Real Estate Stalemate Imperils Oct. 26 Debut of Sylmar Rail Station

A stalemate in real estate negotiations makes it unlikely that the Sylmar rail station will be open by the scheduled Oct. 26 inauguration of the Metrolink line, Los Angeles city officials said.

“We are assuming it won’t be open by then,” said James Okazaki, a senior official in the city’s Department of Transportation.

Hanging up construction at the 5.8-acre station property between Hubbard and Sayre streets is a dispute over the price of the land, owned by the Friedman Bros. Investment Co. The city says the property is worth $1.9 million, but the owners want $2.3 million, sources familiar with the talks said.

Because of the impasse, the city recently began trying to have the station property condemned in a court proceeding, using the city’s power of eminent domain.

Beginning condemnation proceedings “sometimes helps the negotiations along mightily,” said Frank Wallace, a senior official in the city’s real estate acquisition unit.

It will take six to nine months for the city to obtain the property by condemnation, Wallace said.

Construction work planned at the site includes a covered platform, parking for 500 cars and extension of 1st Street through the site.

Even if the site can be purchased without having to go through the entire condemnation proceeding, it is unlikely that it can be fully developed by Oct. 26, Okazaki said.

“My personal goal now is to be breaking ground by October and possibly having some dirt parking for a while for commuters,” he said.

Owner Albert Friedman said experts are preparing an analysis to prove his company’s claim that the property is worth more than the city is offering.

“We’d like to settle with the city” without going to court, he said.

Complicating the negotiations is a dispute over whether the rail station would enhance or detract from the value of a proposed 280-unit condominium project on a 20-acre parcel adjoining the station site. The condominium project site is also owned by the Friedmans.

The city argues that Friedman Bros. should take less money for the rail site because its proximity to the condo project will increase the value of the residential property. The property owners disagree.

The Los Angeles County Transportation Commission estimates that 200 commuters will board the Metrolink line daily at the Sylmar station. The line will run from Santa Clarita to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles.

Sylmar is the only problematic station on the Santa Clarita-to-Union Station line, said Cynthia Pansing, an official with the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission. Stops are planned at Santa Clarita, Sylmar, Burbank, Glendale and Union Station.

“We anticipate that all the stations will be open along the line except for the Sylmar station,” Pansing said.