The Planning Report asked William Tooley, Chairman of Tooley and Company (managers of commercial real estate development) to comment on Connell’s article.
Kathleen Connell’s excellent summary of what is (and is not) happening shows how dramatically the Southern California real estate picture has changed in just two years.
This shift has left many local developers, their banks, and often their investors dealing with a serious financial hangover, and with the possible exception of single-family housing, there are few predictions for an early recovery.
This reduced level of activity, however, may offer an opportunity to reassess priorities and better understand the connection between job growth and community environment. To prosper, this area must now vigorously compete for jobs with areas inside and outside California. The challenge is not jobs vs. the environment, but how to make our overall community environment (education, public safety, transportation, regulation, quality of life) conducive to retaining and building quality employment here.
With important national, state and local elections in 1992 and 1993, it is time to ask our elected officials — or those who would be — for their commitment to this process. They and we can use this period of adversity to build a better foundation for Southern California’s future into the late ‘90s and the next century.
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