This Glendale News Press story about what could very well be the death knell for one of Montrose's first homes ever saddens me to no end. Why buy property in a neighborhood that doesn't want to be condo-ized? Why sell to someone who will destroy something so precious?
Money truly can't buy taste, or an appreciation of history. Feh.
Update: Residents Say No To Project
Historic home may be razed for apartment units
Builder will seek permission from county to build five units on a lot that is zoned for just two.
MONTROSE — The owner of a historic Craftsman-style house in
unincorporated Montrose wants to knock it down and build a two-story,
five-unit apartment complex in its place.
The developer is
scheduled to present the project at a public meeting tonight, but some
residents and neighbors are already lamenting the potential loss of one
of the community's oldest homes.
Built in 1914, just after the city was founded, the house at 2128 Glenada Ave. sits on street with a cul-de-sac, said Mike Lawler, president of the Historical Society of the Crescenta Valley.
"It's important to hang on to that older architecture and when you preserve old architecture, it enhances the value of the neighborhood around it," Lawler said. "People like old architecture, that old charm. It makes it feel like a community."
Property owners Gevorg Voskanian and Razmik Tahmasian are proposing what would be the first multi-family structure on the block, Lawler said.
Plans call for a two-story complex with two structures — one with two units, the other with three — with an open-air terrace in the middle. Each unit is planned to have three-bedrooms and a semi-subterranean parking garage with two spaces each.
The lot is zoned R-2, which allows up to two units of multi-family use.
The property owner has applied for a conditional-use permit with the Los Angeles County Regional Planing Commission to allow five units on the project.
But some say the project is a bad fit in the neighborhood, where Craftsman-era homes are prevalent.
"My problem is the house he wants to knock down is one of the first houses in Montrose," area resident Elena Valencia said. "Once you knock down history, you can never look back on it and have the historical landmark."
But project architect Bruce Labins said the structures have been designed with the surrounding neighborhood in mind.
"When I first arrived on the site, I was very impressed with that existing house and I was impressed by how the neighbors had preserved and maintained other Craftsmans in the area," Labins said. "We're multi-family, but we're decidedly a Craftsman design and we're utilizing authentic stylings. Everything about the project is a real strong attempt to be sensitive to the area."
But the developer's plan to model the complex keeping the Craftsman style in mind does not appease some residents, who fear the impact of a multi-family structure.
"I love my community, I love my house, I love my street," said Valencia, whose Glenada Avenue home was built in 1923.
"I don't want to live on a block with condos."
As planned, the project, which sits on a 14,411-square-foot lot, is in compliance with the county's density requirements, which allows one unit per 2,500 square feet, Labins said.
If the county were to deny the developer's application for a conditional use permit, the future of the existing home on the lot may be in jeopardy anyway, Lawler said.
Because the property is zoned for multi-family use, a new apartment building may be inevitable, he said.
"I don't think the historical side of it is going to matter to the county planning department or even the [Crescenta Valley] Town Council," Lawler said.
"I don't think it's going to weigh one bit and it's sad. I basically think the house is toast."
QUESTION
Should a Montrose-area home built in 1914 be razed to build a five-unit apartment complex? E-mail gnp@latimes.com or write to News-Press and Leader Community Forum, 221 N. Brand Blvd. Suite 200, Glendale, CA 91203. Please include your name and tell us your hometown and phone number for verification purposes only.
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