Re: “City’s Report on Carlyle’s Withdrawal from Project”
When the City Hall staff prepared a report for Monday night’s City Council meeting regarding a proposed economic makeover of a Culver City neighborhood after the funding source for the visioning process pulled out, one question was left clouded:
Should the project continue?
When sources were polled this morning, conclusions were mixed, leaving an air of uncertainty hanging over the Council’s next scheduled examination of the project.
A week after the Carlyle Group disclosed its intention to sell off its three Culver City commercial properties, including the DoubleTree Hotel, and withdraw from the massive makeover project it proposed and funded a year ago, is the much ballyhooed “Hospitality and Entertainment District Specific Plan,” alive?
“That is the direction we will be seeking from the Council,” City Manager John Nachbar said when the question was put to him this morning.
“Since Carlyle, the prime mover, the primary source of funding, is not going to continue with the project, the question facing the City Council is, ‘Do we wish to proceed?’
“This needs to be entertained at the outset of the discussion,” he said, before turning to the public debate over commercial-style signage designed to tweak the interest of developers.
When asked his opinion, Mr. Nachbar demurred.
“This is a policy question for the Council,” he said.
“Of course I think this (southeastern) area of the city (Greater Fox Hills) could benefit from a comprehensive planning effort.
“What is interesting,” said Mr. Nachbar, “is that two different neighborhoods are joined in the area we are discussing. The geography outlined in the ‘Hospitality and Entertainment District’ (known to some as Hotel Circle), and immediately adjacent is the Fox Hills office area.”
The city manager said that “the Entertainment District does not take in the Fox Hills office component. We, the city staff, have been talking about reimagining Fox Hills, and we have been focused on the office component. Certainly this area could benefit from thoughtful planning and revisioning,” Mr. Nachbar said.
“But that is up to the community.”
A key question for the Council will be:
Does it have the will, not to mention wherewithal, to approve a six-figure number for funding what remains of the visioning process?