Ethnic Diversity in Bedroom Community : Rosemead: Longtime residents and immigrants cite safety and schools in choosing ‘small’ town in San Gabriel Valley.

When Marvin Lowrey retired recently, everyone asked him where he planned to move. “I am staying just where I am,” he quickly replied.

For 48 years, home for Lowrey has been a 1,600-square-foot, two-bedroom house--for which he paid $5,000--in the northern section of Rosemead.

Sure, the former Brinks Armored Car account executive can no longer hop on the Red Car for the easy 35-cent ride into downtown Los Angeles or walk down the block to buy Thanksgiving dinner from the neighborhood turkey farm.

But Lowrey, 69, likes the fact that his well-built home has weathered the years and that Rosemead is close to family members and activities he enjoys. So why follow the lead of friends who have moved east to the desert or to other retirement locales? “Rosemead has everything I need,” Lowrey said. “I can’t see any reason to leave.”

An increasingly diverse mix of residents--the population of 52,000 is 49% Latino, 33% Asian and 15% Caucasian--call this San Gabriel Valley bedroom community home.

The 5.5-square-mile city, located 10 miles east of downtown Los Angeles is bounded by the railroad tracks along Grand Avenue on the north, the 60 freeway on the south, the Eaton Wash on the east and New Avenue on the west. Both the San Bernardino Freeway (10) and the Pomona Freeway cut through the city.

Realtor Harry Lim agrees with Lowrey that Rosemead’s convenience appeals to residents. Lim’s client base is predominantly Asian immigrants, no surprise considering the tremendous influx of Asians (the community has grown 371% since the 1980 Census) who have recently settled in Rosemead, primarily on its northern side.

These newcomers, priced out of nearby Monterey Park where many of their relatives and friends who came earlier bought, want an affordable home close to a solid public-transportation system. They find both in Rosemead, where buses along Garvey Avenue and into downtown Los Angeles bring workplaces and shopping centers within reach of lower-end homes.

Ninety percent of the homes on the market in Rosemead are single family, most built in the 1940s and ‘50s.

In the northern section of Rosemead (the 10 freeway serves as the unofficial divider), the area that realtors say many buyers consider more desirable because of longtime residents who take good care of their properties, typical prices are $150,000 for a one-bedroom, one-bath starter home; $250,000 for a three-bedroom, 1,500 square-foot house and $350,000 for a top-of-the-line, four-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath home.

Prices in the southern section start at $140,000 and peak at $300,000. Residents there, many of whom are Latino, say home prices would escalate if there were less mixed-use zoning (manufacturing plants close to houses) and more code enforcement on home remodeling, both of which contribute to more jumbled neighborhoods than in the north.

Many Rosemead home buyers appreciate the area’s well-regarded school systems, said Isabel Sanchez of El Camino Real Estate. “They feel very comfortable with the way school is taught here, more so than in some surrounding communities.”

Elida Martinez, who in June, 1994, purchased a four-bedroom, two-bath home in south Rosemead for $210,000, is one such buyer. The 32-year-old mother of three wanted to live in the south section of Rosemead so her children could attend the Garvey School District. (There are two elementary school districts covering the city--Garvey in the southwest and Rosemead in the northeast; high schoolers attend either Alhambra or El Monte campuses.) Martinez’s brothers and sisters send their children to Garvey schools and have spoken highly of the education the students were receiving.

“The children are monitored well here and the teachers are concerned about them,” Martinez said. “Every child is encouraged to learn.”

Teaching a multicultural classroom of children, many of whom don’t speak English, can be a daunting task, acknowledged Garvey Supt. Anita Suazo. One way she meets the challenge is by embracing her students’ diversity: Administrators, teachers and bilingual counselors are encouraged to teach, rather than just tolerate, cultural differences.

“We have just as many Asian parents come to Cinco de Mayo celebrations as Hispanic ones,” Suazo said. “I think that by trying to understand why people behave differently, we have helped both our students and their parents.”

As much as Suazo and other community leaders have tried to bring Rosemead’s large Latino and Asian populations together, some residents believe the groups still keep too much to themselves, failing to extend a warm welcome to each other.

