RITTER RANCH BUYOUT NEAR? DEVELOPER ENTERS $57.2 MILLION BID.Byline: Evan Pondel and Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writers PALMDALE - A development company with projects in the Inland Empire In·land Empire A region of the northwest United States between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, comprising eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, northern Idaho, and western Montana. Farming, lumbering, and mining are important to the area. , Santa Clarita and Ventura County emerged as the top bidder in a bankruptcy auction to take over the 7,200-home Ritter rit·ter n. pl. ritter A knight. [German, from Middle High German riter, from Middle Dutch ridder, from r Ranch master- planned community. Poised to end eight years of financial problems, legal maneuvers and bankruptcy proceedings bankruptcy proceedings n. the bankruptcy procedure is: a) filing a petition (voluntary or involuntary) to declare a debtor person or business bankrupt, or, under Chapter 11 or 13, to allow reorganization or refinancing under a plan to meet the debts of the party that stalled the project, SCC SCC - strongly connected component Acquisitions Inc. bid $57.2 million for the project in the rolling hills and valleys west of Palmdale. ``Today was a good day. SCC is a responsible developer,'' said attorney Frank Merola, representing the city of Palmdale. SCC affiliate SunCal Companies since 1973 has developed more than 60,000 lots in California, and right now is working on a waterfront home project at Oxnard's Channel Island Harbor and the Teroso del Valle development outside Santa Clarita, among others. Covering 18 square miles, Ritter Ranch is proposed to contain a range of upscale homes, a golf course, an amphitheater, seven schools and 7,500 acres of open space. SCC came out on top after 75 rounds of bidding during a hearing Thursday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court bankruptcy court n. the specialized Federal court in which bankruptcy matters under the Federal Bankruptcy Act are conducted. There are several bankruptcy courts in each state, and each one's territory covers several counties. in Woodland Hills, topping three other companies. The No. 2 bid came from a company called Merco Group-Palmdale LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control at $57.1 million. ``We believe this was a fair and level playing field See net neutrality. . We're confident the proceeds will satisfy the trustee,'' said J.D. Dell, president of RR Property Holdings, which dropped out a third of the way through the bidding. But John Musick, whose company acquired Ritter Ranch in 1998 but later filed for bankruptcy, said he was unhappy with the outcome. An attorney for Musick said in court that another developer willing to pay more than $100 million has emerged, but the judge said it was too late to include him since the others had all qualified. ``I intend to continue to develop the property, pursuing all appropriate legal remedies,'' Musick said outside court. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color in AV editon only) A development firm has bid $57.2 million for the long-delayed Ritter Ranch housing project along Lake Elizabeth Road. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
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