DALLAS — Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins has issued a shelter-in-place order for residents in response to COVID-19, a directive that outlines what essential services, including residential and commercial construction, may continue. The order went into effect at 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24 and will continue until 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, April 3. In terms of retail, restaurants may provide takeout and delivery services, and retailers such as dry cleaners, convenience stores, liquor stores, hardware stores and auto and bike repair shops may remain open under the directive. As of this writing, Dallas County had reported 169 total cases of COVID-19.
PHILADELPHIA — Broad Street Healthcare Properties, owner of the shuttered Hahnemann University Hospital, has offered to lease the medical facility to the City of Philadelphia below market cost in the event that a surge of coronavirus cases occurs. The 496-bed former acute care hospital is located in the Logan Square neighborhood, a central district of the city. Broad Street offered the facility at a daily rental price of approximately $27 per bed plus operating costs. As of March 25, The Wall Street Journal tracked 946 cases in Pennsylvania and 8 confirmed deaths.
WEST POINT, GA. — Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia Inc. (KMMG) will temporarily halt production at its West Point facility starting Monday, March 30 and is planned to reopen Monday, April 13 in the face of the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak. While operations are suspended, KMMG will perform additional cleaning and disinfecting processes of workstations throughout the plant. The factory produces 340,000 vehicles annually, including the Telluride CUV, Sorento CUV and Optima midsize sedan. The facility spans 2,200 acres and operates 24 hours per day.
CHICAGO — As a result of COVID-19 significantly decreasing demand for hotel rooms and event space, Chicago-based Hyatt Corp. has suspended operations at many hotels and implemented temporary furloughs as well as pay and work reductions that will impact Hyatt corporate workers across the globe. The furloughs and reductions are in place from April 1 through May 31 and affect two-thirds of the company’s U.S. corporate employees, according to Bloomberg. The furloughs will enable Hyatt corporate staff to retain eligibility for healthcare and other benefits. Colleagues may also file for unemployment benefits during this period. Hyatt is also in the process of setting up a global Hyatt Care Fund, which will be seeded by 100 percent of Hyatt leadership team’s salary reductions as an initial contribution. Both President and CEO Mark Hoplamazian and Chairman of the Board Tom Pritzker are forgoing 100 percent of their salaries and Hyatt’s senior leadership team is taking a salary cut of 50 percent through the end of May. The proceeds of the fund will be distributed to those workers with the most pressing financial needs due to loss of income.
COLUMBUS, OHIO — Washington Prime Group Inc. (NYSE: WPG) has temporarily closed its enclosed retail assets that feature an indoor common area in order to help contain the spread of coronavirus. The measure took effect on Monday and will end on March 29 or at a date in compliance with applicable federal, local or state mandates. In the Midwest, these affected assets include Lincolnwood Town Center and Northwoods Mall in Illinois; Markland Mall and Muncie Mall in Indiana; Lindale Mall and Southern Hills Mall in Iowa; Maplewood Mall and Northtown Mall in Minnesota; and Dayton Mall, Great Lakes Mall, Indian Mound Mall, Lima Mall, New Towne Mall, Polaris Fashion Place, Southern Park Mall and The Mall at Fairfield Commons in Ohio. Exceptions for enclosed centers include exterior-facing restaurants with carryout and delivery services and other tenants that have exterior-facing entrances and may remain open for offering essential goods. In addition, Washington Prime anticipates that a portion of its open-air centers, which represent approximately 40 percent of total net operating income, will remain open to continue offering essential goods and services to the extent permitted by law. The company has also offered to applicable governmental agencies all of its open-air and …
HOUSTON — In response to the spread of COVID-19, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo have issued a stay-at-home order to residents of all municipalities in Harris County, according to multiple news outlets including The Houston Business Journal and KXAN, NBC’s Austin affiliate. Citing a press conference held Tuesday morning, the latter outlet reports that the directive will go into effect at midnight tonight and last until Friday, April 3. Essential services, including restaurant takeout, will remain open, but public gatherings of all types have been banned.
ATLANTA — Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has signed an executive order that requires Atlantans to stay in their place of residence in response to the rising number of COVID-19 infections. The order will go into effect at midnight, March 24. Individuals may leave their place of residence only for essential activities, essential governmental functions or to operate essential businesses. According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, Fulton and DeKalb counties — where Atlanta city limits lie — combined to have 226 confirmed cases as of 7 p.m. Monday. Some examples of essential businesses include healthcare operations and essential infrastructure; grocery stores, farmers’ markets, farm and produce stands, supermarkets, food banks and convenience stores; food cultivation, including farming, livestock and fishing; newspapers, TV, radio and other media services; gas stations and auto-supply, auto-repair and related facilities; and banks and related financial institutions. According to Bottoms, essential government functions means all services needed to ensure the continuing operation of the government agencies and provide for the health, safety and welfare of the public. “As mayor of Atlanta, I have been entrusted with making decisions that are specific to our city,” says Bottoms. “Given our population density, high rate of asthma …
LANSING, MICH. — As the COVID-19 death count in Michigan climbed to 15 on Monday, and the state’s total confirmed case count was 1,328, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a “Stay Home, Stay Safe” executive order, directing all Michigan businesses and operations to temporarily suspend in-person operations that are not necessary to sustain or protect life. The order is effective today and runs through April 13. Non-essential businesses could be subjected to a fine of up to $500, forced closure. Business owners who violate the order could face up to 90 days in jail, according to a spokeswoman for the Michigan Attorney General’s Office as reported by the Detroit Free Press. The order came with a lot of questions from the business community about which businesses are considered essential and which aren’t. For instance, Ohio’s stay-at-home order includes a list of specific businesses that are considered essential, but Michigan’s order does not, according to The Detroit News. Included under Ohio’s order are contractors, laundering and dry-cleaning and hardware supply stores. The order directs Michiganders to stay in their homes unless they’re part of a critical infrastructure workforce, engaged in an outdoor activity or performing tasks necessary to the health and …
DETROIT — Bedrock, the real estate development company created by Quicken Loans Founder Dan Gilbert, will temporarily waive all rent, expenses and parking fees for restaurants and retail tenants that qualify as small businesses and which occupy space at the landlord’s buildings in downtown Detroit. Bedrock owns about 50 percent of the leasable commercial real estate space in Detroit’s 1.4-square-mile downtown business district, according to The Wall Street Journal. In downtown Detroit, Bedrock’s real estate portfolio includes 125 retailers and restaurants. The rent forgiveness initiative, which runs from April through June, comes as businesses across the state temporarily suspend in-person operations unless they are deemed essential. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued a “Stay Home, Stay Safe” executive order on Monday in response to the coronavirus outbreak. The order will be in effect through April 13. Bedrock recognizes that many of its small restaurant and retail tenants have taken a big hit financially due to lost business during the crisis and want to enable these tenants to use their resources to pay bills and meet payroll commitments. Qualification as a small business is based on criteria established using industry and governmental standards.
MOUNT HOREB, WIS. — As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Duluth Holdings Inc. has temporarily closed all of its stores nationwide. There are more than 60 locations of Duluth Trading Co. The company did not disclose a timeline for when the stores will reopen. The Wisconsin-based retailer of casual wear and workwear will support sales associates with two weeks of pay. Approximately 50 percent of Duluth Trading’s sales are generated through its website and shipped directly to customers from its distribution centers. The company plans to keep these facilities open with “heightened concern for employee health and safety.”