SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) – Residents of a brand new San Jose neighborhood are fed up with home builder KB Home because of numerous issues that surfaced after they moved in.

Two weeks after KPIX 5 first reported on dangerous falling tiles and other construction problems at KB Home's new Communications Hill community, neighbors are still wondering whether their homes are safe and whether the builder will fix them.

“I've heard from other homeowners that they're going to take care of it individually,” said Joe Ponte, owner of one of the homes.

On October 6, KB sent an unusual warning to all new homeowners not to stand under their homes because heavy porcelain tiles could come loose and fall up to two stories high.

Falling tiles found in a new KB Home project on Communications Hill in San Jose. (CBS)

The tiles, which are as thick as floor tiles, are used as decorative cladding in most houses in the settlement. But several of them broke away and fell to the ground.

“I think, oh my God. “What did I get myself into when I bought this house?” Ponte said.

A spokesperson for KB Home declined an interview request but sent a statement to KPIX 5 saying, “We have replaced all exterior tiles that required replacement and provide warranty customer service in response to warranty claims from our customers. We look forward to continuing to work with our homeowners until they are completely satisfied with their KB Home purchase.

KB housing project on Communications Hill in San Jose. (CBS)

Tile isn't the only construction problem homeowners have encountered.

Ponte said he spent months haggling with KB over his bathroom floor, which wasn't level when he moved in.

Additionally, poor waterproofing in the bathroom led to leaks and water damage to the ceiling and walls on the first floor. He said KB paid for the damage and they only agreed to repair the floor.

“This should never have happened in the first place,” Ponte told KPIX 5.

His neighbor's house has exterior gaps and unpainted surfaces.

Another neighbor, Stephanie Silcott, said she has had problems with the plumbing.

“I just don’t think there’s enough manpower to provide the service that was promised,” Silcott told KPIX 5.

Ponte said he expects KB to provide an action plan and timeline for resolving the issues.

A construction worker told KPIX 5 that crews were under pressure to complete the work as quickly as possible and that may explain the problems. KB Home has flatly rejected this accusation.

More from CBS News

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The post Homeowners Of New San Jose Houses Fed Up With Falling Tiles, Plumbing Points appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Business owners in the Castro are attempting to take matters into their own hands when it comes to the San Francisco neighborhood’s unhoused population.

The Castro Merchants Association, which represents about 125 businesses in the area, sent a letter to city officials on Aug. 8 outlining three demands: 35 shelter beds designated for “mentally ill and substance-abusing individuals who have taken up residence in the Castro, ” a request for monthly metrics on the services offered or provided to unhoused people in the neighborhood, and a plan for what to do after people decline services.

Dave Karraker, co-president of the Castro Merchants Association, told SFGATE that businesses in the association will potentially stop paying taxes if the three demands are not met.

“Whatever they’re doing isn’t working. It isn’t leading to a noticeable difference in the conditions in the Castro as it relates to the drug addicted and the mentally ill,” said Karraker, who also co-owns MX3 Fitness, a gym with two locations in the area.

Karraker said businesses in the Castro have been hit especially hard since the start of the pandemic, and he feels that the neighborhood’s unhoused population – particularly those struggling with addiction and mental illness – are making the problem worse.

“We’re just seeing constant vandalism, constant drug use in public, people passed out on the sidewalk, people having psychotic breakdowns, and it’s just not something a small-business owner should have to deal with,” Karraker said.

He mentioned that the letter’s request for 35 shelter beds comes from a record kept by District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman’s office about “people who are constantly causing issues” in the neighborhood: “That list is typically between 20 and 25 people. So we knew if we got 35 beds, we’d be able to cover those people,” Karraker said.

In a response sent to the business association by the San Francisco Department of Public Health and the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, officials said that it isn’t city policy to designate shelter beds for people from a particular neighborhood. The response also stated that it would be a breach of privacy laws to share information about the case status of specific people with the public.

“However, we greatly appreciate hearing from community members about what they are seeing on the streets and will continue to work with the Castro community to improve conditions for all in the Castro,” the response says.

Karraker said he believes that the city’s response to its homelessness crisis tends to focus on neighborhoods like the Tenderloin, which he feels has been “pushing people into the Castro.”

But some unhoused people from neighborhoods like the Tenderloin say they come to the Castro because they feel safer there as LGBTQ+ people, KTVU reported.

That’s not a recent phenomenon: in 2009, the Journal of LGBT Youth published a study by Jen Reck, an Associate Professor of Sociology and Sexuality Studies at San Francisco State University, called “No One Likes Street Kids – Even in the Castro.”

The study focuses on homeless gay and transgender youth of color in San Francisco, particularly a group of teenagers who used the Castro as a place to seek safety and community.

“The Castro was especially important to these youth because, as gay and transgender homeless young people, other public and private places did not feel safe to them,” the study said.

But the youth featured in the study also reported facing harassment and hostility from community members in the Castro. They mentioned being treated like outsiders in a place that they observed to be “mostly inhabited by gay middle-class adult males,” and said that they felt left out of the community since “it is those who want or are able to spend money in the stores who can fully participate in the neighborhood culture.”

Today, gathering spaces in the Castro are still largely commercial, although there are a number of community organizations in the neighborhood that offer free housing navigation services to LGBTQ+ people. The specificity of these programs could be another reason unhoused people are drawn to the Castro from other parts of the city.

As it turns out, a few of these organizations – including LYRIC, a center for LGBTQ+ youth, and the SF LGBT Community Center, are part of the Castro Merchants Association.

Adam-Michael Royston, LYRIC’s vice president, says the association’s letter is not representative of all unhoused people in the Castro or the spirit of the neighborhood and its history.

“The Castro has been a beacon of hope for queer individuals for more than 30 years, and we have to continuously remember that we need to be inclusive and in community,” Royston said.

He added that as anti-transgender legislation takes off in other parts of the country, an influx of young people fleeing from conservative states have been making their way to San Francisco—and many of them end up in the Castro.

“The reason that so many of us ended up in the Castro is the same reason that so many of our youth end up here, too,” Royston said. “I think that letter, to youth fleeing the crises that they’re in, is not supportive.”

