A pyramid or two probably could have been built, shipped to Egypt and mailed back to Culver City.
That is how long it has been since the good burghers of City Hall and their colleagues in the world of commerce have been talking about and taking baby steps toward building out Parcel B, as the plot of Downtown land in front of The Culver Hotel is called.
For bean counters, this is Decade Three of cerebral but not physical planning.
So many blueprints and dreams were vanquished when the Semi-Great Recession struck eight years ago.
Plans were buried even deeper in the ground four years ago when Gov. Brown killed the state’s Redevelopment Agencies, emasculating communities and ordering that all further planning be routed through his Sacramento network.
Where is Parcel B this morning?
The question was carried to the Downtown law offices of Vice Mayor Andy Weissman.
“The developer is processing its plans,” he said. “A number of agreements were to be negotiated between the city and the developer having to do with parking covenants, Town Plaza and those kinds of matters.”
Mr. Weissman’s understanding is that plans are “almost finalized.” He said the developer was reluctant to close escrow before all plans were approved. “They didn’t want to own the property,” the vice mayor said, “and then wait around for an unknown period of time before their building plans would be approved and they actually could start construction.”
The timeline evidently is emerging from a lifelong fog.
“It is coming along,” Mr. Weissman said with a sigh.
“I am told it probably will be the end of the year before we are ready for a groundbreaking.”
Being Parcel B and its elongated history, the next groundbreaking will not be the first.
Which may make it special. Or unique. Or even odd.
(To be continued)
