I would like to explain something concerning the Malibu Lumber site and the purchase of the chili cook-off property. The only way to pay the $25 million purchase price was to borrow a substantial amount of the money needed to pay for it. Many people would rather have seen a lumber/hardware store in the Malibu Lumber site, but by the time the city purchased the property Malibu Lumber was out of business and we negotiated with others but they could not pay enough rent to pay for the debt on the property.
The City has the equivalent of a mortgage on the property, just like most people have on their houses, and has to earn the money to pay off the mortgage. The alternative was for the city to not purchase the property and see a developer build a 180,000 square foot mall on the chili cook-off property. We made the choice to keep the 17 acres of the chili cook-off site open space. There was no other choice.
Andy Stern
Mayor, City of Malibu