The California Space Center (CSC), the proposed $460 million space-themed educational center intended to bring tourism to Lompoc, is drawing some criticism from a California-based real estate development firm.
Eva Blaisdell, the Polish national and chief executive officer of CSC, wants to build a complex—essentially a theme park—consisting of a rocket launch viewing facility, a space museum, education center, research park, a holographic theater, hotel, restaurants, a health club, retail space, and other amenities on 82 acres of city-owned land near the airport and Allan Hancock College.
At previous City Council meetings, Blaisdell claimed she’s received support from several big-name companies, including Sony, IMAX, and the University of Southern California, among others.
When CSC was nearing the deadline for the information—such as letters of support from key partners and a sealed, CPA-certified financial audit—the city issued a notice of default to Blaisdell.
However, Blaisdell was able to provide the documents just before the deadline on Nov. 2, according to the letter.
In August, Keyser Marston Associates reviewed the information submitted by the CSC project and said it did not fulfill the 30- and 60-day requirements imposed by the exclusive negotiating agreement granted to CSC by Lompoc.
“Eva Blaisdell has not demonstrated experience as a real estate developer,” wrote Kathleen Head and Tim Bretz, representatives of Keyser Marston Associates, in a letter to Lompoc Economic Development Director Teresa Gallavan on Nov. 12. “CSC is a recently formed organization that does not have any demonstrated development experience.”
At a minimum, the development team needs an “experienced developer, architect, construction manager/general contractor, and financial partner at the early stages of the process,” according to the letter.
Additionally, the firm criticized how CSC did not provide any details with how it’ll come up with the required funding, even though several sources were identified.
If the project is followed through, Blaisdell promises it’ll bring up to 3,000 full-time jobs to Lompoc and $3 billion of economic activity in a 10-year period.
This article appears in Nov 19-26, 2015.
