Mary Cummins, Real Estate Appraiser, Animal Advocates, Los Angeles, California

Mary Cummins, Real Estate Appraiser, Animal Advocates, Los Angeles, California
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Showing posts with label california. Show all posts
Showing posts with label california. Show all posts

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Old Inglewood Board of Realtors MLS Listing Pages, Flyers by Mary Cummins Real Estate Appraiser

inglewood board of realtors, nar, national board of realtors, mary cummins, real estate, real estate appraiser, real estate appraisal, mls, flyers, los angeles, california, inglewood
inglewood board of realtors, nar, national board of realtors, mary cummins, real estate, real estate appraiser, real estate appraisal, mls, flyers, los angeles, california, inglewood

I was walking down the street and found these on the sidewalk. I followed the literal paper trail to a trash can full of Inglewood Board of Realtors MLS listing sheets from 1950-1990. Anyone need some historical Inglewood comps? :-D I took a huge bag full of them for historical reference. They're also from the Southwest Branch of the Los Angeles Board of Realtors. Click image to see larger.

Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate is a certified residential licensed appraiser in Los Angeles, California. Mary Cummins is licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate appraisers and has over 35 years of experience.


Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary, Cummins, #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, certified, single family, condo, condominium, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, fha, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, brea insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, 1073, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls, historical appraisal, facebook, linkedin

DISCLAIMER: https://mary--cummins.blogspot.com/p/disclaimer-privacy-policy-for-blogs-by.html

Saturday, February 3, 2024

Status of Oceanwide Plaza aka Graffiti Towers in downtown Los Angeles by Mary Cummins real estate appraiser

oceanwide plaza, mary cummins, real estate appraiser, real estate, los angeles, california, flower, figueroa, oceanwide holdings, rtkl, construction, graffiti
oceanwide plaza, mary cummins, real estate appraiser, real estate, los angeles, california, flower, figueroa, oceanwide holdings, rtkl, construction, graffiti

UPDATE 030624 Seems City Council had to make a motion to amend the city code to allow them to secure the property. https://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2024/24-0114-S2_CA.pdf

022824 The city wants to restore the right of way on the sidewalks around the project. Right now it has fences, scaffolding, covers... They can't remove that without first securing the site with interior fencing and such. They need to change city code to be able to do that work. https://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2024/24-0114-s2_misc_2-28-24.pdf

02/16/24 Result of hearing today. Motion was amended, approved by City Council as follows. It was sent to the Mayor to approve. The changes are the removal of transferring money to cover repairs item 2. City will now confer with other departments about costs and work to be done.

https://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2024/24-0114-s1_misc_amend_kdl_blu_2-16-24.pdf

02/13/2024 There are now two separate LA City Council motions about the site. Hearing tomorrow 02/16/2024. I drove by and none of the graffiti has been cleaned. Leave it to say it will not be cleaned up by 02/17/2024 per the 01/31/2024 City Council Motion and order.

My estimates for cost to clean and secure Oceanwide Plaza were way too low. City will be transferring $1,100,000 to secure the site then $2,700,000 to remove graffiti and provide security.

From the motion,

On February 9, 2024, the Los Angeles City Council adopted a motion (Council File No. 24-0114) to instruct the relevant City Departments to take the necessary steps to prepare for abatement of the Oceanwide Plaza property in the event the owners of Oceanwide Plaza failed to heed the abatement order issued by the Department of Building and Safety on January 31, 2024. The motion directed the City Administrative Officer to identify front funding sources to pay for this work and the CAO has done so. Now, the City of Los Angeles must transfer this funding to pay for the work needed to abate the property so abatement may commence on February 17, 2024 if the Oceanwide owners indeed fail to comply by the deadline.

MOTION PLANNING & LAND USE MANAGEMENT

"I THEREFORE MOVE, subject to the approval of the Mayor, that $1,100,000 be transferred / appropriated from the Building and Safety Fund 100/08, Account No. 001010, (Salaries, General) to the Repair and Demolition Fund No. 346/08, Account No. 08108Y to fund fencing and secure the ground floors to comply with department orders at Oceanwide Plaza.

I FURTHER MOVE, subject to the approval of the Mayor, that $2,700,000 be transferred / appropriated from the Building and Safety Permit Enterprise Fund No. 48R/08, Account 08Y204 (Reserve for Future Cost) to the Repair and Demolition Fund No. 346, Account Name Oceanwide Plaza (Account No. TBD), as a loan, to fund security services, fire safety upgrades, graffiti abatement, and any other measures needed to comply with department orders at Oceanwide Plaza."

https://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2024/24-0114-S1_misc_02-13-24.pdf

Just FYI I've lived in Los Angeles my entire life. I've been a broker, appraiser in LA over 40 years. I appraise this exact type of project. I've been in most of them. I lived in South Park for years. 

