Matter of Procedure
Not so fast, says Vice Mayor Alan Corlin.
South Sepulveda may or may not be scaled down, but it could not become official, he said, until the City Council casts its votes in about 90 days, based on the present schedule.
So far, Mr. Champion has missed two deadlines for filing his financial prospectus.
Skeptics call this a telling sign of lagging interest on the part of the developer.
Nudged Into Decision?
Sources say that only at City Halls aggressive behest did Mr. Champion agree to tear down and rebuild 77 mostly small, traditional businesses spanning 12 1/2 acres of property, involving 19 landowners, along a 2-block area on the west side of Sepulveda, from Sawtelle to Jefferson.
Last December, Mr. Champion was given 90 days to submit a grand concept design and a fiscal prospect sheet that would give City Hall and the community a closer idea of what he had in mind.
No Outward Signs
Externally, City Hall is proceeding as if nothing has changed.
Just last week, the Redevelopment Agency appointed a 9-person Citizens Advisory Committee to oversee and comment on the progression of the far-reaching gentrification plan.
The first spade of dirt, converting the neighborhood from mom-and-pop into a speeded-up take on modernity, is to be turned late in 08.
However, Mr. Champion only has kept half of his bargain to this point.
50 Percent Solution
On the appointed date, Thursday, March 15, he turned in 3 separate architectural concepts for South Sepulveda.
Not a dollar sign was in sight.
Said he had trouble discerning which elements of which concept he liked and then making a financial calculation.
I need more time to do the fiscal calculus, he told Mr. Tipton.
They agreed on an extra week, until Thursday, March 22, which shortly became a flexing of the calendar.
Mr. Champion told thefrontpageonline.com he would submit his financial report Friday the 23rd or yesterday, the 26th. Neither happened.
Just a Fraction
Although persons around Mr. Champion have said for nearly half a year that he personally never wanted to develop more than the lip the of the vast area, the southernmost tip, the developer himself has not said so publicly.
For the opening innings of the project, its forward energy has been propelled by the star-quality Mr. Champion.
Long-Range Intentions
Handsome, engaging, dapper, the Wilshire Boulevard builder has cast his personality as very out-front and upfront.
But his intentions for South Sepulveda remain embedded internally, well out of public view.
