The formerly flying Culver City profile of the failed investment house Lehman Brothers remains well shielded in the shadows this afternoon.
Lehman Brothers is listed as the majority owner of latest incarnation of The Culver Studios, one of this town’s most visible employers.
For three days running, down to this afternoon, the secretary to the president of presumably troubled Culver Studios has delivered a xeroxed response:
“It is not looking good,” she said. “Right now nothing is available. We will get back to you.”
See You Later
Jamie Cella, her boss, is not entertaining visitors anytime soon, especially guests asking questions about the fiscal underpinnings of the studio that has been on the block for more than a year.
Mr. Cella is believed to be furiously scrambling to hold the company together until financing can be solidified.
It was not supposed to turn out this way when the studio was purchased from Sony.
For the several years that the much ballyhooed office/retail/restaurant complex known as Parcel B has been on the boards, the studio has been inextricably linked with it.
Lehman fingerprints are all over the project.
For one, the original developers were mainly studio people, their affiliation being strongly linked to their selection over about a half-dozen rivals.
Howdy, Neighbor
For another, Parcel B is in the studio’s front yard — were it closer, it would fog the spectacles of studio executives.
For another, as recently as July, when Lehman Brothers was edging closer to its death bed, its representatives were heatedly negotiating with Dr. Jeffrey Rush of San Diego over which party would have control the primary voice in putting up Parcel B. Lehman Brothers eventually dropped out, and Dr. Rush turned to a nearly lifelong colleague, Ron Pickett of New York, to be his partner.
The fourth linkage in the chain lies in the fact that the studio already has spoken for the entire top floor of the mixed-use building.
Insiders say that Parcel B remains as firmly “on” as it ever was, a necessary assertion in this week’s frantic financial climate.
Just not on schedule.
Parcel B has broken numerous deadlines and groundbreaking dates, even since the massive makeover of the central portion of Downtown got under way.
The most recent groundbreaking date has been busted and re-set for the end of October, competing with the Presidential election for publicity space.
Based on Parcel B’s history, the politicians may not have any competition to worry about.
Dr. Rush and Mr. Pickett are said to be presently negotiating a loan to fund the project with their lender of choice.
“You should know,” said an insider, “that loans that used to take two or three months now need six months to compete. Just in case this plan doesn’t work, Dr. Rush has a backup lender.”
