BUENA PARK : Historic Homes May Move in Land Sale

Two historic homes would have to be relocated to make room for expansion of the city’s auto center along Manchester Boulevard.

The City Council, acting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, agreed last week to enter into negotiations with Buena Park Toyota to sell city-owned land bordering the Santa Ana Freeway to relocate the dealership.

But the acreage needed for the dealership would include property where the Whitaker-Jaynes estate and the Bacon House are located.

The Whitaker-Jaynes home, a farmhouse built in 1887 by the brother of the city’s founder, is at its original location.

The Bacon House, a squatter’s shack built sometime in the 1850s, was moved to the park site in 1976 from its original location on Beach Boulevard.

Both homes are owned by the city.

City officials said the homes may be preserved and moved to a location on Beach Boulevard across from City Hall.

May Hui, assistant director of development services-economic development, said that the property is privately owned and that the city is negotiating with the owner to buy the land.

Hui said the city also will evaluate the relocation cost.

That area may become a historical district, because there are other buildings on the block that are also landmarks.

They include a women’s club, Victorian residences and a church that is more than 100 years old.

Members of the Buena Park Historical Society favor the move and plan to work with the city to preserve what’s left of the city’s past.

“We do support it overwhelmingly at this point,” said Dean Dixon, a historical society trustee. “Everybody’s excited about the historical district.”

Dixon said relocating the houses to Beach Boulevard would give them better visibility and would help to attract more visitors.

“We think it’s a perfect location,” Dixon said.

Hui said the city’s auto center, along Manchester Boulevard between Beach Boulevard and Dale Street, was established in the mid-1980s.

There are five dealerships that sell nine makes of cars, Hui said.

The city’s redevelopment agency has bought property along Manchester Boulevard in an effort to expand the auto center.

During the 90-day negotiation period, the city and the dealership will discuss the sale of 3.4 acres with an option to buy an additional 2.9 acres to establish another dealership, Hui said.

Hui said the dealership, located at Western and Orangethorpe avenues, has outgrown the site and is in need of a new location in an auto center with better visibility.