[symple_googlemap title=”1456 Echo Park Ave” location=”1456 Echo Park Ave” height=”300″ zoom=”15″]
Some pre-World War II bungalows in Echo Park threatened with demolition will be considered for cultural historic monument status following a unanimous vote Thursday by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission.
A developer who bought the Wurfl Court bungalows at 1450-1456 Echo Park Ave. recently filed an application with the city to tear them down and build 12 single-family homes in their place.
The move was met with strong opposition from City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, who represents the area and called on supporters to attend the meeting and speak out against the project.
The owner of the bungalows, Sam Mark, appeared before the commission and said he was “kind of blindsided” by the negative reaction to his plans.
Mark said he has primarily worked in commercial real estate for decades after getting his start by purchasing a strip mall in Utah. He said he has done very little development from the ground up, but researched the neighborhood and felt the development he is planning is needed there.
“Our intention was not to do anything negative here. On the contrary, but to do something positive that everybody likes. I want to be a likable guy and do things that others like,” Mark said.
Mark did not make any statements about the historical or cultural value of the property, but rather spent his time before the commission explaining why he bought the bungalows and what he intended to do with them.
But before the vote, Commissioner Barry Milofski said, “Our duty here is to designate monuments based on their qualities, not to look at what the alternative development might be.”
The vote also came after a number of neighborhood leaders spoke out against the project.
“This neighborhood continues to be very special because of buildings such as Wurfl Court. In addition, these structures provide much needed affordable housing,” Christine Kantner of the Silver Lake Heritage Trust said. “And if not protected this court will be demolished and in its place will be cheaply built luxury housing by a developer who has a history making strip malls in Utah with no building experience and I am very concerned.”
O’Farrell also said on Thursday that he plans on introducing several motions to the City Council in the next few days to address what he says is inconsistent zoning on Echo Park Avenue and also direct staff to report on preservation recommendations to save the bungalows.
–City News Service