“Bob Bisno, the developer who polarized San Pedro with his plans for a 1,950-unit condo complex, has been ousted from the project’s development team. A division of Credit Suisse bank, Bisno’s top investor, has assumed control of the controversial Ponte Vista project, the development team announced Friday,” according to the Ponte Vista Blog.
The Ponte Vista development, slated for 61.5 acres of former Navy land, has appeared to be in “serious trouble since last month, when the Los Angeles Planning Department recommended that it be rejected. Dispensing with Bisno’s arguments, the planning staff found that no more than 1,200 condos should be built on the site, and perhaps as few as 775. Bisno initially seemed ready to fight that ruling at the Planning Commission this week, but later the developers asked to postpone the hearing to February,” according to the Daily Breeze.
Bisno tried to cram too many condos into this development, angering the local residents, who knew that this project would create ruinous traffic in their area.
This is the SAME THING Bisno is trying to do in north Santa Ana, where he wants to build a 31 story luxury condo tower. That project is pending approval by the Santa Ana Planning Commission.
Bisno recently quit a big project that would have remade the downtown Baldwin Park area – by abusing eminent domain. And he has even had to put his $29 million home in Beverly Hills up for sale. Things are not looking good for the man who funded Santa Ana’s controversial Measure D – which allowed his amiga, Councilwoman Claudia Alvarez, to serve one more term on the Council. She is now in line to once more be appointed Mayor Pro Tem at the next Santa Ana City Council meeting. And we are stuck with her for four more years – thanks to Bisno.
Personally, I hope the guy ends up bankrupt! He appears to be headed in that direction…
This post and link is from M Richards from another thread, but it belongs here as well:
There must be a Santa Claus because he came to San Pedro yesterday and he gave a bunch of coal to Bob as a going away present!
http://www.pontevista.blogspot.com http://www.dailybreeze.com
Now all we have to do is get Bob out of Santa Ana and he’ll be able to head back up to Berkeley without anything left in SoCal to deal with.
One truth about Santa Claus is that the song “Jingle Bells” was never meant for him and it should not be considered when one considers Mr. Claus and his trip around the World one night a year.
Everybody know a turkey and that reindeer do not have bobbed tails, with or without bells.
Thank you Art and Red Vixen for mentioning my blog.
We have been watching C.A.R.A. and the good folks of Santa Ana dealing with Bob in their respective communities.
Baldwin Park dodged the largest of the bullets and I suspect Bob’s financial backers for his condo-tower in Santa Ana will pull the plug, hopefully very soon, too.
We here in the San Pedro community will be visiting The Orange Juice Blog and will report to our community when we find Bob fleeing Santa Ana.
I haven’t ever figured out those condos at City Place that have businesses on the ground floor and living spaces on the upper floors.
What happens when the business fails and the condo owner still needs to meet the mortgage payments?
The businesses I saw when I toured the project looked too unique and too boutique to survive any real length of time, I imagine.
Bob’s gone in two out of three communities and we all hope he leaves Santa Ana, the sooner the better.