[LAMetroGuy]

Thanks for the post!

Maybe he can shop the tower to downtown LA???

Here are some more details to the failed plan, thanks to the Cheesecake Factory:

Planned space needle scuttled



By Don Jergler and Joe Segura

LONG BEACH -- Long Beach's very own 600-foot space needle has vanished in a scuffle between city planners and the developer, who blame one another for the loss of a $100million project that would have reportedly created more than 300 jobs.
The lofty plans for the Tower of Toscana near Shoreline Village began to crumble when planners and the developer failed to agree on leasing property in Alamitos Bay for a Cheesecake Factory restaurant in an apparently unrelated deal, according to sources close to the negotiations.

Developer Russell Geyser, of the Encinitas-based specialty retail development Geyser Group, said his talks with city planners led him to believe he had an exclusive negotiating agreement for the project. "They kept on saying 'Trust us' and 'Don't worry," he said.

However, a Community Development document dated April 21, obtained Monday by the Press- Telegram, shows the city is seeking proposals for a development strategy for the Tidelands area in downtown, which includes the tower site a move that aggravated the strained relations between city planners and Geyser.

Community Development Director Melanie Fallon said there was no effort to undermine Geyser's tower plan. However, she explained, the city is looking for a development strategy for that shoreline area, but the tower site was included only as an potential alternative to Geyser's plan.

"We decided to take this opportunity and do, concurrently, a planning study to make sure we had enough parking,' Fallon said.

The two sides agreed that talks over a proposed Cheesecake Factory restaurant at Alamitos Bay tainted the deal.

Michael Conway, manager of Property Services Bureau, blames the developer for killing the deal.

"The last he advised us,' Conway said, "is he would be shopping his project around.'

He said Geyser was supposed to bring in a Cheesecake Factory. But Geyser had an alternate concept called The Garage, an upscale restaurant being developed by a pair of established restaurateurs.

Geyser said he pulled the plug after the restaurant deal went sour. "If the city doesn't treat you well on one deal, it won't treat you right on another site,' he added.

The developer said he's already put in $350,000 of his own money on the Tower deal.

The Geyser Group had unveiled its $100 million project last November to construct a tower similar to Seattle's Space Needle on a 3.5-acre site, which would include businesses, stores and a parking structure for marina boat owners and visitors. The tower was pegged for the area south of Shoreline Drive, west of Green Park.

The plan ran into opposition from the boat owners, who complained that the project would disrupt the activities of the marina area.

Fallon said she believes the city can move ahead with development plans without Geyser.