Experts say the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing employers to reconsider their office layouts, and the open-office style layout may well get the chop.
“While many organizations prepared for employee safety in other ways, the workplace was not designed to mitigate the spread of disease,” Steelcase, a furniture maker, wrote in a newly published brochure called “The Post-COVID Workplace.”
The open office layout has grown more popular over the last couple of decades as it enables firms to squeeze more workers into their workspaces, but with social distancing protocols now the norm, some businesses are said to be reconsidering the lack of walls.
“I think office space is going to change, [and] we will go back to putting shields between people,” Carol Bartz, CEO of Autodesk, told MarketWatch. “I think people are going to want protection.”
As such, it could be that the office cubicle is going to make a comeback. An article in Wired.com recently said: “The cubicle is making a comeback. One of the most important innovations (to reduce transmission) may turn out to be cardboard or plastic dividers that turn open-plan offices into something more reminiscent of the 1980s.”
But not everyone believes a cubicle wall will be enough to prevent the spread of infections such as COVID-19.
“The cubicle wall is not going to be a perfect barrier,” Peter Raynor, professor at the University of Minnesota’s Division of Environmental Health Sciences and director of the university’s industrial hygiene program, told Forbes.com. “It’s going to prevent those larger droplets from passing within six feet of the person in the next cubicle. From that standpoint, they’re good. Probably for the smaller aerosol droplets, the cubicle walls aren’t going to be much of a barrier. They don’t settle very fast, and they can remain airborne for long periods.”
Strangely though, separate offices and doors are not being considered by many businesses, even though they offer far more protection. Instead, more discussions are taking place about improving air circulation in office spaces.
“Generally, if you have more HVAC [heating, ventilation, and air conditioning], you’re going to tend to dilute the virus so there’s less of it to breathe on any given inhalation if it’s present in the first place,” Raynor told Forbes.com. He added that a higher proportion of air from outside, along with higher levels of filtration of recirculated air, could make transmission of the virus less likely.
“Planning paradigms of the past were driven by density and cost,” Steelcase’s COVID-19 brochure stated. “Going forward, they need to be based on the ability to adapt easily to possible economic, climate, and health disruptions. The reinvented office must be designed with an even deeper commitment to the well-being of people, recognizing that their physical, cognitive, and emotional states are inherently linked to their safety.”
Mike Wheatley is the senior editor at Realty Biz News. Got a real estate related news article you wish to share, contact Mike at [email protected]
The pandemic-driven shift to remote and hybrid work has decreased demand for office space and will steadily lower its value. That has huge implications not just for building owners but also for cities that rely on property tax revenue and the economic vibrancy that office workers generate.
A recent Boston Consulting Group survey found that many office buildings are at risk of becoming “zombies,” with low usage, high vacancy and quickly diminishing financial viability. The problem is particularly acute in Los Angeles and San Francisco, where weekday office building use has fallen to around 40%. As a result, in both cities, public transit revenue has plummeted by 80% or more, and office property values and tax revenues may drop by as much as half, according to our analysis of public data.
Rising interest rates are compounding the financial pressure for building owners, whose rental income stands to drop 35% to 45% as corporate leases expire in both San Francisco and Los Angeles. Higher borrowing costs coupled with lower valuations could leave some owners owing more than their buildings are worth, leading in turn to a wave of defaults that suddenly make lenders the owners and managers of these buildings. In February, a fund managed by Brookfield Properties defaulted on $784 million in loans on two well-known office skyscrapers in downtown L.A., which was seen by some as a turning point for the U.S. office market.
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We define zombie buildings as those that are at least half-empty. Many buildings are already at that mark, and 60% of office leases nationwide are set to expire over the next three years.
A vicious circle is emerging: Lower office building use leads to less spending at surrounding businesses and, as leases turn over, less rent revenue. This leaves less money available for building improvements, which further decreases property values and resources for maintenance and upgrades. As vacancies persist, businesses that cater to office workers close or relocate, creating more vacancies and often causing public-safety problems that cities struggle to address with diminished tax revenues.
Dealing with these new workplace and financial realities will require property owners, city leaders and lenders to take action to break the cycle and reimagine downtowns.
Cities need to take several steps over the next few years to revitalize downtown areas and reinvent or enhance them as destinations for living, working and playing:
Establish a baseline: Cities should assess office buildings for their likelihood of low occupancy and default and estimate the resulting budget shortfalls from lower tax revenue.
Encourage use: Cities should evaluate land-use rules to ensure that they don’t impede downtown revitalization; invest in public spaces and keep them safe, with a special focus on transit; and encourage government workers to return to office buildings to boost the vitality of downtown corridors.
Support new uses: Zoning and development regulations should be revised to allow for more downtown housing, hotels and retail and office space. Incentives such as tax breaks and subsidies can boost conversions to residential use, affordable housing and energy-efficient retrofits.
