For more than a decade, Jeff Collins has followed housing and real estate, covering market booms and busts and all aspects of the real estate industry. The homes were built in developments throughout the East Bay Area, including in Contra Costa and Alameda Counties. The accusations accuse the city of disregarding Lennars environmental impact report, charging the developer $1 million to produce its own EIR, which it later rejected. In a plea deal accepted by the judge on Thursday, Seeno III agreed to pay $3 million in restitution toFannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two taxpayer-sponsored financial services companies, within 120 days. Luminescence will feature Our New Home Specialist is here to answer any questions you have to help choose the home thats right for you. Shahid and his coconspirators were responsible for saddling the banking system with dozens of fraudulent mortgage loans without regard for the damage those loans would cause to individual home buyers, downstream investors, and, ultimately, the U.S. economy as a whole, said U.S. Attorney Haag. About 55% of the land would be preserved as open space, and the golf courses clubhouse would be converted into a community center. Join. Aside from their favorite agents everyone else was treated like dirt. Their suit said they are owed about $30 million by the Wingfield . Is the vulgar anti-Tesla sign on my neighbors truck illegal? CONS: family owned company does not have checks and balances. According to Shahids plea agreement that was unsealed today, DSI was created to sell new homes built by Discovery Builders Inc. (DBI), Albert D. Seeno Construction Co. Inc. (AD Seeno) and other entities affiliated with Albert Seeno III and the Seeno family. If we were to reverse course today, Im not sure how many people, given what happened to Lennar would be willing to come in and participate in a process with Concord, Guy Bjerke, the citys economic development director, said about the prospect of rejecting Seeno and rebooting the search for a master developer. Shahids plea agreement explained that it was important to the scheme to maintain inflated property values because if the home and property values dropped, the value of the collateral would drop and the line of credit would be put at risk. Developers have thrown a wrench into the East Bay Regional Park Districts decades-old plan to create a regional park in the Pittsburg hills overlooking the former Concord Naval Weapons Station site. The 1,650 homes, as approved last year by the City Council, would be clustered in valleys along the ridgeline, encompassing 341 acres. Because Shahid is cooperating with the ongoing FBI investigation, a sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. East Bay native Malaika Fraley is an award-winning criminal justice reporter and formerly covered courts for the Bay Area News Group. Before joining the Orange County Register in 1990, he covered a wide range of topics for daily newspapers in Kansas, El Paso and Dallas. In December 2016, he entered a guilty plea to bank fraud on behalf of his company and agreed to pay a $11 million fine. The city council ignored hundreds of letters and public comments that opposed the project. Citizens approved the measure by a 75% margin. We identified deficiencies in the CEQA review, he said. Join the Northern California interest list to be kept informed of the latest information. The 21-year-old golf course near Imperial Highway and South Beach Boulevard is part of the former 915-acre West Coyote oil fields. CONCORD The controversial Seeno family's building companies are the new master developer of the East Bay's most ambitious housing project in recent memory despite the persistent chorus of. Neither of these have started yet. Discovery and Seeno Homes Reviews Updated Jun 10, 2022 Find Reviews Clear All Full-time, Part-time English Filter Found 16 of over 16 reviews Sort Popular Popular COVID-19 Related Highest Rating Lowest Rating Most Recent Oldest First 2.9 39 % Recommend to a Friend 55 % Approve of CEO Albert Seeno Sr. 4 Ratings Lennar wants just compensation for business losses caused by La Habras alleged delay tactics, fees for studies and for an illegal taking, or the virtual appropriation of private property. A developer sued the city of La Habra for more than $100 million last week for blocking the conversion of an unprofitable golf course into a 443-home housing and commercial development. The project faced enormous opposition at the outset from both housing advocates who oppose urban sprawl and Pittsburg residents who feared an influx of more than a thousand homes south of the city. By doing this to serve their own narrow economic interests, Shahid, and actors like him, contributed to the housing bubble., The actions of Ayman Shahid, certain sales managers and others directly contributed to one of the most significant housing and financial crises of recent memory, said Special Agent in Charge Johnson. All of these defendants have pleaded guilty pursuant to cooperation agreements with the government, except Xiao, who is a fugitive. The development team is led by Discovery Builders, which was established by a Seeno family member, along with partners Lewis Concord Member, LLC and California Capital and Investment Group. The Faria project would change the beautiful green hills forever by annexing the property to the City of Pittsburg and locating 1,650 new residences far from jobs, transit, and services. IRS delays tax deadline for Bay Area, but California hasn't followed: What should you do? An official website of the United States government. The only