Donald Sterling, the L.A. real estate mogul and Clippers owner, is shaking up the downtown establishment with a seemingly ambitious but mysterious plan to build a huge homeless services center in the heart of skid row.
Sterling announced his plans in a splashy ad in The Times three months ago and has been communicating his intentions for the project largely through a series of additional advertisements. The Donald T. Sterling Charitable Foundation, the ads announced, was buying a 65,000-square-foot lot near Wall and 6th streets and spending $50 million to provide homeless housing, a rehabilitation center and medical services on the site.
Sterling declined repeated requests for an interview, but his real estate agent, Brad Luster, said the project is an example of his altruism.
"His interest at this stage of life is to leave a very significant legacy to the city that took care of him," Luster said.
Downtown officials and community activists said they are excited about Sterling's promise to use his considerable resources to help skid row's homeless. But they are also raising concerns about exactly what the mogul is planning.
At first, Sterling's representatives approached the Midnight Mission about a possible partnership on the new facility. But after months of discussions, Midnight Mission's board announced it was halting negotiations with Sterling.
One person whose picture was featured in the ads -- Councilwoman Jan Perry -- said her likeness was used without her permission.
A new series of ads, published in The Times over the last few days, has sparked more questions.
The ads touted the center's first event: cocktails and dinner tonight at Spago Beverly Hills. The evening will honor a Sterling friend, Ramy El-Batrawi, as "Humanitarian of the Year 2006 for his support of the homeless people in Los Angeles."
El-Batrawi was sued earlier this year by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which alleged that he and a partner, Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, orchestrated a $130-million scheme to manipulate the stock of a Van Nuys-based company. The manipulation, the SEC alleges, resulted in the largest bailout in the history of the Securities Investor Protection Corp.
In an interview Friday, El-Batrawi said the federal charges are untrue and have nothing to do with his interest in helping Sterling launch his homeless center. The businessman said he has not donated money to the cause but has introduced Sterling to other potential donors.