Replace lost revenue: City leaders can delay property reappraisals; make better use of public spaces for art, music and theater programming to draw people downtown to spend time and money; and find new sources of revenue such as tourism and arts and culture districts.
Property owners, for their part, need to evaluate their commercial real estate portfolios and decide how to revive or relinquish zombie buildings based on their characteristics, neighborhoods, markets, finances, and city taxes and incentives. Commercial office properties will fall into one of five categories: continued high occupancy and profitability; viable as office space with a moderate decline in income; appropriate for conversion to housing, hotel or other uses; suitable for redevelopment with public support; or unsuitable for reuse or subsidized redevelopment and therefore subject to default.
Making these decisions will be difficult but necessary. The pandemic created a permanent change in workplace behavior, so even a national economic rebound or a pause in interest rate hikes will not solve the problem for many buildings. Our analysis suggests that a third or more of current U.S. office space won’t be needed.
Lenders, meanwhile, should work closely with property owners and city governments to try to prevent a wave of building defaults that could force them to become the owners and managers of zombie buildings, setting off a spiral of declining property values. They will need to manage risk, restructure loans near or in default and develop markets where they can sell those loans. At the same time, they’ll have to evaluate and finance reuse and redevelopment projects as downtown districts take on new functions.
The U.S. office market faces dramatic upheaval over the next three years, forcing the nation to deal with moribund office buildings in very stressed urban neighborhoods. Given the stakes, cities, owners and lenders must begin to rethink how we use commercial buildings after the pandemic and what we want downtown.
Santiago Ferrer is Boston Consulting Group’s North America lead for cities, real estate and infrastructure development.
The loft is currently undergoing a MAJ nesting overhaul. We’ve flipped floors around quite literally, our bedroom is now on the ground floor!, repainted, reorganized and sadly, had to get rid of our team Apartment 34 office in the process.
While the room was a great for an office space, now our bedroom occupies the only room in the loft with uncarpeted cement floors and things are feeling more than a little cold! And needing to get up a million times a night to care for a newborn eek!!, we need a solution to this situation asap! A rug is the answer – it instantly warms up a space, adding texture and dimension, but finding a well made, timeless option isn’t always so easy. So we’re on an intense hunt for the perfect rug!
But what to do? We could go graphic with a bold print. Or be uber “now” and go Moroccan. I love the way some rugs instantly bring color or pattern to play into the space! I’m slowly turning the corner on the idea of injecting color into the loft, but per usual I’m leaning towards something in a neutral color palette at the moment. The great thing about a neutral rug is that it could quite literally more from one room to the next. From the bedroom to the living room, play room or dining room, investing in something that can be a utility player around the house and in my case, from one house to the next! is so important. I’m really loving the options that Loloi Rugs has to offer. The sophisticated prints will stand the test of trending times and they have quite the selection from tribal to contemporary!
Now, just to pick one! Which rug do you vote? I’m leaning towards #5. I’d love something really graphic with a hint of black, but they’re all so gorgeous it makes it hard to decide. I would so appreciate your help on this one. I can’t wait to get something soft over that concrete.
Our feet thank you for your advice in advance!
image 1+ 3 via Home Adore // 2 via Artek
This post is in partnership with Loloi Rugs. All thoughts and opinions are 100% our own. Thank you for supporting posts that keep Apartment 34’s doors open.
One of our favorite events of the year is touring the San Francisco Decorator’s Showcase home. It’s almost like the Fashion Week of interior design where designers from all over the Bay Area come together to exhibit their talents all under one roof literally!. This year’s location is a beautiful historic home designed by famed Bay Area architect, Julia Morgan. Located in Presidio Heights, the home overlooks the Presidio boasting expansive views of the Bay and that mighty fine looking Golden Gate Bridge of ours!
Since each room is designed by a different designer, you’re hit with all types of styles, tastes and interior inspiration. There was so much visual interest to take in, it was hard to even find time to blink. We could have easily spent several hours exploring and we still would have missed some killer details—it was just that stunning.
While there was an overload of inspiration to report back on, here were some of our biggest trend takeaways the rest you’ll just have to go see for yourself!:
1. Green is Gold. Various shades of green were used as the wall color choice for several rooms, but we were especially obsessed with the look of the matte, Hunter Green walls of Will Wick’s master bedroom. The color seemed to shift dramatically depending on which way the light hit the room—adding an additional layer of drama to the space’s already edgy feel. The use of all sorts of green hues throughout the home proved just how dynamic the color can be and for that reason it earned a spot at the forefront of our minds for future decorating projects like this one!.
2. Embrace Destruction. While a lot of interior design has a tendency to be super pristine and polished and spendy!, we love the look of subtle imperfections that give a room character and a sense of realness. Brittany Haines of Authenticity B layered in that sense of “realness” for the Showcase home’s office space. From a desk made from charred wood to a worn, lightly frayed antique rug, the room embraced life’s natural “wear and tear” to create an utterly sophisticated, yet still super approachable look.
