-SouthPark Mall and Habitat for Humanity Builds Bond Ahead of Earth Day-

MOLINE, Illinois, Mar 17, 2014 - The future is even brighter for SouthPark Mall. Recently the property shared reinvestment plans that include the removal of the food court as well as the former Sears department store.

Construction is set to start in April with a formal grand opening set for November. Today, SouthPark Mall is building a new partnership with Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities.

Earth Day is set for April 22nd, but South Park Mall is celebrating early. As wood, bricks, and retail fixtures come down, new uses for those items are providing support for the work of Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities. Habitat will be rescuing furniture, wood tables, clothing fixtures, sinks, grid wall, metal shelving, lockers and more, prior to demolition. All these items will be donated by SouthPark to be resold by Habitat ReStore. Items from SouthPark will be available to the public at the Habitat ReStore Wed 10-7, Thurs and Fri 10-5 and Sat 10-3 beginning immediately. More information about the ReStore can be found at www.restoreqc.org.

Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities is a local bi-state affiliate of an international, ecumenical, Christian, non-profit organization that builds simple, decent, affordable houses for and in partnership with families in need who then purchase the homes from HFHQC on a no-interest mortgage. The Quad Cities affiliate was organized in 1993 by a group of Quad Citians who traveled to Homestead, Florida to assist with home building efforts after Hurricane Andrew. Since that time, HFHQC has built 73 homes.

"Proceeds from the sale of these items will help provide simple, decent, affordable housing to hard-working partner families," said Cindy Kuhn, Director, Habitat ReStore. "Our community benefits from reusing these items, rather than buying or producing new items. And these usable materials don't needlessly end up in our landfills."

Each home, generously subsidized by donated and/or discounted building supplies, materials and skilled labor and utilizing much volunteer labor currently costs about $90,000. These funds and volunteers come from churches, individuals, foundations, corporations, businesses and other community groups. HFHQC activities are governed by a local, elected volunteer Board of Directors which work through volunteer committees with coordination by the Executive Director.

"We are committed to building on our community relationships," said Aleshia Chiesa, Marketing Manager, SouthPark Mall. "Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities is a great cause and we are proud to offer our support."

For up to date information on the redevelopment of SouthPark Mall, visit www.shopsouthparkmall-il.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Macerich is a fully integrated self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust, which focuses on the acquisition, leasing, management, development and redevelopment of regional malls throughout the United States. Additional information about Macerich can be obtained from the Company's website at www.macerich.com.

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Rock Island, IL/March 2014--this March Living Lands & Waters is seeking volunteers to join their forces for  some fun during their annual spring tree wrapping event! The MillionTrees Project began in 2007, and since then has distributed over 600,000 trees to surrounding individuals, families, schools, park districts, businesses, and organizations. The goal of the MillionTrees Projects is to grow and plant 1 million trees. This year, LL&W will be giving out 125,000 trees.

Trees provide shelter and nut-bearing hardwoods are a viable food source for wildlife and migratory birds.  Slow-growing hardwoods, like oaks, have a harder time re-establishing themselves without help, and are often crowded out by faster growing species, like cottonwoods, willow and silver maples. Re-establishing hardwoods helps increase biodiversity, reduce erosion and run-off and improve water and air quality.

"Wrapping over 100,000 trees takes a lot of work" said Chad Pregracke, founder and President of Living Lands & Waters.  Pregracke adds, "It's a great avenue to help the community and educate people on why trees are important."

 

This is a great event for all ages, and families. Volunteers will be participating in a variety of activities including bundling trees in newspaper, dipping roots in water, and placing/tying trees in bags. Warm and comfortable clothing is encouraged! This can get messy.

Those interested should show up a the North Hall of the QCCA Expo Center at 2621 - 4th Avenue Rock Island, IL on Thursday, March 27 - Monday, March 31  9am-5pm

Registration is not required, but highly recommended for groups of 10 or more people. Volunteers are invited to work time slots of their choice, and come and go as they please. Please note that participating children must be properly supervised.

To learn more about Living Lands & Waters, visit our website at http://www.livinglandsandwaters.org.  Members of the press may schedule an appointment to interview a crew member by calling or emailing Natalie Linville-Mass at (309) 948-1436 or Natalie@livinglandsandwaters.org.

 

About Living Lands & Waters - Chad Pregracke started Living Lands & Waters in 1998 as a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the beautification and restoration of America's major rivers and to the education of people about environmental issues. From his single boat beginning, LL&W has grown to an internationally known organization with a fleet of barges and workboats.  LL&W engages thousands of volunteers each year in river cleanups, hands-on environmental education workshops, the Great Mississippi River Cleanup, Adopt-a- River-Mile programs and the Million Trees Project.

