Video Index (with direct links)
0:44 OC has been removed from the COVID watch list
1:25 What about LA and IE counties?
2:02 Unemployment boost update
3:35 Mike’s new land listing
4:05 Amazon opening new grocery store in Fullerton
4:39 Northern California shopping mall being sold as a mixed-use development
Although going to the grocery store these days is a lot better than it was back in March, it’s still a little more of a pain than it used to be. You know, standing 6 feet apart in line, wiping your cart down, and wearing a mask. But following these protocols is a small inconvenience to get the groceries we need without getting sick, and at least we don’t have to worry about a toilet paper shortage anymore.
Apparently, a bear who went shopping at a Safeway last week near Lake Tahoe doesn’t care about proper grocery store protocols. He wasn’t wearing a mask and he didn’t even pay. What does he think this is, an Amazon Go store? Even if it were, I bet he doesn’t even have an Amazon Prime account. The management just let him take his merchandise and leave!
Orange County is taken off of California’s COVID Watch List
On Sunday, Orange County was removed from the state of California’s coronavirus watch list. So what does that mean?
OC will have 14 days to keep their coronavirus cases and positive test rates below a the state’s threshold, and if they can, then K-12 schools will be allowed to open. However, the ultimate decision to reopen schools lies with each individual school district. Even if the schools do open, it remains to be seen if parents will be comfortable letting their kids go to school.
Coming off the watch list also affects businesses that have been closed or operating in limited capacity, although it’s not completely clear yet what the rules will be on when Indoor malls, dine-in restaurants, gyms, and salons will be allowed to be reopened. Clarification on those rules should be coming later this week.
How about the Inland Empire and LA county?
It’s not clear when these counties will be taken off the list. Riverside county’s case rates and their positive test rates are dropping but are still far off the target. Counties are supposed to have a positive test rate below 8%. As of Monday, Riverside County was at 10%, San Bernardino County was at 10.4%, and LA County was at 10%.
In addition, the number of cases per 100,000 residents needs to be below 100. Riverside county is at 165, San Bernardino County is at 200, and LA County is at 218.
Hopefully they can continue to improve their numbers and come off the watch list in the coming weeks.
Unemployed Californians are Eligible for a weekly $300 Boost
Unemployed Californians will be able to receive an additional $300 per week of unemployment benefits on top of their regular unemployment, after the state government agreed to participate in President Trump’s unemployment extension program.
The state said it may take a few weeks for them to update their computer systems to account for the change, and unfortunately there are still at least 200,000 people who are owed benefits who haven’t been paid because the computer systems haven’t been fully reprogrammed to catch up.
Apparently these systems were programmed using a 30-year old programming language called COBOL. I remember learning some COBOL in high school. One of the challenges today is that there aren’t that many COBOL programmers still alive who know how to work on the systems, which is why it takes so long for any changes to be made. So, if you know COBOL and you have some free time on your hands, why don’t you give the California Employment Development department a call?
My New Land Listing in Moreno Valley
I recently secured a new exclusive listing for a parcel of land at 23125 Sunnymead Blvd in Moreno Valley, located near the intersection of Sunnymead Blvd and Frederick St., right off the CA-60 freeway. This is a 1.2 acre parcel of land with 4 points of access, and drivers can make a left turn directly into the property. Logical uses for this land could be for a hotel or motel, or a couple of drive-thru pads. If you’re interested, contact me and I’ll be happy to tell you more.
Amazon Grocery Store Coming to Fullerton
In this week’s edition of retail being repurposed for mixed use, let’s take a look at a mall in Northern California called the Shops at Hilltop Mall in the city of Richmond. The owner of this 1.2 million square foot mall on 78 acres is looking to sell the entire property for someone to repurpose it as a mixed use development. The owners had bought the mall in 2017 with plans to add new retail tenants and homes to the area. But the coronavirus came and caused them to rethink their strategy.
In June of this year, they had planned to redevelop over half of the property as offices. But with the biotech industry on a tear, and more people moving out of cities to go to the suburbs, the owners have revised their strategy. They envision just 100,000-150,000 square feet of retail when all is said and done, while current zoning allows for up to 16.7MM ft of building space for offices or residences. The sellers are targeting residential developers, master planned community developers, as well as technology and biotech oriented buyers.
I guess this Yelper was ahead of her time, writing this review of the mall last year:
That’s all I’ve got for this week. Thanks for reading. See you next time!
Connect with me here:
Website: https://mikelincre.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MikeLinCRE
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/MikeLinCRE
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MikeLinCRE
Email: mike@progressiverep.com
