Turn-of-the-Century Santa Ana Buildings Razed Without Permits : Old Farmhouse, Barn ‘Just a Pile of Memories’

Workers began razing a turn-of-the-century farmhouse and barn in Santa Ana Wednesday without obtaining city permits, and even though a building inspector eventually halted the demolition, neighbors said the historic structures are now “just a pile of memories.”

The buildings at 2417 N. Tustin Ave. are not listed in the city’s historic registry, but they had been given a special status by the Planning Department so that demolition permits could not be issued without review by the Planning Commission and the city Historical Society, planning spokesman Ron Contreras said.

The owner of the property, Berks Investment Group in Agoura Hills, had been planning to build a shopping center on the site. But developer Milton Berks said Thursday that he was unaware that the contractor hired to demolish the buildings had proceeded without permits.

Contreras said the contractor, American Demolition Inc., can be fined for not obtaining permits. A spokesman for the firm admitted Thursday that it had not obtained permits but said he was told by Milton Berks that the proposed demolition had passed review by city historical agencies.

The demolition of the farmhouse and barn ran counter to the wishes of the buildings’ former owner, Mabel Franzen Steele, and other neighbors who wanted to preserve the property.

Before her death last year, Steele sold the property with the stipulation that the redwood farmhouse built in 1915 and the barn built in 1894 be preserved. Steele was born in the house and three generations of her family were raised on the original 20-acre farm.

She and her husband, John, gradually sold off parcels of the farm, until only 1.4 acres and 155 trees remained. But they still hoped to preserve the historic buildings, and last year they accepted the offer by the owners of the Plumfield Pre-School, George and Nancy Park, to buy the property and use it for an administration building and library.

The Parks, however, were forced to sell the land several months ago when the costs to rehabilitate the buildings began to escalate. George Park would not comment on the terms of sale with the Berks firm but said he broke even on the property and had tried unsuccessfully to donate the buildings to the Orange County Historical Society.

Kevin Cartwright, a neighbor living near the historic structures, said seeing the house in ruins Thursday was heart-wrenching.

“The barn is still recognizable, but the house is down to the first floor,” he said. “There are certainly uses for older buildings. We don’t need another shopping center.”

The remaining orange trees near the buildings were cut down last December, leaving a field of bare stumps and branches. But Cartwright said neighbors hoped the buildings would not be destroyed.

Mary Alcala-Mitchell said that she and her husband, Michael, were finalizing a plan to move the buildings to another property in Santa Ana and rehabilitate them. They had planned to present the deal to Berks in several weeks, she said.

Mitchell said she had been interested in the property since spotting it about six years ago, adding: “It was beautiful to look at, but I was always fearful that someone would come in and destroy it.”