Governor Gavin Newsom signed California Senate Bill 6 and California Assembly Bill 2011 on September 28, 2022, with the goal of making it easier to develop new multifamily housing in areas currently zoned for office, retail, or parking uses.
Continue Reading If You Want to Develop California Multifamily Projects in Areas Zoned for Office, Retail, or Parking Uses, then Continue Reading . . .

The past decade has seen an explosion in consumer products and services going digital—especially during the last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. You can order your groceries, have your clothes dry-cleaned and your car detailed without ever leaving your home. While companies like Teledoc have created a realm of virtual health care, many medical procedures and other healthcare services still demand physical space outside of a patient’s home. Consumers are increasingly seeking convenience in their daily tasks and errands, and medical appointments are no exception. Enter medtail.  
Continue Reading Medtail: Just what the Doctor Ordered?

In May of 2021, the CDC issued guidance that fully vaccinated individuals could stop wearing masks and observing social distancing in most indoor and outdoor settings.  However, in the following months, the delta variant of COVID-19 has presented a resurgence in cases across the country.  This uptick forced the CDC to reevaluate its guidance to again recommend that even vaccinated people wear masks in certain indoor public spaces, especially considering many of these COVID spikes are occurring in the least vaccinated areas of the United States.
Continue Reading Delta Directives: Retailers Consider Mask and Vaccine Mandates

Commercial tenants who are unable to pay their rent as a result of COVID-19 shutdown and capacity-limit orders have, thus far, found little relief from courts, who have by and large rejected their common law defenses seeking a discharge of lease obligations. One recent Massachusetts case, however, sides with a commercial tenant, albeit under narrow circumstances, approving of the often-unsuccessful “frustration of purpose” defense.
Continue Reading Massachusetts Court: COVID-19 Closure Order Partially Discharges Commercial Rent Obligation Under “Frustration of Purpose” Doctrine

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take its toll on retail businesses throughout the country, the phenomenon of curbside pickup has spread from coast to coast.  With some evidence suggesting that retail customers may continue to prefer curbside pickup over traditional in-store pickup for the foreseeable future, retail businesses and their landlords should consider the potential lease implications of initiating or expanding curbside pickup programs. 
Continue Reading Lease Implications of Curbside Pickup

The COVID-19 pandemic has driven a large shift toward online retail transactions. In April of 2020, nonstore sales, mostly conducted through e-commerce, increased by nearly 30 percent while overall retail sales in the US are down 16 percent year over year, according to the Department of Commerce.
Continue Reading COVID-19 and E-Commerce are Changing Retailers’ Real Estate Footprints