Walnut Creek set to make decision Tuesday on controversial cell tower
Posted: 06/20/2011 12:20:20 PM PDTUpdated: 06/20/2011 07:35:06 PM PDTFor more than a year, residents in Walnut Creek's Buena Vista neighborhood have been battling to keep a 17-foot cell tower, disguised as a tree, from being built near their homes.
On Tuesday, the City Council is expected to make a final decision. The council meeting begins at 7 p.m. at 1666 N. Main St.
Residents in the western Walnut Creek neighborhood have been fighting the AT&T tower, approved to be placed on St. Stephen Catholic Church property on Keaveny Court, for more than a year. They say the tower doesn't belong in a residential area.
At a City Council meeting in November, after Buena Vista neighbors appealed the Planning Commission's approval of the tower, council members asked for an independent study of alternative tower sites.
That study, completed by Jonathan Kramer of Kramer.Firm, Inc., concludes there is a significant gap in coverage for that area of Walnut Creek.
"The previously approved AT&T proposal will reduce the shown gap by about 50 percent in the covered service area," according to Kramer's report.
Kramer studied other possible tower locations but found that the St. Stephen's property was the best site, and the least intrusive. Even alternatives such as hiding the antenna in the church's steeple would not work, according to the report.
City staff recommends the City Council uphold the Planning Commission's approval of the tower and deny the appeals from neighbors.
Residents
disagree. In a June 13 letter to the city, appellant Sigemar Pohl said there is no proof AT&T ever did any other site analysis. Pohl also said the tower goes against the city's own wireless ordinance.Advertisement"Council members and staff have expended enormous time, effort and taxpayer's money to try and get AT&T's application right," said Pohl in the letter. "To no avail, as AT&T simply ignores the specific requirements of Walnut Creek's code. The city has done all it could. Enough is enough."
This controversy has been heated at times, with neighbors accusing AT&T of trying to influence city officials and alleging city staff and council members are biased in favor of the communications giant.
For more information on the meeting, go to www.walnut-creek.org, click on "quick links" on the right side of the page, then click "public meetings" and finally select the June 21 City Council meeting.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Walnut Creek set to make decision Tuesday on controversial cell tower - Walnut Creek Real Estate News
Friday, June 17, 2011
Mercer Retail in downtown Walnut Creek is bought for $7.5 million, well below the peak prices of 2007 - Walnut Creek Real Estate
Mercer Retail in downtown Walnut Creek is bought for $7.5 million, well below the peak prices of 2007
Posted: 06/16/2011 04:00:09 PM PDTUpdated: 06/16/2011 05:37:37 PM PDTThe retail spaces in Walnut Creek's The Mercer residential complex have been bought by an investment group eyeing an upside in the bustling downtown, brokers said Thursday.
Menlo Park-based Deerfield Realty paid about $7.5 million for the 22,000-square-foot ground-floor retail center on North California Boulevard between Trinity and Cole avenues, a short distance from the Lesher Center for the Arts. The purchase was completed May 5.
"This is a high quality retail asset," said Forrest Gherlone, a senior sales associate with Cornish & Carey Commercial Real Estate. "It's in a prime downtown district."
The Mercer retail property sold for about $339 a square foot, according to information from Cornish & Carey, which arranged the purchase.
The price that Deerfield 2000 LLC paid for the retail center is a reminder that the steep decline in real estate values, commercial and residential, can jolt even a top-flight market such as downtown Walnut Creek.
"During the peak of the market, we saw plenty of deals for retail buildings in the $500 to $600 range" per square foot, said John Cumbelich, a Walnut Creek-based commercial realty agent who specializes in retail. "There also were a few isolated examples above those prices."
That commercial real estate heyday was in 2007. Four years later, downtown Walnut Creek property values have fallen 32 percent or so.
The Mercer retail is about 83 percent leased to a mix of local
and regional tenants, Cornish & Carey said.Advertisement"The buyers are getting a pretty good rental yield going in and the chance to increase that yield by leasing up the remaining vacancy," Gherlone said.
Noteworthy tenants in the retail center include The Counter Burger and Mike's Bikes. The bicycle store is the closest the center has to an anchor and occupies 7,000 square feet. Other tenants include Metamorphosis Spa, Skin Spirit and Galaxy Nails.
The retailers also serve the residents in the 181 luxury condominium units above the stores.
