Judge gives ‘convention center’ creditors 1 more month
By Kathryn Reed
How much is the more than 11-acre site on the east end of South Lake Tahoe worth with its rebar and concrete?
That is one issue still to be decided in the ongoing saga known as the failed convention center project. Lake Tahoe Development Company, the Zephyr Cove company that was supposed to build two hotels and convention center on the Stateline area property, owes El Dorado County $2.45 million in property taxes.
The end of bankruptcy court for the would-be convention center site appears to be nearing. Photo/LTN
Randy Lane, principal for the company that has been languishing in bankruptcy court since October 2009, is challenging the amount owed.
“We are appealing the assessment,” Lane told Lake Tahoe News. “We are saying the assessed value of the property far exceeds the actual property value.”
A hearing on that is slated for March.
One of the bugaboos about the bankruptcy is the parcels were never consolidated into one map. Lane still owns nine of the 29 parcels.
Owens Financial, which stands to lose the most at $25 million, if the slate were wiped clean, agreed this week to pay about $400,000 of the back property taxes that are due.
Also at this week’s session before the bankruptcy judge in Sacramento, a Feb. 29 date was set for an evidentiary hearing. All parties will have a chance to present evidence for a plan of action and bring any witnesses they want.
The judge could make a decision that day or shortly thereafter.
Lane wants more time to find someone to develop the site. Others want out.
Once the project is no longer tied up in bankruptcy court, the clock starts ticking on the permit issued by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. Those permits have value, though no true dollar amount. If they expire, it would mean whoever takes over the rights to the land would have to start from scratch with permitting. That does mean time and money.
But it also would give someone the opportunity to start from scratch and not work within the parameters of what has been approved.
Golly, we need this convention center so badly. For business, jobs and the 2022 bid. Does this mean something else could be built there or broken up into pieces to become something else? Our downtown face- lift and the Loop road project included a convention center. What now?
What a shame… Randy sure left south shore in a hole!! NO gondola parking, NO locals business on the 11 acre hole, and NO solution in sight! Its an embarrassment to us locals… Having to explain… “the hole saga” to every tourist we encounter! Fill it in and give it back to the forest!
If Lake Tahoe Development Company owes $2.45 million in property taxes to El Dorado County, how could the former head of redevelopment for the City of South Lake Tahoe claim that the convention center redevelopment fiasco had not cost the City anything?
This “hole” episode is a joke, this judge is a joke. End Randy’s game playing and move on!
It’s all been said~repeatedly~over the last couple of years. For some reason, whoever is in control of this situation, and apparrently is also in control of the court, doesn’t care what the town thinks. There is another agenda here, and it looks like we are stuck sitting it out helplessly.
This should be fun. The powers that be in SLT get to learn about the assessment appeals board and prop 8.
If you think the cuts were bad last year wait until they do the math on this.
Just think about all the homes that were assessed for a million that sold for half that.
Prop 13 works both way here come the supplemental tax credits.
Who wants to hear what Bill Crawford has to say about this?
*ducks*
This has been a fiasco for so long now – when does anyone in the City learn to do any correct ‘due diligence’ (i.e., know what they’re doing)(?)
The ‘concrete & rebar’ issue mentioned is also an interesting item, for two reasons: (1) the rebar should have been protected, and not in the elements for so long – for structural safety, and (2) when this project imploded, years ago now, several million dollars worth of liens emerged, in roughly the same amount as the amount of concrete and rebar work done, leading to the conclusion that no money has changed hands yet.
The work contracted for as now done was never paid for anyway, which would have violated the ‘performance bond’ indemnification that was never gotten, so, again, what a protracted mess . . .
Old Hal Cole obligated our town to pay 53 millon back to the developer when the convention center was completed
$53,000,000.00 more in redevelopment debt
we realy can not afford that
Chief you’re like the rest of people who spout off with no knowledge spreading rumorsmtalkin like they’re facts. There isn’t a dollar of city or redevelopment loans to randy lane for that fiasco, thankfully.
when the convevtion ctr is completed
Hal told me this fact in the summer of 2007 down at the union76 station what is now part of the hole in the ground
John Serpa from Carson City is the real owner of the hole in the ground Randy Lane is only a front man.
Chief going back to June 13,2003 the Tahoe Trib published a letter to the editor,titled “Letter– Crawford on redevelopment”
Check the Archives ot the Tahoe Trib.