City, Johnson in Talks on Development

The city Community Redevelopment Agency and developers for Earvin “Magic” Johnson negotiated into the evening Tuesday without reaching agreement on a deal to revitalize the dilapidated Santa Barbara Plaza shopping center in the Crenshaw district.

The deal reportedly includes a multimillion-dollar public subsidy that would be guaranteed by the former NBA superstar’s partnership. Before the talks ended Tuesday, sources reported that Johnson’s developers had lowered the amount of the subsidy they are seeking from the CRA from more than $21 million to $17.5 million for the $80-million project. The two sides agreed to resume talks on Friday.

“Clearly progress was made today,” said a source close to the negotiations. But Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas said, “There’s no proposal that the agency has to recommend to the City Council as of yet. That’s where the rubber meets the road.”

The agreement would cap nearly two years of negotiations over the 21-acre plaza, which sits adjacent to Magic Johnson Theatres in southwest Los Angeles.

To spur the talks to an end, Ridley-Thomas succeeded Tuesday in having the full City Council approve a resolution urging the CRA to swiftly conclude negotiations.

“The intent of this motion is to show that I have, will and shall continue to support the development of Santa Barbara Plaza,” Ridley-Thomas said. “I’m attempting . . . to push the project forward to a successful conclusion.”

Negotiations between the developers and the agency have been tough. Ridley-Thomas was accused by some critics of stalling the project because of Johnson’s support for former super-agent Michael Ovitz’s bid to build a professional football stadium in Carson rather than in the Coliseum. Ridley-Thomas has championed an effort to bring a National Football League team to a renovated Coliseum.

The developers, in turn, have been accused of missing deadlines and failing to get the project off the ground. They deny those charges.

Even the tenants and property owners at the decaying shopping center are split over the issue. Some say they don’t care who develops the area, as long as it gets done. Others say they don’t trust the developers because it appears to have taken so long to strike a deal with the city.

Several of the property and business owners, some of whom say they are struggling to keep their shops open, told lawmakers Tuesday that they too need a quick resolution to the negotiations. They say further delay could threaten the survival of their businesses.

“My question is when will it happen,” said Robert D. Moore, an owner of two businesses in the outdoor shopping center and a legislative aide to state Sen. Diane Watson. “My business associates in Santa Barbara Plaza are dying.”

Some of Ridley-Thomas’ council colleagues agreed that the shopping center sorely needs renovation and that city redevelopment officials should be encouraged to continue their efforts.

“We can’t afford--as a city--to let this languish a whole lot longer,” said Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, whose district included the Santa Barbara Plaza before council districts were redrawn several years ago.

Councilman Mike Hernandez said the project--not the name of the developer--should be the city’s main concern.

“It’s putting the city at a disadvantage when we’re talking about a particular developer . . . [and] not talking about the merits of the project itself,” Hernandez said.

Johnson has said he is committed to the neighborhood and to the project. He told The Times that he has personally sought large retailers, such as Nordstrom, as tenants and already has awarded exclusive rights to a real estate firm to negotiate with other stores and restaurants.

Johnson’s adjacent theater complex has been so successful that he recently expanded it from 12 to 15 screens.

Revival of the Crenshaw area shopping center, located in the center of the city’s largest middle-class African American community, is badly needed by the tenants and the area residents.

But Ridley-Thomas said the negotiations have been protracted because of the developers’ reluctance to provide an “ironclad” guarantee to repay the public subsidy. The developers, however, dispute that allegation.

The city only recently has began tapping the general fund for help in kick-starting redevelopment projects. A recent $385-million Hollywood redevelopment project received a $90-million subsidy, an unprecedented move for the city.

Ridley-Thomas has said the city should not give developers, such as the Johnson group, “carte blanche” to demand and expect high public subsidies. He had said that the $21-million subsidy was too high.

But last week, the developers lowered the amount they were seeking by offering to kick in more cash upfront, sources said.

Ridley-Thomas also has blamed Kenneth Lombard, head of the Johnson Development Corp., for a “series of blunders,” saying the developers have missed deadlines and delayed the project. The developers also dispute that they have purposely delayed acting on the shopping center.

Still, both sides expressed optimism that a resolution to the standoff was near. Last week, Johnson said he wouldn’t “go down easy,” and that the community should be the first and foremost consideration for all sides in the issue.

Ridley-Thomas appeared eager to make that point Tuesday.

“We’ve waited and waited and waited,” Ridley-Thomas said. “The community is demanding that we move forward.”