Restoration of Glendale Landmark to Include Housing Complex : Council Sticks With Decision on Goode House

The Glendale City Council stood by its decision to permit restoration of the Victorian Goode House and construction of a senior-citizen complex around it despite last-ditch efforts by the Glendale Historical Society to modify the plan.

An attorney for the society argued that the council had not thoroughly considered the ramifications of building senior apartments within 8 feet of the 101-year-old house, considered one of the most valuable historical landmarks in Glendale.

But Mayor Carl Raggio and other council members Tuesday accused a small group of society members of attempting to sabotage plans to salvage the house, which was the home of E. D. Goode, a city founder.

“We have reviewed this time and time again,” said Raggio, who added later that “implied threats have come from you and your organization.”

Developer Joe Ayvazi of the Cedar Broadway Partnership of Glendale proposes to restore the house and convert it to an office building for his real estate business. He also plans to build 40 small apartment units in a horseshoe-shaped complex around the house. Ayvazi said the apartment development is necessary to make the restoration project financially feasible.

Ayvazi has offered the only proposal to save the house, which is the last example of Queen Anne-Eastlake architecture on its original site in Glendale and is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

William F. Delvac, an attorney specializing in historic restoration, who represents the society, said preservationists are asking that new construction around the house be set back farther from the structure to “open a view to the house” that creates “a less harsh impact.” He said the proposed new development could disqualify the house from the national register.

Council members, however, said they are more concerned about saving the historic structure than listing it on a national roster. They admonished society members for opposing restoration plans. “Devious means have been used to try to put us in a tenuous position,” Councilwoman Ginger Bremberg said.

Delvac said that the historical society will continue to pressure the city to modify the development proposal but that no plans have been made to carry the issue to court. The developer announced earlier that legal action could jeopardize the restoration project.