Developer Pulls Out of Downtown Condo Project

Blaming a depressed market, Howard Development Co. of Glendale has backed out of a planned three-story, 23-unit condominium project in Glendale’s downtown redevelopment zone.

The Glendale Redevelopment Agency on Tuesday agreed to reimburse the developers the $371,734 they paid in 1980 for the land at the northwest corner of Monterey and Louise streets. The agency, which originally acquired the property, will seek a new developer for the site, said Susan Shick, deputy redevelopment director.

The land is across the street from another Howard redevelopment project, the financially troubled Monterey Island condominium tower, which has remained largely vacant since it was completed in 1983. Ownership of that project was taken over last year by the construction lender, Crocker National Bank. Half of the units will be offered at auction on Aug. 11 at greatly reduced prices.

A third redevelopment project awarded to Howard, a proposed 16-story office tower at 500 N. Brand Blvd., also has been stalled, reportedly because developers have been unable to secure lease commitments. Construction on that project was to have begun in 1982. Complaints by residents that the cleared site was an eyesore prompted the redevelopment agency last year to landscape that tract and another proposed office site across the street as temporary parks.