Prices Lure Buyers; Friendliness Keeps Them : South Gate: Good schools, accessibility and responsive police are among the attributes of community chosen an All-America City.

When Rene and Beatriz Ornelas decided last year to move from South-Central Los Angeles to be closer to Rene’s graphic arts business in South Gate, they rented a house in the city for $850 a month.

Then, after checking prices in the area, the couple bought the home they had been renting, paying $175,000 for the house, which has two large bedrooms in about 1,300 square feet, a double lot with a large back yard and a two-car garage.

“It’s very difficult to afford to live in a middle-class neighborhood with mortgage payments over $1,000,” Rene Ornelas said. “I have my own business and we just make it each month, but it’s worth the sacrifice for my family.”

“Our neighbors are quiet, hard-working people,” he said. “And South Gate takes care of its community.

“For example, there is good lighting on the streets. Now that may seem like a small thing to some people, but it is important to us. And there is a strong, responsive police force. I think South Gate is a safer place because of them.”

Originally an area known as the Cudahy Packing Co. Ranch, the mostly blue-collar community of South Gate is about 7 1/2 square miles of tidy, tree-lined streets north of the city of Lynwood, south of Santa Ana Street, east of Alameda Street and west of Downey.

Although residents still enjoy its small-town atmosphere, a population of 86,000 makes South Gate the 14th largest city in Los Angeles County. Among the city’s other amenities, residents point out its central location and its affordable housing.

“One of South Gate’s greatest assets is its accessibility,” said Nick Velko, president of Horizon Realty, who was born and raised in the city.

“You can be in downtown Los Angeles or Orange County by freeway in 10 minutes . . . or you can be at the port in Long Beach in 10 minutes. South Gate is in the hub of L.A. County.”

Added Hugo Velasquez, a dental hygienist who has his own business in the city: “South Gate is a very convenient area for businesses. I make a lot of deliveries to dentists’ offices and it’s easy to get around (the Los Angeles area).”

Velasquez and his wife, Erika, moved to California from New Jersey in 1986 to be with Erika’s family. First living in Huntington Park and then Lynwood, Hugo and Erika moved to South Gate with their two young daughters in 1989.

“We wanted to live in South Gate because everything is in order. The neighborhoods are clean and quiet . . . and the people are friendly.”

“When we first moved in,” Velasquez said, “our neighbors watched us coming and going and, little by little, they came around to introduce themselves. One of our neighbors, who is Hungarian, has lived here a long time and speaks Spanish. We all get along very well and watch out for each other.”

Affordable housing is what attracted Maureen O’Connor, South Gate’s public information manager, who grew up in the city, moved away and returned in 1990 when she found that her hometown offered the best real estate value for her price range.

“I looked everywhere, including Downey, Norwalk, Paramount . . . , “ she said. “I am the third owner of a 1,250-square-foot, three-bedroom, one-bath house that I bought for a little under $170,000.”

A community of mostly single-family dwellings, the typical homes in South Gate are the traditional California bungalows of the 1920s and the California styles built in the 1940s.

Newer construction of single-family units and condominiums has taken place sporadically beginning in 1965 with the Stonewood Condominiums, Rancho Glenbrook in the mid ‘70s and, most recently, the California Patio Homes, which sold out in 1990.

“The average 800-square-foot house in South Gate sells for between $150,000 to $160,000,” said realtor Mario Gonzalez with Coldwell Banker Delphi Realty, up from $130,000 in 1988.

“A 1,300-square-foot, three-bedroom and one-bath home is valued between $170,000 to $180,000,” he said. “Some of the homes near South Gate Park are larger, typically 1,500 to 1,600 square feet with three bedrooms and two baths valued at between $190,000 to $200,000.”

Besides central location and affordability, South Gate is also “a good place to raise children,” said Rene Ornelas, whose daughters, Karla, 10, and Beatriz, 8, attend San Miguel Avenue Elementary, one of nine elementary schools serving the South Gate area.

