Oceanwide Update,SPNA Meets with CD14
The SPNA Oceanwide Ad Hoc Committee met with Adam Acosta, CD 14 Constituent Services Deputy on June 11 to share concerns and possible solutions to the stalled Oceanwide development. We await to hear a response from the CD 14 office bearing in mind that the recent developments with ICE and protests have occupied its time and attention.
The committee presented the problem to Acosta – nuisance property attracting nefarious activities, eyesore that is devaluing property, no movement or evidence towards a solution, no identifiable leadership on solving the problem.
The committee asked CD 14 staff to work on short-term action items - (1) re-opening the public right-of-way (streets and sidewalks on Figueroa, 11th, Flower, and 12th Streets, (2) graffiti abatement, (3) meeting with the bankruptcy attorney about her plan for the future. The committee also presented ideas of solutions beyond the short-term – incentives for buyers, disincentives for current owner, legal action, development of a strategic plan with timeline. The response received was “Unfortunately after talking to our legal team and planning team they're still no current updates for this location.” SPNA responded asking for action from CD 14 on the above 3 items.
Prior to the June 11 meeting, the Oceanwide Ad Hoc Committee did extensive research of the bankruptcy files which included over 500 filings in less than 2 years. Of note, the real estate broker agreements expired on April 30. To date there is no indication of any agreements with real estate brokers to sell the property. While there are no real estate broker agreements, there are individual real estate agents working to sell the property. However, there is a confidentiality agreement which hampers getting information.
Also, there was a note in the court filings of converting the Chapter 11 (legal process for owner to reorganize debts) to a Chapter 7 (trustee sells the debtor’s assets without input from the debtor) but no action is seen,
No legal filings are on the calendar and no action has taken place in months. Records show that about $1,000,000 per month is being billed and paid to consultants by the bankruptcy court. A status hearing is scheduled for August 19 which is the court wanting to know what has happened since the last status hearing.
Next steps – the Oceanwide Ad Hoc Committee will continue to pursue action from CD 14, will explore reaching out to bankruptcy attorney, continue our legal research, and determine future action items towards a solution to the Oceanwide property. SPNA has also been contacted by a local news station as they also are looking for updated information on Oceanwide. We will keep in touch with them as well.
As always, the Ad Hoc Committee welcomes your input.
By Debra Shrout