Evaluate, Then Speculate
Until her assessment is completed, Joe Susca, the project manager for the Community Development Dept., said he is reluctant to speculate about the chances of the 12 1/2-acre redevelopment coming to fruition.
Although the developer has entered negotiations with some property owners, Mr. Susca said it is neither surprising nor telling that Mr. Champion has not contacted a single one of the 77 business owners.
Early in the Day
We are at a very preliminary stage, Mr. Susca said.
We have to go through so many processes yet. It still is too early to know if we even have a project.
The original sticking point between the developer and City Hall remains firmly imprinted on the minds of all principal players in this latest redevelopment project:
A Single Focus
Mr. Champion only wants to be the architectural masseuse for the southern portion.
This is what he told City Hall at their first meeting, and there is no evidence that he has changed his mind even though ostensibly he is down for the whole project, colorfully known as Parcel A (southerly) and Parcel B.
A Profit with Honor
In Mr. Suscas words, the developer is partial to the southern segment because the deeper parcels yield the greater potential, a euphemism for revenue and profit.
The city convinced Mr. Champion to carry the entire load, but a final, irreversible call is far from a done deal.
Both the developer and Todd Tipton, the Interim Director of the Community Development Dept., have said in recent days there is a 50-50 chance the project will be downsized, much closer to the scale the developer always has envisioned.
Breathing Space
This has provided a brief breathing respite for worried owners of small businesses who have feared being routed ever since City Hall went public with redevelopment plans 5 months ago.
Two weeks ago, on the original deadline day, Mr. Champion turned in 3 separate proposals for designing the vast mixed-use project that is intended to be an amalgam of condos, national, regional and hometown businesses.
A Common Fear
Current business owners fear they will be priced out of the neighborhood since the admission cost of the new enterprises will be considerably above the present threshold.
Mr. Champion variously has proposed attacking the west side of South Sepulveda, from Berryman to Jefferson, in 3 and 4 building phases.
Not Ready for Viewing
Publicly speaking, however, the papers are securely tucked away in the darkest corner of the citys favorite vault.
By day, City Hall staffers are said to be scrutinizing the drawings.
The first public examinations still are weeks away.
First Inspectors
Next Wednesday morning, 30 minutes after the breakfast hour, City Councilmembers Carol Gross and the outgoing mayor, Gary Silbiger, the Councils South Sepulveda subcommittee, will be the first non-staffers to inspect plans.
