WASHINGTON, D.C. — A total of 406,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment insurance assistance for the week that ended May 22, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday. These claims were a decrease of 38,000 from last week’s unrevised unemployment claims of 444,000 and were lower than Dow Jones economists’ estimates of 425,000. This week’s claims were the lowest claims since March 14, 2020, which had 256,000 claims. Continuing claims, data of which lags a week, decreased by 96,000 to 3.64 million, according to CNBC. Some states are recovering better than others during the pandemic-induced recession, according to the Department of Labor. For the week ending in May 15, there were large increases in initial claims in New Jersey, Washington, West Virginia and Rhode Island. For the same week, there were large decreases in initial claims in Georgia, Kentucky, Texas, Michigan and Florida.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — EagleBank, a community bank in the Washington, D.C., area, has provided $26 million in acquisition financing for the revitalization of Mazza Gallerie, a landmark retail space in D.C.’s Friendship Heights neighborhood. The borrower, Tishman Speyer, a real estate developer and owner based in New York City, will use the loan to fund both the purchase of the property and the ground-up construction of approximately 350 apartments and 26,000 square feet of ground-floor retail at the site. Barb Mackin, Sameera Rizvi and Jeniffer Mejia of EagleBank originated the loan, the terms of which were not disclosed. Mazza Gallerie is situated on the Wisconsin Avenue retail corridor and is adjacent to the Friendship Heights Metro rail station. The property has access to walkable outdoor amenities and 440,000 square feet of shops and restaurants.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A joint venture between Cedar Realty Trust (NYSE: CDR), Asland Capital Partners and the Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group has broken ground on the first phase of Northeast Heights. The $600 million mixed-use office and retail development is located in the Minnesota and Benning submarket of Washington, D.C.’s Ward 7 neighborhood. The property is located at 3924 Minnesota Ave. Construction has a completion date of late 2022 or early 2023. The first phase of Northeast Heights includes the construction of a 258,500-square-foot office building, as well as 18,000 square feet of street-level retail space. The office space is 100 percent leased to the Washington, D.C., Department of General Services (DGS) for its headquarters. Northeast Heights is a multi-phase, mixed-use redevelopment of two existing retail shopping centers at the intersection of Minnesota Avenue and Benning Road. Cedar Realty Trust will lead future phases of the development, which will include the development of multifamily residential with designated affordable apartments, additional office space, community gathering areas and retail space including a new grocery store. The retail for the DGS building will be made up primarily of full-service and/or fast-casual restaurants, as well as service establishments for the 400 to 500 …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A total of 444,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment insurance assistance for the week that ended May 15, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday. These claims were a decrease of 34,000 from last week’s revised unemployment claims of 478,000 and were the fewest that have been registered since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 14, 2020, claims totaled 225,500. This week’s claims were slightly better than the Dow Jones estimate of 452,000, according to CNBC. Continuing claims, which lags a week, increased by 111,000 to 3.75 million. Approximately 1.8 million people a day receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and less people are getting pandemic-related governmental assistance. Governmental assistance packages related to the pandemic are scheduled to expire in September, according to CNBC.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. retail sales overall remained static in April, following a 10.7 percent increase in March, according to the Department of Commerce. The monthly data fell below expectations, as economists polled by Reuters had projected a 1 percent increase in retail sales. Some sectors of the economy did experience a substantial increase in spending, however. The Wall Street Journal reported that a tracker of credit- and debit-card spending from Bank of America revealed that outlays on airlines rose 23 percent, and that spending at restaurants and lodging also increased. Conversely, spending at department stores fell a seasonally adjusted 28 percent from March to April, while outlays on clothing and furniture also fell. Economists expect that pent-up consumer demand coupled with a buildup in personal savings will lead to more spending during the next couple of months, especially as states across the country are lifting pandemic restrictions on businesses. Many economists are hoping that consumers will feel more at ease as the COVID-19 vaccines roll out and millions of Americans become fully vaccinated. On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a statement stating that there’s no longer a need for people who are fully vaccinated against …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A total of 473,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment insurance assistance for the week that ended May 8, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday. These