Alameda Point

SunCal to Resume Cleanup of Oak Knoll Property – Court Authorizes Funds for Weed Abatement, Security and Maintenance

October 19th, 2009

Here is a breaking news update on the Oak Knoll property in Oakland. A U.S. Bankruptcty Court has authorized the use of $500,000 to clean up the 167-acre site. Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy in 2008:

Contact: Joe Aguirre
SunCal Companies
Office: (949) 777-4518

Oakland, Calif. (Oct. 19, 2009) – SunCal Companies has announced that it has obtained a judge’s approval for funding to address the critical cleanup and maintenance issues at the Oak Knoll property in Oakland:

“The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Santa Ana has authorized the use of over $500,000 to address some of the concerns about the Oak Knoll site that are of an immediate nature.  The judge concurred with the stipulation SunCal reached on September 16 with Lehman Brothers and Lehman’s bankruptcy trustee to release funds for property-wide weed abatement, cleaning up wood piles and repairing perimeter fences.  This money will also provide for a team of armed security guards to be on duty 24 hours per day to help secure the property from trespassers.”

“The resumption of property maintenance and security is an important matter we have consistently advocated with Lehman Brothers, the financial partner for SunCal Oak Knoll, LLC, the owner of the Oak Knoll property.  Lehman filed for bankruptcy in September 2008 and this affected the funding for Oak Knoll and other projects that the firm provided financing for.”

“We will continue our discussions with Lehman and the trustee about the outstanding issues at Oak Knoll and we are working to resolve these matters.  SunCal remains committed to the long-term potential and vision of the Oak Knoll master-planned community.”

SunCal’s efforts to obtain funding to address the critical needs at Oak Knoll have been ongoing throughout the current Lehman court proceedings and extend back to Lehman’s bankruptcy in September 2008.  SunCal initiated legal action against Lehman in January 2009; SunCal Companies itself is not in bankruptcy.

SunCal is continuing to work through the court to bring in a new source of funding to resolve the remaining issues at the 167-acre property and move the development forward.  The plans for the Oak Knoll community include 960 homes with a diversity of housing types, 82,000 square feet of commercial/retail, and 50 acres of parks and open space.

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