3. Walls as Art. Of course we’re familiar with the concept of hanging art on walls, but Cecilie Starin took the idea to another level by commissioning Bay Area muralist Ian Ross to create a custom-painted, canvas wallpaper. Suddenly the walls themselves became the work of art! The organic, energetic lines of the hand painted walls played perfectly with some insanely badass gold accents to create a jaw-dropping look that can’t even be summarized with words.
These were just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the all the design happenings going on inside the 2015 Decorator Showcase house. It’s truly a must-see for any design fiends in the Bay Area. The house itself will be open for viewing through Memorial Day weekend so be sure to check it out for yourself if you’re in town! You can find all of the details on the Decorator Showcase website. If you’ve already visited, we’d love to know what design detail caught your eye!
image 1& 2 by Patrik Argast // 3 &4 by Bess Friday // 5 via Cecilie Starin // 6 by Ali Hartwell
Home decor can be vibrant, unique and help a compelling cause. Mysky Pets and Decor are pointing the way forward.
Is people’s home a testament of who they are as an individual? The right choice in home decor can help carry this message. In that spirit, Mysky Pets and Decor is thrilled to announce the official launch of its business and online store, showcasing a remarkable collection of sustainable, ethical, and beautiful handwoven home decor baskets. These meticulously crafted baskets add a touch of elegance to any home or office space, combining bold modern designs with ancient African weaving techniques.
With a focus on individuality, uniqueness, and personalization, Mysky Pets and Decor aims to provide customers with one-of-a-kind products that will reflect their distinctive stories and values. Each detail in one’s home serves as a chapter in their unique narrative—the places they have been, the people they have met, and the moments of solace that heal their sorrows. Mysky Pets and Decor understands the significance of these elements, and their handwoven baskets serve as living autobiographies, treasured moments, and embodiments of personal values.
“We believe that nothing says, ‘that person is unique’ more than a one-of-a-kind product,” says the spokesperson of Mysky Pets and Decor, Mr. Chris Cooke. “These handwoven home decor and pet bed baskets not only bring a touch of elegance to people’s/business space or home but also represent unity, tradition, and creativity. Each basket symbolizes the passion and love of the artisan who crafted it, encapsulating the stories and values of the customers.”
What sets Mysky Pets and Decor apart is their commitment to ethical and sustainable practices. The company employs a collective of highly skilled single mothers’ artisans in remote areas like Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda (East Africa) treating them with utmost respect and fairness. By providing these artisans with a real opportunity to improve their financial situations and lifestyles, Mysky Pets and Decor empowers them to support their children’s education and put food on the table—a feat that would have been incredibly challenging or even impossible otherwise. Moreover, this work has enabled over two hundred women to escape situations of abuse and poverty, and positively changing their lives and their community.
To highlight the exceptional artistry behind their products, Mysky Pets and Decor has released a captivating video highlighting the talented African artisans. The video sheds light on their dedication, passion, and the intricate weaving techniques passed down through generations. Viewers will witness the weaving process and better appreciate the artistry and cultural heritage encapsulated within each basket. The video can be found at the following link: https://vimeo.com/814458591.
Mysky Pets and Decor customers can expect a seamless shopping experience with free shipping, a 30-day return policy, and accessible customer support. In addition to enhancing the aesthetic appeal of their homes, these handwoven baskets also make perfect corporate gifts, dog bed baskets, and storage solutions. The company takes pride in using natural, non-toxic materials, ensuring a safe and eco-friendly choice for conscious consumers.
To explore the exquisite collection of handmade African pet baskets and home decor baskets offered by Mysky Pets and Decor, visit their website at www.myskypets.com. Be a part of the movement towards sustainable and ethical home decor and let each basket reflect each individual unique story.
For media inquiries, please contact +1 307-855-0987 or +1 587-576-9906.
Media Contact Company Name: Mysky Pets and Decor by Idacbc LLC Contact Person: Ida Lubelei Email: Send Email City: Calgary State: Alberta Country: Canada Website: www.myskypets.com
“This proposed rule would require [public housing authorities] and providers of project-based rental assistance to revise practices that unnecessarily prevent individuals who have criminal histories, but who do not pose a risk to the health and safety of other residents from participating in HUD programs,” the proposed rule reads. An initial notice of proposed rulemaking is expected in August.
Another proposed rule “would establish through rulemaking the circumstances in which governmental entities are deriving a prohibited financial benefit” from mortgage insurance for loans involving down payment assistance programs, with an initial notice proposal planned for May 2024.
HUD also plans to modernize processes regarding engagement with mortgage borrowers who are in default, which currently requires a face-to-face meeting between the defaulted borrower, and would permit lenders to employ either telephone or modern videoconferencing services to conduct meetings prior to either foreclosure or assignment of their loan. An initial notice on this proposal is expected this month.
Another rule proposes similar acknowledgments of technological advancement in the delivery of housing counseling services, though counseling agencies serving a client who would prefer in-person counseling sessions would be required to either provide them or refer to a different agency that does.
