Main Tenant Pulls Out of Planned Warner Ridge Complex
The expected main tenant of the planned Warner Ridge office complex announced plans Monday to move elsewhere, clouding the future of one of the most controversial developments in Los Angeles history.
The pullout by 20th Century Industries raises questions about whether the developers will be able to carry out plans for three mid-rise office buildings and 125 condominiums on Warner Ridge, which homeowners and city officials have fought for eight years.
The struggle helped destroy the career of Councilwoman Joy Picus, who was defeated for reelection to her West San Fernando Valley seat after she was blamed for pushing the council into a losing battle over the project that cost the city at least $4.7 million.
After a series of court rulings against the city--agreeing with the developers that it was twisting the law to block the project and appease anti-development homeowners--the City Council gave in, agreeing to an expensive settlement.
Attorney Robert McMurry, a spokesman for Warner Ridge Partners, developer of the planned complex, declined to comment on the 20th Century withdrawal.
However, Jack Spound, a top figure in the partnership, previously described the participation of the insurance company as critical to the project’s financial viability.
“In court documents, the developer has told the courts that 20th Century was their only client and if (20th Century) pulled out they would have no project,” said Robert Gross, president of the Woodland Hills Homeowner’s Assn., a vocal opponent of the project.
Richard Dinon, a 20th Century Industries senior vice president, would not comment on its motives for withdrawing from the $150-million complex, on which construction was scheduled to begin Dec. 15.
But the insurance company, one of the state’s largest, stated in court documents that it would back out of the deal if the construction schedule lagged. The company’s lease on its current facility in Warner Center expires in November, 1995, and it must move its 2,400 employees before then.
