A downtown plot of land considered to be one of Culver City’s cornerstones for new development is now on its way to clearing a legal hurdle that has been delaying the long awaited development of the parcel.
The City Council voted on Feb. 25 to settle a legal action with Rush Pacifica for Parcel B after the developer filed a breach of contract suit against the city.
The parties settled on a $400, 000 payout, a sum that was approved on Feb. 5. Rush Pacific was seeking $33.6 million.
The San Diego-based real estate development firm was selected to develop Parcel B near the dining and retail center Town Plaza in 2006. The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency terminated a disposition and development agreement with Rush Pacific in 2009, prompting the developer to take legal action.
Redevelopment officials claimed the developer had committed several defaults in their agreement, which led to its termination.
The loss of redevelopment finds has hampered hundreds of cities on California after the Legislature voted to eliminate nearly 400 redevelopment agencies throughout the state in 2011, including Culver City’s.
The Town Plaza development has been delayed since the agencies were eliminated, leaving the parcel at 9300 Washington Blvd. Vacant, while the rest of downtown Culver City continues its decades- long transformation. The project will include 115,000 square feet of retail and office space.
State finance officials are requiring Culver City settle the disposition and development agreement matter before they can begin to develop the downtown project. The council has approved a similar contract with Culver City, Combined Properties Inc. and Hudson Pacific Properties to develop Parcel B and expand Town Plaza.
The successor agency board, which was created in place of the community redevelopment agency, also approved the legal settlement.
The settlement agreement will also require approval by an oversight board as well as approval by the state Department of Finance.