claims were a decrease of 34,000 from last week’s revised unemployment claims of 507,000 and were the lowest level the claims have been since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The claims are still double than what they were before the pandemic started. Following government stimulus checks and expanded unemployment benefits, some employers have decided to pay their workers more, in order to incentivize them to stay working. By the end of June, Chipotle Mexican Grill says it plans to raise its hourly wages to $15 an hour, as well as a $200 employee referral bonus for current employees. McDonald’s has also announced it is raising the hourly wages for its U.S. company-owned restaurants by an average of 10 percent. The Wall Street Journal reports that in the week that ended April 17, 16.2 million Americans were receiving unemployment benefits. The newspaper also reports that average hourly earnings have risen by 21 cents to $30.17 in April for private-sector employees.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. economy added 266,000 jobs in April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected the report to show a gain of approximately 1 million jobs. The BLS also revised the March job gains downward from 916,000 to 770,000. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate increased 10 basis points to 6.1 percent in April, which was the first time the unemployment rate has increased since March 2020. The BLS report for April showed notable job gains in the leisure and hospitality sector, which added 331,000 jobs as a result of several states easing up their pandemic-related restrictions on stores, bars and restaurants. States such as Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Arizona, Mississippi and Florida rolled back their pandemic restrictions significantly after millions of Americans received the COVID-19 vaccine. However, some employment sectors posted a decrease in job growth in April. For example, the temporary help services sector recorded a decrease of 111,000 jobs, manufacturing saw a decrease of 18,000 jobs and retail trade posted a decrease of 15,000 jobs. The BLS also reported the local government education sector posted an increase in 31,000 jobs in April, while many other sectors were relatively unchanged, …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) has publicly stated that there should no longer be a nationwide eviction moratorium, a position the Washington, D.C.-based organization has held for the better part of a year. The statement is in response to a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich on Wednesday, May 5, to vacate the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) eviction ban that began last year and was extended through June 2021. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people lost their jobs and could not pay their rent, according to the NMHC. In April 2020, there was a spike in unemployment claims with 14.8 percent of Americans unemployed. The CDC implemented a nationwide eviction moratorium, which would ensure that Americans who had lost their jobs or were struggling financially were not going to become homeless due to the pandemic. The NMHC stated that it believes the eviction moratorium is no longer a necessary solution with unemployment numbers decreasing and more and more people getting one of the three available COVID-19 vaccines. The association added that the best solution to help people afford their living situations is to provide Americans with the resources …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A total of 498,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment insurance assistance for the week that ended May 1, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday. These claims were a decrease of 92,000 from last week’s revised unemployment claims of 590,000 and were lower than the Dow Jones estimate of 527,000. Continuing claims, for which data lags a week, increased by 37,000 to just below 3.7 million claims. The latest weekly first-time unemployment claims set another pandemic-era low and are approaching pre-pandemic figures — claims totaled 256,000 for the week that ended March 14, 2020.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Lowe and joint venture partner Mitsui Fudosan America have broken ground on Gallery 64, a 492-unit, 12-story apartment building that sits at the site of the former Randall Junior High School in Washington, D.C. The 500,000-square-foot redevelopment of the 2.7-acre site includes the preservation and repurposing of existing historic buildings into the Rubell Museum. Gallery 64’s apartment residences, 98 of which are designated as affordable, will include studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans. The property will have 19 two-level, townhouse-style residences as well. Community amenities will include rooftop gathering spaces with fire pits, grilling stations and outdoor kitchens, a dog walk and a resort-style pool. Indoor communal areas will include a lounge with fireplace, game room, fitness center and a maker space with sound studio. A landscaped area will be in between Gallery 64 and the Rubell Museum. The Randall School buildings closed in 1982. Two of the school’s three buildings will be transformed into the approximately 31,000-square-foot Rubell Museum, presenting contemporary paintings, sculptures, photographs and installations. Entry to the museum will be free of charge to all residents of Washington, D.C. The West Randall building will be reconfigured as an approximately 18,000-square-foot creative office building designed …