Antonovich questions plan to again delay Grand Avenue project's start
The developer says the postponement is necessary because of the tight credit market. County supervisor calls for the project to be bid again.
A county supervisor is raising questions about an oversight panel's scheduled vote Monday to delay construction of the much-watched, $3-billion Grand Avenue project.
The Related Co., developer of the Frank Gehry-designed project set to rise across the street from the Walt Disney Concert Hall, said the delay was necessary because of difficulty in obtaining construction loans amid the real estate downturn. It would push the opening of the project's first phase to 2012.
Supervisor Michael Antonovich issued a statement late Friday calling on the Grand Avenue Authority -- made up of city and county officials -- to send the project out for bid again.
"If other developers knew that they could delay the start date for 16 months, they would have bid the project differently," the statement said.
Grand Avenue was originally supposed to begin construction last fall, but the start has been delayed several times. The project's first phase, which includes a shopping center, Oriental hotel, Equinox gym and two residential towers, was once due to be completed in 2009. Because Antonovich is not a member of the joint powers board, he has no direct authority over the project's timeline.
But a spokesman for Antonovich said he would argue before the joint powers authority that any major change in the construction schedule should go before the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the L.A. City Council.
Grand Avenue is one of several mega-developments around the nation that has been delayed because of the credit crunch. In Seattle, developers recently shelved plans for a $7-billion development downtown, citing the poor economy. Huge projects in Las Vegas, Phoenix and New York City have also been scaled back or delayed, including part of the Gehry-designed Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn and a $14-billion development of the area around Penn Station.
Grand Avenue developers said that construction will begin in the first quarter of 2009 and emphasized that the project is not in any jeopardy. A fund controlled by Dubai's royal family has invested $100 million, and Related is close to naming another major equity partner .
