Real Estate and Development

Restaurants Start Rehiring

Restaurants around the country are rehiring employees after the layoffs they dealt with major layoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yum! Brands' Taco Bell, for example, is looking to hire 30,000 new workers this summer. Meanwhile, Dunkin' Donuts is looking… more

JCP Closing Stores, Brooks Brothers Close to Bankruptcy

The retail industry has certainly had some tough times during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as before the virus started in the United States. Now, J. C. Penney, which operates seven stores and a distribution center in the Kansas City… more

Retailers Face Lawsuits Over Missed Rent Payments

Retailers are increasingly being sued due to missed rent payments that stem from their closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest high-profile case is against apparel chain Gap Inc. by Simon Property Group, the country's largest mall owner. For its… more

Sheraton O.P. the Latest Hotel to Have Layoffs

COVID-19 has taken its toll on hotels around the metro area, and now one of the largest in Johnson County, Kan., is having layoffs. The Sheraton Overland Park is laying off, or furloughing, 151 employees as a result of the… more

AMC Theatres In Major Trouble

Leawood-based AMC Theatres, which has had its screens closed for several months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is facing a $2.4-billion loss as a result. There is is also reportedly a "going concern" that the company can remain in business,… more

Q&A with … John Sweeney, Reece Commercial

John Sweeney is a brokerage executive with Reece Commercial in Kansas City. Q. What’s your sense of how bankruptcies by major retailers will affect the market here? A. It will affect landlords and employment most of all.  There remain plenty… more

Dick’s Sporting Goods Sees Sales Plummet

Dick's Sporting Goods, which has seven locations in the metro area, saw same-store sales drop in its first quarter by nearly 30 percent. Management said that the same-store-sales drop of 29.5 percent was driven primarily by the spread of COVID-19.… more

Home Buyers and Sellers Bounce Back

The Kansas City area saw a major spike in home-sales transactions month over month, according to Zillow. Newly-pending sales were up 32.3 percent, while they rose 9.6 percent week over week. Those numbers are above the national average of 4.2… more

Can Malls Triumph Over COVID-19?

Malls around the country have been struggling for a while, due to challenges from e-commerce and competition from mass-merchandise chains. Meanwhile, several around the metro area, including Oak Park Mall, in Overland Park, and the Legends Outlets, in Kansas City,… more

OSHA Revises Construction Guidelines

Two primary new rules have been issued by OSHA for those in the construction industry dealing with COVID-19. The agency said that construction firms must record symptoms of employees, as defined by CDC rules, so that contract tracing can be… more