But business owners like Karraker believe that people who openly use drugs and experience public mental health crises are causing the neighborhood to suffer, regardless of their identity.

“No matter who it is, we can’t accept the idea that someone can come to the Castro, do drugs and be mentally ill to the point that they’re a threat to themselves or a threat to residents or tourists. This can’t continue,” Karraker said.

The post San Francisco enterprise homeowners’ calls for decried by LGBTQ advocates appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Business owners in the Castro are attempting to take matters into their own hands when it comes to the San Francisco neighborhood’s unhoused population.

The Castro Merchants Association, which represents about 125 businesses in the area, sent a letter to city officials on Aug. 8 outlining three demands: 35 shelter beds designated for “mentally ill and substance-abusing individuals who have taken up residence in the Castro, ” a request for monthly metrics on the services offered or provided to unhoused people in the neighborhood, and a plan for what to do after people decline services.

Dave Karraker, co-president of the Castro Merchants Association, told SFGATE that businesses in the association will potentially stop paying taxes if the three demands are not met.

“Whatever they’re doing isn’t working. It isn’t leading to a noticeable difference in the conditions in the Castro as it relates to the drug addicted and the mentally ill,” said Karraker, who also co-owns MX3 Fitness, a gym with two locations in the area.

Karraker said businesses in the Castro have been hit especially hard since the start of the pandemic, and he feels that the neighborhood’s unhoused population – particularly those struggling with addiction and mental illness – are making the problem worse.

“We’re just seeing constant vandalism, constant drug use in public, people passed out on the sidewalk, people having psychotic breakdowns, and it’s just not something a small-business owner should have to deal with,” Karraker said.

He mentioned that the letter’s request for 35 shelter beds comes from a record kept by District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman’s office about “people who are constantly causing issues” in the neighborhood: “That list is typically between 20 and 25 people. So we knew if we got 35 beds, we’d be able to cover those people,” Karraker said.

In a response sent to the business association by the San Francisco Department of Public Health and the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, officials said that it isn’t city policy to designate shelter beds for people from a particular neighborhood. The response also stated that it would be a breach of privacy laws to share information about the case status of specific people with the public.

“However, we greatly appreciate hearing from community members about what they are seeing on the streets and will continue to work with the Castro community to improve conditions for all in the Castro,” the response says.

Karraker said he believes that the city’s response to its homelessness crisis tends to focus on neighborhoods like the Tenderloin, which he feels has been “pushing people into the Castro.”

But some unhoused people from neighborhoods like the Tenderloin say they come to the Castro because they feel safer there as LGBTQ+ people, KTVU reported.

That’s not a recent phenomenon: in 2009, the Journal of LGBT Youth published a study by Jen Reck, an Associate Professor of Sociology and Sexuality Studies at San Francisco State University, called “No One Likes Street Kids – Even in the Castro.”

The study focuses on homeless gay and transgender youth of color in San Francisco, particularly a group of teenagers who used the Castro as a place to seek safety and community.

“The Castro was especially important to these youth because, as gay and transgender homeless young people, other public and private places did not feel safe to them,” the study said.

But the youth featured in the study also reported facing harassment and hostility from community members in the Castro. They mentioned being treated like outsiders in a place that they observed to be “mostly inhabited by gay middle-class adult males,” and said that they felt left out of the community since “it is those who want or are able to spend money in the stores who can fully participate in the neighborhood culture.”

Today, gathering spaces in the Castro are still largely commercial, although there are a number of community organizations in the neighborhood that offer free housing navigation services to LGBTQ+ people. The specificity of these programs could be another reason unhoused people are drawn to the Castro from other parts of the city.

As it turns out, a few of these organizations – including LYRIC, a center for LGBTQ+ youth, and the SF LGBT Community Center, are part of the Castro Merchants Association.

Adam-Michael Royston, LYRIC’s vice president, says the association’s letter is not representative of all unhoused people in the Castro or the spirit of the neighborhood and its history.

“The Castro has been a beacon of hope for queer individuals for more than 30 years, and we have to continuously remember that we need to be inclusive and in community,” Royston said.

He added that as anti-transgender legislation takes off in other parts of the country, an influx of young people fleeing from conservative states have been making their way to San Francisco—and many of them end up in the Castro.

“The reason that so many of us ended up in the Castro is the same reason that so many of our youth end up here, too,” Royston said. “I think that letter, to youth fleeing the crises that they’re in, is not supportive.”

But business owners like Karraker believe that people who openly use drugs and experience public mental health crises are causing the neighborhood to suffer, regardless of their identity.

“No matter who it is, we can’t accept the idea that someone can come to the Castro, do drugs and be mentally ill to the point that they’re a threat to themselves or a threat to residents or tourists. This can’t continue,” Karraker said.

The post San Francisco enterprise homeowners’ calls for decried by LGBTQ advocates appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

If you know of local business openings or closings, please notify us here.

PREVIOUS OPENINGS AND CLOSINGS

· Air Products and Chemicals Inc.’s chosen warehouse developer, Prologis Inc., will have to wait until July 13 for a final decision by Upper Macungie Township’s zoning hearing board on 2.61 million square feet of warehouses. 

· Chubby’s of Southside Easton has added Krispy Krunchy Chicken to its offerings and name.

· Curaleaf Holdings Inc., which operates in the U.S. and Europe, will open a medical-marijuana dispensary at 1801 Airport Road, Hanover Township.

· Habitat for Humanity, which has “ReStores” that sell new and lightly used furniture, has leased 30,000 square feet at the South Mall.

· Nat Hyman’s bid to convert an old warehouse at 938 Washington St. in Allentown into 48 apartments did not win zoning hearing board approval this week after neighbors said more housing would make an on-street parking shortage worse.

· Members 1st Federal Credit Union opened a new branch this week at 5605 Hamilton Blvd, Trexlertown. It’s one of five planned for the Lehigh Valley. 

· A Turkish restaurant has relocated from one downtown to another, taking its fresh ingredients and cozy atmosphere from Nazareth to 200 Main St., Tatamy.