02/12/2024 Arrests made by LAPD in graffiti of Oceanwide Plaza. Originally there were two arrests then four more. They just arrested 12 more. 

https://lamag.com/crimeinla/lapd-arrests-dtla-high-rise-graffiti

DeLeon stated the graffiti was the "fault" of the developer because they didn't have the place locked up tight with security. What about the trespassers, vandals? Don't they have any culpability? What about the rest of LA that gets tagged? Should we all be forced to add huge expensive walls, gates and security teams to protect our property or else it's our fault? Ridiculous argument. While everyone should lock up their property and protect it, there's no way to fully protect against taggers.

02/09/2024 Item was adopted by City Council to force Oceanwide Plaza to clean up the mess. Vote was unanimous but Soto-Martinez was absent.

02/16/2024 I was in the area and took some pics. The trespassers, vandals, taggers also tagged the inside of the building. There is a fence company there today along with lots of police presence. Click thumbnails below to see larger.













02/07/2024 More taggers have tagged the building. One article stated "After a similar project in December for Art Basel in Miami Beach, artists were inspired “to do an L.A. version,” the artist Merch told Hyperallergic." The building they graffiti'd in Miami Vitas Healthcare Center was an abandoned, 19-story building which was about to be demolished. It wasn't a new luxury building like Oceanwide Plaza. They didn't have permission to trespass or tag either building. It's like tagging a car at a junkyard destined for scrap metal versus a new Rolls Royce that's about to roll off the assembly line. 

"The artists also placed blame on the developers, Oceanwide Holdings of China, who stopped construction on the project in 2019 when they ran out of funding and have since been accused of not paying the security guards for the site." Their rationalization is sickening and infantile. Does that mean people can break into the taggers, their mothers, grandmothers homes and destroy it because they don't have security guards? Can the taggers legally kill and rape people on the street because they don't have security guards? Blame the victim. A crime is a crime.

Taggers with graffiti gang tag signatures Merch, Akers and Hopes have commented about their vandalism. These people are all known. You can search the tags on the buildings and know the taggers. I searched the graffiti tags in my area and knew exactly who did it. They have names, photos, addresses.

Merch stated “With all due respect, s— is abandoned, doing nothing." "Let’s put some color on this b— and do what we do if they ain’t gon finish the job,” the artist Hopes said. “This building has needed love for years,” artist Aker added. “If the owners aren’t doing anything about it, the streets of LA are happy to make something out of it.” These people call their tagging "putting in work" like it's a noble job or something. It's not.

Another thing to consider is the cost and waste of all that spray paint and the cans. It's bad for the environment and human health besides a total waste. The paint is still there so it's not water based eco-friendly. It's not guerrilla art which washes away and causes no permanent harm. These people are criminal vandals. I wish they'd charge some of them. These people even post videos of themselves doing these criminal acts on their Insta, TikTok and Facebook pages. They comment on newspaper articles. Throw them in jail and fine them for cleanup. When they're released make them do graffiti cleanup for a few years. They are not artists. 

02/02/2024: LA City Council made a motion to force Oceanwide to clean up the project by February 17, 2024. 1101 South Flower Street / Oceanwide Plaza / Trespassing / Vandalism / Nuisance Abatement

https://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2024/24-0114_misc_02-02-24.pdf

Main file https://cityclerk.lacity.org/lacityclerkconnect/index.cfm?fa=ccfi.viewrecord&cfnumber=24-0114

MOTION

FEB 0 2 2024

For the last few years, the unfinished Oceanwide Plaza property at 1101 South Flower Street has been a blight on Downtown Los Angeles’ South Park neighborhood. Started in 2015, the project’s construction was abruptly halted in late 2019 after funding for the project was cut off. Since then Oceanwide Plaza has sat half-finished and abandoned - a black eye on an otherwise vibrant part of DTLA.

Oceanwide Plaza has experienced trespassing and vandalism over the last few years however criminal activity has increased exponentially over the last month, peaking over the last several days. Neighbors report trucks ramming into the gates and driving into the building to facilitate copper wire theft and vandalism. Dozens of videos posted to social media show people breaking into the property on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, climbing hundreds of feet up the unfinished towers, and tagging the windows on at least 30 of the building’s 53 floors with graffiti. It is abundantly clear that Oceanwide Plaza has become a hazard to surrounding residents, businesses, passersby, and to the criminals recklessly breaking into the property and it must be dealt with immediately.

I FURTHER MOVE to instruct the Department of Building and Safety (DBS), the Bureau of Street Services (BSS), and the Bureau of Engineering (BOE) to order the permittee to secure the site, remove all encroachments from the public right of way, and restore the public right of way to its original condition or const..."I FURTHER MOVE to instruct the DBS and BOE, in coordination with the City Attorney, to recover all city costs consistent with applicable law. In light of the property becoming a nuisance, the Department of Building and Safety issued an abatement notice to the owners of Oceanwide Plaza on January 31, 2024. The property owners have until February 17, 2024 to remove all graffiti and debris and securely fence the property or the City will begin its own abatement process.

