Green thumbs and park fans rejoice as deal to buy O.C. community garden falls into place
Fourteen years ago, a group of volunteers began the transformation of an empty lot in the Orange County neighborhood of South Laguna into what has become a beloved spot for gardening enthusiasts and residents alike.
The South Laguna Community Garden Park, between Coast Highway and Virginia Way on Eagle Rock Way, was the result. The local treasure has seen 400 gardeners since opening, with more than 50 beds planted.
People associated with the garden park have hoped for years that the roughly quarter of an acre of land on which it sits would become available for purchase. The South Laguna Community Garden Park organization recently got its wish.
“This is the moment we’ve been waiting for for 14 years,” Ann Christoph, project director of the garden park, said at the Laguna Beach City Council meeting on Tuesday. “It dropped out of the sky, basically. We had a surprise contact from a real estate agent, who we didn’t know, who said, ‘I’ve got a new listing on the garden park, and it’s much less than it was before.’
“We met with him a week and a half ago. Mark Christy came, and he is serving as our buyer’s representative. He said, ‘We’ll have an offer for you tomorrow,’ which was the following Tuesday, and by Friday, we had a confirmation of our offer.”
Christoph said the garden park became available for $2 million with a 30-day escrow period. It had been listed for $5 million last summer.
The City Council appropriated $500,000 from the open space fund to go toward the purchase of the garden park. The panel has made that commitment for several years, with the contingency that the South Laguna Community Garden Park organization raise the balance of the negotiated purchase price.
“We are in a very tight time frame,” Christoph added. “So grateful that the council has provided for this particular item, to make your commitment that you’ve made for many years, always thinking, ‘This will never happen. Why are we doing this again? You guys haven’t produced anything.’ But now, here we are.”
The $2-million offer was accepted on Aug. 11, beginning the 30-day escrow period. As of Tuesday’s meeting, there had been more than $1 million in donations and pledges toward the acquisition of the property.
The Laguna Beach Community Foundation has partnered with the South Laguna Community Garden Park organization to help close the deal. The foundation will be accepting contributions via check. For more information on the garden park, visit SouthLagunaGarden.org.
“We believe we will be able to be the vehicle through which the funds flow,” said Tom Davis, chairman of the Laguna Beach Community Foundation. “We will pool the funds together. When the time comes, deliver the funds into escrow to close the escrow.
“There is a 501(c)(3) in process right now, being formed, to be the owner and operator of the garden. It’s not in place yet. … We will serve at the foundation as the owner of that property until such time as the 501(c)(3) is in place.”
South Laguna Community Garden Park representatives are prepared to take out a loan, if necessary, to cover a potential funding gap.
The garden park is open to the public daily and has come to host a variety of events, including educational programs, live music performances and potlucks.
Laguna Beach Mayor Bob Whalen said the purchase of the property would mean a great deal to the community.
“It’s peace of mind. Now, you own it. It’s not going to get sold out from under you, and you can have a long-term community garden down there,” he said.
“I think it’s great for them, and I really hope they’re able to close the escrow and make it real.”
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