Redman House Foundation files for bankruptcy
Foundation files for bankruptcy
Posted: Thursday, Mar 12th, 2009
BY: JON CHOWN
Dean Coley talks about the Redman-Hirahara Foundation filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Wednesday in front of the Redman House on Lee Road at West Beach Street.
Rich Kelley and GreenFarm LP have filed for foreclosure on the Redman House, and the Redman-Hirahara Foundation — which bought the historic home on Lee Road — filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Tuesday in an effort to negotiate a new lease.
The Redman-Hirahara Foundation is dedicated to the restoration of the Redman House, an 1897 Queen Anne Victorian designed by famed architect William Weeks. The group wants to save the house and turn the property into a visitors’ center and cultural education center that will attract some of the estimated 18 million cars that pass by on Highway 1 and turn that traffic toward local businesses.
“The house sits at a key gateway. For motorists coming north into Santa Cruz County, it’s the first building you see off the highway. If you are heading south, it’s the last building you see before entering Monterey County,” Redman-Hirahara Foundation board member Dean Coley said. “The potential here is enormous.”
The group says the house is still architecturally sound, the plans for the project are very developed and the permit process is well under way.
“You can’t find a more shovel-ready project than this, and it would give an immediate and permanent boost to the local economy,” board president Geoff Scurfield said.
The group said the bankruptcy was part of a strategy to hold onto the property as it tries to renegotiate the mortgage. The foundation is attempting to strike a deal with Kelley to save the house, which members say has unique historical and cultural value.
Neither Kelley nor his attorney Richard Allen returned calls seeking comment.
Foundation officials said a recent appraisal revealed a large discrepancy in the true market value of the property when the group purchased it for $1.9 million in 2005. The board — which has changed many members since that time — said the $1.9 million figure was based on the property’s potential to be commercially developed, but the reality is that commercial development would never be allowed at the site, which is zoned for agricultural use. As an agricultural site, the foundation says the property should have been appraised at $945,000. Now, officials say they must renegotiate the loan fairly.
The foundation has enlisted some very visible and vocal allies. Developer George Ow has been advising the group, and philanthropist Rowland Rebele has offered financial support and has been doing more recruiting. Ow said he doesn’t believe the property will ever be allowed to be developed for commercial use. Currently, Redman-Hirahara Foundation board member and High Ground Organics owner Stephen Pederson is leasing the land surrounding the house for agricultural use.
Sandy Lydon, historian emeritus of Cabrillo College and the foremost authority on local history, is also on board with the project.
“The group is going to work its way through this, just like the Hiraharas did,” Lydon said. “This house has a story we want to tell and we feel this story is critical.”
Lydon has been a strong supporter of saving the house for the past decade and is working on documenting its history.
The Hirahara family owned the home when World War II started, but was forced to relocate to an internment camp, along with all Japanese-Americans and Japanese nationals in California, after Pearl Harbor was attacked on Dec. 7, 1941. While interned, members of the Watsonville community stepped forward to save the home for the Hiraharas. The home was used after the war as a hostel for Japanese-Americans left homeless by the internment. The house has not had any residents since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, when the last Hirahara family member was forced to move out.
“We’re looking for the community to step forward again,” board member Barbara Powell said.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••
*Photo by Tarmo Hannula*
(Published in 3/12/09 edition)
Posted: Thursday, Mar 12th, 2009
BY: JON CHOWN
Dean Coley talks about the Redman-Hirahara Foundation filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Wednesday in front of the Redman House on Lee Road at West Beach Street.
Rich Kelley and GreenFarm LP have filed for foreclosure on the Redman House, and the Redman-Hirahara Foundation — which bought the historic home on Lee Road — filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Tuesday in an effort to negotiate a new lease.
The Redman-Hirahara Foundation is dedicated to the restoration of the Redman House, an 1897 Queen Anne Victorian designed by famed architect William Weeks. The group wants to save the house and turn the property into a visitors’ center and cultural education center that will attract some of the estimated 18 million cars that pass by on Highway 1 and turn that traffic toward local businesses.
“The house sits at a key gateway. For motorists coming north into Santa Cruz County, it’s the first building you see off the highway. If you are heading south, it’s the last building you see before entering Monterey County,” Redman-Hirahara Foundation board member Dean Coley said. “The potential here is enormous.”
The group says the house is still architecturally sound, the plans for the project are very developed and the permit process is well under way.
“You can’t find a more shovel-ready project than this, and it would give an immediate and permanent boost to the local economy,” board president Geoff Scurfield said.
The group said the bankruptcy was part of a strategy to hold onto the property as it tries to renegotiate the mortgage. The foundation is attempting to strike a deal with Kelley to save the house, which members say has unique historical and cultural value.
Neither Kelley nor his attorney Richard Allen returned calls seeking comment.
Foundation officials said a recent appraisal revealed a large discrepancy in the true market value of the property when the group purchased it for $1.9 million in 2005. The board — which has changed many members since that time — said the $1.9 million figure was based on the property’s potential to be commercially developed, but the reality is that commercial development would never be allowed at the site, which is zoned for agricultural use. As an agricultural site, the foundation says the property should have been appraised at $945,000. Now, officials say they must renegotiate the loan fairly.
The foundation has enlisted some very visible and vocal allies. Developer George Ow has been advising the group, and philanthropist Rowland Rebele has offered financial support and has been doing more recruiting. Ow said he doesn’t believe the property will ever be allowed to be developed for commercial use. Currently, Redman-Hirahara Foundation board member and High Ground Organics owner Stephen Pederson is leasing the land surrounding the house for agricultural use.
Sandy Lydon, historian emeritus of Cabrillo College and the foremost authority on local history, is also on board with the project.
“The group is going to work its way through this, just like the Hiraharas did,” Lydon said. “This house has a story we want to tell and we feel this story is critical.”
Lydon has been a strong supporter of saving the house for the past decade and is working on documenting its history.
The Hirahara family owned the home when World War II started, but was forced to relocate to an internment camp, along with all Japanese-Americans and Japanese nationals in California, after Pearl Harbor was attacked on Dec. 7, 1941. While interned, members of the Watsonville community stepped forward to save the home for the Hiraharas. The home was used after the war as a hostel for Japanese-Americans left homeless by the internment. The house has not had any residents since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, when the last Hirahara family member was forced to move out.
“We’re looking for the community to step forward again,” board member Barbara Powell said.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••
*Photo by Tarmo Hannula*
(Published in 3/12/09 edition)
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