I FURTHER MOVE to instruct the City Administrative Officer to identify front-funding for the securing of the site, removal of obstructions, and restoration of the public right of way should the permittee fail to comply with department orders.

I FURTHER MOVE to instruct the DBS, BSS, Department of Transportation, and General Services Department to secure the site and restore the public right of way to its prior condition should the permittee fail to act within the time allotted to them by law."

See link above because the copy/paste wasn't working that well. Motion made by Paul Krekorian and Kevin DeLeon.

Some people have said that the graffiti "artists" added "meaning, art, a message to the vacant building contributing to the city in a positive way." I don't agree at all. They trespassed, vandalized and did tens of thousands in damage to the property. They rammed trucks through the gates and broke down doors. They stole property. The developer now has to clean up all their mess by February 17, 2024 in two weeks or face a huge fine and cleanup fees. Look at what the people did. It's not graffiti art but tagging. They just wrote their graffiti gang tag initials in big letters. That's not art. Tagging isn't art. It's like a dog pissing on a tree except worse because it serves no purpose at all. It's a kid defacing a public school desk by carving their initials in it. If you think it's art, post your family's home address so people can go ram their truck through their fence and paint their initials and gross shit all over the interior and exterior of their home and all their possessions. Below are up close images in case people couldn't see what they did. It's only tagging. 




ORIGINAL: January 30, 2024 an organized group of graffiti taggers vandalized the now vacant construction site of Oceanwide Plaza at 1101 Flower St in Los Angeles, California. It was a partially-completed residential and retail complex composed of three residential towers across the street from Crypto.com Arena and the Los Angeles Convention Center. The owner developer is Oceanwide Holdings. "The CallisonRTKL-designed complex will feature a five-star Park Hyatt hotel with interiors by Studio Munge, 504 residences and a collection of retailers and restaurants." 

The site was originally an auto store in 1924 which was eventually replaced with a parking lot. Construction began in 2015 for the main development. The three towers were built starting in 2018 but not finished. Construction stalled in 2019 but restarted months later. Construction stalled again in October 2020 due to financial restructuring. "The towers were an example of Chinese reductions in capital and investing in US real estate because of the country's ongoing trade dispute with the US and a Beijing crackdown on credit and capital flight." 

After failing to pay its debts, the project was foreclosed on by China-Oceanside in June 2023 and listed for sale. In filings with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, China-Oceanwide said that more than $1.2 billion was needed to finish the project and that they had already spent $1.1 billion." It would take two years to finish the project. The project was also involved in a bribery scandal involving local politicians and the LA City Building and Safety department.

Basic property information

Address: 1101 S Flower St, Los Angeles, California 90015
Assessor Parcel Number APN 5138-015-045
Lot dimensions, irregular: 316' x 535' x 342' x 703'
Area: 199,803 sf
Owner: Oceanwide Plaza LLC
Legal description: TR=69414 EX OF ST LOT 1
Census tract: 2079.01

Current liens on real estate records only: 05/18/2023 pre forclosure by Oceanwide Plaza LLC,
Lots of mechanic liens. Property taxes delinquent and due.

All of the permits are at ladbs.org under 1101 S Flower.

Property taxes https://portal.assessor.lacounty.gov/parceldetail/5138015045

There have been lawsuits involving the project. Oceanwide hired Lendlease as a contractor to build the project. Lendlease hired Webcor as a concrete subcontractor. Neither were fully paid. There were arbitration agreements in the contracts. Webcor didn't want to honor the arbitration agreement and sued. Trial and appeals court ruled Webcor is subject to arbitration agreement with Lendlease. This stems from a mechanics lien filed 2018 and lawsuit filed 2019.

https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/nonpub/B299310.PDF

Lendlease sued in order to have a higher claim than the visa holder investors. 

More legal documents at lacourt.org You have to pay for them and I don't want to pay. 