“This rule would also eliminate the costly requirement to maintain multiple physical office space in every location where services are provided and instead allow participating agencies to use co-working spaces, libraries, and other community facilities if the participating agency does not maintain a facility in the area but wishes to continue to provide in-person services,” the proposed rule reads, with an initial notice expected in July.
Another proposed rule that is in the “final rule” stage would “amend the requirement to register all branches that originate mortgages and/or submit applications for insurance,” the proposal reads. “Additionally, Mortgagees are currently assessed application and annual fees for each authorized branch […]. This rule clarifies that the Department will continue to assess application and annual fees for registered branches.”
The revival of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule is also included in the spring agenda, seeking to focus on “advancing equity and providing access to opportunity for underserved populations in a manner that is more effective in achieving measurable improvements while avoiding unnecessary burden,” it says. Final action on this rule is expected by December.
Radford Studio Center, a storied movie lot in Studio City that has been home to generations of landmark television shows — including “Gunsmoke” and “Seinfeld” — is set to get a $1-billion upgrade to expand its facilities and bring them further into the digital age.
The owners of the lot formerly known as CBS Studio Center submitted plans to Los Angeles officials Friday to revamp and enlarge the aging studio and broadcasting complex, adding as much as 1 million square feet of new soundstages, production facilities and offices.
Founded by movie comedy legend Mack Sennett in 1928, the lot became known as “Hit City” in the decades after World War II as popular TV shows such as “Leave It to Beaver,” “Gilligan’s Island,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “The Bob Newhart Show” and “Will & Grace” were made there. Current shows include “Big Brother 24” and “Physical.”
“It’s got this mystique that if you come there you’re going to make it,” said studio President Mike Klausman, who has worked on the property since he started there as a CBS page in 1971.
The Radford complex was the very studio lot that gave rise to the name Studio City. It’s had numerous incarnations, including decades as Republic Studios, home to such screen legends as Roy Rogers, John Wayne and Joan Crawford. Among Republic’s popular movies were “The Quiet Man,” “Sands of Iwo Jima” and “Johnny Guitar.”
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The current state of the 55-acre studio is less glamorous than its heritage would suggest, having evolved like an old city where new additions, often built on a tight budget, were layered over and around existing structures.
“There was never really a master plan,” Klausman said. “You would never tear down anything, just add on. We had to work around what was there.”
Bungalows for writers and stars — often quaint structures from Hollywood’s Golden Age on other historic movie lots — are clusters of mobile homes delivered in the 1990s when times were lean, he said. The vast roofs of soundstages used to drain rainwater directly onto the asphalt roads below.
“You almost needed a boat to get from one studio to another,” Klausman said. “It was like a river in that place.”
The drainage issue has been fixed, and times are no longer lean as the rise of streaming has escalated demand for soundstages and other production facilities and prompted the development of new studios in the Los Angeles region. Radford and other studios are booked year-round.
Though it is outwardly unassuming with its main entrance tucked around a corner from Ventura Boulevard on Radford Avenue, the Radford studio is among the most valuable in the world based on price. It sold in 2021 for $1.85 billion to Hackman Capital Partners, one of the largest providers of entertainment production facilities, and New York real estate investor Square Mile Capital Management.
“The history of hit shows that have been produced at Radford trace the trajectory of culture and entertainment in Los Angeles,” said Zach Sokoloff, a senior vice president at Culver City-based Hackman, who plans to complete its makeover.
Its location in an upscale Los Angeles neighborhood near other illustrious movie studios beloved by filmmakers made Radford highly sought after when it hit the market nearly two years ago, said real estate broker Carl Muhlstein of JLL, who represented seller ViacomCBS in the deal. There were multiple bidders for the property, he said.
“Between Studio City and Burbank there are four iconic studio lots. Disney, Warner Bros. and Universal haven’t changed hands for over 100 years,” he said. “Here was an opportunity to buy something that only became surplus with the merger of CBS and Viacom” in 2019.
In addition to the real estate assets, ViacomCBS (which now goes by Paramount Global) turned over its lucrative studio operations business at the former CBS Studio Center, which includes stage rentals, facilities management and production support services on the Radford lot.
ViacomCBS sold another former CBS property, Television City in L.A.’s Fairfax district, to Hackman for $750 million in 2019. Paramount Global controls legendary Paramount Studios in Hollywood.
CBS’ two L.A. television stations, KCBS-TV (Channel 2) and KCAL-TV (Channel 9), are housed at the CBS Broadcast Center on the Radford lot, and the local news operation will stay put as part of a long-term lease-back.
CBS, which acquired the property from Republic Pictures in the 1960s, will continue to occupy stages and produce content on the Radford lot. CBS-produced shows there now include “SEAL Team,” “Entertainment Tonight,” “The Neighborhood” and “The Talk,” which is recorded before a live audience.
