$10-Million Offer for Equestrian Center
A group of businessmen headed by a semi-retired Burbank banker has offered to purchase the lease on the financially troubled Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Griffith Park from Gibraltar Savings of Beverly Hills.
The banker, Gene Harmon, and officials from Gibraltar said the deal had not yet been sealed. But spokesmen for Gibraltar said the offer was less than the $10 million Gibraltar was seeking for a 50-year lease.
“We’re hopeful that the transaction will take place, and I’m even optimistic about it, but no deal has been made with them yet,” said Dean Harrison, general counsel for Gibraltar.
Any deal would have to be approved by the Los Angeles Board of Recreation and Parks and the Los Angeles City Council because the center is on Los Angeles city parkland.
The center has been run by Gibraltar since April, 1988, when Gibraltar foreclosed on the facility’s previous operator. The center is more than $2 million in debt and Harrison has said it is losing $80,000 to $100,000 a month.
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