"This project has struggled with the recession," Cumbelich said. "Since the economy has started to recover, so has this project. The timing on the buyer's part was excellent." The Cumbelich realty firm was responsible for signing up all the tenants that are now in the retail center.
Deerfield, the new owner of the Mercer retail center, also owns The Glassworks Building across from AT&T park in San Francisco, an office building in downtown Danville, and other buildings in Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Mountain View and the Peninsula.
"The Mercer retail remains in capable hands and will continue to thrive as an important retail center for downtown Walnut Creek," Gherlone said.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Bay Area Foreclosure Slowdown Continues
Bay Area Foreclosure Slowdown Continues
June 16 (By Eve Mitchell, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif. ) - Foreclosure activity slowed in the Bay Area during May as banks continue to back off on the foreclosure process.According to a report to be released Thursday by RealtyTrac.com, about 1,860 Bay Area homeowners received a notice of default, the first step in the foreclosure process, down 13 percent from April and down 20 percent from a year ago. Another 876 homes were taken back by banks, a 26 percent decline from April and a 39 percent drop from a year ago. RealtyTrac.com defines the Bay Area as Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo counties.
While this past fall’s robo-signing scandal has slowed the foreclosure process on a national level, some markets — including the Bay Area — have seen a slowdown for other reasons as well, said Daren Blomquist, marketing and communications manager for RealtyTrac.com.
“I think this definitely is evidence the lenders are not just foreclosing because someone is delinquent. They are considering other options,” such as short sales or loan modifications, he said. “They are also considering if the market can absorb that foreclosure before they complete the process and put it on the market.”
Banks are engaging in a “calculated slowdown” when it comes to filing foreclosure proceedings, said David Schubb, president of the Schubb Group, a Pleasant Hill-based real estate brokerage.
“In reality, the banks are foreclosing when they can, and when they can’t it’s based on political and legal reasons. The government does not want foreclosures,” he said. “The real picture is that people are not able to make their payments, and if they are not they are going to lose their homes” at a later time.
But for now, there appears to be improvement.
In Alameda County, 717 homeowners received a notice of default in May, an 8 percent increase from April, but an 8 percent decline from a year ago. Another 327 homes were taken back by banks, a 19 percent drop from April and a 37 percent decline from a year ago.
In Contra Costa County, 919 homeowners received a notice of default, a 2 percent increase from April, but flat from a year ago. Another 393 homes were taken back by banks, a 32 percent decrease from April and a 41 percent drop from a year ago.
On a national level, foreclosure activity of any kind — default notices, scheduled auctions or bank-owned properties — was reported on 214,927 homes in May, a 2 percent drop from April and a 33 percent decline from May 2010.
“Foreclosure processing delays continue to mask the true face of the foreclosure situation, although there were some clues in the May numbers of what lies behind that mask,” said James Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.
“(While) the inventory of properties in the foreclosure process has declined steadily over the past six months — thanks in large part to 16 consecutive months of year-over-year declines in new default notices — the inventory of unsold bank-owned REOs increased in April and May even as new REO activity slowed in both of those months,” he said. “That points to continued weak demand from buyers, making it tough for lenders to unload their REO inventory. Even at a significantly lower level than a year ago, the new supply of REOs exceeds the amount being sold each month.”
Contact Eve Mitchell at 925-952-2690.
By Eve Mitchell, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.
To see more of the Contra Costa Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.contracostatimes.com/.
>Copyright (c) 2011, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com.
A service of YellowBrix, Inc. Publication date: 2011-06-16
Foreclosure Slowdown Gives Investors Advantage Over Banks for Resales
Foreclosure Slowdown Gives Investors Advantage Over Banks for Resales
Posted on15 June 2011.
The robo-signing scandal from Fall 2010 is proving to have a positive side effect for real estate investors. Foreclosures were completely frozen for a brief time and it has apparently taken a while to crank up the foreclosure machine again. Foreclosure sales on courthouse steps has been down in some states. For example, in Nevada these sales dropped 19.7% and in Washington, 24.5%.