“Since we’ve moved to South Gate, we’ve seen a change in our children--they enjoy going to school and doing their homework. The classes are smaller, 15 to 17 kids . . . the teachers have helpers and every student has a computer.”

In 1990 South Gate Junior High received a substantial three-year federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education to fund a “Newcomers’ Program,” which, according to its director, Johanna Rivera, helps “limited-English-speaking children reach their potential and to help their parents acclimate themselves into the community.”

South Gate’s economy was devastated in 1980, when the Firestone Tire Co. plant was closed, followed by the shutdown of the General Motors plant in 1982.

About 7,000 jobs were lost in the plant closings, triggering an exodus of unemployed factory workers, many of them longtime South Gate residents who were forced to sell their homes and leave the city.

Newcomers seeking affordable housing, many of them Latinos, moved into the city, causing a major shift in the ethnic makeup of South Gate. Today, 83% of South Gate’s residents are Latino. Filipinos, Asians, blacks and Anglos also are represented in the citizenry.

Among the new arrivals in the early 1980s were Marta and Al Cristales, who left Guatemala in 1979 and came to the United States with their three sons.

“In 1981 we moved to South Gate because we heard of its growing Latin community and we worked for the next six years as custodians at our church,” Al Cristales said. “In November, 1986, we opened our own cleaning business.

“When we came to the United States, our first priority was to learn English. I believe very strongly that to succeed, every immigrant must learn the language and participate in the customs of their adopted homeland.”

Added Andrew Pasmant, South Gate’s director of community development: “There is a tremendous willingness to volunteer in this community--both from the private and business sectors.”

That’s pretty much been the case since the town’s beginning, according to longtime residents Dr. John Aldinger and his wife, Grace, who moved to South Gate from Iowa in 1927.

“Back then, South Gate was a small community, roughly 15,000 people . . . mostly from the Midwest. We all knew each other and worked together.”

That attitude is still prevalent.

When George Jameson, pastor of the Foursquare Church, and his wife, Jackie, moved from Culver City to South Gate in 1987, they expected a long period of adjustment.

“My parish in Culver City was primarily Anglo,” said Jameson, who is Anglo. “Fifty percent of my parish in South Gate is Hispanic. We thought the cultural differences would be difficult to overcome, but we were wrong. We felt accepted from the very first day.”

“I particularly enjoy living in a small independent city like South Gate because it provides an opportunity for the individual citizen to get involved.”

“An amnesty assistance program was in place at our church when I first arrived in 1987,” Jameson said. “In 1988 we started classes to teach English. One day, walking by the classroom, I overheard the students working very hard to master the Pledge of Allegiance in English and as they stumbled over the English words I began to cry . . . it was very touching . . . still brings tears to my eyes.”

Residents are quick to boast that South Gate was honored in 1990 by the National Civic League as an All-America City. By recognizing the successful efforts of citizens who work together to solve problems in their communities, the award is aimed at encouraging other towns and cities to look at the winners as role models.

In June, 1990, South Gate, one of 30 finalists for 10 awards, was represented by Jameson, Cristales, Dr. Peter Ferry, the principal of South Gate Junior High, and Robert Philipp, the then mayor, at the annual All-America competition in Phoenix.

They appeared before a 12-member jury to describe how the citizens are working together to solve such community problems as gangs and drugs in schools, cultural and generational differences and a troubled local economy.

“(The All-America City honor) carries great significance for the community,” Cristales said. “The citizens of South Gate were honored as an outstanding community willing to look ahead . . . to work together to find real solutions.”

AT A GLANCE

Population * 1990 Official: 86,284 * 1980-90 change: +34% Median age: 28.4 years Annual income * Per capita: $8,341 * Median household: 21,722 Household Distribution * Less than $15,000: 32.2% * $15,000 - 25,000: 23.5% * $25,000 - 35,000: 18.5% * $35,000 - 50,00: 15.6% * $50,000 +: 9.2%