New Developer Sought for Property at Closed Schools

Housing developments proposed at three closed Fountain Valley School District properties won’t be built because the developer failed to meet deadlines to get the projects started, officials said.

But school district officials plan to market the properties to find a new developer.

The Board of Trustees announced that Tumanjan Development Co. has not met the requirements or the timelines of the purchase and land sale agreements on the sites, despite several extensions.

“They defaulted. They didn’t meet the deadlines in the contract to close escrow. It was date-specific, and they did not perform,” said Board of Trustees President Robert Sedlak, who was appointed to the post at a recent meeting.

“It’s unfortunate we couldn’t work this out. It’s a temporary setback,” Sedlak said.

Trustees also took action to seek other developers for the properties, which include Lighthouse Lane, formerly the school district’s offices, and Bushard and Harper elementary schools.

John Necarsulmer, commercial real estate consultant and broker for Tumanjan, said the developer is not in default.

“We were very surprised at the school district’s action,” Necarsulmer said. “We felt that we’ve been attempting to negotiate with them in good faith.”

Necarsulmer added that his clients “are looking at what we can do” about the board’s decision.

The district has been working with Tumanjan Development Co. for more than three years to build houses on the surplus properties. The developer has invested a substantial amount of money, including costs for environmental impact reports, architectural fees and a non-refundable deposit of $500,000 to the district.

Construction on the Bushard and Lighthouse Lane properties was expected to begin last spring. Under the district’s agreement with the developer, escrows on these two properties were expected to close last February but have not, the district said.

District officials expressed disappointment that the projects weren’t built, as the development deal would have provided much-needed revenue to the district.

“The only hardship is we haven’t been able to get escrows closed and get the money we are so desperately needing,” said Supt. Ruben L. Ingram.

Trustee Larry Crandall also said the district had hoped by now to reap the benefits of developments.

“It’s a financial consequence to the district, and that’s one reason why we want to be actively involved and move things along,” he said.