The official website is gone but here's a webarchive version.

http://web.archive.org/web/20200621165019/https://oceanwideplaza.com/

The company behind the project from the archive

http://web.archive.org/web/20190305105332/https://en.chinaoceanwide.com/

Video of the main areas of the project. Reminds me of Metropolis but bigger and nicer and Metropolis is huge and luxury quality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omOXWBc9w1c

Contractor made a video of progress on the building

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGKIuAkaXV4

RTKL site about project

https://www.callisonrtkl.com/projects/oceanwide-plaza/

Below are some marketing photos, plot plan, parcels... I was really looking forward to this development and have written five posts/articles since 2017. Chinese developers have built some beautiful and amazing projects in downtown Los Angeles. I've appraised a few and they are very high quality luxury properties. I really hope they get this back on track. I absolutely disagree with people who think it should be torn down. That would be an incredible waste of materials and manpower. Maybe they should re imagine some of the retail area and make it creative or experience space. 


oceanwide plaza, mary cummins, real estate appraiser, real estate, los angeles, california, flower, figueroa, oceanwide holdings, rtkl, construction, graffiti
oceanwide plaza, mary cummins, real estate appraiser, real estate, los angeles, california, flower, figueroa, oceanwide holdings, rtkl, construction, graffiti

oceanwide plaza, mary cummins, real estate appraiser, real estate, los angeles, california, flower, figueroa, oceanwide holdings, rtkl, construction, graffiti
oceanwide plaza, mary cummins, real estate appraiser, real estate, los angeles, california, flower, figueroa, oceanwide holdings, rtkl, construction, graffiti










Below are ladbs.org plot plans and permit sheets for the first permit in 2015 and the last in 2019 in chronological order. Click to see bigger. Originals at ladbs.org under address 1101 S Flower St. The permits list owner, builder, engineer, architect...besides specs.

2015 permit




2019 permit




Building and safety reports complaints. They're only recent. Amazed there are no previous ones.

1/31/2024 ABANDONED OR VACANT BUILDING LEFT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC UNDER INVESTIGATION

1/31/2024 ABANDONED OR VACANT BUILDING LEFT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC CLOSED

1/31/2024 GRAFFITI ON THE BUILDING, FENCES OR WALLS CLOSED

1/31/2024 ABANDONED OR VACANT BUILDING LEFT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC CLOSED

Other addresses associated with the project. 1133, 1155, 1130 Flower and 600 W 11th, 1130 Figueroa.

Some of the Park Hyatt penthouse units will be larger. "The condo options include everything from one- to four-bedrooms units, plus additional choices for luxury penthouses and estate-style residences that range from 5,585 to 8,775 square feet in size and come with private outdoor space. An additional 340 residences, not under the Park Hyatt brand, are planned for the remaining two towers."

"Oceanwide is a privately held, family owned international financial holding group founded by LU Zhiqiang. Headquartered in Beijing, China, Oceanwide’s well-established and diversified businesses include operations in financial services, energy, technology information services, culture and media, and real estate assets globally, including in the United States.

Oceanwide is the controlling shareholder of the Shenzhen-listed Oceanwide Holdings Co., Ltd. and Minsheng Holdings Co. Ltd.; the Hong Kong-listed China Oceanwide Holdings Limited and China Tonghai International Financial Limited (formerly known as Quam Limited); the privately-held International Data Group, Minsheng Securities, Minsheng Trust, and Asia Pacific Property & Casualty Insurance; and it is the single largest shareholder of Australia-listed CuDECO Ltd. China Oceanwide also is a minority investor in Shanghai-listed China Minsheng Bank and Hong Kong-listed Legend Holdings. In the United States, Oceanwide has real estate investments in New York, California, and Hawaii. Businesses controlled by Oceanwide have more than 10,000 employees globally."

LA City has contracts with the project to guarantee it.

http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2016/16-0408-S1_misc_1_10-05-2016.pdf

Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate is a certified residential licensed appraiser in Los Angeles, California. Mary Cummins is licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate appraisers and has over 35 years of experience.


Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary, Cummins, #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, certified, single family, condo, condominium, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, fha, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, brea insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, 1073, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls, historical appraisal, facebook, linkedin

DISCLAIMER: https://mary--cummins.blogspot.com/p/disclaimer-privacy-policy-for-blogs-by.html





Tuesday, January 9, 2024

History of Realtor Boards and Multiple Listing Services by Mary Cummins Real Estate Broker, Appraiser

board of realtors, mary cummins, real estate appraiser, mls, multiple listing service, beverly hills, los angeles, california, history, real estate, sales, agent, department of real estate
board of realtors, mary cummins, real estate appraiser, mls, multiple listing service, beverly hills, los angeles, california, history, real estate, sales, agent, department of real estate

Real Estate is one of the largest industries in the United States. It began with the first land grants and settlers of the New World starting in the late 1400's. Many countries including Spain, Portugal, Britain, France, Russia, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden laid claim to the New World making and selling land grants. Over time individuals and speculators bought, sold and traded the land grants, plots and deeds. 

Originally there were handwritten land grants with vague land surveys using physical landmarks. They were recorded with the cities, counties or states as they formed. These were later also recorded in newspapers. The land grants were later replaced with grant deeds and surveyed numbered land plots with assessor numbers as the nation grew and government and real estate became more formalized and regulated. 

