Purchase of School Site Is Canceled by Developer

Downey Unified School District officials said the city has imposed so many restrictions and given so much conflicting information to a Los Angeles-based home builder that he has canceled an agreement to buy a surplus school site for $9 million.

The district planned to use the money to make badly needed repairs at Downey High School and other school sites, school officials said.

Officials said they expect the cancellation will delay the refurbishing temporarily. They said they will continue to seek buyers for the site.

M.J. Brock & Sons Inc. informed the district last week that the agreement was canceled because of additional restrictions being placed on the proposed development by the city, schools Supt. Edward A. Sussman said.

The company received a letter from the city Planning Department outlining so many obstacles that Brock decided to not go through with the deal, Sussman said.

In September, the Board of Education approved the sale of 10.5-acre Edith Unsworth Elementary School at 9001 Lindsey Ave. The Brock company proposed to build single-family homes on the site.

The district was to receive $6.75 million from Brock once the sale cleared escrow. The remaining $2.25 million was to be paid as homes were sold.

The district planned to use about $5 million of the money to refurbish several buildings at Downey High School, and the remainder to pay for renovation at other schools in the district.

The developer must meet city planning, zoning and building requirements to construct the project. City officials said they have not been unreasonable nor placed too many restrictions on the project.

“We felt that Brock had a very workable plan, but there were some problems,” Assistant City Manager Ken Farfsing said.

Farfsing said the developer had not submitted a formal application but was proposing to build 85 homes on lots smaller than allowed by the city. Farfsing said the developer revised the plan by reducing the number of homes, but the proposed streets were not wide enough for parking and safety reasons. The city also required the developer to use two lots for a small park.

The city was prepared to meet with the developer to discuss the requirements when the company canceled the agreement with the school district, Farfsing said.

Eric Bathen, legal counsel for the school district, accused the city of “just giving the developer the runaround.”

Farfsing denied the charge. He said it is “part of the process we go through with developers.”

Bathen said he received a letter from the development company last Tuesday saying that the company was withdrawing because of “mixed signals and inconsistency” from city officials and because of the declining real estate market.

Bathen said the developer had estimated that the proposed homes could sell for between $300,000 and $400,000.

Bathen said the district had received a deposit of $100,000 and was to receive an additional deposit of $150,000 Feb. 12, but after getting the city’s letter on the same day, the developer decided to cancel the agreement.

Brock vice president Les Thomas said he would have no comment on the matter.

Meanwhile, Sussman said the district would continue to negotiate with Brock and other developers to work out a deal.

“We are optimistic we can work something out,” Sussman said. “We are trying to do the very best for the district and for the city. We also have an obligation to get all of our schools refurbished.”

Downey High School has several buildings that are in need of repair, Sussman said. The school was built in 1939 and has never had any major renovation.

The district purchased 35 portable classrooms for $1.4 million for use by the students during remodeling, which was expected to start in June, Sussman said.

Sussman said the district plans to move nearly half of the high school’s 2,500 students into the portable classrooms while the district continues a search for money to refurbish.

In 1988, voters rejected a bond issue that would have generated $11.4 million to renovate district schools.

The board voted to sell Unsworth Elementary School last year and use the money for renovation. Unsworth was closed in 1972 because of a decline in student enrollment.