The storied and troubled saga of the Westside's Playa Vista development is chronicled in the Wall Street Journal's Deal of the Week feature (anyone got $100 mil?). What was once home to the hangar housing Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose is now the site of 3,100 residential units, office space, and parks. The problem is that a huge chunk of the Playa Vista site, 56 acres with 575,000 square feet of buildings, is now fallow because developer Tishman Speyer Properties defaulted on their loan. Tishman, which already built four office buildings in the existing phase, is being forced to sell their undeveloped property (looks like it's being marketed for office use)—and no one wants to buy because the property must "compete against brand-new empty office buildings also fighting for tenants as demand from would-be occupiers has cratered and financing for speculative development has dried up." Matthew Brainard, who's shown the space to some corporate clients, puts it more succinctly: "It's an albatross." In June, Fox decided not to move their offices to Playa Vista. But more recently (and some good news for PV), the planned community's second phase—known as The Village and containing 2,600 homes, a shopping center, office buildings and parks on 111 acres—was approved last week by the planning department. [Photo by La Citta Vita via Flickr]
· Deal of the Week: Playa Vista [WSJ]
· Final Phase of Playa Vista Approved [LA Times]
· Fox Staying Put [Curbed LA]
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