New Negotiations Start : Sale of First Baptist’s Site in Van Nuys Falls Apart

Plans for the First Baptist Church of Van Nuys to sell its 10-acre site to an apartment developer have collapsed, a church spokesman said Monday.

The church is negotiating with another prospective buyer, said the Rev. Jim Rives, executive associate pastor. Selling the Van Nuys site would be a key step in the 10,000-member church’s proposed move to Chatsworth.

The church had announced in September that it would accept a $10-million offer from the Lycon Group, a Sherman Oaks developer. Rives would not explain Monday why the sale collapsed, but said it was “by mutual agreement” between the church and Lycon.

Dodge Reports, a publication for building contractors in Los Angeles County, reported that Lycon planned to build several hundred apartments on the site, in the 14800 block of Sherman Way. But the company never confirmed how many apartments it planned to construct. A company spokesman could not be reached for comment.

About a month after the Lycon deal was announced, 20 members of the Van Nuys Homeowners Assn. picketed Lycon’s offices to protest the building of more apartments. The marchers said apartments were already too plentiful in the neighborhood. A large multifamily apartment project on the church site would require a zoning change after public hearings, according to the city Planning Department.

“I’d like to think maybe we had a little something to do with” the demise of the Lycon deal, said David Read, homeowners’ association president.

Last summer, plans to sell to the First Foursquare Church of Van Nuys for $11 million fell apart after First Foursquare, about 1,500 feet away from First Baptist, learned that renovation costs would be higher than expected.

Rives said the collapse of the Lycon deal will not affect the move to Chatsworth, where he said the church has completed its purchase of 25 acres in a relatively undeveloped area.

“Giving birth is always painful, but it’s always well worth it when the child arrives,” Rives said.

Rives would not identify the interested buyer, but speculation has centered on First Foursquare, also known as the Church on the Way.

First Foursquare has told its congregation that it is buying the First Baptist property as part of a planned expansion, said a church spokeswoman, who asked not to be named.

The pastor, the Rev. Jack Hayford, could not be reached for comment, and Rives would not confirm that First Baptist is negotiating with First Foursquare.