The property, at 2563 Foothill Blvd., was the home of St. Luke’s Anglican Church until its final service at the site Sunday, following a three-year legal battle for ownership.
The diocese prevailed in the lawsuit, which resulted in a court order for the Anglican congregation to move out Monday.
The Anglican congregation had been affiliated with the diocese until 2006, but broke away following the election of a gay bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire.
St. Luke’s Anglican Church will begin holding its services Sunday at Seventh Day Adventist Church on Vallejo Drive in Glendale, while the Episcopal church is scheduled to hold its first service at the reclaimed Foothill Boulevard site at 2 p.m. the same day.
The diocese hopes to make significant improvements to the property, which was once “the crown of the San Gabriel Valley and La Crescenta,” Bruno said.
“When I saw the property and saw the condition it was in, we called [landscaping crews] yesterday and started work to bring it to a vitality that it used to be,” he said.
Community members had, in recent months, noticed the rougher appearance of the St. Luke’s property, which was always a landmark on Foothill, said Steve Pierce, president of the Crescenta Valley Town Council.
“It’s always been a beautiful site, with the landscaping and the rock structure,” Pierce said. “It’s probably the most significant structure in our community and to see it sort of go the other direction was disappointing.”
Pierce welcomed the changes to the site.
Bruno would not offer specifics, but said some minor landscaping upgrades would be in place by Sunday.
