Southern Gal
8 months ago
Miraflores Community Devco defaults on apartment project in Richmond
City wants to buy back property from developer linked to prior bankruptcy
A project envisioning nearly 200 apartments on more than 7 acres of city-owned land in Richmond has become mired in foreclosure proceedings.
Seven years after Hayward-based Miraflores Community Devco agreed to develop a vacant lot at 223 South 47th Street, the project has fizzled after the city declared the developer in default, the East Bay Times reported, citing a city update.
After the developer took out $10 million in loans against the property without permission from the city, lenders are pursuing foreclosure. The property’s taxes are delinquent and the land has fallen into disrepair.
“Hints of trouble began to surface years ago, accelerating in 2022, but staff did not want to let the community know that the project they had anticipated for so many years was headed for the toilet,” former Mayor Tom Butt, who termed out in January, wrote on his e-Blog this month.
“As late as a few weeks ago, the developer appeared at a community event at Miraflores Park and told the community to anticipate a groundbreaking this summer, knowing full well it was a lie,” he said.
Plans for Miraflores called for 22 four-story buildings of 190 units west of I-80 near two BART stations in Richmond’s Park Plaza.
Until 2006, the Miraflores property was home to flower nurseries run by Japanese immigrants since the turn of the last century. Later, the city’s redevelopment agency bought it.
The city’s redevelopment successor chose Miraflores Community Devco to develop the land in July 2014, then inked a development agreement in 2016. The property, purchased for $4.2 million, was transferred to Miraflores in 2018.
Despite not breaking ground, the developer last year requested the city modify the project from a for-sale development to a workforce rental project, changing the project’s financing.
Richmond officials say Miraflores has been uncooperative in providing full disclosure of the modified plan. They say it also failed to pay taxes, and defaulted on loans on the property in violation of the development agreement.
According to the DDA, the city does not have any liability in the event of default and may choose to repurchase the property.
The Richmond City Council has been negotiating the “price and terms of payment” of the property since at least July.
As the project remains stuck in limbo, state business and federal court records show that the developers involved are intertwined in a broader web of fraud, bankruptcy and immigration schemes, and appear to have been behind other now-defunct developments in the Bay Area, according to the East Bay Times.
The principal executives of Miraflores Community Devco were also behind Fremont Hills Development — a bankrupt real estate firm that launched the uncompleted mixed-use Mission Hills Square development in Fremont, according to state business records.
The project was spurred by Golden State Regional Center, whose owners were indicted in March 2019 for running a fraudulent “golden visa” program, which offered U.S. residency to foreigners who invested at least $500,000 in domestic businesses that created at least 10 jobs in low-employment Census tracts.
— Dana Bartholomew
Southern Gal
8 months ago
WATSONVILLE, CA / OTCIQ / August 1, 2023 / Demand Brands, Inc. (OTC PINK: DMAN), (“Company” or “Demand Brands”) http://dman.co, a leading vertically integrated cannabis company, is excited to announce the Board of Directors has elected Jae Ryu Co-CEO of the company.
Jae Ryu has joined the team after serving most recently as Managing Director of new venture company for a family office in Menlo Park.
Miraflores Community Devco LLC Managing GP
850 Oak Grove Avenue
Menlo Park
State: CA Zip Code:
94025
JAE RYU
jae.ryu@baycapitalfinance.com
https://therealdeal.com/sanfrancisco/2023/10/02/miraflores-seeks-chapter-11-without-building-richmond-homes/
BG1
1 year ago
WATSONVILLE, CA / OTCIQ / August 1, 2023 / Demand Brands, Inc. (OTC PINK: DMAN), (“Company” or “Demand Brands”) http://dman.co, a leading vertically integrated cannabis company, is excited to announce the Board of Directors has elected Jae Ryu Co-CEO of the company, and Kevin Sparks to serve as a Director to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Peter Erdekian.
Mr. Erdekian has been with Demand Brands for many years and served well in multiple roles. Kevin Sparks will serve out the current term as his replacement.
Jae Ryu has joined the team after serving most recently as Managing Director of new venture company for a family office in Menlo Park. He brings experience, talent and a vision that can propel Demand forward. “I am extremely excited and humbled to lead our family of talented and gifted team members as we embark on our next chapter of Demand Brands as a sustainable green- tech company.”
About Demand Brands
Demand Brands is a publicly traded company that has vertical integration, optimization, and innovation in the cannabis industry at the heart of its core strategy. We strategically invest in, acquire & partner with synergistic cannabis companies. Our goal is to optimize and expand our vertically integrated platform into a multi-state operation. We seek to capture value at every stage of the soil to sale process. Our capabilities include cultivation, processing, brand & supply management, and real estate.
In his role as Co-CEO Mr. Ryu will look to take the Company in a new and exciting direction specifically seeking to capitalize on emerging opportunities in the green energy and real estate sectors. The Company expects to make additional announcements on its progress in the near term.
PRESS CONTACT
ir@dman.co
+1 (415) 685-0317
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn SOURCE: Demand Brands, Inc.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements. This press release contains statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “estimate,” “intend,” or “believe” or the negatives thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements are only predictions and are not guarantees of future performance. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are and will be, as the case may be, subject to many risks, uncertainties, certain assumptions and factors relating to the operations and business environment of DMAN that may cause the actual results of DMAN to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Such factors include future acquisitions, the ability to successfully integrate future acquisitions, the ability to obtain financing, and future sales and operating income.