New Developer to Build Stalled Housing Project

After being declared too costly last summer, what would be the largest housing development in Glendale’s history is back on track this week after an Orange County developer took over the 588-unit project in the San Rafael Hills.

Robert R. Hensler of Glendale, who had co-owned the 316-acre property for more than 20 years and long fought for its development, said he sold his interest Dec. 31 to a Costa Mesa firm, Homes by Polygon, which said it will build the giant subdivision.

The Glendale City Council had approved the project last April after years of controversy over its size and potential destruction of open hillsides. But Hensler said last summer he was considering dropping the project because of financial difficulties.

Hensler declined to disclose the terms of the sale to Polygon, but called the transaction “profitable.� He also said he was saddened that he cannot afford to complete the project. “I’ve been in this a long time and I’ve been fighting for a long time,� he said.

The Polygon company has several large single-family and town-home projects under way in Laguna Niguel, City of Commerce and La Costa. A Polygon spokesman said the company is anxious to build in Glendale because it is “a mature community with an excellent reputation.�

Co-Owners Retain Interest

Timothy MacDonald of La Cresenta, a contractor, and his cousin, Philip MacDonald of Irvine, a developer, co-owned the land with Hensler but have retained an interest in the development.

“We have had a longstanding relationship with the city and we want to remain involved with the project,� Timothy MacDonald said this week. He praised Polygon as “a real good builder� and said the project “will be going forth, no question about it.�

Hensler said another developer, J. M. Peters Co. of Irvine, also considered taking over the project but “backed off� after conducting its own feasibility studies. Company officials could not be reached for comment.

The subdivision is proposed for the hilly area west of Mountain Street between the Glendale Freeway and Chevy Chase Canyon. The plan calls for developers to dedicate 213 acres of the site to the city to be preserved as open space.

Polygon officials said the company will retain the same number of units and basic plans that were approved by the city and will not need further municipal review of them. However, the developers must still obtain city approval of more precise plans for the project, which may require six months or more.

The project may be completed within two to three years after it begins, rather than the four to five years originally projected, MacDonald said.

Previous Proposals for Site

During the last two decades, a variety of other projects proposed for the site, ranging from a 293-unit proposal in 1967 to a 2,059-unit plan in 1971, were rejected in the light of widespread community opposition.

The current plan provides for a mixture of 140 town houses, 312 duplex units and 136 single-family houses, all clustered on a small part of the hillside. When they approved the project, City Council members said they liked the idea of preserving a large area for open space and building much-needed new housing in the city that Hensler-MacDonald projected could cost as low as $150,000 a unit.

However, William F. Dykes, president of Polygon, said it is too early to project the price range of proposed new homes. “We still have too much planning to do,� he said.

A key to city approval of the project was the developers’ acquisition of a 2.6-acre parcel west of the Glendale Freeway at Mountain Street that was owned by Glendale College.

The parcel, which consists of a hillside facing the freeway, provides the only access to the proposed housing project. Hensler-MacDonald was the sole bidder when the the land was put up for sale in 1985, and agreed to pay the college $1.1 million, even though developers said the price was exorbitant.

College officials planned to use the money to build tennis courts and sorely needed parking spaces. But, following council approval, Hensler last summer refused to pay the college, saying that marketing and economic studies had found that the housing project was no longer feasible.

Without money from the sale of its land, the college in August joined a consortium of other school districts and borrowed the money needed for campus improvements.

‘Relieved’ to Get Payment

Jean Larson, college vice president of business services, said she was “very relieved� to finally receive payment for the land last week.

“Glendale College has traditionally operated on a cash basis,� she said. “Borrowing through the consortium was a first for the board, done more or less with the understanding that we would realize at some date money from the sale of the land.�

College President John Davitt said he is uncertain what trustees will decide to do with the windfall payment. The college could use the money from developers to repay its loan to the consortium or it could invest the money and use the interest for more capital development or improvements, he said.

Other projects could include renovating and upgrading water lines and electrical power, and possibly building even more parking, Davitt said. College trustees are expected to discuss the alternatives in February.