Controversial Developer Lance Robbins Dies at 76
Thursday, September 07, 2023
Lance Robbins, Urban Smart Growth's (USG) CEO and founder, died at 76.
According to the company’s announcement, “Lance founded USG in 2004 after first rehabilitating over 6,000 distressed inner city apartment units in Los Angeles. Over the next 20 years at USG, he dedicated himself to enhancing communities in order to breathe life back into old worlds. Whether it was a factory, school, warehouse or other complex, he thrived by bringing new opportunities to these structures so that they were able to flourish once again under new operations.”
But a GoLocal investigation sparked by complaints by tenants in one of his Pawtucket projects painted a different story of Robbins’ legacy -- a history that started in Los Angeles years earlier.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAs GoLocal reported in April of 2016:
"One of the top advocacy lawyers in the country, Lauren Saunders, told GoLocalProv.com following the announcement on Tuesday, “Robbins was one of the most dishonest and unscrupulous people I have come across in my career working for vulnerable tenants and consumers. I cannot imagine entrusting any (public) money to him.”
Saunders, who is Associate Director of the National Consumer Law Center in Washington, DC, had battled with Robbins when she represented tenants in Los Angeles, CA where Robbins operated before relocating to Rhode Island.
The National Consumer Law Center, whose mission is "serving low-income consumers," states that it is "committed to supporting and advancing diversity inside and outside the organization." Saunders clarified that her comments on Robbins were hers, and not of the center's.
“Lance Robbins was the worst slumlord in L.A. history. The city's Slum Housing Task Force prosecuted him numerous times for horrible conditions at his buildings. He also ran up huge water bills at his buildings that he refused to pay, and the city was reluctant to shut off the water for fear of harming the tenants. I filed a False Claims Act case against him and he was forced to pay $1 million in back water bills," Saunders told GoLocal.
His company said in his death announcement, “His goal for the company was to achieve a unique sense of community and expand the range of transportation, employment, and housing choices while preserving and enhancing natural and cultural resources. Thanks to his steadfast dedication to this mission, USG expanded coast-to-coast with properties in 13 cities in eight states.”
“Lance created a family wherever he went and had friends and loved ones all over the world. He was a community builder in life and in work, as his motto was 'good community is good business.' Lance was known for his vast charitable work including mental health advocacy, criminal justice reform and caring for people recovering from substance abuse. He was also a passionate advocate on the prevention of human trafficking,’ the company stated.
A native of Los Angeles, Lance was a graduate of UCLA and Berkeley Law. At Berkeley, Lance endowed a chair to specifically focus on social justice and countering drug addiction.
He is survived by his three children: Becka, Zack and Alexa.
Related Articles
- “This Just Isn’t Fair,” Says Restaurant Owner About Developer Robbins Getting $3.6M RI Tax Credit
- Former Business Partner of Robbins of USG Sued and Received $28M - and Warns RI
- Closed Baker Says Robbins is “Morally Bankrupt” and Opposes Raimondo Giving Him $3.6M
- Legislative Leaders Call for Raimondo to Halt $3.6M to Developer Robbins
- Chippendale Calls for Halt to $3.6M in Tax Credits Awarded to Robbins from Raimondo, Commerce
- Details Emerging About How CA Developer Robbins Got $3.6M From Commerce, Raimondo