· The Tennessee Titans have chosen Allentown-based Shift4 Payments to handle payments at Nissan Stadium.

· Wells Fargo Bank held ribbon-cutting at its downtown Allentown branch at 740 Hamilton St.

· The Wiz Kidz outlet at the Madison Farms residential/retail development in Bethlehem Township will hold a grand reopening and ribbon-cutting at noon on July 15.

· Bad Biscuit Company, which offered breakfast with scratch-made biscuits, freshly baked pastry and local, small-batch artisan coffee, said it will cease operations at 16 Columbia Ave. in Reading after its July 1 hours.

· FastBridge Fiber has announced it will build an all-fiber cable network that will offer ultra-fast internet in the Reading area.

· Hamid Chaudhry has said he no longer plans to move forward with pursuing a food truck park he previously proposed on the site of the former Sheetz convenience store and gas station in Exeter Township at 6600 Perkiomen Ave. (Route 422 East). 

· The Maxatawny Township Planning Commission has OK’d a proposal for a Mavis Discount Tire store in the Kutztown Road shopping center that features a Giant supermarket.

· Valentino’s Italian restaurant has gotten Maxatawny Township’s approval to remain open when the state transportation department takes one-third of its parking lot to build a traffic roundabout at the intersection of Route 222 and Long Lane.

· Pocono Mountain Harley-Davidson, under new ownership, will hold a “Grand Re-Opening Bash” July 9 and July 10 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

· Sauce West End plans to open in a former Rita’s Italian Ice, just off Route 209 across from the Tractor Supply store in Brodheadsville.

· The Surgery Center of Pottsville, which offered medical procedure services for 16 years in Cressona Mall. will close June 28.

· Wells Fargo has closed its branch office in Langhorne, near the intersection with Maple Avenue.

· The latest PrimoHoagies location in New Jersey held a grand opening at 1930 State Route 57, Hackettstown.

· A new Tractor Supply Co. store in Warren County will have its grand opening in the former Toys ‘R’ Us store in Pohatcong Plaza on July 9.

· Hunter Pocono Peterbilt plans to move Pocono Township operations to Stroudsburg.

· Coal Winery and Kitchen at 81 Broad St., Bethlehem, has closed as its owner searches for a new location for the business, according to its Facebook page. 

· Lowhill Township supervisors approved a 312,120-square-foot commercial warehouse and distribution center on a 43.4-acre tract on the west side of Route 100, south of the Kernsville Road intersection.

· The Mint Gastropub at 1223 W. Broad St., Bethlehem, announced that it has temporarily closed to undergo a merger with a “well-known restaurant group” from Bethlehem.

· The Slatington Farmers Market opened its 28,000-square-foot showroom, which includes space for 53 vendors, as well as a 4,000-square-foot event space.

· St. Luke’s University Health Network opened a new pediatric inpatient unit next to the eight-bed pediatric intensive care unit at St. Luke’s University Hospital – Bethlehem.

· 25th Asian House opened at the location of the former Tin Tin Chinese restaurant in the 25th Street Shopping Center in Palmer Township.

· The Chick-Fil-A in Broadcasting Square shopping center in Spring Township was razed to make way for a new, expanded facility for the popular chicken sandwich restaurant.

· Plans for drive-thru locations of a Chipotle and a Starbucks at the intersection of Ivy League Drive and Kutztown Road were rejected by Maxatawny Township planners.

· Cumru Township plannes reviewed preliminary plans for NorthPoint-Morgantown Commerce Center, a 738,720-square-foot warehouse to be built on 75.2 acres at Morgantown Road (State Route 10) and Freemansville Road.

· Kutztown University has plans to expand its historic Poplar House to 13,161 square feet with an addition around its side and back, but keep the 129-year-old structure intact.

· A wine store and beverage outlet could be coming to a new two-unit building along the commercial strip of Blakeslee Boulevard Drive East in Lehighton, Carbon County.

· ChristianaCare, a Delaware health care organization, has announced it will buy the former Jennersville Hospital in West Grove, Chester County.

· Garden of Health Inc. celebrated the opening of the food bank’s new warehouse at 201 Church Road, North Wales, in Montgomery County.

· Silverline Trailers Inc. opened its first location in Pennsylvania and in the Northeast at 223 Porter Road, Pottstown, where it sells utility, cargo, dump, equipment and car hauler trailers. 

· A new smoothie and bowl restaurant, Sips & Berries, opened at 285 Maple Ave., Harleysville, in Montgomery County.

· Terrain on the Parkway offers 160 new 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments at 1625 Lehigh Parkway East in Allentown. 

· Lehigh Valley native Don Wenner is moving his real estate investment and finance firm DLP Capital from Bethlehem to Allentown at 835 W. Hamilton St.

· While Wells Fargo has been the leader in closing banks lately, it will hold a ribbon-cutting for its new downtown Allentown office at 740 Hamilton St. on June 30.

· If you’re in the market for sterling silver jewelry, minerals and semi-precious gemstones, C& I Minerals is now operating at the South Mall at 3300 Lehigh St. in Allentown.

· The Allentown-based utility company PPL Corp. bought a major Rhode Island utility.

· Ownership at Martellucci’s Pizzeria in Bethlehem has changed, but Paul and Donna Hlavinka and their family are running the pizza place at 1419 Easton Ave., just as it has been operated for 49 years. 

· Dr. Jacob Kasprenski’s new Kasprenski Family Eye Care opened at 1088 Howertown Road, Catasauqua.

· Josie’s New York Deli in downtown Easton closed early in the COVID-19 pandemic, but a June 13 Historic District Commission meeting approved a request for a new sign at its building at 14 Centre Square. 

· Zekraft cafe has opened its second location in the Easton Silk Mill in Easton. The first Zekraft restaurant was opened in Bethlehem. The restaurants’ menus change frequently, with a focus on local ingredients. 

· Manta Massage at 319 Main St., Emmaus, will hold its grand opening on July 10 starting at 11 a.m. 

