Phoenix House May Lose Its Home in O.C. Land Sale : Real estate: Operators fear falling short in bid to keep Santa Ana site where substance abuse program has been for 17 years.

The 135-bed Phoenix House, a residential substance abuse program for adolescents and adults, sits on a prime piece of real estate--five acres of county-owned land on East Fruit Street, near the Santa Ana Freeway.

Staff and residents at the treatment center have known the land would be sold to help bail the county out of its financial mess, but its leaders had hoped to buy the land and keep the facility in its current spot.

County officials, however, recently decided to list the property on the open market, virtually dashing the agency’s hopes. If it has to bid against major developers for the property, Phoenix House cannot hope to buy the land, leading Phoenix House officials to begin considering whether they may have to relocate their well-attended Orange County facility, possibly outside the county.

“We’ve had a wonderful relationship with the county. They have literally given us the property rent free,” said Luz Stanley-Salazar, director of California Phoenix Houses in Lakeview Terrace. It operates treatment centers in Los Angeles and San Diego as well.

“They’re trying to work with us on this, but in the face of the bankruptcy, they could no longer be a landlord to a non-revenue-producing property.”

Sheila Stern, a senior vice president at LFC Communications Ltd., which is handling public information for the sale of county land, said she could not comment about individual properties or the bidding process in general until Thursday, when a news conference on the sale of the properties is scheduled.

Stanley-Salazar said Phoenix House is prepared to bid on the property next month, but she is unsure about the agency’s ability to offer more money than profit-making companies.

“I feel very uneasy about it,” she said. “There could be real estate developers who could outbid us or anybody else with money who’s sitting and thinking about land to buy.”

Should another bidder purchase the land, Phoenix House would attempt to lease the property from the new landlord or look for another Orange County location. They are unwilling to move out of the county, except as a last resort.

The county offers numerous residential treatment programs. They are much more expensive than outpatient services, but demand still outstrips supply.

“Phoenix House is an integral part of our rehabilitation program for people with drug and/or alcohol problems,” said Bill Edelman, division manager with the Orange County Drug Abuse Services, a branch of the Health Care Agency.

“Residential treatment costs the most money, but it’s a big bang for your buck when you invest in it,” Edelman said.

If Phoenix House cannot remain in Orange County, Edelman said his agency would try to find long-term treatment for clients who otherwise might have gone there.

“We would have to try to see that each one of the people got taken care of and got referred,” he said “It wouldn’t be easy, but we would not turn our backs.”

Stanley-Salazar said Phoenix House officials “have been out looking, and there’s just not much available in the price range we can afford. But we would like to maintain a treatment program in Orange County. It’s our neighborhood. We have graduates and family and clients in line.”

Real estate sales throughout the county are in a slump and property near the Santa Ana Civic Center is no exception, said George Economos, a Grubb & Ellis Co. broker.

“But if [the property] was sold cheap and someone could hold onto it, it would probably attract interest,” Economos said. “It has the strong capability to go up quite a bit a few years out.”

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For 17 years, Phoenix House has rented the facility from the county for $1 per year. Clients’ ability to pay is assessed on a sliding scale. Many, especially teen-agers, receive Aid to Families with Dependent Children welfare payments.

The average cost for treatment is $20,000 a year for adults and $25,000 for teen-agers. Only six of the current residents pay for the treatment entirely through private sources, Stanley-Salazar said. Of the 135 residents, 85 are adults and 50 are teen-agers.

Phoenix House also receives funds through a variety of drug and alcohol abuse contracts, both public and private. Clients may be referred by courts or enter voluntarily. Residents stay by their own volition.

“When they come to us, they are basically non-functional,” said Isobelle Surface, a Phoenix House spokeswoman based in the agency’s New York headquarters.

“They come without work or homes,” Surface said. “Their family life is in total disarray and often they’re facing a jail sentence.

“We help them become drug-free, get a job, vocational training and get a place to live,” Surface said.

Now that Phoenix House may be in jeopardy of losing its home, members of its alumni and parent groups are pleading the center’s case.

“My daughter is an eight-year graduate, and if it wasn’t for Phoenix House, she wouldn’t be here today,” said one woman, an Orange resident. “We tried a lot of places and spent $12,000 before we found Phoenix House.

“Today she’s married and has a 4-year-old girl, and I thank God every day,” she said. “We need 10 programs like that, not to lose one.”