Bakery Could Become New Home for College Classes

Efforts to save the facade of the old Van de Kamp’s bakery in Glassell Park, dubbed the Taj Mahal of Los Angeles bakeries, may be successful if the trustees of the Los Angeles Community College District approve a plan this week to lease classroom space there.

On Wednesday, the trustees of the nine-campus district are scheduled to vote on a proposal to lease the former bakery for a satellite campus for Los Angeles City College. Several of the district’s top officials support the idea.

As part of the plan, the bakery’s 16th-century-style townhouse Dutch facade, at the corner of Fletcher Drive and San Fernando Road, would be preserved.

The plan calls for the district to lease classroom space and offices in a newly constructed building, which would include the facade and could accommodate as many as 1,000 students. The lease would cost the district $1.5 million annually for 12 years, with an option to buy the building. Under the proposal, there would be provisions to allow the district to renew its lease for $1 million a year.

The district would initially pay $800,000 to occupy the reconstructed building.

Local preservationists are pleased that at least the facade would be saved, conceding that the rest of the bakery structure, which closed in 1990, is beyond repair.

They successfully opposed the bakery’s demolition to make way for a home-improvement store and a Burger King franchise that had been proposed by brothers Larry and Ralph Cimmarusti, who now have an option to build on the property. That proposal was unanimously rejected by the Los Angeles City Planning Commission last August, partly because the historic facade would not have been incorporated into the plan.

Their new plan for an extension of City College is supported by those who fought the home-improvement idea.

“I think it’s a good proposal,” said Miki Jackson, a member of the Coalition to Save Van de Kamp’s Bakery. “Somehow, education is going to do more for people than a particle board.”

The satellite campus idea is especially appealing, supporters say, because it can serve students in the northeast communities who are technically part of City College’s attendance area, but are seven miles away from the 18,000-student main campus in Hollywood.

City College President Mary Spangler has embraced the concept, going so far as to meet with officials at nearby Glendale College to reassure them that the move was not a threat to that two-year college.

But like the argument over the bakery’s future, nothing about this plan seems certain. For one thing, the trustees must act on the proposed lease Wednesday because the developers’ option on the property will expire before the trustees’ next scheduled meeting. Spangler said she believes the proposal will sail through, but notes that the “deal is dead” if the board delays.

Supporters say the plan has a good chance of passage because several ranking district officials, including Spangler and district Chancellor Mark Drummond, support the satellite campus.

Also, there are concerns over whether there is adequate financing to pay for preserving the facade and incorporating it into a new classroom building. Through the efforts of state Sen. Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles), who represents the area, the state has earmarked $3 million to help preserve the facade and build the new structure. The money the district would pay to lease the property would also help.

The Cimmarusti brothers won’t say what the total cost will be, but a previous estimate to save the facade was put at $2.4 million.

When asked about the cost, Larry Cimmarusti replied, “Right now, it’s not a fair question. With the $3 million from the state, the project is much more feasible than before.”

The brothers hope to build a second structure on the property to house a Burger King and retail stores that would cater to students.

After the bakery went out of business, its presence still heartened area residents, who remembered when hundreds of workers turned out cakes, pies and other pastries.

In 1992, the city Cultural Heritage Commission recognized the bakery’s architecture by adding it to the list of historic places in Los Angeles.

But the structure soon became a target for gang members, who destroyed portions of the bakery’s interior, and vandals, who scrawled graffiti on it. It became such an eyesore that, as plans were considered to replace the aging building, the commission agreed in 1997 not to oppose its demolition. Nearby residents argued for any plan that would rid the area of the blighted abandoned building.

Several years ago, the Cimmarustis proposed to tear down the bakery and replace it with a HomeBase store and a Burger King larger than the one they operate on the other side of San Fernando Road. HomeBase subsequently dropped out.

Another home-improvement chain, Lowe’s, was mentioned as a possible tenant, but company officials said they never committed to it.

At first, the brothers said they had no plans to save the facade or the building. Later, they suggested that an architecture style reminiscent of the Dutch facade could be included in the design of a home-improvement store. That didn’t appease preservationists, who feared that the prospect of new jobs for residents would win out over preservation efforts.

The bakery debate went beyond heated words. Preservationist Jackson, who argued there were enough home-improvement stores in the Glassell Park-Cypress Park area, reported that a window at her home was broken and a caller, who favored tearing down the bakery, later claimed responsibility.

Outside a public hearing last year, two supporters of the home-improvement idea had to be physically separated from a vocal opponent. No punches were thrown.

Larry Cimmarusti, while heartened that the satellite campus project enjoys widespread support, still is bothered by the recent tenor of the dispute over the bakery.

“All we were doing was trying to create jobs,” he said. “We grew up in Glassell Park. We’ve owned that [Burger King] restaurant for 14 years. We have a lot of involvement in that area. “