In its present form, Radford Studio Center offers tenants 18 traditional soundstages and four other stages. The site also has about 210,000 square feet of production office space and its own mill to provide carpentry services and special effects, a commissary and a carwash.
It has a backlot with a “Central Park” and a “New York Street” with 11 building fronts, including four brownstones. It also includes simulated residential neighborhoods with a hodgepodge of houses in different architectural styles, including a facade used as the Cleaver residence in the sitcom “Leave It to Beaver.”
Hackman’s proposal calls for creating a largely new studio with 2.2 million square feet of buildings, including up to 25 soundstages and 300,000 square feet of production support space such as wardrobe, storage and a mill. There would be 725,000 square feet of offices to support productions and an additional 700,000 square feet of offices available for rent to companies in the entertainment industry.
Historic structures, including the Mack Sennett Building and Stages 9 and 10, would be preserved.
To improve access, an entrance off Ventura Boulevard at Carpenter Avenue would be “resurrected,” Sokoloff said. The studio once had an entrance there, but it closed several decades ago.
Also planned is a new bridge over Tujunga Wash at Moorpark Street that would make Radford Avenue a through street. Only vehicles going to the studio could cross the bridge, but it would be open to members of the public on foot or on bicycles. The Los Angeles River Greenway, a 51-mile bike and pedestrian path, is currently interrupted at Radford Studio Center and a new bridge would close that gap.
Hackman owns five studios in the L.A. region, along with facilities in New York, New Orleans, Ireland, Canada, London and Scotland.
The company plans $1.25 billion worth of improvements to Television City that will add soundstages, production support facilities and offices for rent.
Though the Los Angeles area has the largest number of soundstages of any city in the world, studios are operating near 100% capacity with waiting lists as long as five film productions deep for those spaces, financial advisor Deloitte said in a 2021 report.
“To meet the booming demand, supply would need to more than double in Los Angeles County” in the next few years, Deloitte said. Planned projects for more studio space fall far short of that.
The Radford Studio project would add more than 4,000 workers upon completion, doubling the number of people employed there now, according to a study by the L.A. County Economic Development Corp.
Skin microflora isn’t the only thing that can grow on you. Films can too. The internet identified several undeniably great films they weren’t feeling the first watch. After a few more viewings, though, initially wary film fans recognized these movies’ excellence.
1. The Big Lebowski (1998)
Dude, how can you not love The Dude? To be fair, Jeff Bridges’ protagonist in The Big Lebowski is so ridiculous and so dedicated to the word “dude” that I understand how many would see the movie as too much.
Similarly, over-the-top characters like John Turturro’s Jesus Quintana and John Goodman’s Walters Sobchak may take multiple viewings to appreciate.
2. No Country for Old Men (2007)
Movies from the Coen Brothers age like fine wine. According to some, No Country for Old Men was No Movie for For Them.
The 2008 Best Picture Oscar Winner received heaps of praise and was one of the must-see movies of its era. Therefore, the relatively slow pacing and the unconventional ending surprised action-seeking filmgoers. Because, honestly, what else could they possibly complain about when it comes to No Country for Old Men?
3. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
“What are you going to do today, Napoleon?”
“Whatever I feel like I wanna do, gosh!”
Between the unforgettable comedic dialogue, oddball characters (Kip, Uncle Rico, and the llama Tina stand out), and utterly virgin-esque mannerisms of Napoleon himself, Napoleon Dynamite became an unlikely smash comedy.
However, the low-budget comedy didn’t land the first time with many viewers who didn’t understand the hype. With maturation and multiple re-viewings, they came to appreciate Napoleon’s brilliance.
4. Office Space (1999)
Mike Judge’s brand of comedy isn’t for everyone, and Office Space clearly targeted the cubicle-dwelling audience. A one-time critic said that Office Space seemed foreign the first time they watched it, but rewatching the movie after working an office job significantly elevated the film’s comedy.
5. The Godfather (1972)
One confessional cinephile admits they were an uncultured, 16-year-old neanderthal when they thought The Godfather was slow and tedious. They grew up, changed their mind, and thus we can forgive their youthful ignorance.
6. Vertigo (1958)
The acclaimed thriller from Alfred Hitchcock was not as “scary” as some viewers expected. Upon further review, converted fans of Vertigo came to appreciate the movie’s before-its-time cinematography and plot structure.
7. Whiplash (2014)
Truly one of the most shocking submissions on the internet’s list of films that did not immediately impress, Whiplash received near universal acclaim from audiences.
A one-time critic explained they missed a critical plot point at the movie’s end. The critic immediately became a Whiplash fan when they caught the subtle scene on second viewing.
8. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
Writers Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach are not for everyone, and The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou is one of Anderson’s more ambitious films. The director’s brand of quirky, at times awkward comedy has a way of growing on viewers like that mole you’ve been meaning to have your dermatologist check out.
9. Step Brothers (2008)
Some viewers still don’t appreciate the artistry of two full-grown, established comedic actors playing infantile stepbrothers. While nobody claims Step Brothers to be a highbrow comedy, the absurdity of DIY bunkbeds and drum-set therapy becomes more comedic as the world grows increasingly serious.
