It Will be Developed
I dont think there is any possibility anything serious is going to happen on South Sepulveda for many years to come, he said.
It is not a question, though, of if South Sepulveda is going to be redeveloped but when. The question is:
What will it look like?
When the City Council declared that it was not going to use its power of eminent domain to claim any of the 77 businesses in the 12 1/2 acres, they ultimately dictated where the difficulty of this project was going to be, Mr. Weisman said.
Weight on Developer
This meant that Bob Champion (the developer) was going to have to negotiate and buy up every single property himself.
That threw a monkey wrench into Champions economics.
Given the level of organized community opposition to the present intentions for South Sepulveda and the City Councils perceived lukewarm support for the idea, Mr. Weisman believes Mr. Champion eventually will leave the project.
Several complicating causes are muddying City Halls grand vision for gentrifying South Sepulveda.
A Jolt for Champion
For pure intrigue, all of those causes may resolve down to a single personality, an onrushing X factor, the entrepreneur/auto dealer young Hooman Nissani.
He already has a popular dealership at Hannum and Slauson that is one of Culver Citys most fertile, most productive businesses.
He proudly reports it delivers $100 million a year in sales tax revenues to City Hall.
First Name Only
Only in his mid-20s, Mr. Nissani whose dealership breezily goes by his first name, Hooman Pontiac GMC Buick busily has been acquiring properties within and adjacent to the currently comatose South Sepulveda rebuild project.
Nearby business owners say this bold and still developing series of buy-ups by Mr. Nissani greatly complicates City Halls South Sepulveda plan.
He has ambitious intentions of his own.
Growing as a Landowner
In addition to a nine-business strip mall at Jefferson Boulevard and Slauson Avenue, Mr. Nissani has purchased the Firestone tires parcel across the street. He intends to incorporate the two pieces of land into a single car dealership.
But that is not nearly all.
Mr. Nissani is said to be interested in the property between Firestone and the freeway. If he succeeds in this quest, said one business owner, it is a brilliant marketing move if merely for the high-volume freeway visibility factor.
Further east on Slauson, Mr. Nissani reportedly has acquired the Arco service station property, which is adjacent to Dan Cohens Kitchen Store and a mattress business.
Showdown Time
The Jefferson-Slauson strip mall is at the perimeter of Phase II of the South Sepulveda project.
Mr. Champion was planning to buy up, until Mr. Nissani said he wanted it, too.
Then the auto dealer outbid Mr. Champion.
Measuring the Fallout
The jolting entry of Mr. Nissani into the neighborhood redevelopment derby just as Mr. Champion was pouncing on pieces of land at least blurs the South Sepulveda picture if it doesnt permanently redirect it.
