Stately High School, Now Closed, Attracts Suitors for Development

Perhaps no other site in the Los Angeles area looks more like a traditional high school ought to look than the closed Excelsior High School. It looks so right for the part that the movie “Grease II,” as well as other films, featured the stately building.

But to a lot of other people, Excelsior High School is starting to look like something else.

To city planners, it looks like a redevelopment area that could generate more tax dollars.

To a flourishing church, it looks like the ideal place for a new sanctuary.

And to community leaders, it looks like the place to finally provide a permanent spot for civic and cultural events.

Long-Term Lease

Those visions were stimulated last month when the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District announced it would consider leasing the school on a long-term basis, preferably 50 years or more.

Because the spacious, 38-acre site is in the middle of an important commercial corridor, the city has long considered it for improvement and is now studying plans to include it in the city’s second redevelopment project.

Meanwhile, Grace Korean Church has made no secret about its interest in acquiring the site--either by leasing for a long time or buying it.

The church has been renting the school auditorium and several smaller buildings for its 2,500-member congregation since 1984. Now the rapidly growing church--whose members live throughout the Los Angeles area--wants to expand to accommodate its growth.

Share Concept Discussed

Shin Cho, a deacon with the congregation that is affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance, said the church “is very much interested in a joint venture” with the city.

Discussions were held about a year ago between the city and the church to study a “shared” concept, in which the city would get the football field, auditorium and gymnasium and the church would build several buildings on the other side of the school. Those plans, however, were never finalized.

The 2,500-member church currently leases 40% of the site for $150,000 a year.

Although Cho said the church will work closely with the city on deciding what development should be on the site, church officials have long lobbied for a chance to build a 10,000-seat sanctuary.

Cho said he envisions the church renting half the site for 50 years, and building two sanctuaries and a seminary that would also be shared with the city.

Convention Use Foreseen

He said the buildings could be used as a “convention center” for worldwide members--and the city would reap the benefit from church members eating in Norwalk restaurants and staying in Norwalk inns. Cho said that when the church is not meeting there, the facility could be rented to the city or other organizations for large meetings or conventions.

“It would be a great benefit to the Norwalk community,” said Cho, who noted that the church is now working on a proposal to submit to the school district.

City officials say it is too early to tell what will be on the site near Pioneer and Alondra boulevards.

Don Rouly, Norwalk director of planning and development, said the city has not made a decision about what it would like to see at the school. He said a study will be initiated in the next two months by the Planning Commission to discuss various uses for the site.

The commission will “be looking primarily from a zoning and land-use perspective,” Rouly said. The property is zoned residential.

Church Interests Known

He said the city discussed with the church “concepts they would like to see done on the property,” but the proposal never got past a preliminary stage.

“The church is a major tenant and we are aware of what their interests are on the site. Those are just a number of elements to be considered,” during the commission’s study, he said.

One of the major considerations for any development of the property will be monetary and community benefits, said Michael J. Wagner, city redevelopment director. “A lot of analysis has to go on before a final (decision) is reached,” he said.

The Norwalk Redevelopment Agency would look at certain criteria, such as the amount of sales tax, property tax and jobs to be generated by a redevelopment project. The use of facilities by the community would also be considered, Wagner said.

Although the city does not have definite plans for the property, Wagner is going to recommend that the Redevelopment Agency include the high school site in its second redevelopment plan, which will cover commercial areas along Pioneer Boulevard.

Extra ‘Tools’ Available

He said inclusion in a redevelopment area would give the city extra “tools” to attract the kind of development it would like to see on the site. However, the final decision rests with the school district.

“By putting it in a redevelopment area this time, there might be some advantages to developers,” Wagner said. The agency could assist development on the site that would be beneficial to both the school district and the city.

Councilman Marcial (Rod) Rodriguez said the arrangement could allow for more “favorable financing” similar to that used at the Hoxie Elementary School site.

The closed school on Hoxie Avenue was leased by the district to the city redevelopment agency for $78,000 a year. The agency in turn gave substantial sales tax rebates to the Price Club, which is moving from Cerritos. The discount store is expected to open in November. Wagner said the city can expect to receive almost $1 million in sales tax revenue annually from the new store.

If Excelsior is leased on a long-term basis, it may mean the buildings would be razed. The school has been used for filming television series and movies, including “Square Pegs.”

Surplus Sites Studied

The school district held a special meeting in September to discuss recommendations that were part of an overall surplus school site study by the district to determine long-term growth patterns in Norwalk and La Mirada. The recommendations were based in large part on a demographic study that predicted the district would experience moderate growth to 23,000 students in 15 years. The findings cap almost a year of study about possible options for closed schools.

After massaging those enrollment projections, the district decided it would probably never reopen Excelsior. But members of the Board of Trustees stated they would still like to retain ownership of the site and directed staff members to negotiate a long-term lease.

The district, which peaked at 33,000 students in 1967, now has about 18,000 students. However, enrollment has been gradually increasing, especially in elementary schools, in recent years. After closing 15 schools in 15 years, the district in September opened a new school, Walnut Elementary in Norwalk.

“If there is going to be an increase in student population . . . we need to know what the effect is going to be in the community,” said Howard Rainey, director of business services.

“If we’re not going to need them, we don’t need to keep them,” said Rainey, who estimates the district receives about $500,000 annually from renting the closed schools to various organizations.

‘A Logical Compromise’

Board members indicated that the cost to reopen Excelsior would be prohibitive, but they would like to retain the property just in case. Board member Kenneth Welch said the decision to lease the land is “a logical compromise” since the district could not afford upward of $1 million to refurbish the buildings. By leasing the land, the school will take back possession at the end of the lease.

The district also was prodded by provisions of the state Allocation Resource Board, which charges school districts a fee if their excess property is not used for school purposes after a certain period of time. Rainey said the amount varies depending on certain factors, but can be as much as $25,000 a year.

Other recommendations for the closed schools would be to reopen Corvallis Elementary in the next two years. A private Christian school now renting the site already has been informed that the district will not renew its lease, which is scheduled to expire at the end of this school year, Rainey said.

Two schools in La Mirada, Mesa Elementary and Rancho Elementary, could reopen in 1988-89 or 1990-91. Rainey recommended that the district hold onto Kling and Benton school sites in case additional space is needed after 1990. The district will proceed with plans to sell the McNally school site to Biola University, Rainey said.

“There is no way the district will go back to 33,000 kids,” said Rainey. With the lease or sale of Excelsior and McNally, the district could handle up to 23,000 students in its schools, he said.

Rainey said one of the first things the district wants to do is discuss redevelopment possibilities with the city. Before an appraisal can be done, he added, the district would like to know what will be allowed on the Excelsior site. So far, the district has no firm plans for what it would like to eventually see on the site.

“Now we begin the process of deciding what to do with the Excelsior site,” he said.

Alumni hold high sentiment for Excelsior High School and fought to keep the school open. Despite the protest rallies and marches that were held, as well as a suit filed against the board and district, the board voted to close four schools in 1981, including Neff High, Rancho Elementary and Mesa Elementary.

But Rodriguez, an Excelsior alumnus, said, “You can’t preserve it forever.”

“You’re talking about 40 acres of prime land. To just sit there as what?” Rodriguez said. He would like to see the city buy or take over the gymnasium, auditorium and athletic field. The city rents each of the facilities for various programs. He also said he would “love to see a museum” on the site that would display school memorabilia that dates back to the 1920s.