Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Liberty Station quietly sold for $71 million

San Francisco Giants mogul inked deal a week before Thanksgiving

City deputy chief operating officer David Graham's name is on the consent form recorded with the deed.
City deputy chief operating officer David Graham's name is on the consent form recorded with the deed.

Control of Liberty Station, obtained from the city of San Diego by the Republican mega-donor McMillin family during the controversial reign of GOP mayor Susan Golding in 1999, has quietly changed hands for more than $71 million, with nary a word to the public from mayor Kevin Faulconer or city hall staff.

Liberty Station was obtained during the controversial reign of GOP mayor Susan Golding.

The new owner, according to a grant deed recorded at the San Diego county Recorder’s office November 16, is a group of entities tied to Seligman & Associates of Southfield Michigan. Per the company's website, the family-owned firm's related company, Seligman Western Ventures, is based in San Francisco.

A "consent to assignments of and estoppel certificate relating to Naval Training Center ground leases" that was recorded with the deed was signed by city deputy chief operating officer David Graham and deputy city attorney Delmar Williams.

In connection with the transaction, records show, the group of Seligman-related entities executed a trust deed to JPMorgan Chase Bank, securing a mortgage loan in the amount of $117 million.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Seligman honcho Scott Seligman, son of company founder Irving R. Seligman and part owner of the San Francisco Giants, is not universally admired in the Bay Area.

"Seligman has been singled out as the ugly face of gentrification in San Francisco by non-other than Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the famed poet and owner of City Lights books," noted Pueblo Lands.

Protests against McMillin takeover of Liberty Station in 1999

"Back in 2001 Seligman was in the process of evicting tenants from a building he controlled in the Mid-Market area (the same part of San Francisco now being colonized by Twitter thanks to a big tax break the Board of Supervisors gave the company). In a press release Ferlinghetti lashed out:

“A developer from Michigan, Scott Seligman, who runs Sterling Bank and Seligman Western Enterprises, wants to gentrify the Mid-Market zone. Not to make the City a better place but to make his bank account a little fatter. He wants a better class of tenant. No more photographers or poets or translators or editors or painters. No more small businesses serving the city. No more small nonprofits, like Streetside Stories, which publishes work by 650 middle school kids every year to foster a love of reading and writing.”

Seligman and company are likely to face similar resistance here regarding plans to turn the former Navy training station's historic North Chapel into a restaurant venue.

“Several members of the community, including Save Our Heritage Organisation, have been in contact with my office to express their concerns regarding the leasings by the McMillin Company (or a successor in interest) of the North Chapel to a commercial tenant, which they claim violates the Guidelines for the Treatment of Historic Properties at the Naval Training Center,” wrote Democratic congressman Scott Peters in a letter to the mayor and lame-duck GOP councilwoman Lorie Zapf.

Since June 2009, Faulconer has collected a total of $21,999 in campaign funding from individuals associated with the McMillin family, which was the seller in this month's deal. Zapf accepted $9000 since March 2010 from the McMillins, records show.

Neither politico has appeared interested in pursuing the chapel conversion issue, leaving Democratic La Jolla city councilwomanBarbara Bry, - who along with Peters has been talked of as a candidate for mayor - to subsequently request the city attorney to look into the case.

As reported November 17 by the Union-Tribune - a day after the quiet closing of Seligman's deal to take over the property from McMillin - Faulconer spokeswoman Christina Chadwick released a statement regarding the calls for an investigation of the chapel matter.

“While we appreciate that an investigation could help this effort, the mayor has chosen a more direct approach to address the questions and concerns raised by the community and in the letter. Mayor Faulconer has directed staff to proactively work with the leaseholder to ensure that the chapel remains open to the public for assembly purposes and any future use respects and maintains its historic elements in accordance with the law.”

The possibility of McMillin transferring Liberty Station to a new owner was first reported by the Union-Tribune in an October 19 dispatch that quoted city spokeswoman Anna Vacchi as saying, “The city has been asked to review a McMillin proposal to sell their leasehold interest in various properties at NTC." She provided no other details and could not say when a deal would be done, per the paper's report.

“Under terms and conditions of the ground lease, the master developer can assign, sell or transfer a ground lease with the consent of the city of San Diego provided that a certificate of completion has been issued to the city,” the spokeswoman added.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Coyote tracks in frail San Diego avocado grove

Second place winner in Reader neighborhood writing contest
Next Article

Not enough Readers in Mission Beach

Mayor Todd Gloria's skin color
City deputy chief operating officer David Graham's name is on the consent form recorded with the deed.
City deputy chief operating officer David Graham's name is on the consent form recorded with the deed.

