Domino Fight Turns Sour

Eliot Brown, in the Wall Street Journal fills in a few important blanks on the Domino saga:

[After defaulting a $125 million loan] CPC cut a tentative deal with [lender] Pacific Coast Capital, in which CPC agreed to give the company an 84% stake in the property in exchange for forgiving the debt… Under the deal, CPC would have day-to-day control over the project for now. But Pacific Coast Capital would have final say over major decisions such as sales and new partnerships…

And then there’s this:

The financial troubles of the Domino project also raise questions about some of the pledges CPC made when it won city approval for the project. According to city officials and [CPC CEO Rafael Cestero], the developer’s commitment to fulfill its pledge with regard to affordable housing isn’t binding… Mr. Cestero said CPC is still committed to developing the project as pledged. But he also acknowledged that the owners would be open to selling the project if the price were high enough. He said he doesn’t expect this to happen.

Reading between the lines, it sure sounds like Pacific Coast is in control of which entitlements will be taken (and which promises are fulfilled).