Two CEO jobs, one salary: Fred Maas and hiring a new CCDC chief

When Fred Maas became chair of the board of the Centre City Development Corporation (CCDC), he never expected to be running the joint. Sure, the job came with the title of CEO of CCDC, but those powers had rarely been exercised by past chairs. Then CCDC President Nancy Graham resigned amid scandal last summer, and suddenly it was Maas in charge. For the last six months, Maas has been moonlighting as the unpaid chief executive of a redevelopment management organization with a budget of $232 million, while still manning his day job as chief of Black Mountain Ranch, a 4,677-acre development in the northern precincts of San Diego.

“I don’t have a life. or, rather, I have less life than ever,” Maas said in an interview. “Between the debacle in the real estate industry, and the time at CCDC, it has been a challenge. But I enjoy challenges.”

Maas will continue in his dual role until CCDC hires a new president (and he said he hopes to make that person CEO, as well), but that process is in stasis right now. The organization has hired a recruiting firm, but the board is awaiting some kind of signal from the City Council or Mayor Jerry Sanders that CCDC will continue to exist into the foreseeable future. Since twin scandals broke out at CCDC and the Southeastern Development Corporation last summer, critics of the two agencies have raised the volume on calls to dissolve both of them.

“It would be dangerous to go out recruiting and then find out there is going to be reorganization,” Maas said.

Maas said he didn’t need an official resolution, just some kind of assurance in public or private.

Meanwhile, CCDC is making headway on the question of whether to build a new City Hall. Last summer they selected a project leader and a design, and an accounting firm produced a report saying that building a new City Hall would provide significant savings over staying in the old one. But a personnel shift from the accountant to one of the subcontractors on the winning bid raised doubts about the report. A new report, commissioned from the accounting firm of Ernst and Young, is scheduled to be completed this month. Maas had a draft of the report in his hand when I spoke to him, but he said he had not yet begun to read it. He said he expects a final copy to be released to the public this week. If the report confirms the that a new City Hall will produce cost savings in the long run, the project will likely move forward. Otherwise, the new City Hall project will have to await better economic times.