Loss Not Expected to Halt Ahmanson Plan

Ahmanson Land Co. officials said a record second-quarter loss of $290 million reported by its parent company this week will have no impact on the giant Ahmanson housing project planned for eastern Ventura County.

“It doesn’t have anything to do with it,” said Ahmanson spokeswoman Mary Trigg. “Absolutely nothing. It’s a very good project for us.”

H.F. Ahmanson & Co., the parent company that also owns Home Savings of America, said its loss stems from the company’s sale of a $1.2-billion package of troubled home loans at a steep discount, and from setting aside $163 million to cover losses on real estate development projects.

The Ahmanson Land Co. is a subsidiary of Home Savings, the nation’s largest savings and loan, and the deep-pockets partner in a plan to develop a $1-billion housing project in the rolling Simi Hills. The project, approved in December, would create a mini-community of 8,600 residents.

Trigg said the $163 million set aside to cover losses on development projects is in no way linked to the Ventura County project or the nine lawsuits filed by different jurisdictions, including Los Angeles County, against Ahmanson Land Co. to block the development.

The company must also pay an undisclosed amount to Bob Hope for two of the comedian’s mountain properties that must be turned over to park agencies before the developer can begin construction.

Still, Trigg said the lawsuits, the first of which is scheduled to be heard in November in Los Angeles Superior Court, are the main reason the project has been delayed.

Ventura County Supervisor Maria VanderKolk, the county official most closely watching the project, said the developer’s decision not to go forward until the lawsuits are settled was made months ago. However, she said the decision was prompted by anticipated financial losses.

VanderKolk said she believes the Ahmanson project is still viable, but that this could change depending on the outcome of the lawsuits.

“If the lawsuits go badly, and they are required to pay out millions of dollars to different jurisdictions, they may look at the economic liability of it and just say forget it,” VanderKolk said.