10. Miami Vice (2006)
Viewers were absolutely pumped for a Miami Vice reboot starring box-office draws Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx, directed by accomplished filmmaker Michael Mann. Many were expecting a South Beach-ified version of Heat yet encountered a more deliberate, artful movie.
With time, many have come to appreciate Mann’s rendition of Miami Vice as a quality film, though the initial disappointment still lingers in the film’s IMDb rating.
Source: Reddit.
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We’ve all heard the famous adage that “no publicity is bad publicity,” and while it tends to be accurate, there are certainly exceptions. But what about those few stars who stay out of the limelight and get along without a hint of trouble?
These 7 Celebrities are Genuinely Good People
Have you ever known someone and thought you liked them—until you learned about their hobbies? Then you get to know them and then you’re like, “Wow, red flag.” Well, you’re not alone.
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Some celebrities definitely seem to enjoy the limelight and keep working to stay in the public eye. While others quickly move out of the spotlight. Many of these actors and actresses stepped out of the spotlight to live a more private life without constant media pressures.
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We’ve all been there – sitting through a movie that we can’t help but cringe at, but somehow it still manages to hold a special place in our hearts.
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Growing up in Orange County in the late 1970s, KL DeHart often wandered the Westminster Mall with her mother, checking out the latest fashions and seeing what movies were playing.
As a teenager, she spent many weekends there with friends playing pinball and skeeball at the arcade and shopping for trendy Chemin De Fer jeans.
Now, the mall is pocked with empty storefronts. At the remaining businesses, employees eagerly jump to help the few customers passing through.
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What may rise in its place, if developers and city officials have their way, is a new kind of mall, one that will include lawns, walking trails and thousands of apartments.
“It was the hip place to be, and it’s really faded out, but it’s just sad to see it go,” said DeHart, a 55-year-old massage therapist who still lives near the mall, in the house she grew up in. She is among the residents worried that the new apartments will increase traffic while doing little to solve the region’s affordable housing crisis.
In Orange County, the San Fernando Valley and suburbs throughout America, the mall was a gathering spot where there were few other places to hang out. It was where kids stocked up on the latest fashions and roamed in packs after school, spawning the term “mall rat.”
The 1980s cult classic “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” began and ended at the mall where the teens worked. In the 1995 film “Clueless,” a Beverly Hills teen retreated to the mall, which she described as a “sanctuary,” after failing to persuade a teacher to boost her grade.
Now, teenagers text with their friends and make TikTok videos. Their parents are more likely to shop online than at a brick-and-mortar store.
At the same time, Orange County is desperate for housing, with rents and home prices escalating and state laws requiring cities to zone for new construction. In a region where there is little undeveloped land and neighbors are likely to push back at new housing, some see declining malls as ideal places to build.
The Westminster Mall is “probably one of the largest areas of developable space that still exists in our time in this area,” City Manager Christine Cordon told the City Council during a meeting last November.
Cordon remembers taking the bus to the mall decades ago to pick out CDs at Best Buy.
“You’re too young as a teenager to hang out in an actual nightclub, so back in the day, where would you go? The mall,” said Karen North, a USC professor who specializes in social media and psychology.
“It became this default place to go because it had something for everybody. You never knew who you were going to bump into, but you were always guaranteed there was something going on and there would be people around.”
As envisioned in a plan adopted by the City Council last year, the new mall would contain at least 600,000 square feet of retail space. It would include up to 3,000 residential units and up to 425 hotel rooms, surrounded by a park with 17 acres of green space.
Teenagers could still hang out there — it just wouldn’t be the echoey indoor turf that Alicia Silverstone claimed in “Clueless.”
Orange County is catching on to a trend that has already taken hold farther north in the Los Angeles area, led by developer Rick Caruso with his Americana at Brand and Palisades Village malls and residences.
“This is really our opportunity to create something that we can be absolutely proud of for the next generation to create those same fond memories that I have and that others have in a fashion that is consistent with what the times are now,” Cordon said.
Bill Shopoff said his company, which purchased the Macy’s store and the former Sears store in the Westminster Mall last year, hopes to draw people back with shops, a hotel, townhouses and apartments.
Upscale malls like South Coast Plaza are thriving because “they have entertainment, food, there’s a reason to go there,” said Shopoff, president and CEO of Shopoff Realty Investments. “I think we need to do that in Westminster to create a sense of something.”
As for who will rent or purchase the homes in his preliminary plan, Shopoff is counting on a modern type of suburban dweller — one who would rather walk to restaurants and other amenities than live in a single-family home with a yard.
Experts say that new laws, along with increased pressure from the state to build more homes, have convinced some local officials who might have been resistant to rezoning commercial properties in the past.
Roughly every eight years, California cities are assigned a certain number of new housing units they’re required to zone for. As part of the 2020 assessment, Orange County needs to make space for about 183,000 new units, shared among all its cities.
Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two pieces of legislation aimed at spurring housing development in corridors otherwise zoned for large retail and office buildings.
“Whether you want to call Orange County urban suburbia or suburban urbanism, it’s definitely shifting,” said Elizabeth Hansburg, co-founder and executive director of People for Housing Orange County. “We have an interesting mix of historic districts and tract housing of the ’40s, ’50s, ’60s and even the ’70s, but I don’t see us building like that again. It’s going to be interesting to see how families evolve in denser spaces.”
Elsewhere in Orange County, similar mall conversions are at various stages.
In Santa Ana, a 309-unit apartment complex is under construction on the parking lot of the Mainplace Mall, part of a larger project that will include more apartments, restaurants, courtyards and a music venue.
Simon Property Group has said it is open to adding residential zoning to its mall in Mission Viejo. In Brea, the company has proposed redeveloping 15.5 acres of the mall to include shops, a resort-style fitness center, apartments and a large central green space.
A proposal to redevelop the Village at Orange mall to include housing along with retail has run into stiff opposition. Residents are voicing concerns about tall residential buildings looming above nearby single-family homes.
In Westminster, DeHart said that she and her neighbors who live in tract homes adjacent to the malls are not “NIMBYs” — an acronym for “Not In My Backyard.”
“That’s not what this is,” she said. “We’re asking legitimate questions, and we’re not getting answers.”
In Laguna Hills, the mall is being repurposed along the lines of Caruso’s Los Angeles-area developments, with up to 1,500 apartments, an upscale hotel, commercial office space and 250,000 square feet of stores surrounding a large green space.
On a recent day, a chain-link fence wrapped with a blue tarp surrounded the partly demolished main building, with the “Laguna Hills Mall” lettering barely legible.
A sign affixed to the fence featured a rendering of the new homes, asserting that “a brighter future is coming soon.”
Residents have voiced concerns similar to those of DeHart and her neighbors — traffic, overcrowding. But Laguna Hills Mayor Janine Heft said a change is needed.
“There’s a lot of nostalgia for what the mall used to be,” Heft said. “What we didn’t want was a blight, and that’s really what we had. We had this mall that hadn’t been kept up in years.”
On a recent afternoon, most of the sprawling Westminster Mall was deserted. The only activity was at an indoor playground near JCPenney.
Corrie Essex watched her 5-month-old son playing on a blanket as rain pounded on the glass ceiling.
She grew up in the San Fernando Valley and recalls listing the Northridge Mall as one of her favorite places in an elementary school assignment. Her mother took her and her siblings there to get burgers and go to the movies — a relatively inexpensive way to keep four kids occupied.
“We’d go all the time,” said Essex, 30, who now lives in Huntington Beach. “It was fun. Now, I hate the mall. It’s just not the same. Nothing’s beautiful anymore.”
But on a rainy day like this one, it was a good place to take her son. And, noted her sister, 27-year-old Jessie Lane, there’s little danger of spending money — “it doesn’t have any bougie stores that we would want to buy anything from.”
Their mother, 57-year-old Rachel Lane, said she likes the idea of adding housing to malls.
But with the new outdoor designs, she wondered, “Where are we going to go when it rains?”
Nelson Rising, who oversaw some of the biggest real estate projects in California and ran Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley’s political campaigns, has died at 81.
Rising’s family said he died Thursday at his Pasadena home of complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
Rising led the development of such large-scale properties as U.S. Bank Tower, an office skyscraper in downtown Los Angeles that was for many years the tallest building in the West, and Playa Vista, a mixed-use neighborhood created on land near the Los Angeles coast that had been home to business mogul Howard Hughes’ aviation empire.
In San Francisco, he oversaw one of largest mixed-use developments in the city’s history with the revitalization Mission Bay, an abandoned rail yard and brownfield site near downtown.
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“From Mission Bay to projects that helped revitalize downtown Los Angeles, Nelson Rising spearheaded iconic developments that transformed neighborhoods across California,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said. “Nelson cared deeply about California and Californians, and his dynamic leadership and problem-solving brought together stakeholders from across the board to accomplish monumental feats.”
A protege of diplomat and former Secretary of State Warren Christopher, Rising forged consensus for mammoth urban projects that required backing from multiple government agencies and citizen stakeholders.
“He made stuff happen that was extremely complicated,” said John Cushman, chairman of global transactions at real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield.
In addition to navigating complex government approval processes, Rising was able to defuse passions that inevitably rose around large real estate projects that altered city streets and skylines, Cushman said.
“People get very fired up. Nelson could bring calm,” Cushman said. “He could take confusion and chaos and translate it into common sense and bring people back to the table who were yelling. He was a genius in terms of dealing with people”
Rising was shepherded into behind-the-scenes roles in Democratic politics by Christopher and served as Bradley’s campaign chairman in each of his mayoral victories beginning in 1973, as well as in his gubernatorial defeat in 1982.
