With Monday night’s crowd of complainers about the selection process either mollified or absent, the beauty contest to choose a builder for Parcel B in Downtown resumed last evening in Council Chambers with the developers themselves regaining and monopolizing the spotlight.
The names of the development teams were long and bulky, the architectural renderings were museum worthy and the flowery descriptions of their miraculous achievements could have plunged the verdant Huntington Gardens out of business.
The spacious room constantly was perfumed with self-congratulatory messages, first from Combined Properties Inc./Hudson Pacific Properties and Cardiff Realty Holdngs/N3 Real Estate.
The mood of the evening, by the decision-making Redevelopment Agency and the builders was as different as the designs were from the pictorial evidence the night before.
In response to powerful pleas from the community for a broader voice in choosing developments, City Hall acceded to them for the first time. They agreed to let the public and the Agency hear and see the opening bids at the same time, which still did not please all of the activists. Some wanted to preview the blueprints before the Agency inspected them. Not quite, said City Hall.
“To the extent that staff was criticized for not providing the material ahead of time,” said Agency member Andy Weissman, “the response is, people form opinions based upon pretty pictures and first impressions.
“Having all of that unveiled at the same time, puts everybody in the same place. I don’t understand the criticism because I don’t know what other way people would propose to do it.
“Would they rather that we take it ourselves, review it ourselves, and take what we like?
Not a Free-for-All
“We are certainly not about to turn this into a community-wide design competition.”
Of course he has a priority order of builders, Mr. Weissman said, after listening to their most robust pitches the last two events.
“Notwithstanding first impressions, now we have to go through deciding what is the most appropriate project for that site and the community.”
Whom does he like? That would be inappropriate to disclose with so many rounds between now and selection time.
But, Mr. Weissman did say:
“From the standpoint of placemaking, urban design, architectural design and his approach to mixed uses, I thought one of the four really stood out. The others were nice projects.”
Evaluating the florid builders, “what you had was four sales presentations. Everybody has a different approach to salesmanship, but at the end of the day, it is mostly puffery.
“But the devil is in the details. What is behind the proposal? What are the economics? What is the real leasing experience?
“What is the quality of the leases, as opposed to ‘I’ve got 12 billion square feet under lease,’ ‘I’ve got a million square feet of floor space under lease.’
“What is the nature of the project. All of that is stuff that is not evident in a public setting, couldn’t be, effectively.
“Those are the levels of detail you factor into a decision of who you select, if anyone, to go forward with the development.
“We certainly are not going to do it based on pretty pictures.”
After one or more community meetings, a final decision — selection of the lucky bidder or all will be dismissed — is expected in late November.
