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Park Dreams Deferred? KOR Sells Ninth and Hill Site to Developer

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For the last year and half, residents living in and near the Eastern Columbia building have talked about buying the nearby plot at Ninth and Hill streets from developer KOR, and turning the .7 acre site into a park. The Downtown News even reported last Friday on the group's plan to secure a federal grant. Additionally, locals just released a video of what the park would look like when completed. Oh dear. Here's some news for Eastern Columbia residents: Owner KOR has sold the land. The land was listed at $6.5 million, and the deal closed escrow today, according to CBRE executive vice president Mark Tarczynski, who represented KOR.
According to Tarczynski, the .7 acre site sold to local developer Mark Farzan, who owns The Chapman, a nearby rental building at Broadway and 8th Street, among other properties. He purchased the land for $5 million. Farzan didn't immediately return phone calls.

But Tarczynski expressed disappointment that residents didn't get a chance to buy the land.

"I'm just sorry I wasn't able to sell it to the city," says Tarczynski. "But the grant process takes so long and there were no assurances that they would get the grant and be able to close. So the seller decided to go with a sure thing."

The land had been on the market for about two years. Meanwhile, another park is planned for Spring Street, and of course, there's the big park that's coming. And you just got a dog park, downtown. Yeah, all those other parks don't mean anything. We're sorry, Eastern Columbia residents. That park would have probably helped your property values, too. Here's a Kleenex.

· Besides Signs, Eastern Columbia Residents Also Want A Park [Curbed LA]