Control of Liberty Station, obtained from the city of San Diego by the Republican mega-donor McMillin family during the controversial reign of GOP mayor Susan Golding in 1999, has quietly changed hands for more than $71 million, with nary a word to the public from mayor Kevin Faulconer or city hall staff.

Liberty Station was obtained during the controversial reign of GOP mayor Susan Golding.

The new owner, according to a grant deed recorded at the San Diego county Recorder’s office November 16, is a group of entities tied to Seligman & Associates of Southfield Michigan. Per the company's website, the family-owned firm's related company, Seligman Western Ventures, is based in San Francisco.

A "consent to assignments of and estoppel certificate relating to Naval Training Center ground leases" that was recorded with the deed was signed by city deputy chief operating officer David Graham and deputy city attorney Delmar Williams.

In connection with the transaction, records show, the group of Seligman-related entities executed a trust deed to JPMorgan Chase Bank, securing a mortgage loan in the amount of $117 million.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Seligman honcho Scott Seligman, son of company founder Irving R. Seligman and part owner of the San Francisco Giants, is not universally admired in the Bay Area.

"Seligman has been singled out as the ugly face of gentrification in San Francisco by non-other than Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the famed poet and owner of City Lights books," noted Pueblo Lands.

Protests against McMillin takeover of Liberty Station in 1999

"Back in 2001 Seligman was in the process of evicting tenants from a building he controlled in the Mid-Market area (the same part of San Francisco now being colonized by Twitter thanks to a big tax break the Board of Supervisors gave the company). In a press release Ferlinghetti lashed out:

“A developer from Michigan, Scott Seligman, who runs Sterling Bank and Seligman Western Enterprises, wants to gentrify the Mid-Market zone. Not to make the City a better place but to make his bank account a little fatter. He wants a better class of tenant. No more photographers or poets or translators or editors or painters. No more small businesses serving the city. No more small nonprofits, like Streetside Stories, which publishes work by 650 middle school kids every year to foster a love of reading and writing.”

Seligman and company are likely to face similar resistance here regarding plans to turn the former Navy training station's historic North Chapel into a restaurant venue.

“Several members of the community, including Save Our Heritage Organisation, have been in contact with my office to express their concerns regarding the leasings by the McMillin Company (or a successor in interest) of the North Chapel to a commercial tenant, which they claim violates the Guidelines for the Treatment of Historic Properties at the Naval Training Center,” wrote Democratic congressman Scott Peters in a letter to the mayor and lame-duck GOP councilwoman Lorie Zapf.

Since June 2009, Faulconer has collected a total of $21,999 in campaign funding from individuals associated with the McMillin family, which was the seller in this month's deal. Zapf accepted $9000 since March 2010 from the McMillins, records show.

Neither politico has appeared interested in pursuing the chapel conversion issue, leaving Democratic La Jolla city councilwomanBarbara Bry, - who along with Peters has been talked of as a candidate for mayor - to subsequently request the city attorney to look into the case.

As reported November 17 by the Union-Tribune - a day after the quiet closing of Seligman's deal to take over the property from McMillin - Faulconer spokeswoman Christina Chadwick released a statement regarding the calls for an investigation of the chapel matter.

“While we appreciate that an investigation could help this effort, the mayor has chosen a more direct approach to address the questions and concerns raised by the community and in the letter. Mayor Faulconer has directed staff to proactively work with the leaseholder to ensure that the chapel remains open to the public for assembly purposes and any future use respects and maintains its historic elements in accordance with the law.”

The possibility of McMillin transferring Liberty Station to a new owner was first reported by the Union-Tribune in an October 19 dispatch that quoted city spokeswoman Anna Vacchi as saying, “The city has been asked to review a McMillin proposal to sell their leasehold interest in various properties at NTC." She provided no other details and could not say when a deal would be done, per the paper's report.

“Under terms and conditions of the ground lease, the master developer can assign, sell or transfer a ground lease with the consent of the city of San Diego provided that a certificate of completion has been issued to the city,” the spokeswoman added.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

A poem for March by Joseph O’Brien

“March’s Lovely Asymptotes”
Next Article

Pet pig perches in pocket

Escondido doula gets a taste of celebrity
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.