Stalled Scandal Ridden Arts District Development Showing Signs of Life
520 Mateo, the Carmel Partners' DTLA project associated with disgraced Los Angeles City Councilman, Jose Huizar, shows signs of activity for the first time in over two years. The mixed-use development broke ground in early 2020 but was stymied with the start of the pandemic and revelations of the developer's ties to a corruption scandal that rocked the Los Angeles City Council.
Huizar was alleged to have received illegal political contributions for his wife's short-lived city council campaign. This was part of a pay-for-play bribery scheme that would have saved the developer an estimated $14 million by lowering affordable housing requirements within the project.
Carmel Partners has since paid $1.2 million in fines to rectify its involvement in the corruption probe while Huizar is currently awaiting trial in federal court.
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