Countywide : Tenants to Protest Condo Conversions

A group of tenants from Irvine Co. apartment complexes in Orange, Tustin and Newport Beach plan to hold a rally Sunday morning to protest the conversion of their units into condominiums.

“The tenants are extremely upset because they moved into apartments that were going to be sold from under them,” said Gina L. Scoggins, a spokeswoman for the group holding the rally at the Santiago Hills Apartments in Orange. “They were not told that they were built as condominiums and they were not informed that the owner intended to sell them.”

Dawn McCormick, spokeswoman for the Irvine Co., said residents were notified of the company’s plans in July, just three days after the decision was made.

“We understand that people don’t like change and they don’t like to move,” McCormick said. “But we wanted to offset any convenience that this would cause them and we spent a lot of time coming up with a tenant package.”

The six apartment complexes affected are Mandevilla, Rancho Veracruz and Shadow Canyon in Tustin; Santiago Hills in Orange; and Big Canyon and Villa Point in Newport Beach. Almost 1,500 units in those complexes will be offered for sale in several phases over the next two to three years, McCormick said. The company’s other 10,000 apartment units will not be affected.

Residents have a minimum of six months’ notice before they must move and can stay at least until the end of their lease, McCormick said. In some cases, they will be able to remain for up to two years.

When they do move, the Irvine Co. will be offering tenants help in finding new apartments, hiring moving companies and other relocation details, she said. In addition, residents who stay until they receive a final 60-day notice will receive their last month’s rent free and if they move to another Irvine Co. apartment, they will be given the first month’s rent there free.

If they choose to buy the condominiums, which sell from $100,000 to $500,000 depending on the area, they will receive a $2,500 discount and priority in buying, McCormick said.

But some residents have not been appeased by the company’s benefits package.

“I’m supposed to leave Dec. 21 when my lease is up,” Scoggins said. “Hell will freeze over before I leave during the holidays.”

Scoggins moved to the Mandevilla apartments in east Tustin from another Tustin apartment complex last summer and was informed on move-in day that the complex was being converted to condominiums. With the U-Haul parked out front, it was too late to change her mind, she said.

Terry Tomljanozich moved to the Santiago Hills complex from El Paso in May only to be notified several months later of the impending change. She said she is concerned about the consequences for 17-year-old Sandra Krndelj, a foreign exchange student from Yugoslavia who is living with her.

Tomljanozich’s lease expires in April, and Krndelj is not scheduled to graduate until June.

“There are no other comparable apartment complexes in the school’s attendance area,” Tomljanozich said. If she moves out of the area, getting Krndelj to and from school will be difficult, she said.

McCormick said company officials are trying to work with tenants who have special hardships.

“We are trying to be sensitive to the residents’ needs,” she said. “We really feel we have been extremely generous in our benefits package.”

The apartment complexes were built to condominium specifications two to three years ago, but the decision to convert them was an economic one made last summer, McCormick said.

“We’re putting them on the market because we think they’re in a price range that is really attractive,” McCormick said “There is not much on the market in this price range.”

Tustin City Manager William A. Huston said he thinks the conversion of the three Tustin complexes will have a positive impact. Prices for those condominiums will begin at about $100,000.

“What it’s doing is providing some affordable for-sale housing,” Huston said. “The products they’re selling, for the price, you can’t beat it.”