Bob Champion is, no doubt, a developer par-excellence.
But, let us make no mistake about it.
At this juncture, when he stands before our community accentuating the positives of his proposed Sepulveda Gateway Project, he is really no different than a door-to-door salesman when pitching his wares.
In Mr. Champion’s case, he goes from city to city, not door-to-door.
His goods cost, not a few dollars, but, in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
His goal is not the quick, simple sale and move on, but the patient, mega-million- dollar deal.
Be that as it may, both Mr. Champion and the ordinary door-to-door salesman still employ the very same techniques, the same devices that have been used forever in the art of the sell.
The Chameleon
I’ve watched Mr. Champion morph back and forth between the true colors of an honest man and those more murky hues of a salesman pitching his latest project.
I am still quite impressed by the calm and patient demeanor of Mr. Champion, the man.
Much less so by Bob Champion, the salesman.
Slippery or Slick?
I would not go as far as describing him as a flim-flam man.
But some of his presentations have been so highly polished, so fast, so slick, that they have been seen as practically skidding off the path of Truth.
A picture may be worth a thousand words.
But this one is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Studying Illustrations
I studied Mr. Champion’s presentation of the Before and After pictures. They looked as if they had been done by the best Madison Avenue advertising house on the block.
The reference photo showing a backyard view was kind of drab and ho-hum. The second, an artist’s rendering of the same view, was much more vibrant and alive with color.
The after-view picture of the finished project showed the same perspective as the first, but only showing the tops of some of the proposed buildings far off in the background, about a100 feet away, down the alley.
Free Barbecues for Everybody?
The smiling residents portrayed in the rendition seem to be having a gay old time.
One party-goer is sitting in a wicker chair, drinking a premium brew.
Magically, there appears a large, expensive barbecue grill, unseen in the original photo.
Could it be that Mr. Champion was dropping a hint that he might be willing to kick in and buy each of his future backdoor neighbors along Segrell Way a new barbecue grill, if they would just go away?
No Changes
I also noticed that there were no changes in the artist’s rendition of the number or size of the power lines shown.
But there can little doubt that a project proposed on such a grand scale would, indeed, put a tremendous demand on the area’s electrical power grid and that it would be absolutely necessary to install even more and/or thicker lines to meet this new demand.
Such additions to the power grid would add to clutter of the backyard views of the residents.
Since the old underground Mobil pipeline is no longer being used to transport gas through the city, and is now only carrying fiber optics, maybe Mr. Champion could remove those ugly power poles and extra lines from view, by putting them underground.
Picking up Extra Cash
The artist’s pollyannaish perspective suggests that if Segrell Way residents wanted to entertain family and friends in their backyards, they would have to have them stand against the back of the house and only look far off to the extreme right or left side in order to enjoy a more picturesque view of the project.
Of course, the homeowners could always make use of the series of large 39 feet x 60 feet walls directly in back of their properties (a view not yet provided by Mr. Champion, but I’m not holding my breath) as projection screens for their vacation slides and home videos in an HD wide-screen format.
Popcorn, Anyone
Maybe they could even pick up a few extra bucks by showing the latest DVD releases and charging admission.
Selling buttered-popcorn would be a nice touch.
Sunkist Park could become the leader in the small, open-air neighborhood dinner-movie theatres, showing different releases at each house along Segrell Way.
Now there’s a great concept Mr. Champion has yet to promote.
Bait and Switch
It is probably no accident that Mr. Champion’s latest physical descriptions of the project are increasing, at this time.
At the first three meetings of the Citizens Advisory Committee, the project’s back walls facing the neighbors were described as being 35 feet in height. Now he is saying they will be 39 feet tall.
But, hey, what’s four feet among prospective neighbors?
Ah, the Sound of Numbers
Thirty-nine feet sounds much shorter than 40, doesnt it?
Just like when a salesman says that an item costs only $39.95 instead of an even $40.
These are but a few examples of the subtle, subliminal techniques perfected by Madison Avenue ad agencies that have been employed by Robert Champion and his group to try and win over Culver City to his project.
Not Quite in a Partying Mood
The colorful rendition referred to above shows everyone at the party scene brimming with broad smiles.
Obviously they must be quite happy with the completed South Sepulveda Gateway project portrayed in the background.
At the moment, though, the only way residents along the east side of Segrell Way would throw such a celebratory party would be after this proposed project was fully executed, and by that I mean, quickly killed-off.
You be the Judge
If anyone is interested in seeing how big a 39-foot wall is, you should go to the north side of the three-story, red brick Timcor Building, 5995 Sepulveda, across from the Fox Hills Mall.
Stand against the building across the parking lot, 65 feet away.
Look up.
This is what your friends and neighbors on Segrell Way will be seeing every single day of the year.
The only description I can give is to call it utterly monolithic in scale.
All Culver City residents must remember that when Mr. Champion emphasizes the positives of his proposed project, he is only trying to make it sound better.
Even his proposed use of trees, strategically placed along the series of walls in trying to soften the aesthetics of the neighbors’ view across the alley, will not make the 39-foot walls any smaller or the shadows they cast, any shorter.
A Major Power Player
If Mr. Champion is given the green light to build all four phrases of the Gateway project, he would be the owner of the largest intact parcel of land in the area and, by rights, become a major power player on our Westside,
We will have no real assurances that when it comes to making decisions that Mr. Champion will only do what’s good for Culver City and/or the Sunkist Park area and not what’s best for his own business interests and his company’s bottom line.
A Pending Identity Crisis
Here’s something else to think about.
In early 2006, the County Committee on School District Organization denied the request of Ladera Heights families to transfer into Culver City.
One of three major reasons, they said, was that such a large transfer of registered voters (a 26.3 percent increase) from the Inglewood School District to Culver City, could significantly and negatively impact the overall community identity.
If the Redevelopment Agency approves the Sepulveda Gateway Project and it is built at anywhere near the proposed 65 unit per acre density, in five or six years, it would artificially double the number of housing units in Sunkist Park area and double our voter base.
More Differences
According to the findings of the previous County Committee, wouldn’t this have a significant, negative affect on our Sunkist Park area’s identity?
It might also dilute and minimize the local, single-family homeowners’ political clout in Culver City?
Mr. Champion’s tentative relationship with the residents of Segrell Way could be summed up this way:
Champion: Knock, knock
Resident: Whos there?
Champion: Bob, your Neighborhood salesman.
Resident: Go away. We don’t want any.
