10/25 Effort on tap to save historic P.V. farmhouse
Sentinel staff report
WATSONVILLE — Less than a month after nearly losing its lease, an organization aimed at saving an historic Pajaro Valley farmhouse will soon make an offer to purchase the property, an official said.
The Redman Foundation has lined up a donor, and is ready to negotiate a price for the 14-acre Lee Road property that includes the crumbling Victorian mansion visible from Highway 1, said Dale Skillicorn, foundation president.
""We’ll have an offer on the table in the next three or four weeks," Skillicorn said.
The foundation formed in 1999 to save the house, and plans to establish an agricultural history and education center on the site. But it has fallen short of finding the financing needed to buy the property and restore the house, built more than 100 years earlier and vacant since the 1989 earthquake.
The foundation leased the property about a year ago, with an option to buy. But after it missed a $20,000 payment, the owner, Green Farm Limited Partnership, terminated the lease last month.
"We decided that things were not progressing," said Owen Lawlor, a Green Farm representative.
Skillicorn subsequently took the helm of the foundation, and a donor helped the organization make a payment that reinstated the lease for one year. Lawlor said Green Farm is in a wait-and-see mode.
Skillicorn said Wednesday the foundation is regrouping. Lawyer Mike Barsi and engineer Chris George have joined the board, and the foundation has been forging relationships with other area historical preservation groups. A series of fund-raisers is planned, starting with a dinner at the Shadowbrook on Dec. 1.
For information, call 722-0580.
WATSONVILLE — Less than a month after nearly losing its lease, an organization aimed at saving an historic Pajaro Valley farmhouse will soon make an offer to purchase the property, an official said.
The Redman Foundation has lined up a donor, and is ready to negotiate a price for the 14-acre Lee Road property that includes the crumbling Victorian mansion visible from Highway 1, said Dale Skillicorn, foundation president.
""We’ll have an offer on the table in the next three or four weeks," Skillicorn said.
The foundation formed in 1999 to save the house, and plans to establish an agricultural history and education center on the site. But it has fallen short of finding the financing needed to buy the property and restore the house, built more than 100 years earlier and vacant since the 1989 earthquake.
The foundation leased the property about a year ago, with an option to buy. But after it missed a $20,000 payment, the owner, Green Farm Limited Partnership, terminated the lease last month.
"We decided that things were not progressing," said Owen Lawlor, a Green Farm representative.
Skillicorn subsequently took the helm of the foundation, and a donor helped the organization make a payment that reinstated the lease for one year. Lawlor said Green Farm is in a wait-and-see mode.
Skillicorn said Wednesday the foundation is regrouping. Lawyer Mike Barsi and engineer Chris George have joined the board, and the foundation has been forging relationships with other area historical preservation groups. A series of fund-raisers is planned, starting with a dinner at the Shadowbrook on Dec. 1.
For information, call 722-0580.
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