· The former Iron Lakes Country Club, constructed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, will operate at 3625 Shankweiler Road in North Whitehall Township under its new name, The Club at Twin Lakes. 

· Prologis, a titan in the logistics industry, will own and operate three warehouses proposed in Upper Macungie Township at the former Air Products headquarters campus at 7201 Hamilton Blvd. 

· Lehigh Valley Health Network ceremonially opened its first Carbon County hospital — a $78 million, 100,578-square-foot facility at 2128 Blakeslee Boulevard Drive East in Mahoning Township.

· Pocono Township commissioners voted to accept Swiftwater Solar’s preliminary final plan for the $111 million, 80-megawatt field on a private 644-acre site on top of Bear Mountain that would include about 200,000 solar panels.

· Firetree Ltd. wants to expand its in-patient rehab operation at the former Sands Ford auto dealership at 440 N Claude A Lord Blvd. (Route 61), Pottsville.

· A Dunkin’ in Schuylkill County located at 400 Terry Rich Blvd., St. Clair, has become just the fourth location of the donut and coffee chain to go entirely digital. 

· The Conservatory music school in Bucks County will close after 34 years, and school officials say the COVID-19 pandemic is the cause. The nonprofit, located at 4059 Skyron Drive, Doylestown, will close June 30.

· A Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and Arby’s will be built on the site of the former Ahart’s Market on Route 22 in Phillipsburg, New Jersey.

· Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce offices and the Unity Bank Center for Business & Entrepreneurship will be located at 119 Main St., Flemington. 

· Honeygrow opens Quakertown location, next to Chipotle on Route 309, on June 3.

· Dunkin’ reopens remodeled restaurant at 1174 MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township

· Muse Modern Med Spa at 325 Fifth St. in Whitehall Township  will hold a grand opening June 4.

· Around Again, a consignment store, opened at 154 S. Main St., Phillipsburg

· Steak and Steel Hibachi, a restaurant in the works at 44 W. Walnut St., Bethlehem, still plans on opening late this summer. 

· Take It Outdoors Recreation Hub has moved to a spot along the Schuylkill River Trail at Riverfront Park in Pottstown, Montgomery County

· Pedego Electric Bikes has a new outlet in Lambertville, N.J. at 13 N. Union St.

· Amanda Vachris has opened a new Keller Williams Real Estate office at 15 St. John St. in Schuylkill Haven.

· Easton’s new West Ward Market will open Wednesday and be open on Wednesday’s through the summer from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The market, created by the Greater Easton Development Partnership, will sell fresh produce on 12th Street, next to Paxinosa Elementary School.

· Ciao Sandwich Shoppe is adding a second location, this time on College Hill in Easton. Ciao plans to open at 325 Cattell St. in late summer. Ciao already operates in downtown Easton at 12 N. Third St

· Ma’s Crepes and Cakes will hold a grand opening and ribbon-cutting June 16 at 46 W. Broadway, Jim Thorpe. The celebration starts at 5 p.m., with the ribbon cutting at 5:45 p.m. 

· Bethlehem’s Back Door Bakeshop will reopen as a wholesale operation at 7 E. Church St. in the city’s historic district. The business was open for nine years as a retail outlet at Broad and Center streets, before announcing in March that it would close the storefront April 3 and “go back to its origins as a wholesale business.”

·The Beef Baron on Catasauqua Road in Bethlehem is closed indefinitely for renovations

· The Brothers That Just Do Gutters are opening a new location in Allentown at 1302 N. 18th St.

· St. John Chrysostom Academy, an Orthodox school serving grades 1-9 starting this fall, held a grand opening at its St. Francis Center, Bethlehem, campus.

· Easton Commons, a shopping center anchored by Giant Foods at 2920 Easton Ave., Bethlehem Township, has a new name: The Shops at Bethlehem.

· Carbon County is getting a taste of Brazil at Uai Brasil BBQ at 315 Lehigh Ave. in Palmerton.

· The Keystone Pub in Bethlehem Township, at 3259 Easton Avenue, has reopened after a lengthy and expensive renovation. 

· The Trading Post Depot opened at 401 Northampton St., Easton. The rustic furniture store makes custom tables for dining rooms, desktops, conference centers and more.

· The Easton area has a new gym: Homemade Fitness at 444 Cedarville Road in Williams Township.

· Il Gaetano Ristorante opened at its 665 Columbus Ave., Phillipsburg, location. 

· Ciao! Sandwich Shoppe to open second location on College Hill in Easton, replacing The Kettle Room

· Rene and Grisellies Benique have opened Ezekiel 47 Cafe at 10 S. Fifth Ave., off Fifth and Penn avenues, in West Reading. 

· Alter Ego Salon and Day Spa in Emmaus is holding a grand opening Sunday, May 22, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a ribbon cutting at noon. 

· Origen Latin Fusion has opened at the site of the former Tomcat Cafe in Sinking Spring, Berks County. 

· Sellersville Senior Residences will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony May 24. The Bucks County affordable-housing community for adults 55 and older has 50 apartments, with eight allocated for people with behavioral health needs.

· The House and Barn in Emmaus has opened its Shed outdoor dining and cigar bar area. The House and Barn is at 1449 Chestnut St. in Emmaus.

· Realtor Amanda Vachris and the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon cutting at Vachris’s new Keller Williams Real Estate office at 15 St. John St., Schuylkill Haven, at 4 p.m. on May 24.

· Il Gaetano Ristorante will hold a grand opening on Friday, May 20, at 5:30 p.m. The 665 Columbus Ave., Phillipsburg.

· First Commonwealth Federal Credit Union will hold a grand opening at its new headquarters in Trexlertown, 6126 Hamilton Blvd., on May 18.

· Vinyl Press Signs & Graphics has relocated within Emmaus. The new site is 15 S. Second St., not far from the former Sixth Street location.

· Pedro’s Cafe in Emmaus to close

· SV Sports (formerly Schuylkill Valley Sports) to close Quakertown location

· Flemington DIY will host a Grand Re-Opening on May 14 at 26 Stangl Road, Flemington. The celebration will kick off at 10 a.m. 