For more information about the Million Trees Project - http://livinglandsandwaters.org/get-involved/million-trees/

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SCOTT COUNTY BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT

MARCH 26, 2014

First Floor Board Room - 4:00 P.M.
Scott County Administrative Center
600 West Fourth Street
Davenport, IA 52801

AGENDA


1. Call to order

2. Approval of Minutes of the December 18, 2013 meeting

3. Public Hearing - Variance - Christopher Wolford (applicant): Request for a two (2) foot side yard variance in order to construct a new 22' x 20' attached garage, observing an eight (8) foot side yard setback from the west property line in lieu of the required ten (10) feet. The property is located in Section 31 of Blue Grass Township, 6162 145th Street.

4. Election of 2014 Officers

Public Hearing Procedure:

a. Chairman reads notice of public hearing.

b. Director reviews case.

c. Applicant/Representative speaks on behalf of request.

d. Public may ask questions or make comments.

e. Director makes staff recommendation.

f. Applicant may respond to comments and/or recommendation.

g. Board members may ask questions.

h. Chairman closes the public portion of the hearing. (No more comments from public or applicant.)

i. Discussion period to determine justification for decision.

j. Board members move to accept, reject, or modify request.

k. Final vote. Case closed. Three members of the Board constitute a quorum. The concurring vote of three members of the Board shall be necessary to reverse any decision or determination of the zoning administrator or to decide in favor of an application for a variance or conditions for a special use permit. The Board of Adjustment is "quasi-judicial" and not a recommending body. Therefore, any appeals to their decisions should be filed with District Court within 30 days of the meeting.

Good news for people shopping for a mortgage - and for current homeowners facing foreclosure because they can no longer afford their home loan: New mortgage regulations drafted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently took effect and they provide a slew of new rights and protections for consumers.

One of the cornerstones of the new mortgage rules is that lenders now are required to evaluate whether borrowers can afford to repay a mortgage over the long term - that is, after the initial teaser rate has expired. Otherwise, the loan won't be considered what's now referred to as a "qualified mortgage."

Qualified mortgages are designed to help protect consumers from the kinds of risky loans that brought the housing market to its knees back in 2008. But obtaining that designation is also important to lenders because it will help protect them from lawsuits by borrowers who later prove unable to pay off their loans.

Under the new ability-to-pay rules, lenders now must assess - and document - multiple components of the borrower's financial state before offering a mortgage, including the borrower's income, savings and other assets, debt, employment status and credit history, as well as other anticipated mortgage-related costs.

Qualified mortgages must meet the following guidelines:

• The term can't be longer than 30 years.
• Interest-only, negative amortization and balloon-payment loans aren't allowed.
• Loans over $100,000 can't have upfront points and fees that exceed 3 percent of the total loan amount.
• If the loan has an adjustable interest rate, the lender must ensure that the borrower qualifies at the fully indexed rate (the highest rate to which it might climb), versus the initial teaser rate.
• Generally, borrowers must have a total monthly debt-to-income ratio of 43 percent or less.
• Loans that are eligible to be bought, guaranteed or insured by government agencies like Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration are considered qualified mortgages until at least 2021, even if they don't meet all QM requirements.

Lenders may still issue mortgages that aren't qualified, provided they reasonably believe borrowers can repay - and have documentation to back up that assessment.

New, tougher regulations also apply to mortgage servicers - the companies responsible for collecting payments and managing customer service for the loan owners. For example, they now must:

• Send borrowers clear monthly statements that show how payments are being credited, including a breakdown of payments by principal, interest, fees and escrow.
• Fix mistakes and respond to borrower inquiries promptly.
• Credit payments on the date received.
• Provide early notice to borrowers with adjustable-rate mortgages when their rate is about to change.
• Contact most borrowers by the time they are 36 days late with their payment.
• Inform borrowers who fall behind on mortgage payments of all available alternatives to foreclosure (e.g., payment deferment or loan modification).

With limited exceptions, mortgage servicers now cannot: initiate foreclosures until borrowers are more than 120 days delinquent (allowing time to apply for a loan modification or other alternative); start foreclosure proceedings while also working with a homeowner who has already submitted a complete application for help; or hold a foreclosure sale until all other alternatives have been considered.

For more details on the new mortgage rules, visit www.consumerfinance.gov/mortgage.

Bottom line: You should never enter into a mortgage (or other loan) you can't understand or afford. But it's nice to know that stronger regulations are now in place to help prevent another housing meltdown.

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Jason Alderman directs Visa's financial education programs. To participate in a free, online Financial Literacy and Education Summit on April 2, 2014, go to www.practicalmoneyskills.com/summit2014.