Back in the day anyone could become a real estate dealer. This led to some charlatans and con men becoming land swindlers. Everyone knows about people accidentally buying worthless swamp land in Florida or someone selling the same piece of land to multiple people. This gave the real estate industry a very bad image. A few in the industry decided to form Realty Associations in order to control who could deal in real estate and how properties were planned, built and transferred. 

The purpose of the first Realty Associations specifically the "Los Angeles Realty Board" was "to bring legitimacy to their profession, encourage cooperation and fellowship among real estate men, and use their collective power to create a more dynamic business environment for their industry."  The LA Realty Board was formed in 1903 in California. One of the founding members was William May Garland. By 1906 they had 217 members. 

Many of the later Boards were formed based on the same structure and mission as the LA Realty Board. I was a member of the Los Angeles Board of Realtors, Beverly Hills Board of Realtors and National Association of Realtors starting in 1983. The BH Board was incorporated in 1955. They ultimately merged with the LA Board and became the Greater Los Angeles Realtors (GLAR) in 1998. The state California Association of Realtors (CAR) was formed in 1998. 

Initially some of the various boards had their own MLS services. Later they joined forces and made larger MLS services such as CRMLS, CLAWMLS, THEMLS... The Combined Los Angeles/Westside (CLAW) MLS is a compilation of the listings of Realtor Board Members formed in 1995. You must be a licensed real estate agent and Realtor to join as an agent or broker to list properties on that MLS. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) was originally formed as the National Association of Real Estate Exchanges in Chicago in 1908. 

Back in the day the Realty Board was in charge of who could be a real estate agent. There was no State Departments of Real Estate. Official real estate sales licenses didn't start until 1917 when the California Department of Real Estate (DRE) was first formed by the California legislature. DRE marked the formation of the first-ever Real Estate Law in the country. With this law, licensing practices and licensees were regulated in a manner which was emulated by many other states. 

As the business of real estate became more organized a system was needed to facilitate those transactions. Back in the day properties were listed for sale in the local newspapers. The closed sales were also listed in the newspapers. Some newspapers had full real estate sections every day or just on Sundays. Some included black and white and later even color photos. They were essentially the first Multiple Listing Service. 

The Los Angeles Times was one of those early newspapers that listed those properties starting in 1881. At that same time real estate dealers, agents and offices would have print outs of all the properties they had offered for sale. They would post them at their offices on their windows besides in newspapers and real estate magazines around the country. They assembled them in three ring binders in their offices to show to prospective buyers and sellers. They would also exchange them with other real estate dealers whom they knew. 



Eventually a few large real estate offices got together and decided to print them in one local monthly magazine type book for more wide scale marketing and exposure. These were the first dedicated Multiple Listing Services type books. The NAR started offering this MLS service in the 1960's. These paper books were used up until 1994-2000. Below are a couple of pages from one of those books. When I was an agent then broker they came out every other week I think and were about an inch thick for Los Angeles.

board of realtors, mary cummins, real estate appraiser, mls, multiple listing service, beverly hills, los angeles, california, history, real estate, sales, agent, department of real estate

After around 1994 the data went digital with the advent of the common use of the Internet. First it was available via dial-up in real estate offices for text only. I used phone dial-up devices around 1984 to access the private intranet data, search by distinct computer codes then printed the listings out on dot matrix printers using continuous feed paper with the little holes on the side. Everything was later available fully online to Board and MLS members including photos. Later it was partially available to the general public as well. One still had to contact the listing agent to get access to the property and get all of the information to present an offer.

Today we have full home and property listings online which include lots of color photographs, diagrams, staged photos, plot plans, architectural renderings, videos and even 3-D tours. Nowadays you can search properties all over the world in different languages. You can even buy and sell the properties fully online as long as you get signatures notarized with proof of identification. We have definitely come a long way from land grands in old English cursive writing and newspaper ads.

Below is a sample list of active listings from an MLS search. Below that is a short detail listing of one property. None of these were any of my clients' properties.


board of realtors, mary cummins, real estate appraiser, mls, multiple listing service, beverly hills, los angeles, california, history, real estate, sales, agent, department of real estate
References:

The Promise and Principles of Real Estate Development in an American Metropolis:

LATimes.com various articles


Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate is a certified residential licensed appraiser in Los Angeles, California. Mary Cummins is licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate appraisers and has over 35 years of experience.


Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary, Cummins, #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, certified, single family, condo, condominium, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, fha, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, brea insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, 1073, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls, historical appraisal, facebook, linkedin

DISCLAIMER: https://mary--cummins.blogspot.com/p/disclaimer-privacy-policy-for-blogs-by.html

Sunday, November 12, 2023

Caltrans Rents Area Under 10, 5, 60, 405 Freeways in Los Angeles, California by Mary Cummins Real Estate Appraiser

fire, 10 freeway, los angeles, california, downtown,  real estate appraisal,real estate appraiser, mary cummins ,real estate,appraisal,fire,california,appraiser,los angeles,caltrans, freeway Photo: Caltrans
fire, 10 freeway, los angeles, california, downtown, 
real estate appraisal,real estate appraiser, mary cummins ,real estate,appraisal,fire,california,appraiser,los angeles,caltrans, freeway Photo: Caltrans

UPDATE 11/22/2023 As expected the freeway is not repaired. It's only braced. It will take months to repair the freeway. "Though the shored-up freeway is safe for drivers again, repairs for the damaged overpass will take months, officials said. None of the damaged columns that hold up the overpass east of Alameda Street have been repaired yet, according to Caltrans spokesperson Michael Comeaux.

“Columns damaged by the fire will need to be repaired. The repair strategy may vary between individual columns depending on the extent of damage. The repairs will include the removal of any damaged concrete, patching of the damage, and wrapping the columns with steel casings,” Comeaux said in an email."

"The fire has drawn scrutiny to the state’s open-air lease program. On Wednesday, Caltrans announced inspectors assessed 601 leased sites across the state and of 38 sites that pose a potential risk, only a few present a specific fire or safety risk."

An engineer with Caltrans who was not authorized to speak publicly said 45 columns show clear evidence of spalling, the technical term for the cracking and disintegration of concrete when it is exposed to extremely high temperatures. The heat evaporates water molecules inside the concrete, which makes the material weak and brittle.

Construction crews will have to remove the damaged concrete from each column. In many cases, the engineer said, that damage extends to the reinforcing metal known as rebar that is embedded inside the concrete and spirals around vertical lengths extending from the foundation to the freeway overhead.

Engineers have identified eight columns where the heat of the fire reached far deeper into the concrete. For those columns, crews will have to remove not only the compromised concrete but also the spiral of rebar, the engineer said.

Once the damaged concrete and steel have been removed, the columns will be rebuilt, most likely with steel jackets similar to those used in seismic retrofits of bridge columns (an earthquake review in the 1990s did not lead to jackets being placed around the columns at this location). Grout or concrete will then be injected between the jacket and column."

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-11-22/downtown-los-angeles-10-freeway-fire-repairs

11/18/2023 Authorities release photo of person of interest in the alleged arson fire of the 10 freeway. Mayor Karen Bass said it was definitely not a homeless person. This looks like a homeless person to me. I'm in that immediate area all the time. I see the people down there. I was there last week and saw a homeless guy light a wood pallet on fire for no reason. They don't just do it to keep warm but because they can. People dump shit and trash on the street. Homeless light it on fire especially at night. Someone dumps an old tv that doesn't work. They will beat and crush it then light it on fire as a fun activity like a school bonfire. Once I found a dead dog that'd been put in a shopping cart, lit of fire then pushed down the street into a fence. I'm pretty sure the dog was dead before they lit it on fire or at least I hope so.There are young'ish men down there with mental illness and lots of anger. They will destroy and burn something just as an outlet, to rage against "the man" or just for fun. All those wood pallets, stacks of boxes, trash were begging to be burned. If you go down there, you will see fire marks on all the overpasses. 



https://ktla.com/10-freeway-fire/10-freeway-arson-suspect-description-released/

11/16/2023 Governor Gavin Newsom said the freeway will be open by next Tuesday November 21, 2023! The supports weren't as badly damaged as first thought. 

Per various articles "state officials filed a lawsuit against Apex saying the company owes $78,000 (or $600,000) in unpaid rent." "Apex Development Inc. has leased the land under I-10 since 2008. One condition of Apex’s contract stipulated it not allow flammable or hazardous materials to be stored there."

“Apex rented and improved the rundown yard and made substantial capital investments during the period that it had possession of the yard,” D’Attaray said. “Caltrans inspected the premises periodically, at least once a year, and CalTrans was fully aware of the sublessees and their operations. Even the State of California’s Fire Marshall inspected the premises.”

He said Apex had also repeatedly called the fire department to report fires started by homeless encampments, including along the fence line and at other yards."

https://apnews.com/article/freeway-fire-los-angeles-interstate-10-newsom-3ab9682a866c4e60b80b2d5d185847ac 

11/15/2023 Caltrans knew of an incident where portion of Interstate 85 in Atlanta collapsed after combustible material stored under the interstate caught fire. That incident closed the interstate for six weeks. They wrote a policy directive based on that incident which prohibited storage of flammable materials under bridges and required access for inspections. Engineers stated Caltrans knew about the problem but can't get under the bridges to inspect because of all the junk. In all honesty there is not much in a tightly packed warehouse that isn't combustible. These areas aren't even enclosed so you can't block off a fire like you can in a building. There should at least be smoke, fire, CO detectors, fire sprinklers and fire fighting equipment easily accessible and functioning.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-11-14/l-a-facing-more-traffic-gridlock-amid-signs-of-hope-over-10-freeway-closure

11/14/2023 Governor Newsome said the freeway will open in 3-5 weeks. "Inspectors determined the section of the freeway affected would not need to be demolished and replaced, allowing workers to focus instead on repairing the existing structure, Newsom told reporters. That means reopening the freeways will take a matter of weeks, he said, rather than the months long endeavor some were initially bracing for." He later said maybe only 4/5 lanes will be open initially.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/13/us/i-10-freeway-la-fire-closure-tuesday/index.html

11/13/2023 Fire Department is now saying arson may be the cause. They also stated flammable hand sanitizer from Covid was being stored at the location. 