· Elpedio’s Ristorante at Seipsville opened at 2912 Old Nazareth Road in Easton. The restaurant is open Wednesday through Sunday.

· Uai Brazil opened at 315 Lehigh Ave, Palmerton, offering both a seated or buffet option. 

· Colombian Mex Restaurant opened at 107 E Union Blvd in Bethlehem, offering traditional Colombian cuisine. 

· Precision Ink opened at 161 W Berwick St. in Easton. 

· King Wing opened a location in Bethlehem at 129 E. Third St., serving wings and sandwiches.  

The post San Francisco property homeowners banned from parking automotive on it | Enterprise Information appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

DTSalazar Inc.

Employer:

San Francisco, CA, USLocation:

Fri, Jun 17 ’22Posted on:

full timeType:

Who we are:

DTSalazar Inc. (DTS) is an Owner’s Representation/Project Management firm that specializes in the realization of aspirational design and construction projects on behalf of a host of visionary and discerning clients.
Our focus is ultra high-end residential and large-scale planning, but also includes a wide range of project types and collaborations with some of the best and brightest in the industry. We work on a variety of Real Estate ventures the phases of which range from acquisition, investments, strategic planning, financing, construction, maintenance, operations and dispositions.
The roles, responsibilities, and skill sets required to take on the challenges of Owner’s Representation the way we approach the vocation are deep and wide-ranging. One must not only be an expert in the day to day technical aspects of the work, but one must also have mature business and interpersonal perception skills at their fingertips. Top notch people skills, a keen eye that excels beyond what others typically see, and empathy for others is critical. We aspire to never lose sight of the big picture, we are passionate about excellence, and we prioritize authenticity, integrity and collaboration.

The role:

We are looking for an experienced Owner’s Representative with 10+ years of experience in Architecture, and/or Luxury Real Estate Development / Construction. This role will be entrusted to support both our internal team and our clients who are primarily entrepreneurial principals based in New York, Austin, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Europe with a potential expansion to other global locations. As an Owner’s Representative you will serve as a liaison between our clients and the rest of the project team – Architecture, Design, Construction, Estate Management and other functions within Single Family Offices. You will play a pivotal role in delivering project goals and milestones, the most critical of which includes ensuring our client’s vision is met. This means managing a successful project – from design planning to construction – in which all team members are empowered to excel. One has a sophisticated grasp of how to balance the disparate forces of quality, schedules and budgets towards tangible outcomes and is not intimidated by complex problem solving, nor uncertainty.

As a concierge-like point of contact for select clients and our teams, you will have to know the right kinds of questions to ask so as to be able to convert often stratified information into sound, actionable
strategies. You will be required to organize, synthesize and hone in on the critical decision-making elements necessary to advance the project. The team will be looking for you to provide guidance and direction with respect to design, value engineering, scope definition, cost estimating audits, general contractor and subcontractor pre-qualification, schedules, and construction. Whether it’s conducting site
visits or distilling due diligence assessments, managing the design and construction process, reviewing architectural plans and construction drawings, or working towards resolving design-related challenges – you will be expected to manage various aspects of a project simultaneously.

The right candidate sees the entrepreneurial nature of building and managing teams (internal/external) as an exciting and dynamic challenge. They will bring energy, integrity, accuracy, and discipline to their role and enjoy both a fast-paced environment, as well as the peace and quiet of strategic planning while not in the field. The individual will work to maximize the time and experience of all parties involved, which includes its clients, its partners, and collaborators. This spans from the early stages of planning, design and construction, through facility management of the property during occupancy. By extension, this includes understanding and supporting the facility so that management and operations, security, special functions, hospitality and special initiatives can be successful. The role requires uncompromising discretion and professionalism and the availability to travel (likely several weeks a year) as needed to maintain best in class service.

Responsibilities:

Architecture & Design

• Inspire and direct architecture teams to deliver innovative design solutions that align with the client’s vision
• Ensure architecture team is delivering timely, accurate detailing and drawings to construction team
• Ensure project timeline of design decisions is communicated clearly to the entire project team

Pre-Construction & Construction

• Negotiate contracts
• Review and approve change orders
• Effectively manage neighbor relations
• Drive punch list and closeout management
• Manage expeditors to secure building permits
• Consultant coordination and construction site visits
• Ensure construction timelines and changes are communicated clearly and proactively
• Analyze structural, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical aspects of the construction project

General project management

• Manage budgets and invoices
• Drive strategic planning and operations management
• Drive efficient problem-solving and client communication
• Attend weekly owner, architect, and construction meetings
• Identify potential issues before they arise and work to mitigate risk
• Assist team in the development and improvement of systems and procedures
• Facilitate and guide solutions to ensure that projects are completed as planned
• Generate reports that demonstrate the status of the project against their plan and schedule
• Serve as the main point of contact, receiving and transferring information to appropriate parties and facilitating meetings when necessary

Who are you:

Maybe you’re an experienced architect with an impeccable design point of view who is experienced at detailing and coaching teams to achieve a desired goal. Or perhaps you’ve worked in real estate development on luxury residential or hotel projects. You may be a construction industry professional who is passionate about building with the highest quality materials for the highest quality end product. Or maybe you’ve been working in the owner’s rep. space and are passionate about diving deeper into a few long-term and bespoke projects.

Regardless of your background, you are a dynamic, experienced, detail-oriented, driven, unflappable individual with a passion for precision. You see this opportunity as a vocation that has no limits, and recognize that leadership, in all its varied forms, is a requirement for success.

