sahara construction Co. enters hadid drama
As followers of this website know, October 27, 2021 was the drop-dead date for Mohamed Hadid to sell the six lots he owns in Franklin Canyon Park to the highest bidder to satisfy claims of creditors (chiefly Give Back, LLC/$30 million). Two days before the sale, however, and beyond the Bankruptcy Court ordered deadline to qualify to bid, Sahara Construction Co. Inc. apparently issued a Letter of Intent (“LOI”) to buy all six lots from Hadid for $37 million. Sahara’s LOI is attached HERE.
In contrast to “Pacific Green” (and the Saudi Royal Family member owner) which claimed to also be interested earlier this year, Sahara seems to be a legitimate company that is represented by a legitimate lawyer. With the 11th hour LOI in hand, Hadid’s lawyers asked Judge Bluebond at the hearing on October 27th to extend all deadlines to allow a due diligence period of 60 days. Based on Give Back’s objection, Judge Bluebond rejected Hadid’s request but nevertheless gave Sahara until November 10, 2021. (UPDATE: at the November 10th hearing, Judge Bluebond gave Sahara an extension until November 30, 2021 at which time it will be required to deposit $3 million if it decides to proceed.)
Is Sahara just another stall tactic like Pacific Green? We have our suspicions. Only time will tell whether Sahara moves forward with the purchase of the six lots and that could shake out soon. Among other things, once Sahara discovers the legal and political quicksand surrounding the land, it may certainly have second thoughts about proceeding.
Apart from the looming zoning regulation changes which will curtail all of the planned construction (e.g., Ridgeline Protection Ordinance, Hillside Construction Regulation, etc.), as per our reading of the Court of Appeals’ decision in the Friends of Hastain Trail litigation, the LA Fire Department can exercise its easement rights over the Hastain Fire Road (all the way to the summit of Hastain Trail) the moment it decides the easement “necessary” for fire protection. In this wildfire fire prone area, that can happen in a heartbeat and arguably, no developer can stop it.