Rare undeveloped Flintridge property is on the market
A La Cañada treasure went on the market in March, when longtime landholders decided to list an undeveloped 1.31-acre lot on the northwest corner of Berkshire and Commonwealth avenues that’s been in their family for more than 60 years.
The property offers stunning views of La Cañada’s foothills and is a rare sight on Berkshire Avenue, where the city’s recent building boom is made evident by a number of large-scale mansion projects going on parcels once occupied by 20th-century homesteads.
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Henry Suarez is the Dilbeck Realtor handling the listing for the area family, whose name he keeps private at their request. He says he was contacted directly by the property owners, longtime friends of his, earlier this year. The current asking price is $7,995,000, which might seem a bit steep were it not for the sheer visibility of the property.
“Everybody was congratulating me, because anybody who knows La Cañada knows this lot,” Suarez said, estimating he’s taken at least 100 calls about the property in the past few months. “Everybody wants to know how a lot in the center of La Cañada has stayed vacant for so long.”
The parcel is a gem, not only to those in the real estate business but to local historians who only need to hear the cross streets to know the exact property in question.
Tim Gregory, a Lanterman House archivist who also works as a building biographer throughout Los Angeles County, said the land’s ownership likely dates back to 1911 and to California Sen. Frank Putnam Flint, the city’s namesake and owner of the Flintridge Co.
“It amazes me it’s been sitting there that long,” Gregory said of the parcel. “It’s a beautiful site.”
A photo from the Valley Sun archives, taken sometime in the 1920s, depicts a tract office with a Flintridge Co. sign conducting business at a bustling pace. The photo’s caption indicates the property was one among some 1,700 acres in the vicinity purchased by Flint.
In 1912, Flint built himself a home on Berkshire Avenue, cleared winding horse trails in between parcels and entertained visions of annexing the land to the city of Pasadena and developing it, before plans fell through in the wake of a family scandal involving oil stocks, Gregory said.
After World War II, the parcels were subdivided and sold off individually. Several model homes were built by renowned architects, including Paul Williams, many of which still exist today.
“Per square mile, [Flintridge] has probably got more architectural and historic significance than the rest of La Cañada,” Gregory said. “When you’re walking down those winding streets in Flintridge, you feel like you’re in a special place. It has a differentness to it.”
Although he’s had no takers yet, Suarez admits having such a well-recognized property among his listings is great for business.
“If nothing else, it’s great advertising,” the Realtor said.
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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com
Twitter: @SaraCardine