Rosemead, with its ethnic diversity, would seem to be ripe for hate crimes and racial strife, but that hasn’t been the case, according to Capt. Bob Mirabella, who works out of the Temple City sheriff’s station to oversee law enforcement in Rosemead.

Instead, Mirabella sees “a real desire for neighbors to get to know each other.” He believes the city’s predominantly older population and balanced ethnic breakdown keep such offenses rare. Mirabella points with pride to the 250 residents who turned out for the first citywide Neighborhood Watch barbecue this past summer.

And school officials, police officers and community groups have started to meet together under the YES (Youth Effectiveness System) program to identify and give guidance to at-risk youths in Rosemead.

Such citywide cohesiveness, along with pumped-up community-policing efforts such as bike patrols, walking beats and socializing between residents and officers, will help promote a safer Rosemead, Mirabella said. Indeed, the captain has seen a 7% decrease in crime in Rosemead from 1992 to 1993, with the most common offenses falling in the petty-theft category.

Elizabeth Diaz has stayed in Rosemead because she relishes that quiet atmosphere. Diaz, 36, director of USC’s Neighborhood Resource Center, grew up in the city. She’s temporarily renting an apartment on Hellman Avenue just south of the 10 freeway and will inherit her grandmother’s house down the block within a few years.

But Diaz admits that the area’s “lack of flash” can sometimes be a drawback as well as a bonus. “If you like a small-town community, Rosemead is for you,” she said. “For the older population who like a slower pace it’s great, but for younger people it can be limiting.”

Diaz would like to see a greater range of restaurants serving ethnic fare such as Indian or Italian food, a large indoor shopping mall and a movie theater in Rosemead.

Rosemead’s business community could use beefing up, agrees Joe Vasquez, who has lived on the city’s north side since 1979, when he paid $76,000 for a home on Marybeth Avenue. Vasquez, a 46-year-old technician for Pacific Bell in Alhambra, who also serves as a Rosemead city councilman, would like to see more job creation in Rosemead and businesses that thrive, instead of just survive.

But he does see some benefit to Rosemead’s modest growth: “Surrounding communities such as Monterey Park and San Gabriel are very dense with buildings. Rosemead has kept that in check. I wouldn’t want to increase the density of parking here or lose open space for kids to play in.”

While keeping a close eye on development, the city of Rosemead provides a conducive atmosphere for both business and homeowners, maintains Frank Tripepi, city manager for 20 years. He stresses that Rosemead, which was founded in 1867 and incorporated in 1959, is a very financially stable city, with no outstanding general-obligation bonds and no city property or utility users’ tax. The streets are well-maintained (“they seem to be repaving them every two years,” marvels Martinez), as are sewers and other components of the city’s infrastructure, he says. The city has also planted flowers along boulevard medians in an effort to spruce up the southern neighborhoods.

All of that means good news for potential home buyers considering Rosemead. “You won’t get hit with special assessments here,” Tripepi said.

Sheri Ross Gordon is a writer and editor in Culver City.

At a Glance

Population 1994 estimate: 52,652 1990-94 change: +2.0% Annual income Per capita: 10,764 Median household: 31,962 Household distribution Less than $30,000: 41.9% $30,000 - $60,000: 34.4% $60,000 - $100,000: 18.4% $100,000 - $150,000: 4.4% $150,000 +: 0.6%

Rosemead Home Sale Data

Sample Size (for 10-year period): 2,933

Ave. home size (square feet): 1,172

Ave. Year Built: 1946

Ave. No. Bedrms: 2.51

Ave. No. Baths: 1.36

Pool: 4%

View homes: 1%

Central air: 9%

Floodzone: 39%

Price Range (1993-94): $40,000-315,000

Predominant Value: $181,000

Age Range: 3-90 years

Predominant Age: 49 years

Average Sales Data

Year Total $ per Median Sales sq. ft. price 1994* 135 $144.65 $172,566 1993 127 $150.74 $175,181 1992 195 $162.73 $188,597 1991 204 $166.16 $196,257 1990 249 $173.11 $200,340 1989 361 $175.17 $196,900 1988 473 $142.88 $161,999 1987 469 $111.36 $129,091 1986 392 $95.12 $106,613 1985 328 $84.98 $94,621

* 1994 data current through September.

Source: TRW Redi Property Data, Riverside