Bangkok--28 Apr--Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services took the following rating actions on Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, Calif.'s outstanding bonds:
We raised our underlying rating (SPUR) to 'A-' from 'BBB-' on 2003 series D and E (Little Tokyo Redevelopment Project).
We raised our SPUR to 'A-' from 'BBB+' on 1998 series C (Chinatown Redevelopment Project).
We raised our SPUR to 'BBB+' from 'BBB' on 2007 series E (Exposition/University Park Redevelopment Project).
We affirmed our 'BBB+' SPUR on 2005 series D and 2007 series E (Council District Nine Corridors South of the Santa Monica Freeway Project).
We raised our SPUR to 'BBB+' from 'BBB' on 2006 series M (Wilshire Center/Koreatown, Westlake, Western/Slauson, and Pacific Corridor projects).
We affirmed our 'A-' SPUR on 2008 series B and C (Wilshire Center/Koreatown Redevelopment Project).
We affirmed our 'A-' SPUR on 2008 series B (Westlake Recovery Redevelopment Project).
We affirmed our 'A' SPUR on 2006 series N and 2009 series L (Pacoima/Panorama City Project).
We affirmed our 'BBB+' SPUR on 2003 series I (Normandie 5, Pico Union 1, and Pico Union 2 projects).
We affirmed our 'A-' SPUR on 2006 series L (Pacoima/Panorama, East Hollywood/Beverly-Normandie, and Reseda Canoga Park Redevelopment projects).
The outlook on all ratings is stable.
"Given the geographic spread and timeline of formation and growth, the ratings reflect our view of the specifics of each project area, which vary from older, more mature projects to newer areas with less incremental assessed value," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Matthew Reining.
The Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, established in 1948, is the city's principal economic development agency. The agency has 32 active redevelopment project areas spanning diverse areas in the city ranging from downtown, to portions of the San Fernando Valley, and to areas in the southern port communities. Over time and in response to varying factors including blight and earthquake repair, the agency has added project areas. These range from Bunker Hill (redevelopment plan adopted in 1959) to Pacific Corridor (2002).
For the City of Los Angeles, assessed value (AV) grew by 0.6% overall in fiscal 2010 (inclusive of AV attributable to redevelopment and certain exemptions). AV changes in the project areas above vary widely, with new development and appreciation resulting in growth (for example, Exposition/University Park and Wilshire Center/Koreatown) and Proposition 8 temporary AV reductions for residential property and successful commercial appeals showing some declines (Reseda Canoga Park and East Hollywood/Beverly-Normandie).
All of the above bonds are supported by revenues from net tax increment revenues as well as the 20% low- and moderate-income housing set-aside.
RELATED CRITERIA AND RESEARCH
USPF Criteria: Special-Purpose Districts, June 14, 2007
Complete ratings information is available to RatingsDirect on the Global Credit Portal subscribers at www.globalcreditportal.com and RatingsDirect subscribers at www.ratingsdirect.com. All ratings affected by this rating action can be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site at www.standardandpoors.com. Use the Ratings search box located in the left column.
Media Contact:
Ana Sandoval, New York (1) 212-438-5095,
[email protected]
Analyst Contacts:
Matthew Reining, San Francisco (1) 415-371-5044
Gabriel Petek, CFA, San Francisco (1) 415-371-5042