LAUSD TO GET AMBASSADOR OWNERS REJECT COMPETING BID FOR HOTEL SITE, CITE COST OF FIGHTING DISTRICT.Byline: Sonia Giordani Staff Writer And the winner of the Ambassador Hotel is: the Los Angeles Unified School District The Los Angeles Unified School District (the "LAUSD") is the largest (in terms of number of students) public school system in California and the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. . A federal bankruptcy judge on Wednesday finally approved a settlement agreement between the district and the hotel's owner after negotiations with prominent Beverly Hills developer Alan Casden for a better deal fell through. ``We're delighted,'' said LAUSD LAUSD Los Angeles Unified School District (Los Angeles, CA) General Counsel Hal Kwalwasser, one of several school officials who had vowed to fight Casden if the court favored his offer over the district's. ``We need a school on that land.'' Casden, the nation's largest residential developer, had pitched a last- minute offer of $115 million to build high-density housing on the 23-acre site at Wilshire Boulevard and Mariposa Avenue. That was worth about $15 million more than the settlement agreement the hotel's owner, Wilshire Center Marketplace, struck with LAUSD last month. The settlement was subject to court approval because Wilshire Center filed for bankruptcy last year. Judge Samuel Bufford said he was obligated ob·li·gate tr.v. ob·li·gat·ed, ob·li·gat·ing, ob·li·gates 1. To bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie. See Synonyms at force. 2. To cause to be grateful or indebted; oblige. to ensure the investors got the best deal and ordered the hotel owner to negotiate with Casden. But Wilshire Center lawyer Richard Levin told the court the higher offer from Casden didn't offset the risk of additional litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. from the school district. He asked the judge to approve the LAUSD settlement. Casden lawyer Dennis Arnold told the court Wednesday it had become clear that LAUSD was acting like a bully who in effect derailed the negotiations by threatening a long and hard court battle for the land. `This is probably a good day for schoolchildren schoolchildren school npl → écoliers mpl; (at secondary school) → collégiens mpl; lycéens mpl schoolchildren school , and a sad day for justice,'' Arnold said. School officials said Wednesday's court ruling seals the deal - which the district has worked on for 12 years - for a badly needed school in one of the district's most overcrowded o·ver·crowd v. o·ver·crowd·ed, o·ver·crowd·ing, o·ver·crowds v.tr. To cause to be excessively crowded: a system of consolidation that only overcrowded the classrooms. areas. ``It's hard to call us the bully,'' said board President Caprice ca·price n. 1. a. An impulsive change of mind. b. An inclination to change one's mind impulsively. c. Young. ``We're just sticking up for the kids.'' The fate of the hotel, once a watering hole for Hollywood stars and the host of a half-dozen Academy Awards ceremonies, has been a roller-coaster ride for decades following the 1968 assassination Assassination See also Murder. assassins Fanatical Moslem sect that smoked hashish and murdered Crusaders (11th—12th centuries). [Islamic Hist.: Brewer Note-Book, 52] Brutus conspirator and assassin of Julius Caesar. [Br. of Robert Kennedy there. Other developers, including Donald Trump and Magic Johnson, hoped to build mixed-use residential and retail buildings on the site. Preservationists, meanwhile, continue to fight to preserve the hotel building for reuse. |
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