Grand Avenue Construction Pushed to 2009
Developer Delays Phase One Completion Another Yearby Anna Scott
Staff Writer
Developer Related Companies has announced that it is delaying construction on the $3 billion Grand Avenue project until next year, a company official said Monday afternoon. The company previously planned to break ground this summer.
Under the revised schedule, phase one construction would begin on Feb. 15, 2009, and finish in 2012 instead of 2011 as previously anticipated.
Initially, Related intended to begin construction on the project in October 2007, but the schedule has been pushed back multiple times.
The latest rescheduling stems from the difficulty in securing a construction loan in the ongoing credit crunch, said Related of California President Bill Witte. The previous schedule, he said, was based on the assumption that Related would be able to secure construction financing based on partially completed construction documents.
"As the financial world tightens and tightens, it's clear that's not going to be possible," said Witte.
"Nothing has changed in the timing of the documents," he added. "What has changed is our assessment of whether we can get a loan right now."
The developer plans to finalize construction documents for the Bunker Hill complex, which will include design details and help determine building costs, by the end of the year. Related will then move forward with demolishing a multi-level parking structure at Grand Avenue and First Street, probably in November, Witte said. Related previously intended to demolish the structure this past March, but decided to wait in lieu of the current fiscal situation. He said the parking structure, currently closed, could reopen in the interim.
"No one wants to have a big hiatus between the time we complete demolition and the time we start excavation," said Witte.
Plans for the approximately $1 billion first phase of the Frank Gehry-designed project, officially dubbed The Grand, call for a 48-story Mandarin Oriental Hotel & Residences with 295 rooms and 262 condominiums, a 19-story residential tower with 126 market-rate apartments and 98 affordable units, retail, a nightclub and a 16-acre Civic Park.
Construction on the park, Witte said, will proceed as scheduled, with groundbreaking slated for next spring and completion in 2011. The budget for its "base" design is $56 million, though additional amenities will cost more, officials have said.
Witte said that in June, Related will go before the Grand Avenue Authority, which is overseeing the project, to ask for formal approval of the construction delay.
Contact Anna Scott at a✧✧✧@downtownn✧✧✧.c✧✧.
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