BREA : Project to Combine Old, New Housing

An affordable-housing and historic preservation project that includes construction of three condominiums and the relocation of a 66-year-old home, known as the Practice House among Brea residents, has been approved by the City Council.

The council this week voted 3 to 1 in favor of the project. Mayor Glenn G. Parker and council members Bev Perry and Burnie Dunlap voted for the project, while council member Kathryn E. Wiser dissented and council member Carrey J. Nelson abstained.

The Redevelopment Agency will provide $101,000 to help subsidize mortgages for low-income buyers to purchase the project’s four homes from the developers, William Kimble and George B. Taunton. The homes will continue to be offered for low-income housing for 30 years.

Parker called the project an investment in a blighted part of town.

Taunton, who bought two parcels of land on Laurel Avenue for $41,000 from the city, said construction of the condominiums and rehabilitation of the Practice House on that land will begin next month.

The Practice House was built in 1927 on the Brea Olinda High School campus and used by the home economics department to teach students how to cook, clean and make household repairs. It was moved out of the high school in 1989 when the school was rebuilt and stored on blocks at several vacant lots over the years.

The restored building and the new condominiums are expected to be complete within eight months, Taunton said. He then will sell the homes to low-income families, who will get help from the city to pay for the properties at market value.

City officials will limit occupancy to five residents per home. Each home has two bedrooms.

City officials said families of more than five can ask the City Council for an exception to the rule to be granted at the council’s discretion.

Wiser questioned the cost of the project. “I don’t understand why the city has to spend so much money and the developer reaps the profits,” she said.

“Yes, it’s an expensive project,” Redevelopment Services Director Susan M. Georgino said. “We’re not saying it’s the most economic.”

Other city officials said the project is necessary to provide affordable housing and preserve a historical site.