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.

10/9 PRESS RELEASE

Redman House Progress Notes
October 9, 2003
Contact: Dale Skillicorn
President
Redman Foundation

Redman Foundation president, Dale Skillicorn of the Redman House property have been resolved and the lease remains in affect until November 2004. That gives the Redman Foundation time to continue negotiations for the purchase of the property in its ongoing drive to save the historic Redman House and develop a center promoting Pajaro Valley agriculture.

Located on Lee Road between the Riverside Drive freeway exit and West Beach Road on the edge of Watsonville, the once majestic Victorian mansion is planned to be restored to its former glory by the Redman Foundation and, working with other local agricultural interest, the Foundation will develop a demonstration farm serving as a gateway to such related attractions as the Agricultural History Project and the Rogers House at the fairgrounds and the farm labor history museum to be included in the proposed new Watsonville City library.

The next fundraiser scheduled for the Redman Foundation is a Donors Dining event at Shadowbrook Restaurant on Tuesday, December 2nd. Shadowbrook will donate a portion of the income derived from dinners served to patrons that evening who pre-identify themselves as Redman House supporters. To participate and help the Redman House project, call 475-1222 to make your dinner reservations for December 2nd as Redman House supporters.

Anyone interested in direct donations, serving as a volunteer, or in other ways helping on the project can contact the Redman Foundation, PO Box 2526, Watsonville, CA 95077 or call Dale Skillicorn at (831) 722-0580. Our Tax ID is #770509782.