Latest news with #Johnsen
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Delayed Citywalk apartment project seeks creation of TIF district
May 18—ROCHESTER — Tax-increment financing support for a proposed 13-story, 340-unit apartment complex on Second Street Southwest is being considered after years of development discussion. The Rochester City Council, acting as the city's economic development authority, will be asked Monday to approve the creation of a TIF district that could support the project dubbed Citywalk Apartments. Proposed for the southwest corner of the Sixth Avenue Southwest intersection with Second Street, the project has grown in size over the years , starting with a 131-unit proposal in 2021. A report prepared by Rochester Strategic Initiatives Director Josh Johnsen states the anticipated $149.9 million development project — now led by St. Louis Park-based Reuter Walton Development — is hoping to break ground by the end of the year, if TIF support is approved. Potential TIF support will require the City Council to create a specified TIF district on the site, after agreeing the existing buildings that would be replaced are structurally substandard. A public hearing, set to be held toward the end of the council's regular 6 p.m. meeting Monday in council chambers of the city-county Government Center, is planned to take input on the proposed TIF plan. Johnsen states a potential TIF agreement is expected to include a call to maintain two adjacent apartment buildings — 225 Sixth Ave. SW and 620 Second St. SW — as "naturally occurring affordable housing." The plan would require the developers to enroll the properties in an Olmsted County program that requires maintaining specific rent levels in exchange for a reduced tax classification. "This will preserve 76 units of naturally occurring affordable housing for a period of 20 years, ensuring long-term affordability in an area experiencing increasing demand and rising housing costs," Johnsen wrote of the proposed agreement. "By preserving affordability in such close proximity, this project ensures that frontline healthcare workers and support staff can continue to live near their place of employment." Johnsen states that maintaining the existing housing will help provide housing for people of varying incomes within blocks of the planned Mayo Clinic' "Bold. Forward. Unbound. in Rochester" expansion. "These units offer critical affordability within walking distance of downtown jobs, services, and transit, helping to reduce commuting burdens and support a vibrant, mixed-income urban core," he wrote to the council. The proposal comes months after Wayzata-based DM Cos, which led earlier development efforts, purchased a 10-unit boarding house at 219 Sixth Ave. SW for $1.4 million to clear the way for construction of the Citywalk project. DM Cos. is listed as the provider of property management and maintenance services for the Citywalk projects in materials sent to the City Council ahead of Monday's economic development authority meeting. The report sent to the council doesn't put a dollar amount on potential TIF support for the proposed Citywalk project, but it notes the amount will be included in a future development assistance agreement. The plan does point to the potential for 25 years of collecting TIF, which uses property taxes collected on increased values as a property is developed. While local entities would continue to collect property taxes, anything beyond the level collected when a TIF district is created becomes available to support development, if a financing gap is documented. Johnsen said the property's current assessed value of nearly $3.2 million is expected to increase to $86 million once the project is completed, with opening targeted by 2028. Meetings scheduled to be held during the week of May 19 include: Rochester —City Council, 6 p.m. Monday in council chambers of the city-county Government Center, 151 Fourth St. SE. The meeting will livestream at and be available on Spectrum cable channel 180 or 188. The council will also meet as the city's economic development authority. —Public Utility Board, 4 p.m. Tuesday in the Rochester Public Utilities community room, 4000 East River Road NE. —Public Music Board, 4 p.m. Tuesday in room 320 of City Hall, 201 Fourth St. SE. —Library Board, 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in the first-floor meeting room of the Rochester Public Library, 101 Second St. SE. Olmsted County —Physical Development Committee, 1 p.m. Tuesday in conference room 1 of the Government Center. —Health, Housing and Human Services Committee, 2:30 p.m. Tuesday in conference room 2 of the Government Center. —Administrative Committee, 4 p.m. Tuesday in conference room 1 of the city-county Government Center. —Board of County Commissioners, 6 p.m. Tuesday in the board chambers of the Government Center. —Sheriff's Civil Service Commission, 8 a.m. Wednesday with the location to be posted at —Soil and Water Conservation District Board, 8 a.m. Thursday in conference room 109 at 1188 50th St. SE Rochester Rochester Public Schools —School Board, 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the boardroom of the Edison Building, 615 Seventh St. SW. Destination Medical Center —DMC Corp. Board, 9:30 a.m. Thursday at Mayo Civic Center, 30 Civic Center Drive SE —DMC Corp. Board collaborative session with the Rochester City Council, Olmsted County Board of Commissioners and DMC Economic Development Agency board, 1:30 p.m. Thursday in the fourth-floor ballroom of Hilton Rochester Mayo Clinic, 10 E. Center St.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Michigan lawmakers hear out fetal income tax exemption
