Historic Burbank home, built in 1922, goes on the market

Burbank residents Greg Rehner and Kirk Solomon weren’t looking to leave their home of 11 years in the city where they’ve been instrumental in helping to resist change — Rehner founded the grassroots group Preserve Burbank.

The couple helped streamline the city’s process for designating a home as a historic resource when they became the first property owners to get such a designation for their 1922 home at 902 E. Olive Ave., known as the Rock House.

Their Craftsman-style home, constructed using indigenous river rocks from the Tujunga Wash, went on the market last month.

“This is just part of our journey,” Rehner said of their decision to sell the house and move closer to Paramount Pictures, where Solomon works. “We weren’t looking for something new. Something new has found us.”

Now they’re hoping to find a buyer looking for something new — and old — in Burbank. They have had two open houses, with a third planned for Sunday. The pair, who said they see themselves as caretakers of the home, said the ideal buyer will not only have a passion for history, but will want to be a part of it.

The new owner will be what Solomon called the “fourth steward” of the home, the first being the original builder, Orlando C. Lane, a businessman and Ford auto dealer who once hosted Henry Ford as a guest in the home. Sam and Marie Ross bought the home in 1968 and stewarded it until 2004 when they sold it to Solomon and Rehner.

Fortunately, Sam Ross never threw anything away, Solomon said, leaving several historic items in the attic when he and Rehner sought to restore the property to its original character.

For example, one expedition in the attic revealed a light fixture at the end of a rusty chain, which was cleaned up and is now a crystal chandelier in the breakfast nook.

An old door with “Private Office” painted in black letters on its frosted glass pane used to be Lane’s office door in the two-car garage out back, but was found in the attic. It’s now back in a doorframe in the garage, separating a laundry room and quarter-bath from what’s now Solomon’s home office.

Both Rehner and Solomon, who hail from the Midwest, said Burbank felt like towns where they grew up with a sense of history and community. They’ve lived in a lot of places, Rehner said, but they’ve stayed in Burbank longer than any other.

Solomon said he liked that he could go down to the city’s Community Development Department and speak to an official when he had questions or concerns, such as when they became the first homeowners to navigate the city’s historic preservation process after it had been established 15 years prior.

In 2008, before the Rock House had been designated a historic resource, the city of Burbank got a C-minus on the Los Angeles Conservancy Preservation Report Card, which grades local cities on their efforts to preserve historic buildings.

In 2014, with seven homes designated and an eighth slated at the time, the city earned an A.

As they prepare to leave town, Rehner and Solomon will be leading the way through another process as the first to sell a home in Burbank with an active Mills Act contract, an agreement with the city that provides a 67% tax abatement to encourage preservation of the historic property. The tax discount will transfer to the new owner, Solomon said.

The asking price is $945,000 for the 1,350-square-foot home with three bedrooms, two full bathrooms and two detached garages on a 7,395-square-foot lot, which is believed to be its original 1922 configuration.

It’s a little high in terms of cost per square foot, said Jim Casey, who now heads Preserve Burbank and is also the property’s listing agent. It’s a parcel that would be attractive to someone looking to tear down the home and build something much larger, he said, but that can’t happen thanks to its historic designation.

However, that designation doesn’t mean the Rock House is set in stone, the owners noted. Changes to both the interior and exterior are allowed, but they must meet certain guidelines and additional scrutiny from the Burbank Heritage Commission to ensure the home retains its historic character.

It’s a “sanctuary property,” said Casey, a member of the commission who has also been a vocal opponent of mansionization in Burbank.

“This house stands to say, ‘This house will be here,’” he said.