By Paul V. Profeta We all have work done on our buildings. Many of us require that the Contractor provide proof of insurance in order to protect us from any liability that could occur due to their negligence or imperfections…
Guest Columns
From one professional to another, our guest columnists offer their opinions and their take on the latest trends and issues facing the commercial real estate sector.
Rent control is not a solution to our affordable housing crisis
Among the many issues facing our nation, the availability of affordable housing, or lack thereof, is a problem that lawmakers have been trying to address for decades. Federal programs that either support the development of affordable housing or provide assistance to renters through vouchers have been woefully underfunded, and state and local elected officials are looking for solutions. Unfortunately, some have turned to rent control as an answer. But the reality is that rent control will not only fail to solve our affordable housing crisis, it will actually make it worse.
The next chapter in affordable housing in New Jersey
Since 2015, more than 280 towns in New Jersey have signed settlement agreements for their affordable housing obligations, while a judge has determined the statewide need to be about 155,000 units and experts project that about 50,000 of those will be created by 2025. Frankly, the court process is way too far down the road to try and move it back to the Council on Affordable Housing or another state agency. But that is not to say there are not some issues worth discussing as we move forward.
The changing landscape of stormwater management: New rule will require innovative techniques
On Dec. 3, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection published amendments to the state’s Stormwater Management Rule (NJAC 7.8) that, when adopted, will change fundamentally the way stormwater management systems are designed in New Jersey. The key amendment will replace the existing requirement, which asks developers to incorporate so-called non-structural strategies “to the maximum extent practicable,” with a firm requirement to use a technique known as green infrastructure in new development.
BCONE: Vision, team approach turned Perth Amboy development to gold
In the brownfield redevelopment universe, industrial projects have no equal thanks to the compound-complex nature of these mega-efforts, which are marked by X factors and uncertainty at every turn. Think of a conductor tasked with guiding a multi-chair symphony orchestra through intricate movements of a complex score — compared to a more simplistic coordination helming a small chamber ensemble. There’s a compelling difference, and thus welcome to the world of the industrial brownfield redevelopment, where multiple stakeholders are tasked with a multitude of boxes to check before any ribbon cutting can commence.
Long-term issues need long-term solutions
When the drafters of the federal and New Jersey constitutions established the length of terms for elected leaders from two to six years, they probably thought those were the right lengths to enable those leaders to focus on both short- and long-term issues. Unfortunately, most of the focus has been on the short term with little planning for the longer-term issues. Long-term has come to mean getting past the next election.
The rebirth of the suburbs: The impact of aging millennials and driverless car technology
This multiyear transformation of our downtown areas has led to speculation that the single-family, suburban model of development is dead. In this article, I will make a different prediction. Today, I predict that the next great housing boom will be in the suburbs. The millennials will move out of the city and into the suburbs and will commute farther distances, by car, than previous generations.