Qualitative prerequisites:

• You have low ego but high confidence
• You pride yourself on being highly trustworthy
• You like to work independently and are self motivated
• You possess strong leadership and decision making skills
• You have a positive attitude and can maintain calm under pressure
• You have strong and succinctly written and oral communication skills
• You’re not afraid to raise your hand when something doesn’t look right
• You are a self-motivated, initiative-driven, and solutions-oriented individual
• You enjoy diving deep into the details, but can also analyze the bigger picture
• You’re a master investigator who leaves no stone unturned when things don’t add up
• You’re a problem solver with a knack for coming up with creative solutions that aren’t obvious
• You have a learner mentality with a passion for acquiring new skills, information, and specialties
• You have an unsatiable commitment to problem solving, while making sure that no one is left behind
• You empower people and work strategically to achieve what at the outset may appear unachievable.
• You have high emotional intelligence and can collaborate with a variety of personalities in order to build strong, trusting relationships.
• You have a fierce commitment to maintaining security, privacy, and respect with all parties. And equally as important, you promote and empower others to do the same.
• You know how to instill confidence in others so that they feel both a sense of urgency and responsibility to communicate and escalate when necessary, and you value time as a precious commodity

Key Skills & Qualifications:

• Demonstrated success in managing multiple projects, priorities and people concurrently in a fast-paced, high-growth and results-driven environment
• Ability to coordinate project design and construction teams with end-users, environmental health & safety, in-house IT, audio visual, security teams, etc
• Experience with fast-track design-build construction
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with focus on planning, execution, and follow up
• Strong analytical skills; works well under pressure
• Strong individual contributor. Self-starter who possesses exceptional time management skills and has great attention to detail
• Direct construction management experience.
• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of construction practices and terminology.
• Demonstrated ability to read and understand architectural plans and drawings.
• Demonstrated knowledge of construction finances, project budgets, and reporting.
• Demonstrated knowledge of a wide variety of construction materials, products and systems
• Highly organized with strong analytical skills and the ability to identify and manage priorities.
• Experience managing and mentoring direct reports

Benefits:

• Competitive salary
• remote position
• Medical & Dental Benefits
• Additional Benefits & 401k (under development)
• wellness grant
• Paid Time Off (PTO) for personal and sick time

*Compensation commensurate with experience

Additional information

• Work location: This is a live-off position with bases in the New York, San Francisco Bay Area, and Austin.
• Verifiable references, thorough background check, and online assessment required of all qualified finalists.
• Equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity in an environment that is equitable and inclusive.

Please send applications to: hiring@dtsalazar.com

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Supervisor Dean Preston announced the initiative at a press conference Tuesday morning. It would need about 9,000 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.

The goal is to incentivize property investors who leave homes vacant until the market is in their favor to list or rent the property.

“These are folks who are buying and selling housing in San Francisco as if they’re buying and selling stocks on the stock market. They couldn’t care less about providing homes for anyone, and we are going to put an end to it with the empty homes tax,” Supervisor Preston said.

He estimates the tax could bring in about $38 million dollars a year. He proposes that the money go toward preventing homelessness and affordable housing.

RELATED: SF considers taxing vacant apartments to help with housing crisis; new report shows 40K empty units

The tax rate would be based on the property’s size and how long it has been vacant. For instance, a unit smaller than 1,000 square feet would be taxed $2,500 for one year, $10,000 for three years. A home that is 20,000 or more square feet would be taxed $20,000 for its third year of sitting vacant.

Exemptions would include a property being remodeled, a natural disaster or a landlord who is in long term care or has died.

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“If it’s a legitimate, good faith reason that there’s some kind of vacancy, this tax is not going to tax. But if you are in the business of holding units off the market for prolonged periods of time, we’re not only going to tax you but each year of that vacancy that tax is going to go up,” Preston said.

Some critics call this proposed tax a distraction and say what city leaders really need to focus on is building more affordable housing.

“When we look at the size of our shortage and how many houses we need to build, this is a drop in the bucket. San Francisco has a history of not building enough housing and the Board Of Supervisors is trying to avoid actually fixing the problem ,” said Corey Smith, the deputy director of the Housing Action Coalition.

RELATED: Wealthy Bay Area city pushes back against new housing proposal

The Board of Supervisors recently voted down a plan to build an apartment building on the valet parking lot of a Nordstrom Department Store.

Preston’s office says it isn’t an either/or situation.

Preston says the city of Vancouver implemented a similar tax and saw vacancies decrease by 20%.

Copyright © 2022 KGO-TV. All rights reserved.

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California Lt. gov. Eleni Kounalakis made national news on Thursday by becoming the first woman in history to sign a state measure into law. The bill she ratified, Assembly Bill 2179, extends statewide eviction protections through June for renters who have applied for a state relief program – protections that would have expired this past Thursday had action not been taken.

Feel good story? Unfortunately, no.

Seemingly lost (arguably by design) in the national fanfare over Kounalakis’ historic first is the fact that the bill she signed contained a poison pill. Embedded in its text is a preemption clause that prevents jurisdictions like San Francisco from enforcing their own local eviction moratoriums, while allowing moratoriums in some places – like Los Angeles — to survive.

“There is no policy rationale for overriding local eviction protections in San Francisco, etc., while allowing other cities to protect their renters,” State Sen. Scott Wiener D-San Francisco and Assembly Member Phil Ting D-San Francisco, both of whom voted against the bill, said in a joint statement this week. “We shouldn’t be playing favorites by allowing some cities to protect their renters while prohibiting other cities from doing so. Cities must have the ability to protect their residents from eviction and homelessness.”

San Francisco is a city known for its political excesses. Trying to help its residents from being tossed into the street amid a deadly pandemic that continues to cause chaos in the global economy, however, isn’t one of them. And arbitrarily stripping the city of its ability to do so reeks of an ugly backroom deal.

Data compiled by The Chronicle show that nearly 21,500 households in San Francisco County were behind on rent as of February. Collectively, these households owe nearly $199 million.

More than $5 billion in federal funds has been made available to make the households whose back rent stems from COVID — and the landlords they owe — whole. But the state rental relief program charged with distributing most of these funds has been clouded by bureaucratic failures. Upwards of a year after California began accepting applications, not even half of the more than 507,000 households who have applied for the program have received aid. Those numbers don’t include more recent applications sitting on desks, waiting for the machinery behind this program to process them.