There is no real address, legal description, Assessor's Parcel Number APN I can find to use to see if there are complaints in Building and Safety ladbs.org . Generally people file complaints based on real address, APN or legal description there which are investigated. Maybe people can't file or view complaints on Caltrans property because it's under a state and not a city, county jurisdiction? Caltrans just said there is no property tax so there would be no APN. That would be a big problem because all building and safety, fire investigations are complaint driven by site location. There are no annual property inspections. Clearly we can't trust the California Department of Transportation to do the complaints and investigations. They should have used emergency powers to clear or safeguard the site. Sadly the entire area down there is very similar. There are many, many shoddy storage facilities under the freeway with homeless camps.

Caltrans own press release of the fire states the address is 1700 E 14th St which is blocks away. The site is in District 7. https://dot.ca.gov/fix-10

Recent article noted one property was leased by Calabasas based Apex Development Inc which was subleasing storage without permission from state and federal authorities. The company stopped paying rent and was out of compliance with the lease.

I see 85 lawsuits involving Apex Development in lacourt.org Below is the eviction lawsuit which is recent by state of California. It includes the companies on the site that burned. The ONLY cause for eviction on the form is non payment of rent. It's not for violations of terms of the lease. Obviously not paying rent is a violation of terms of lease. It's not for allowing the site to be a danger to people and property. Caltrans should have filed emergency eviction for unsafe premises.

I'll post docs in a sec. I see a previous lawsuit 20STCV42245 filed by Apex against Caltrans. It was dismissed. I see another suit against Caltrans 23STCV15418 for breach of contract that's recent for interference with contract and unjust enrichment 06/2023. Apex appears to be litigious. I don't know if they have cause for the suits. I was hoping to find a lease agreement but none were filed or maybe they were filed under seal. I don't know if Apex is claiming Covid hardship for rent payments. 

Case Number:  23STCV22798

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORINA, ACTING BY AND THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION VS APEX DEVELOPMENT, INC., A CALIFORNIA CORPORATION, ET AL.

Filing Courthouse:   Stanley Mosk Courthouse
Filing Date:  09/20/2023
Case Type:  Unlawful Detainer/Commercial (not drugs or wrongful eviction) (General Jurisdiction)
Status:  Pending

Next hearing. 02/15/2024 at 08:30 AM in Department 37 at 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 Case Management Conference 

Many parties didn't reply and defaults were filed.

APEX DEVELOPMENT INC. - Defendant

CHOI DANIEL - Attorney for Plaintiff

D'ATTARAY MAINAK - Attorney for Defendant

EAGLE WOOD SERVICE - Defendant

ECO-RAIN TANK OF AMERICA - Defendant

GLUCK STEVEN M - Attorney for Defendant

KATZ JEFFREY E. - Attorney for Defendant

LARA ALFREDO MENDOZA - Defendant

MAX RECYCLING - Defendant

MCA TRUCKING - Defendant

NOWAID ANTHONY - Defendant

PACIFIC EXPRESS PALLETS - Defendant

SERAFIN DISTRIBUTION - Defendant serafindistribution.com/home 1361 Lawrence 
http://serafinsdistribution.com/contact-us

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA - Plaintiff

TORRES TAURINO M. - Defendant claims to live at 1361 Lawrence

Below are jpgs of main current eviction lawsuit.








Another article stated 100 columns of the freeway were damaged. Nine or ten were damaged severely. They don't know if they will have to tear down the overpass or just retrofit it. I believe some of these were previously retrofitted after the 1994 earthquake. The original freeway was built 1933-1957 or so.

ORIGINAL: November 10/11, 2023 (just after midnight) there was a huge pallet fire under the Santa Monica 10 freeway at Alameda and 14th Street which shut down the freeway and interchange. Many have asked why there were wood pallets under the freeway. People don't seem to realize that the California Department of Transporation Caltrans leases the area under the freeways in Los Angeles for warehouse purposes. 10 Freeway on Wikipedia

Based on current law, "Authorizes Caltrans to lease to public agencies or private entities the use of areas above or below state highways. Generally, leases to private entities have to be made on the basis of competitive bids and at fair market value." They can also lease them for less than fair market value if it's for the public good such as a park, homeless shelter...

