Whittier : Developer Gets Restraining Order Against City Agency

The developer of a proposed 16-acre shopping center has temporarily staved off an attempt by the Whittier Redevelopment Agency to nullify its agreement with the developer after city leaders said the company failed to deliver what it promised.

Urbatec, the planned developer of the Whittier Station Center, received a temporary restraining order prohibiting the Redevelopment Agency from declaring the company in default of its agreement.

Mark Novak, an attorney for Urbatec, said the restraining order is good until Nov. 20, when a judge will determine whether the company is entitled to a preliminary injunction against the Redevelopment Agency. Such an injunction would prevent city leaders from breaking off the agreement and entering into an agreement with another company to develop the property.

Novak, who declared the receipt of the restraining order a “major victory,” said that Urbatec officials are confident “no court is going to say we are in default.”

Urbatec and city leaders have been at cross-purposes over the financing and the type of grocery store that should anchor the 20-store center. Urbatec obtained a $12.8-million loan that the Redevelopment Agency used to buy the land, but city leaders complained that, among other things, the loan was put up too slowly and the price of the land rose, making the project more expensive.