This is why flexible local eviction moratoriums remain so essential. And yet California didn’t just eliminate the ability of places like San Francisco to protect its residents, it cut off new relief applications as of March 31 – even as it actively pursues funding sources to expand the program’s pot. The state requested an additional $1.9 billion in federal funds last November, money that it is still seeking. And legislators recently passed a law to streamline the relief process to make it easier to quality.

It still wasn’t easy enough. In the wake of the bill’s signing, many lawmakers expressed concern that non-English speakers and some other groups had struggled to navigate the process and had been left behind.

We urge these and other lawmakers to take stock of the system’s failures and aggressively move to remedy them — before a wave of evictions swells the ranks of the state’s homeless population.

It’s not as if California lacks the capability to put money in people’s pockets in a hurry. gov. Newsom is lobbying for an $11 billion rebate that would give $400 debit cards to car owners — including electric vehicle owners — to combat the rising costs of gas. Payments could conceivably go out as soon as July. That Tesla owners could see direct relief from a momentary gas price hike, as thousands of struggling renters are thrown out of their homes due to bureaucratic bungling, is an injustice that can’t be allowed to occur.

Landlords are right to insist that tenants can’t be allowed to forgo rent payments in perpetuity. Blanket eviction moratoriums have to end eventually. The quickest and most ethical way to get to this place, however, is for California to more efficiently use the massive pot of funds at its disposal to make those with COVID debt whole. If we’re prepared to clear the way to put cash in the pockets of Tesla owners, we can do the same for those at risk of eviction and homelessness.

This commentary is from The Chronicle’s editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters.

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Vehicle break-ins in San Francisco have become so common place over the past year that some desperate car owners have resorted to leaving their trunks open to avoid having the windows smashed by thieves.

A recent photo taken in San Francisco showed two SUVs parked side by side with their trunks ajar and no one inside the vehicles.

A similar trend also has been observed in Oakland, which has seen a spike in car break-ins and auto thefts as part of a larger crime wave that has engulfed the Bay Area, with homicides, assaults and thefts all skyrocketing.

‘Imagine having to clean out your car and leaving it open in public, just so people won’t break your windows. Oakland we looking sad man,’ another witness who wrote it happen on social media.

‘It doesn’t really surprise me,’ said Oakland’s Interim Deputy Police Chief Drennon Lindsey.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed, who earlier slashed $120million from the budgets of the city’s police and sheriff’s departments in response to demands from Black Lives Matter activists, on Tuesday announced she was asking the city’s Board of Supervisors for more money to be given to the police to stamp out drug dealing, car break-ins and theft.

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Car owners in San Francisco seeking to avoid having their windows smashed by thieves have resorted to keeping their trunks open, as seen in the photo above

San Francisco has seen a 32 percent increase in car break-ins and a 25 per cent increase in auto thefts in December compared to the same time last year

In November 2021, data indicate that there were 3,375 reports of larceny theft in San Francisco, most of which were car break-ins.

Dashcam footage shows brazen smash-and-grab thieves drive down San Francisco street breaking car windows and lifting bags out of cars

Breed argued that San Francisco officers should get aggressive and ‘less tolerant of all the bulls*** that has destroyed our city’, as she went back on her plans to defund the police.

‘It’s time the reign of criminals who are destroying our city, it is time for it to come to an end,’ she said. ‘And it comes to an end when we take the steps to be more aggressive with law enforcement, more aggressive with the changes in our policies.’

Chesa Boudin, San Francisco’s progressive district attorney who ran on a platform of criminal justice reform and accepted $2million from left-wing philanthropist George Soros, has been blamed by many for spiking crime rates in his city.

Breed called for progressive policies that have allowed criminal behavior to make a mockery of the city’s famed tolerance and compassion to be replaced with ‘more aggressive policing’.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday slammed the ‘attitude of lawlessness’ sweeping the nation, citing the mobs of robbers who have targeted luxury boutiques in her hometown of San Francisco and stores in other cities. But she stopped short of endorsing Mayor Breed’s plan to step up policing.

San Francisco and Oakland are in the throes of a car break-in epidemic amid nearly across-the-board rising crime rates

Chesa Boudin, San Francisco’s progressive district attorney, has been blamed for spiking crime rates in his city

Law enforcement experts warn the preemptive move by beleaguered car owners to leave their trunks open is a bad idea.

‘They could steal your batteries, your tires,’ former SFPD Deputy Chief Garret Tom told KGO. ‘They could go into your glove compartment and find out where you live.’

The San Francisco Police Department has reported a 32 percent increase in car break-ins and a 25 percent increase in auto thefts in December compared to the same time last year.

Tom said that in his nearly 40 years on the force, he has never seen people opt to keep their trunks open to protect their windows from being smashed.

‘We’re in different times… that’s unbelievable, he said.

In the city’s most popular tourist destinations, the situation is especially dire, with the rate of car break-ins jumping an astonishing 200 percent compared to last year.

In November, data indicate that there were 3,375 reports of larceny theft, most of which were car break-ins, reported NBC Bay Area.

The Bay Area has been targeted by organized smash-and-grab raids on retailers

A group of about 40 to 50 teenage shoplifters made off with an unknown amount of jewelry and other items in Hayward, California, in November. Experts and officials say national crime networks are behind many of the ‘smash-and-grab’ operations

Between January 1 and November 29, there were 19,270 car break-ins reported in San Francisco, which translates into nearly 20 break-ins per 1,000 in the city, which is more than in Atlanta, Washington DC, Houston and Los Angeles.

Prosecutors and police in San Francisco have been pointing fingers at each, with the Office of District Attorney Boudin blaming cops for making arrests in less than 2 percent of car break-ins, and the police slamming the DA for releasing the thieves with little to no jail time because of California’s ‘zero-bail’ policy.

Oakland has been seeing a similar trend, with car owners opening their trunks to protect their vehicles from being damaged by marauding thieves.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf has appealed to private property owners to buy security cameras and register them with the police to help catch the bandits.

Police departments in both San Francisco and Oakland have stepped up patrols in busy areas during the holiday season. They are urging motorists not to leave any valuables in their cars, nor to leave their trunks open.

California’s Proposition 47 – lighter sentences for thieves

Proposition 47 was passed by California voters on November 5, 2014.

