What the site looked like when ground broke in 2007; the site looks no different today
There are stirrings at Mid City's most famous dirt pit. The Los Angeles Times reports CIM Group will be asking--and likely receiving--a nearly $20 million Housing and Urban Development (HUD) loan from the city to help finance the second phase of Midtown Crossing, a retail complex wedged at San Vicente and Pico blvds. The loan, which represents 20 percent of the total cost of the project, a development that will include a Lowe's, is likely to be voted on by the City Council next week, with construction at the site to follow next month. Given the HUD loan--CIM Group often receives financial assistance from the city, including that recent $30 million HUD loan for Cirque Du Soleil--some people are grumbling. "The proposal for Midtown Crossing 'should receive scrutiny even if there wasn't a budget crisis,' said Jack Humphreville, who serves on the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council and frequently writes essays about the city's financial woes. 'Given that the city is running a deficit, it deserves even more scrutiny.'"
The second phase broke ground back in 2007, but construction issues and then financing problems delayed completion. Earlier this year, the Los Angeles Business Journal reported that CIM Group was investigating using loans under the federal government’s stimulus plan, but that never panned out. A Lowe's is still planned for the site, as are numerous other tenants. Meanwhile, that controversial sign district is dead in the water.
Really old renderings:
· Developer asks city for another loan, of $19.2 million [LAT]
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