Under-construction condo complex burns up; cause not yet known

[FormerOwner]

It’ll be interesting to follow this story. I wonder what the official cause will end up being.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20070118-1602-bn18blaze2.html

[PerryChase]

I don’t think that there’s anything nefarious on the part of the owners. Don’t they need to sell to recover their investment? This looks like an infill development. If they delay the project completion, they’ll face a more depressed market and possible losses. But who knows….

[Anonymous]

I don’t know…seems fishy to me. It would all come down to the terms of their insurance policy, but if they were carrying the units/development at an inflated book value (inflated relative to current value, maybe not so when they booked it), then arson may be a real possibility here.

[Bugs]

On the TV news they were saying some embers blew over on this structure from a nearby restaurant that was on fire. It happened midday while construction crews were working.

I don’t think we can chalk this one up to “developer remorse.”

[novice1027]

Smells fishy to me. I hear it was known among the construction folks that this project was very much under water, and that the condos are selling so slowly that all of the plumbers on the site have been pulled for some time now.
Just my little 2 cents.

[masayako]

Underwater construction….. very fishy

[Daniel]

If this was arson (and at this point there is no evidence of it), I would think extremist environmentalist groups would be the likely suspects. Or some disgruntled employee.

I find it really, really hard to believe that a developer would do such a thing. If the project fails, the bank forecloses and they lose money. Big deal. But arson and insurance fraud convictions would result in losing everything they have and also going to jail for a long, long time. Nobody believes that insurance companies would just roll over and pay without thoroughly investigating the cause. It just doesn’t make any sense for the developer to do anything like that.

[(former)FormerSanDiegan]

But arson and insurance fraud convictions would result in losing everything they have and also going to jail for a long, long time. … . It just doesn’t make any sense for the developer to do anything like that.

It also doesn’t make sense from that perspective to commit accounting fraud (see Ken Lay), or to backdate options, or to rob a liquor store for a couple hundred bucks, or to shoot someone for their shoes. But these things happen, don’t they.

[Cow_tipping]

99% of accidental residential fires are due to owner negligence. Stove on with bacon grease, or gas line leaking or somehting like that. No residents – no accidental cause. it can be ex employee or other arson or environmental terrorists or good old insurance fire … and No I doubt anything is going to come out in an “investigation” … that crap only happens on TV in CSI.
Cool.
Cow_tipping.

[Anonymous]

rumor is that a plumber’s torch started it doing some retrofits, and because of the dry, cold air, the fire was out of control almost instantly. the sprinkler system was supposedly not operational. but no way to really know what happened until the investigation is completed.

[LostCat]

By the time the development is complete, it isn’t owned by the developer. They’re just there to market it and finish the construction. A project like this is bought and sold by investors several times prior to project completion and it’s usually backed by Federal Loan protections so if something like this does burn down, the most recent owner can and will get their investment back, but we pay for it not them when we pay our fed tax. I am sure regardless of the cause and intent of the fire, the owner is really happy and is kissing the ground. What are they thinking anyhow, a 3,000 unit condo complex in downtown “The Hidden” Escondido. lol

[Author]

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