of changes in the city’s contracting process that should prevent this kind of fraud in the future.

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Sandy taught us region must change land use approach to survive

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Land Use & Zoning on Oct 26, 2013.

In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, the Philadelphia, New York City and Northern New Jersey district councils of the Urban Land Institute asked the national organization for help. This part of the Atlantic Seaboard was hit hard by the storm and was, many believe, unprepared for the devastation it wrought. With both local and federal governments working on rebuilding, the region needed advice on how to coordinate the various policies and programs to achieve the best result.

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Three proposals are odds-on favorites for Philadelphia’s casino

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Development on Oct 24, 2013.

After protesters were escorted out of a recent Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board hearing, it became clear that the Philadelphia casino debate is not quite over, though the volume has been turned down. City officials were at the hearing to discuss the pros and cons of the six proposals for the project when a group of people started to chant “No casino! No casino, no matter what!” They carried signs that said “Addiction,” “Crime” and “Poverty.”

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Tech affects commercial space: ‘Industrial’ is the new ‘office’ p2

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Commercial Real Estate on Oct 18, 2013.

Economists are spending their time this week trying to figure out how much the federal shutdown cost the country. Before the shutdown, though, at least one economist was figuring out how the commercial real estate market has changed over the past few years. As we said in our last post, the economist, a speaker at an Urban Land Institute symposium, suggests that it is time to stop blaming the slow recovery, especially in the office market, on the recession.

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Tech affects commercial space: ‘Industrial’ is the new ‘office’

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Commercial Real Estate on Oct 17, 2013.

The time has come to stop blaming the recession for the slow commercial real estate market, according to an economist presenting at an Urban Land Institute event. The office market has been improving, but incrementally. Office space absorption is down about 40 percent from before the recession, and it is unlikely to recover completely. Brokers, agents and customers need to embrace the new normal, it seems, and the new normal has a lot to do with advances in technology.

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Salvation Army, developer, others named in building collapse suit p2

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Construction on Oct 14, 2013.

Six people died when the Salvation Army Thrift Store collapsed on June 5. The disaster was triggered by the demolition of an adjacent building. While city leaders have discussed updating Philadelphia’s construction code to avert the same kind of accident in the future, families of the victims have been investigating the matter themselves, it seems.

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Salvation Army, developer, others named in building collapse suit

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Construction on Oct 2, 2013.

The parents of a woman killed in the June 5 collapse of the Salvation Army Thrift Store have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the property owner, the demolition contractor, the Salvation Army and several other entities. Their daughter, 24, was shopping at the Center City site when the building came down. She was one of six people killed; several more were seriously injured.

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