Currently most of the area under the 10 in this area is warehouse property that caters to fashion industry. If you drive by you will see auto storage, shipping storage, large machinery storage, wood pallets, trash... I would assume all tenants must have adequate fire protection, insurance and abide by Building and Safety and Fire Department regulations. Any major fire under this old 10 freeway could cause a lot of damage besides disrupting traffic to the area. The 1994 earthquake caused a section between LaCienega and Venice to collapse because the supports were made pre 1971 before they were earthquake proof. Other areas needed repairs and retrofitting. The original section was built around 1955 or 1957. I'm not positive. We're still talking about a 70 year old overpass. When I was there day after fire a block away I saw what appeared to be retrofitting and reinforcement of another overpass few blocks away. 

We shall see if Caltrans changes their lease agreement terms after this fire. They should be able to take emergency action against any lessee, sub-lessee who violates the law due to the potential hazards to humans, property and the transportation system.

If you look at these storage sites under the freeway, not all are enclosed with walls. Perhaps the ones not enclosed with solid walls are not considered structures legally so they don't have to abide by Building and Safety regulations? Many just enclose the properties with chain link fencing with barbed wire on top. Perhaps there are not regulations for such enclosures? Clearly there should be. At the very least they need smoke, fire detectors that would not be set off with smoke, exhaust from autos. 

The address of the burned properties appear to be subleases located at 4205 E 14th St, Los Angeles, CA 90021 near Lawrence St and 14th St. Also 1349, 1361 Lawrence. Legal tract is 23269. Close APN is 5167-017-004. Thomas Guide map TG634G7. 5166-004-****. Tract H. N. ELLIOTT'S NINTH STREET TRACT.  It's council district 14 Kevin DeLeon. Zone is PF-1XL. Sign says "we buy pallets" and "Serafin's Distribution." They tried to get a permit to build a building for a scrap yard in 2014 and were denied. Previous building permit was 1925. Maybe it was built in the 30'sand renamed in the 50's. Below is Google satellite image of site, parcel maps and street view. For these two sites to burn makes me think it was a fire accidentally started by homeless people. It's been getting colder at night in the 50's. Google street images shows lots of homeless, cars, car tires stacked, wood pallets.All these things are highly flammable and difficult to extinguish especially under the enclosed freeway.













Here is the Google map of the burned site. Look at street and satellite view for the area. Lots of places full of pallets, trash, cars and homeless people. Years ago when I went to a motorcycle show that was in an industrial site they made me remove all gas from my motorcycle and tape the gas cap shut or else they wouldn't let my motorcycle in the show. It was because of Fire Department and insurance purposes. I'm sure all those cars had gas and oil in them besides batteries, tires which burn for long periods of time.

Because Caltrans is government they pay no property taxes so there is no assessor's parcel map I can yet find for the site. This is all I see. If you hover over it, it says "no information available." I'm trying to get an address to see if there were complaints about fire dangers or other Building and Safety violations. If there is no address, you can't really file a complaint. There must be something. I'll post when I find it.


Here are photos from Serafindistribution.com which shows interior. Their site states they have boxes, paper products, labels, janitorial supplies...



Here is one such current advertisement for warehouse rental under the 10 freeway blocks from the fire, see photo below. This property is for sale with a ten year renewable land lease from Caltrans. 

"Naomi Freeway Distribution1600-1650 S Naomi Ave 39,372 SF Industrial Building Los Angeles, CA$3,890,000 ($99/SF) Warehouses  California  Los Angeles  1600-1650 S Naomi Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90021 Owner User - Investor Opportunity Located Minutes From Downtown, Arts District & Vernon Divisible into 4 Units, Power 1,200 Amp 240 V Service - Ground Level Doors Cal Trans Ground Lease Expires: 5/11/2031 - 10 Yr Option Concrete Block Construction. Owner Use - Investment Property - 5 Warehouse/Distribution Units - Land is Leased From Cal-trans - Newer Concrete Block Construction - Retail - Wholesale Possible - Garment - Cannabis Uses. 20,000 SF Can Be Occupied at Closing. Heart of Downtown Los Angeles Industrial Area Santa Monica Freeway (10) At Central Avenue Exit" https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/1600-1650-S-Naomi-Ave-Los-Angeles-CA/3612898/ POSS INT LOCATED AT 1650 NAOMI AV LOS ANGELES OWNED BY STATE DEPT OF TRANSP 5130 013 000


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Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate is a certified residential licensed appraiser in Los Angeles, California. Mary Cummins is licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate appraisers and has over 35 years of experience.


Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary, Cummins, #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, certified, single family, condo, condominium, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, fha, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, brea insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, 1073, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls, historical appraisal, facebook, linkedin

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