Rep. Gina Johnsen (R-Odessa Township) speaks at a House Education Committee meeting at Sterling Heights High School on March 11, 2024. (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols) Michigan lawmakers discussed the mechanics of a tax exemption that would put fetuses on par with children when claiming dependents on taxes. House Bill 4202 would allow individuals who have a physician's verification that they are at least 10 weeks pregnant by the end of the tax year to claim their fetus as a dependent. It's a straightforward 'pro-family' bill, the bill's sponsor Rep. Gina Johnsen (R-Lake Orion) told members of the state House Finance committee Tuesday. Johnsen said the bill would work to recognize the financial responsibilities that residents endure during pregnancy and promote growth in the state economy as families are incentivized to grow. 'This bill does not create a new entitlement. It does not expand government bureaucracy, and it does not affect Michigan's legal definitions related to personhood or abortion. It simply applies the same logic and fairness we already use for children born or lost late in the year to a pregnancy that is ongoing under medical care,' Johnsen said. 'This is a modest but meaningful bill that gives expecting mothers an added measure of support without creating a new program or imposing additional burdens on the state.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Though bills to offer tax relief during pregnancy can sound like a positive thing for residents, it's a common undercover tactic for state-level attempts to establish 'fetal personhood' in order to chip away at abortion rights, Planned Parenthood Action Fund said in a memo at the start of last year. Other 'fetal personhood' bills can look like efforts to allow pregnant people to pursue child support after conception and separate criminal and civil penalties for death of fetuses, placing the same level of personhood on fetuses as children. 'Legislative tactics and messaging of the fetal personhood movement may change, but the goal is the same — to control people's bodies, limit their health care choices, and criminalize people for having abortions,' Planned Parenthood Action Fund's memo says. 'These laws are not about supporting pregnant people…Instead, they are purposefully sowing confusion and slowly chipping away at people's rights to make reproductive health decisions.' Rep. Sarah Lightner (R-Springport) inquired if there was room to adjust the minimum weeks required under the exemption noting that under the bill's rules a person could claim the tax exemption at the end of the year and promptly terminate the pregnancy in the 11th week of pregnancy or beyond. Johnsen noted that the 10 week minimum was already a compromise. About 93% of all abortions in the U.S. are initiated within the first trimester, or 13 weeks of pregnancy, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rep. Kelly Breen (D-Novi) said she had some reservations on the bill but would be interested in seeing it tie-barred to only pass if the 'Momnibus' package, addressing disproportionate maternal mortality for moms of color, also passes the Legislature. Breen proposed an amendment to tie-bar the bills, though it was voted down by Republican committee members. 'Thank you to the sponsor for recognizing the need for additional supports for pregnant women and working moms…There's a lot of good that could come from the 'Momnibus' package, and that's why I've asked for this amendment to tie bar your bill to it,' Breen said before the vote on her amendment.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Sanofi and Regeneron's dupilumab approved by FDA for urticaria
Sanofi and Regeneron's fully human monoclonal antibody Dupixent (dupilumab) has gained approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) in the adult and adolescent population aged 12 years and above. This approval is specifically for those who continue to experience symptoms in spite of treatment with histamine-1 (H1) antihistamines. The FDA's decision is supported by data from the Phase III Study A and Study C clinical trials, which involved biologic-naïve subjects who are aged 12 years and above. These subjects were symptomatic despite antihistamine use and were evaluated with the antibody Dupixent as an add-on treatment, against only antihistamine. Both trials achieved their primary and key secondary endpoints, with the antibody showing minimisations in itch and urticaria severity at 24 weeks against a placebo. Study B demonstrated further safety data and assessed the antibody in subjects over 12 who had no sufficient response or tolerance to anti-immunoglobulin E (IgE) therapy, while still symptomatic in spite of antihistamine use. The safety outcomes from all three studies were in line with the antibody's known safety profile in its approved indications. Sanofi Immunology and Oncology Development Global Therapeutic Area headAlyssa Johnsen said: 'CSU patients with uncontrolled disease experience highly burdensome itch and hives that can significantly disrupt daily living. 'This FDA approval provides a new treatment option to help address the underlying drivers of these severe and recurring signs and symptoms.' The antibody has gained approval for this condition in the United Arab Emirates, Brazil and Japan, with submissions being reviewed in the European Union and other regulatory authorities globally. CSU is stated to be a chronic inflammatory skin condition partly driven by type 2 inflammation, leading to recurring itch and severe hives. Dupixent's development programme claims to have demonstrated a decrease in type 2 inflammation in Phase III studies. The antibody is being developed by the companies under a worldwide partnership agreement, and it was invented leveraging VelocImmune technology of Regeneron. It has secured regulatory approvals in over 60 nations for various indications encompassing asthma, prurigo nodularis, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, atopic dermatitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and eosinophilic esophagitis. "Sanofi and Regeneron's dupilumab approved by FDA for urticaria" was originally created and published by Pharmaceutical Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