"The slowing foreclosure process has left fewer affordable homes available for sale," said ForeclosureRadar CEO Sean O'Toole. "Foreclosure investors may be the only winner so far, benefiting by being able to resell homes purchased at foreclosure auction a little more quickly."Real estate investors are reselling the properties they previously bought at auction at a faster rate than the banks are getting rid of REOs, according to some sources. This is news to relay on to your current and potential real estate investors
Friday, June 10, 2011
Walnut Creek housing project decision delayed
Walnut Creek housing project decision delayed
Posted: 06/09/2011 02:03:51 PM PDTUpdated: 06/09/2011 05:45:09 PM PDTThe Walnut Creek City Council voted Tuesday to delay its decision on whether an already approved Almond Shuey development will be allowed to add a third bedroom to some of its nine units.
The Almond Lofts project of seven single-family detached homes and one duplex was approved by the City Council in January 2010.
But Galen Grant, the architect of the project and owner of the land, now wants to add an extra bedroom to three of the units to entice young families. Originally set to design and build the project himself, Grant says now he has a builder interested who will take over the project if he gets permission for the extra bedrooms, he said Tuesday.
Each of the nine units will still be 1,500 to 1,900 square feet on half-acre lots that front Oakland Boulevard between Trinity and Almond avenues.
"The three additional bedrooms are driven by the market," said Grant.
Neighbors in the historical Almond Shuey district have been against the plan, primarily because of its size, from the start.
"I believe that every bedroom means more folks and more driving," said resident Selma King.
If the council decides to allow additional bedrooms, the parking permit -- which allows five people to park on the street per permit -- should not be given to the project's two Almond Avenue addresses, said neighbors. The parking permits are used to keep BART riders from parking on neighborhood streets near the Walnut Creek station during the
day.AdvertisementGrant said it wasn't fair to take away parking rights for his yet-to-be-built homes. There will still be 21 parking spaces for the project, though five spaces are achieved through "tandem" parking, in which the driveway of the garage is considered a space.
After Grant made it clear the additional rooms weren't being requested to entice roommates sharing the homes, which could add more cars, council members said street parking shouldn't be necessary. Eliminating it, they said, would help alleviate some of the neighbors' concerns.
Councilman Kish Rajan was the only council member completely against allowing the extra rooms, saying he was on the fence during the last incarnation of this project.
Councilman Gary Skrel disagreed.
"I really don't think adding three bedrooms is going to exacerbate or change the parking situation," he said.
However, the council could not vote this week on any changes to the parking permit plan -- which other members wanted to do -- because a vote had not been given public notice. So the council will take up the issue again at its June 21 meeting.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Robosigning firm gets California, Illinois subpoenas - May. 25, 2011
Robosigning firms get Calif., Ill. subpoenas
@CNNMoney May 25, 2011: 7:06 PM ETWASHINGTON (CNNMoney) -- The California and Illinois attorneys general have issued subpoenas to big mortgage servicing firms accused of rubber-stamping foreclosure documents, expanding their investigations into the firms.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan sent subpoenas to two Florida servicers -- Lender Processing Services Inc. and Nationwide Title Clearing Inc. -- as part of her probe into so-called robosigning practices, according to Madigan's office.
California Attorney General Kamala Harris issued subpoenas to Lender Processing Services on Wednesday, her office said.
Harris is creating a new "mortgage fraud strike force," a state panel staffed with attorneys and investigators who will dig into "every step of the mortgage process," from origination to the sale of mortgage-backed securities, her office said.
"California homeowners have been exposed to fraud and crime at every step of the mortgage process," Harris said in a statement. "Justice demands we come to their aid, and a key step in that is to investigate robosigning and the potential for inaccurate or unjust foreclosures."
Wall Street banks face New York mortgage probe
The two mortgage servicing companies under investigation are not among those in top-secret talks with federal agencies and state attorneys general over a proposed settlement of allegations that thousands of homeowners wrongly faced foreclosure.
However, Lender Processing Services and Nationwide Title Clearing work for the banks in talks with the attorneys general, including Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500), JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500), Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) and Ally Financial (GJM).
Those big banks are in talks with regulators that could result in a multi-billion-dollar pool of money that could be used to help struggling homeowners.
Lender Processing Services processes loans for more than 50% of all U.S. mortgages, according to the Illinois attorney general's office. Nationwide Title Clearing is smaller but works for eight of the top 10 lenders, Madigan's office said.
Calls to Lender were not immediately returned.
A Nationwide spokeswoman said the company had not received the subpoena and could not comment on the specifics.
"Nationwide Title Clearing welcomes the opportunity to help clear up common misconceptions surrounding the issue and wishes to help the public gain a deeper understanding of normal mortgage industry documents and processes," said Cassandra McSparin.
