One week after the announcement that the Medallion project was being halted in the midst of construction shocked Downtown, the $125 million mixed-use effort on a key plot near the Historic Core, the Toy District and the Civic Center is back on, the DownTown News reports.
Last week, project developer Saeed Farkhondehpour told Los Angeles Downtown News that despite his previous concerns about the economy, construction will resume. He offered no further details.
The about-face was greeted with relief by Downtown stakeholders. It came after Farkhondehpour met his leasing agent and spoke with developer Tom Gilmore, whose Old Bank District is just south of the Medallion site at Fourth and Main streets. Area players sought to persuade him that the community’s retail appetite is strong enough to support his project.
“I spoke to him and basically said anything I can do to help, I’m happy to do. We’re happy to help with leasing too because we have a great interest in making sure that it’s leased up nicely and that it adds to the neighborhood,” Gilmore said.
Farkhondehpour, a longtime Downtown Los Angeles property holder, previously told Downtown News that the sagging economy led to his decision to halt construction for at least a year. Although the project broke ground in July 2007, Farkhondehpour said conditions have changed recently on wholesale projects he developed in the Fashion and Toy districts, which caused him to lower rents for some of the approximately 800 retail units he owns in the Toy District.
