Levy Bankrupt: Bill Levy’s timeshare commercial
project at the foot of State Street was something few wanted except
for Levy, his investors, and the City Council (after Levy, his
friends, and his family made big donations to some councilmembers).
The present council would never approve it. Yet now, even after
Levy put his company into bankruptcy, new investors will be
emerging to build the unwanted and unneeded timeshares, a
monstrosity at the city’s front door. One informed city-watcher
predicts that whoever the new outfit is will likely return to City
Hall to tweak the design. But surely not enough to require City
Council review, of course. Someone’s still going to make a lot of
money out of this fiasco. The question is: Who are the losers and
by how much?
Miramar Up for Sale: No way was Ty Warner
shopping the Miramar Hotel around prior to his decision last week
to sell it due to a recent “attack letter” from the Montecito
Association, said Greg Rice, Warner’s executive vice president.
Warner has spent $2.9 million redesigning the revamped Miramar and
$1.9 million or a new easement on railroad property, Rice said.
“Why would we have been spending that?” he asked, if Warner was
trying to sell the property. Rice was countering a claim by Robert
Collector, Montecito Association president, that Rice had been
seeking buyers since August. When the association, one of
Montecito’s key land-use review groups, sends “attack letters,” how
do you figure you’ll get a fair shake when your project comes
before it? Rice asked. Far from being supportive, the group has
actively opposed “every single project we have run by them,” Rice
said. Meanwhile, Rice said, since Warner’s announcement last week,
he’s been getting inquiries from possible buyers.
Stonehouse Reopening: The San Ysidro Ranch’s
Stonehouse Restaurant, closed for more than two years due to a fire
and major renovations at Ty Warner’s upscale resort in the
Montecito hills, will reopen Monday. The Stonehouse, with John
Trotta as chef, will be open for dinner only until further notice
(6-10 p.m.), according to Tamara Fangman, sales and marketing
director. The Plow & Angel lounge in the lower level is due to
reopen in “early 2007,” she told me.