It made some ‘non-violent’ property crimes, where the value of the stolen goods does not exceed $950, into misdemeanors.

It also made some ‘simple’ drug possession offenses into misdemeanors, and allows past convictions for these charges to be reduced to a misdemeanor by a court.

Under California law, though, if two or more person’s conspire to ‘cheat and defraud any person or any property, by any means which are in themselves criminal’ they can face no more than one year in county prison, a fine of $10,000 or a combination of the two.

The Bay Area has been in the throes of a smash-and-grab epidemic, which has seen roving bands of thieves, sometimes armed with baseball bats, ransacking high-end stores and getting away with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise.

In late November, nearly 100 thieves wearing ski masks carried out a brazen smash-and-grab flash mob robbery at a Nordstrom store in a San Francisco suburb, an estimated $125,000 in merchandise was stolen.

Security experts and officials agree that organized crime networks are responsible for many of the large-scale ‘smash-and-grab’ retail thefts, with syndicates recruiting young, low-level crooks and paying them $500 to $1,000 to steal specific items for resale online .

Aside from the organized crime rings, the growing problem has been attributed to police officers’ apparent reluctance to pursue retail criminals in the current political climate, prosecutors’ failure to prioritize larceny and theft, and the decriminalization of low-level offenses in some jurisdictions.

California Gov Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, has vowed to crack down on gangs of retail thieves, despite a controversial 2014 law – Proposition 47 – that barred prosecutors from charging suspected shoplifters accused of stealing less than $950 worth of merchandise with felonies.

Mayor London Breed launched an emergency police intervention Tuesday aimed at curbing open drug use, brazen home break-ins and other criminal behaviors taking place in San Francisco’s crime-ridden Tenderloin neighborhood and across the city

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SAN MATEO (KPIX) — On Saturday, those heading to the San Mateo County Event Center were focused on volleyball not vaccinations.

It was the first time in several months where the site did not serve as the county’s primary booster and vaccination clinic. Earlier in the week, the county pulled the plug on the clinic, which served only 120 people on its final day in operation. The county has been scaling down the site for several weeks as the vaccine demand has decreased, a spokesperson said.

Now, San Mateo County will focus on community-based vaccine and booster sites that have regular hours and which are located throughout the county. As of this week, 93.5 percent of the county’s eligible population has been vaccinated, according to a spokesperson.

“I think we’re moving from an emergency response with all hands on deck to one that’s more individualized and personalized,” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at UCSF. “We’re doing pretty well from this surge but, of course, we don’t know what’s going to happen next. Next doesn’t mean that it’ll be in the next month or two months. Next may mean next winter or fall.”

dr Chin-Hong says COVID isn’t going to just disappear once the surge subsides. However, this wave is almost over.

“We can sort of enjoy the next lull and hopefully that lull will last long. But we really need to drive down those deaths before we can think of it like another flu,” he said. “You know the storm will come at some point, because COVID isn’t going anywhere any time soon. It’s still circulating in the world and not enough of the world is immune, so we will undoubtedly see it again.”

With the situation calming down, COVID-related restrictions are easing on the Peninsula and throughout most of the Bay Area. All of the counties, with the exception of Santa Clara County, will lift the indoor mask mandate for vaccinated individuals after Feb. 15. Individual business owners will be able to require masks if they choose to.

“I really haven’t decided yet,” said Lewis Cohen, owner of B Street Books in San Mateo. “I’m kind of waiting to see what other businesses are going to do and what my clientele seems to want.”

Susan Engle, who lives in San Mateo, is glad to see the mandate will be coming to an end in a few days.

“I’ll be very happy. I think I’ll still carry a mask and wear a mask in certain situations but it’ll be nice to take them off,” she said. “If I’m in the gym and there’s someone right next to me on the elliptical, sweating, I think I’ll put the mask on.”

dr Chin-Hong says he’s not going to completely ditch the mask indoors just yet.

“I for one, for example, will still wear my mask in a crowded, indoor setting, until we hit sea-level in COVID,” he said. “We’re almost there but not quite yet.”

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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — Bay Area concert promoter Another Planet Entertainment announced Wednesday that it is working with the owners of San Francisco’s Castro Theater to renovate the landmark and present live events at the venue.

The concert promoter said it will partner with Bay Properties, Inc., owners of the Castro Theater since the historic building was built 100 years ago, to both rehabilitate the building and plan the events held there.

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In a press release posted on Another Planet Entertainment’s website, the concert promoter said it plans to implement “significant improvements to sound, lighting, production, HVAC and the theatre’s branding,” among other facets of the building.

Bay Properties vice president Chris Nasser Padian called the move “the next evolution of our historic theater” in the press release.

The publication noted the organizer’s previous work in preserving and enhancing historic buildings such as the Fox Theater in Oakland, the Greek Theater in Berkeley, and the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco.

“The Castro Theater is a beautiful building that we will be upgrading for better use in the future,” said Gregg Perloff, CEO and co-founder of Another Planet Entertainment, in the publication.

The press release said the venue would host a variety of events, including comedy, music and film, as well as community and private events.

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The Castro Theater has hosted a few live concerts presented by independent show promoter FolkYEAH in recent months, but only a handful of films – including the premiere of The Matrix Resurrections – have been shown at the popular cinema since the pandemic began.

The website for the Castro, which used to contain the theater’s online movie schedule, now redirects to a page on the Another Planet website with a link to the official announcement and an email address for private event rentals.

In the past, the Castro has been a key theater for several major local film festivals, including the San Francisco International Film Festival, Frameline (the San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival), and Noir City.

Some people lamented the end of the Castro Theater’s run as an independent repertory film house on social media, including the Mission District’s Roxie Theater.

It’s a sad day for San Francisco cinema.

— Roxie Theater (@roxietheater) January 19, 2022

Castro’s Twitter post accompanying the announcement showed the negative reactions of dozens of heartbroken film fans.

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pic.twitter.com/iCDBRHsSGt

— kelly p. (@k_pendergrast) January 19, 2022

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