La Jolla
Eager to save a cluster of deteriorating cottages in La Jolla threatened by the wrecker’s ball, the San Diego Historical Site Board agreed unanimously Wednesday to recommend that the City Council take tough measures to transfer the historic Green Dragon Colony to a new owner.
With the Chart House restaurant chain stepping into the fray as a potential buyer, the board proposed that the city staff help mediate the sale of the former arts enclave.
The board also recommended that the council consider acquiring the property through condemnation and selling it to a buyer willing to preserve the structures.
The fate of the cottages, built from 1895 to 1906, has remained clouded since a potential deal fell through last year between wealthy La Jolla preservationist Bob Barrymore and a bank representing the trust that owns the 1-acre site off Prospect Street.
With a one-year hold on demolition of the structures set to end April 22, the Chart House chain has surfaced as a potential buyer willing to preserve the cottages.
The chain, which operates a restaurant in a renovated structure next to the four remaining cottages, has hired an appraiser to determine the property’s worth, according to Tony Ciani, a La Jolla preservationist eager to see the enclave saved.
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