BUENA PARK : City OKs Plans for 36 Condominiums

The City Council this week unanimously approved construction of 36 condominiums in a dilapidated residential area near 8th Street and Western Avenue.

Senior Planner Leslie Kyle told the council Monday night that nine properties with six different owners will be combined to build the Cape Cod-style condominium complex.

“We’ve looked forward to it for about 10 years and we’re thrilled (the developer) has been able to bring it this far,” Kyle said. “It’s very hard to assemble properties.”

Terry Smith, vice president of CAS Development Corp. in Fountain Valley, said it took 1 1/2 years to negotiate with the property owners.

“That’s been the stumbling block all along,” he said. “But we’ve been able to bring the package together.”

Plans include two- and three-bedroom townhome-style condos with attached two-car garages.

Council members praised the project, noting that it will help improve the neighborhood. “I personally welcome the improvements and seeing the property upgraded,” Councilman Don R. Griffin said.

The properties, which total 1.7 acres, are occupied by two duplexes, two older single-family houses, and two vacant houses. In the past, the properties have been the subject of code violations and building safety actions, Kyle said.

Property owners had to either bring the buildings up to code or tear them down, she said.

Kyle also said the development is expected to spur property owners in the neighborhood to make improvements to their apartment buildings.

The condominium project will be built in up to five phases over the next two years in order to secure financing and keep costs down, Smith said.

Plans call for demolition and grading to begin in late November, with construction starting in December, he said. The first model homes are planned to be completed by next spring, he said.

Smith also said he is interested in obtaining financial assistance from the city’s redevelopment agency to make some of the condominiums available at affordable prices to first-time home buyers. However, such a request would have to be scheduled for separate council action in the future.