con I can think of is we work every weekend and our time off is limited. Dennis Lund: George Zimmermans Oxbow Incident. The owner of the company might pop into your community occasionally but he is always really humble and tries to blend like a regular buyer. driving a golf cart and free Biscotti cookies at the office. I take responsibility. As part of the deal, Seeno promised to build a recreation center in Pittsburg. Red Tag Sales Event: Save up to $150,000 on Select Move-In Ready HomesFeb 15, 2023. The Seeno bunch should be driven out of California. Select homes are offered at unbeatable prices with discounts up to $150,000. Hemann told the judge Thursday that the FBI did a thorough investigation into Shahids claim, but could not find evidence to proveSeeno IIIs involvement to a jury. poor management skills, micro managing exemplified, unclear direction of the company. The lawsuit also alleges the district failed to assess the sites biological resources, relying on old data. Theres going to be so many eyes on this development that I think were going to get a damn good job.. Save Mount Diablo Sues Seeno Discovery Builders to Protect Major Ridgeline in Pittsburg, Again this Website has Moved to ContraCosta.News, Yes! Just keeping the buyers spirits up and pushing time lines along with construction and financing. Find him taking walks around town; he is always looking for story tips. Surrounded by residential neighborhoods and the Westridge Plaza shopping center, its the last piece of developable private property in the area, the lawsuit said. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! Colopy said that although his client informed the park district of its concerns, they were not considered during the approval process. The Seeno family of development companies wants to build 1,650 homes in the hills that overlook the Concord Naval Weapons Station. A lot of favoritism. The project, known as Faria/Southwest Hills, was approved by the Pittsburg City Council last year despite opposition from hundreds of residents. Find a Great First Job to Jumpstart Your Career, Getting a Job Is Tough; This Guide Makes it Easier, Climb the Ladder With These Proven Promotion Tips, A Guide to Negotiating the Salary You Deserve. All they do is ruin this place with their ugly houses! Last year, the Seeno team settled a separate lawsuit with the East Bay Regional Park District, which contended the Faria homes would disrupt views of the hills, which can be seen from the Concord Naval Weapons Station. Paying off someone in the city. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! It seems really nave and really irresponsible to think our community would be immune to these same behaviors, said Kat Hannah. A smaller or more compact Faria project could easily protect the beautiful ridge, expand the new regional park onto the Pittsburg side, and provide easy public access for Pittsburg residents. Tour 3 Designer Decorated Model Homes Today! Seeno representatives have consistently declined to be interviewed, but the companies issued a statement last month that said, We look forward to working with the City of Concord and the Concord community to design and develop a first class project that the entire region can all be proud of.. I and a partner set up the office to our liking and just "Sold" homes. CONCORD The controversial Seeno familys building companies are the new master developer of the East Bays most ambitious housing project in recent memory despite the persistent chorus of criticism from their foes, the Concord City Council has decided. Contact Information Customer Contact Ms. Nancy McMillin, Executive Assistant Additional Contact Information Phone Numbers (888) 414-6637. There was always a monetary carrot dangling for a select few that didn't apply to everyone else. A very important factor when buying anything is the service after the purchase. It is my expectation that the development group is going to operate in a good-faith manner with the community, with the City Council, with city staff and key stakeholders, Obringer said. NOW SELLING! The pay at that time was the most that I have ever made, in my life. And in 2018, Seeno filed a lawsuit to halt the naval weapons station from being developed by a company that beat it and other groups to become the project's master developer. Copyright 2008-2023, Glassdoor, Inc. "Glassdoor" and logo are registered trademarks of Glassdoor, Inc. Shahid was the president of DSI, which was the sales arm of affiliated residential construction companies, including Discovery Home Builders and Albert D. Seeno Construction Co. The suit also seeks to invalidate the initiative approved in November, known as Measure X, requiring voter approval ofchanges to open space zones. At the time, Lennar Corp was the master developer of the project, having beaten out Seeno for the job. Jerome Page: Its not inequality, its envy. We are very pleased with the schools in the area and the beautiful parks nearby. Pittsburg has thousands of housing units already approved but not yet built, including units at Seenos San Marco, Sky Ranch II, Montreux, and Tuscany Meadows projects and now including Faria. It wont, Seeno III said during an apology to the judge. All rights reserved. Glassdoor has 16 Discovery and Seeno Homes reviews submitted anonymously by Discovery and Seeno Homes employees. Actual porch and window configuration varies from artists renderings. The Faria project violates Pittsburgs General Plan, state planning and zoning law, and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). 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