Bunker Hill redevelopment draws national interest.

Eight development teams, many with international reputations, have expressed interest in a $1.2 billion redevelopment of eight acres on Bunker Hill.

It is the first step in a process for selecting a developer to lead what could be 3.2 million square feet of office, retail, hotel and entertainment development.

Local firms asking to be considered include Goldrich & Kest Industries LLC, Malibu-based Weintraub Financial Services, NoHo Commons developer J.H. Snyder Co. and Astani Enterprises Inc.

They are joined by Donald Trump's Trump Organization; Related Cos., developer of the new Time Warner headquarters in New York; Forest City Enterprises, builder of downtown's Metropolitan Lofts; and Boris Lend Lease, developer of the twin Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, the world's tallest buildings.

The eight firms responded last week to a request for qualifications issued by the Grand Avenue Authority, established by Los Angeles County and the city to develop four parcels atop Bunker Hill. The three-year-old Grand Avenue Committee, co-chaired by developer James Thomas and billionaire Eli Broad, is acting as the operations staff of the authority.

The site could support as much as 900,000 square feet of residential units, 550,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space, 500,000 square feet of hotel uses and 1 million square feet of offices on four city- and county-owned properties on eight acres on or near Grand Avenue between First and Third streets.

The project would also include park-like improvements of the open space between Grand Avenue and City Hall.

The authority will decide on a shortlist of three to five candidates on Jan. 5. The selected firms then will be asked to submit proposals that include conceptual designs and financial projections as well as post a $25,000 fee.

The developer will then need to be approved by both the county and the city. The Grand Avenue Authority will own the land and lease it to the developer.

Difficult to tackle

"We have a plan to do mixed-use developments in other cities and we haven't had a big presence there," said Charlie Reiss, senior vice president at New York-based Trump, which is building an 88-story tower in Chicago. The Tromp team includes Lehman Bros. and local office developer Sonnenblick-Del Rio Development Inc. "We think it's a great site and we could do a great job," Reiss said.

An early favorite is the Related Cos. team, which includes local real estate icon John Cushman III, architectural firm Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLC and Hollywest Promenade developer MacFarlane Partners LLC.

Related Cos. is lead developer on the $1.7 billion Time Warner Center in New York, whose twin 70-story towers will house Time Warner Inc.'s headquarters, as well as 200 condominiums and a Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

"We have successfully completed several large-scale complicated mixed-use projects," said Bill Witte, partner at Related Cos. "We feel it's the type of opportunity our company and consultants have a unique capacity to complete."

Martha Welborne, managing director of the Grand Avenue Committee, declined comment, as did Thomas, who said he hadn't seen all the proposals as of last week. Broad also declined comment.

The make-up of the teams illustrates the complex nature of the long-planned project, which is probably still at least four years away from breaking ground. The Bovis team includes W Hotel developer Gatehouse Capital Corp. and apartment builder Legacy Partners, which this week may get the nod from the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency for a mixed-use project near Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street, as well as Lennar Corp. and LNR Property Corp., which is buying Newhall Land and Farming Co.

Goldrich & Kest, which developed about 1,500 residential units on Bunker Hill in the 1970s and 1980s with team member Shapell Industries, is also teaming with local office real estate investment trust Arden Realty Group Inc.

That group's plan includes two 30-story residential towers on the parking lots on lower Grand Avenue, a "retail bridge" over Thaddeus Kosciuszko Way and an office building at the corner Grand Avenue and First Street, across the street from the Concert Hall, according to Jona Goldrich, the firm's president.

The Weintraub-led team includes Walt Disney Concert Hall architect Frank O. Gehry, Sunset Millennium developer Apollo Real Estate Advisors, New York-based office REIT Vornado Realty Trust and Rosewood Hotels & Resorts.

The county is represented on the authority by Supervisor Gloria Molina and Chief Administrative Officer David Janssen. City representatives are Councilwoman Jan Perry and Community Redevelopment Agency Chief Executive Robert "Bud" Ovrom.

Big Plans

Eight teams are intersted in developing Bunker Hill site.

Lead Developer        Major Projects          Team

Astani Enterprises    Warwick Towers,         Lambert Smith Hampton
Inc.                  Verona

Bovis Lend Lease      Petronas Towers,        Legacy Partners, LNR
                      Oakland Airport         Property Corp.,
                      redevelopment           Arquitectonica

Forest City           Metropolitan Lofts,     N/A
Enterprises           Subway Terminal
                      Buildings

Goldrich & Kest       Promenade Towers,       Arden Realty Group Inc.
Industries            Museum Tower            Shapell Industries Inc.,
                                              Nadel Architects Inc.,
                                              Altoon+Porter Architects
                                              LLP

J.H. Snyder Co.       NoHo Commons,           Jerde Partnership,
                      Wilshire Courtyard,     Johnson Fain
                      Promenade at Howard
                      Hughes Center

Related Cos.          Time Warner Center      John Cushman III,
                      (New York), CityPlace   MacFarlane Partners,
                      (West Palm Beach,       Skidmore Owings &
                      Fla.)                   Merrill, Lisa Specht

Trump Organization    Trump Tower (New York   Sonnenblick-Del Rio
                      and Chicago), 40 Wall   Development Inc., Lehman
                      Street (New York)       Bros.

Weintraub Financial   The Venezia, The        Apollo Real Estate
Services              Californian             Advisors, Rosewood
                                              Hotels & Resorts,
                                              Vornado Realty Trust,
                                              Gehry Partners LLP

N/A - Not available

Source: Grand Avenue Authority