Real Estate Developers Orange County

About 1,000 investors who lost their life savings in the collapse of Hill Williams Development Corp.--which became one of Orange County's costliest real estate scams--have filed a lawsuit accusing one of the firm's former promoters of hiding assets in order to avoid a $23-million judgment. The suit, filed in Orange County Superior Court, contends that David A.

At her zenith, developer Kathryn G. Thompson was near the top of Orange County's hierarchy of home builders. The construction company that bore her name built more than 12,000 homes, apartments and condominiums in California. Now, according to a lawsuit filed against her in March, the county wants Thompson to repay more than $1 million outstanding from a loan made in 1993. The predicament also is prompting county supervisors to take a hard look at how the loan was approved.

Two powerful agencies are demanding closer scrutiny of Irvine Co.'s plan to build 800 homes above Crystal Cove State Park, saying that lower-level boards may have improperly granted water quality concessions to the developer. Runoff from the project would go into two creeks that flow across state beaches into the ocean. Alexis Strauss, a top official with the U.S.

The developer that has pushed for the expansion of the Newport Dunes resort and bemoaned the city's slow deliberation performed an about-face Tuesday, requesting that any decision on the project be postponed until after the November election. Newport Dunes, which has been working to get approval for a 470-room hotel and 31,000-square-foot convention center, stated its new position in a letter sent this week to the City Council.

Palm Springs Grant: Corporate Fund for Housing in Irvine has received a $590,000 grant from the Palm Springs Community Redevelopment Agency to assist in the acquisition and rehabilitation of a 108-unit apartment complex in that desert resort city. The Palm Springs Housing Authority also has approved a $4.5-million tax-exempt bond issue to finance the Irvine development group's purchase of the apartments.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) has sparked an uproar in the Mojave Desert, where angry officials charge that the congressman has jeopardized their plans for a new, small airport in order to protect the interests of high-powered Orange County developers. The dispute is over George Air Force Base, near Victorville, where 5,600 acres of lucrative commercial property was suddenly put up for grabs last December, when the base was closed in a cost-cutting move.

Bob and Ann Collar's home sits at the base of Silverado Canyon on 3 1/2 acres, including a large field that the couple hoped someday to use for more homes. But their building hopes were dashed a decade ago when, they said, a neighbor up the hill graded his property without a permit. The work diverted the natural water flow, leaving a third of the Collars' property submerged during heavy rains. Now Orange County supervisors are prepared to enact tough new sanctions on rogue grading projects.

A prominent Orange County developer and political fund-raiser has become the latest promoter to declare his interest in building a large card club in Oxnard if its City Council votes next week to allow big-time gambling. William Buck Johns, 51, of Newport Beach told Oxnard officials Tuesday that he hopes to build the first large casino in Ventura County.

At her zenith, developer Kathryn G. Thompson was near the top of Orange County's hierarchy of home builders. The construction company that bore her name built more than 12,000 homes, apartments and condominiums in California. Now, according to a lawsuit filed against her in March, the county wants Thompson to repay more than $1 million outstanding from a loan made in 1993. The predicament also is prompting county supervisors to take a hard look at how the loan was approved.

About 150 Coto de Caza residents opposed to a commercial airport at El Toro picketed the home of developer William Lyon as he hosted a $1,000-a-plate fund-raiser Tuesday for Orange County Supervisor Jim Silva, an airport proponent. "This is an insult and a slap in the face to Coto residents," said Mike Ameel, one of those waving banners and chanting outside Lyon's home.

Irvine real estate developer MBK Real Estate Ltd. sold its commercial construction division to a Florida builder for an undisclosed sum, the companies said Wednesday. The division will operate as Haskell Constructors Ltd., a subsidiary of Haskell Co. in Jacksonville. The division employs 80 people, all of whom are expected to be retained by Haskell.

Prominent Little Saigon developer Frank Jao withdrew plans for a 270-unit senior apartment complex behind Asian Village in Westminster after city planners expressed concerns about traffic. About 100 neighbors of the proposed development attended a public hearing at City Hall on Wednesday night to voice their opposition to the complex, the Cultural Gardens Senior Apartments. Only minutes before the scheduled discussion, Jao told city planning director Brian Fisk that he would stop the project.

A jury on Tuesday found that some of Orange County's biggest developers and contractors sold homes with defective foundations but awarded a group of Yorba Linda homeowners less than a quarter of the $8 million they had requested. The $1.7-million verdict is being closely watched because there are several other construction-defect cases pending in Orange County involving similar concrete foundations. This is the first such case to go to court.

John Parker, a longtime Orange County real estate developer, received the 1999 Lifetime Achievement Award from UC Irvine's Graduate School of Management. Parker, managing partner of Aliso Viejo-based Parker Partners, received the Sumigarden Award, an engraved crystal sphere that's given to a person whose lifetime achievements have made an indelible mark on Orange County's real estate industry.

Two powerful agencies are demanding closer scrutiny of Irvine Co.'s plan to build 800 homes above Crystal Cove State Park, saying that lower-level boards may have improperly granted water quality concessions to the developer. Runoff from the project would go into two creeks that flow across state beaches into the ocean. Alexis Strauss, a top official with the U.S.

An administrative law judge has banned David Colton, an Orange County developer who was a principal figure in one of Orange County's costliest real estate scams, from being involved in any securities business in the state. The state Department of Corporations sought the ban after Colton allegedly failed to comply with a court order in 1995 to repay $23 million to investors in the Hill Williams Development Corp., which he helped promote. The operation collapsed in 1993.

A jury on Tuesday found that some of Orange County's biggest developers and contractors sold homes with defective foundations but awarded a group of Yorba Linda homeowners less than a quarter of the $8 million they had requested. The $1.7-million verdict is being closely watched because there are several other construction-defect cases pending in Orange County involving similar concrete foundations. This is the first such case to go to court.

Developers are running out of land zoned for industrial use in Orange County, which may force some businesses to move to the Inland Empire and elsewhere as early as next year, according to a real estate study released Monday. For the moment, the market is flooded with new industrial projects as developers rush to meet demands of the county's surging economy, said CB Commercial Real Estate Group.

About 1,000 investors who lost their life savings in the collapse of Hill Williams Development Corp.--which became one of Orange County's costliest real estate scams--have filed a lawsuit accusing one of the firm's former promoters of hiding assets in order to avoid a $23-million judgment. The suit, filed in Orange County Superior Court, contends that David A.

Bob and Ann Collar's home sits at the base of Silverado Canyon on 3 1/2 acres, including a large field that the couple hoped someday to use for more homes. But their building hopes were dashed a decade ago when, they said, a neighbor up the hill graded his property without a permit. The work diverted the natural water flow, leaving a third of the Collars' property submerged during heavy rains. Now Orange County supervisors are prepared to enact tough new sanctions on rogue grading projects.