CCDC Delaying City Hall Proposal

Published: Wednesday, August 27, 2008 3:38 PM PDT

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The Centre City Development Corp. announced today that the proposal to build a new City Hall has been postponed because of the discovery of another possible conflict.

Officials with CCDC, the city's downtown redevelopment authority, said its lead financial analyst on the City Hall project recently took a job with one of the firms he was vetting in the analysis.

CCDC hired Jones Lang LaSalle for $675,000 to do a financial analysis on proposals from two different developers to rebuild City Hall and the entire Civic Center Complex. Mike McShea conducted the analysis, which was released earlier this month, for Jones Lang LaSalle.

However, CCDC officials said, McShea began talking with CB Richard Ellis about a position there in June and accepted the position Aug. 8. He informed CCDC of the new job Aug. 13.

CB Richard Ellis was the property manager for the proposal by Portland-based developer Gerding Edlen, which fared the best in the financial analysis.

Jones Lang LaSalle brought the issue to CCDC's attention, CCDC Chairman Fred Maas said. CB Richard Ellis will be prohibited from participating in the Civic Center proposal.

The project was headed to City Council on Oct. 21, but will likely be delayed four months because CCDC is seeking an outside firm to review Jones Lang LaSalle's financial analysis.

CCDC commissioned an investigation into possible conflicts in the wake of voiceofsandiego.org's investigation into former President Nancy Graham's business relationships with downtown developers.