*UPDATE*
On December 8th, the City of Banning received full cost recovery payment to cover the fees associated with this case.
What was once the Banning Business Center, an exciting new development that would bring in millions for the City, quickly became a public nuisance property after the center failed to obtain funding. In 2008, the recession hit, and the property quickly took a turn for the worse.
By 2016, the abandoned property had become a public nuisance with frequent criminal and transient activity. After over 100 calls for service, more than 20 fires, and multiple failed attempts to bring the property into compliance, the City hired Serviam by Wright LLP to assist with their code compliance efforts.
Due to the property having three different owners, it was a slow and challenging process. In 2019, a receiver was appointed by the court to rehabilitate the properties. During this process, one of the owners filed for bankruptcy, causing two courts to be involved in this case. The City won in both cases, and the property was on its way to compliance. The receiver was able to rehabilitate the properties, making the new estimated property value $1,967,000.
I am honored that Serviam by Wright LLP was able to assist the city with getting this extremely dangerous property rehabilitated for the citizens of Banning. The improvement to the economy, and the patience of winning this step by step finally made full rehabilitation of the nuisance property economically feasible.
Curtis Wright, Serviam by Wright LLP Founding Partner
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