Rising worked for Bradley after successfully managing the upstart 1970 campaign of John Tunney, a 36-year-old lawyer who defeated a Republican incumbent in the U.S. Senate. After Tunney’s victory, The Times described campaign manager Rising as an “enthusiastic amateur” who was “pleasant but tough.”
The experience led Rising to becoming a producer on “The Candidate,” a satiric 1972 film with parallels to the Tunney campaign. Robert Redford played an idealistic young lawyer running for the U.S. Senate who grows dependent on the advice of his campaign manager and media consultants.
Recognized as an authority in corporate and public finance, Rising served on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including a three-year stint as chairman. Other public service included three years in the United States Marine Corps Reserve during college.
Rising was born on Aug. 27, 1941, in the Queens borough of New York, the second of two children. A few years later the family headed west to Glendale. Rising’s father, Henry, worked as chief engineer at the Statler Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. His mother, Mary, was a seamstress.
Rising attended UCLA on a football scholarship and went on to graduate from its law school in 1967. He found work at Los Angeles law firm O’Melveny & Myers, where he was mentored by Christopher, a partner at the firm. The attorney and statesman was a high-profile leader in Democratic politics and served as secretary of State under President Clinton.
“Christopher was a mentor to me all … through my life,” Rising said in a podcast. Rising named his first son Christopher in honor of their friendship.
Former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley had a decades-long friendship with Rising and tapped him to be “my No. 1 consultant” in O’Malley’s drive to build an NFL stadium next to the Dodgers’ ballpark in the 1990s, he said. At the time, Los Angeles did not have a pro football team.
Rising, then chief executive of Catellus Development Corp., was an “extraordinary communicator” who built support for the project, O’Malley said. The plan had the backing of many city officials and the NFL, but O’Malley withdrew his proposal at the request of then-Mayor Richard Riordan, who supported a plan to get pro football back in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
“You can’t fight City Hall,” O’Malley said, but Rising proved his mettle to the team owner in the failed campaign. “He was at my side with brilliance and ideas. He was a very thorough guy — he even brought in an acoustician who could advise us on sound levels.”
O’Malley said he enjoyed brainstorming with Rising. “He was a very forward-thinking realist. I don’t think I have met anyone in L.A. similar.”
Rising was an executive for commercial developer and landlord Maguire Thomas Partners in the 1980s and ’90s and oversaw some of its biggest projects, including Playa Vista, the sprawling and controversial development that sprang from property near Marina del Rey where Hughes built his enormous wooden airplane popularly known as the “Spruce Goose” during the 1940s.
Hughes’ company tried to develop the property after his death, but ran into tenacious opposition over its proposed density and threat to local wetlands. Maguire Thomas took over the stalled project in the 1980s and put Rising in charge of reviving it in a new form. Rising labored for four years to reach compromises with environmental activists and other opponents. He secured city approval for the project in 1993.
Maguire Thomas lost control of Playa Vista in 1997 after defaulting on payments to its lenders, but the project moved forward largely on the vision Rising advanced and is now home to thousands of residents. Its office space is in the heart of the Westside’s “Silicon Beach” favored by technology companies.
Rising was Maguire Thomas’ partner-in-charge for the Library Square development in downtown Los Angeles, which included the 72-story U.S. Bank Tower and the 52-story Gas Co. Tower. The intricate project created by the developer, the city and the Community Redevelopment Agency provided about $125 million toward financing the renovation and expansion of the fire-damaged Central Library and other city benefits.
“Nelson Rising has left a lasting mark on our city’s skyline,” Mayor Karen Bass said. “Nelson’s work is very much a part of L.A.”
Rising was recruited in 1994 to take over Catellus Development, the languishing real estate spin-off of Southern Pacific Railroad that hoped to reinvent itself as a builder. Over the next 11 years he supervised the growing company and its most ambitious project, Mission Bay.
Catellus, which also owned Union Station in Los Angeles, was sold in 2005 and Rising went on to start a private real estate company with his son Christopher.
Rising’s civic roles included serving as chairman of the Grand Avenue Committee, and as real estate advisor to and negotiator for the Joint Powers Authority, which consisted of the city of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency and Los Angeles County. The Joint Powers Authority oversaw the Grand Avenue Project, which includes the Broad museum, expansive Grand Park and the $1-billion Grand LA hotel, apartment and retail complex designed by Frank Gehry.
“To have somebody of his experience and his capacity to understand all sides of an issue to talk with was not only unusual but critical,” said Bill Witte, chief executive of Related California, the primary developer of the Grand Avenue project. “The consistent theme was his ability to deal with both the public and private sectors, to understand all sides of an issue but to be focused on getting things done. I think no one was ultimately better at getting all of those things done than Nelson.”
Rising is survived by his wife of 59 years, Sharon; sons Christopher and Matthew; three grandchildren; and a sister, Charlotte Conway. His daughter, Corinne, died in 2018.