Councilman Bernard Parks tweeted and held a press conference claiming that "Demolition to Begin Shortly" but offered few specifics and no time line. Parks held a press at the Buckingham Place senior apartments saying that "Marlton Square has emerged from bankruptcy, with a final settlement reached on December 29th.

In his Twitlonger post, Parks states that Commercial Mortgage Managers was selected to act as the servicing agent and the company plans to raise capital for demolition of Marlton Square and then sell the entire property to a qualified developer.

Progress but still square one.

“To say I’m thrilled would be the understatement of the decade,” Parks said. “This blighted property has been an eyesore in the community for years. I share the anger and frustration of my constituents at the incompetence and financial mismanagement of past government officials and real estate developers that created this mess.”

He made the announcement from the stalled Buckingham Place senior apartments, although it sounds like they may be opening soon. The homes for the elderly are in the middle of the Marlton Square mess.

Buckingham Place Senior Apartments, envisioned as a three building complex with 180 apartments for low-income seniors. But now one large complex is halfway done. Parks states that in 2010 the City signed a new contract with Meta Housing to complete the project. No date has been set for construction.

The LA TImes reported officials hope to have senior living at the complex by the end of 2011. They better - because if they don't the feds want their $8 million back, accoring to a  story reported on LeimertParkBeat.com

“This community has been promised redevelopment of Marlton Square time and time again, only to be let down by failure after failure. I’m not going to insult my constituents by making more promises,” Parks said. “They don’t want more promises, they want action.”