Condominium

Gretchen Hoffman NORTHWEST GLENDALE -- Little more than a statue surrounded by the charred remnants of furniture and personal belongings remained in a condominium gutted by fire Friday morning. More than 45 firefighters responded to the blaze in a three-story complex at 470 W. Stocker St. at about 8:45 a.m. Friday, Glendale Fire Capt. Robert Doyle said. A complex building layout forced firefighters to make a snap decision: They would go in through an upper-level condominium rather than negotiate the maze in search of the fire's source.

GLENDALE — Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved Tuesday to extend a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who killed 83-year-old Jean Clinton Roeschlaub in her downtown Glendale condominium more than three years ago. Supervisors have extended the reward, which was established in January, twice this year, hoping to help Glendale detectives with leads on the cold case. Clinton Roeschlaub was the co-owner of the historical Clifton’s Brookdale Cafeteria in downtown Los Angeles.

Lindy Hays I am surprised and a bit disappointed by Herbert Molano's apparent lack of understanding regarding the complex issues of condominium conversion ("Decision was a dense one," June 30). Over the years, I have developed a degree of respect for him and some of his proposals for improving our quality of life in Glendale. In fact, if I didn't know better, I might think his condominium conversion proposal is motivated by a desire for personal gain rather than a desire to improve our city.

DOWNTOWN - The Redevelopment Agency approved preliminary design plans this week for a proposed twin-tower condominium project at the corner of Wilson Avenue and Orange Street in downtown Glendale. Design changes made to the two proposed 16-story condominium towers since the agency last reviewed the project in December were a step in the right direction, agency members said. The project is planned for the current site of the Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts store. "I voted against this last time because I thought the quality of the building wasn't there," Councilman Bob Yousefian said.

Josh Kleinbaum Preservationists who want to keep the former Glendale Federal Savings and Loan building complex in its current form, with the ground floor open to the public and the blue louvers intact, will make their case Monday to the Board of Zoning Adjustments. Nicholson Vertex LP, owners of the complex, wants to convert its six-story annex on Lexington Drive into a 55-unit condominium complex. But the company's proposal involves several factors that worry area preservationists, including the removal of the blue louvers, and the building of first-floor condominiums with walled-in patios that eliminate some public space.

Regarding the building of Armenian high school and condominium village proposal ("Armenian high school proposed for property," Aug. 25): As a resident of Glendale for the past 40 years, I found the article regarding the building of an Armenian high school and condominium village in Mountain Oaks as another attempt to force urban blight on the quickly disappearing pristine environment of the Glendale mountain areas. I felt the article to be duplicitous in nature and was concerned with the statements from those interviewed.

CITY HALL ? The council set an unprecedented condition Tuesday on a condominium conversion application on Palm Drive: make four of the resulting units available as affordable housing, or the conversion won't be approved. The condition was set during a hearing Tuesday for Aram Kazasian, the ninth and final applicant under a waiver process established in June 2005 that allows apartment building owners to convert their units into condominiums without conforming to newer residential density standards.

GLENDALE ? The City Council on Tuesday shot down a request for a zone change that would have blocked the development of a 26-unit, three-story condominium unit, dealing a blow to residents who oppose the project. The council voted 3-1 against the request, but voted 4-0 in favor of a traffic study after residents complained of congestion in the neighborhood. Councilman Frank Quintero was the only council member who voted in favor of the zoning request and Mayor Dave Weaver was not present.

GLENDALE — Donald Clinton still has a hard time with the fact that his sister’s killer remains on the loose more than two years after her death. He doesn’t know who could have killed his sister, Jean Clinton Roeschlaub, the co-owner of Clifton’s Brookdale Cafeteria, in her Glendale condominium Aug. 2, 2006. “We can accept it, but it is hard,” Clinton said, referring to himself and other family members. Glendale Police detectives have run into a dead end in their investigation, Glendale Police Det. Keith Soboleski said, declaring the slaying a cold case.

The number of foreclosed homes that sold in the Glendale region plummeted in November to only a handful, according to the latest real estate figures Four bank-owned properties sold last month, a dramatic decline from 23 in November 2011, according to statistics compiled by Realtor Keith Sorem with Keller Williams in Glendale. In the La Crescenta-Montrose area, only one bank-owned property sold in November, compared to six the same month last year. Broker Hamlet Nersesian, who owns Armex Realty in Glendale, said the drop in bank-owned properties for sale is a mystery.

CITY HALL — With the flood of iconic high-rises that were supposed to transform downtown having been halted by the economic recession, Glendale's skyline won't be changing anytime soon. During a 2008 hearing on Verdugo Gardens, a planned 24-story luxury condominium complex, city officials predicted the project would help transform downtown into a bustling residential area. "It's going to be a signature building," Councilman Frank Quintero said at the time. "This is going to introduce a new type of residential living in the city.

DOWNTOWN — Sales of the Americana at Brand’s Excelsior condominiums have steadily grown since owner Caruso Affiliated dropped unit prices by as much as 40% this summer, with more than half of the project now sold, company officials said this week. Fifteen of the 100 units were sold before Caruso Affiliated launched an aggressive ad campaign in May, plastering banners on the walls of the Americana that promoted condos as “priced below cost.” Some units sold at a discount of more than $100,000, executives said.

GLENDALE — Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved Tuesday to extend a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who killed 83-year-old Jean Clinton Roeschlaub in her downtown Glendale condominium more than three years ago. Supervisors have extended the reward, which was established in January, twice this year, hoping to help Glendale detectives with leads on the cold case. Clinton Roeschlaub was the co-owner of the historical Clifton’s Brookdale Cafeteria in downtown Los Angeles.

GLENDALE — Donald Clinton still has a hard time with the fact that his sister’s killer remains on the loose more than two years after her death. He doesn’t know who could have killed his sister, Jean Clinton Roeschlaub, the co-owner of Clifton’s Brookdale Cafeteria, in her Glendale condominium Aug. 2, 2006. “We can accept it, but it is hard,” Clinton said, referring to himself and other family members. Glendale Police detectives have run into a dead end in their investigation, Glendale Police Det. Keith Soboleski said, declaring the slaying a cold case.

Beset by a distressed economy and a soaring number of city inspections, the FourOneSix mixed-use condominium project on Broadway Avenue has pushed back its opening to January and will wait until its debut to push ahead with unit sales, officials said Friday. After the project was approved more than two years ago, officials have sold just 14 of 115 units, according to officials with the development firm Intercorp, which is overseeing the project. The sprawling mixed-use complex between Jackson and Kenwood streets in downtown Glendale includes 9,463 square feet of retail space and more than 100,000 square feet allotted for residential units.

CITY HALL — For the fourth time in two years, the City Council on Tuesday voted 3-2 to reconsider how to reconcile condo conversion projects that do not meet the city’s low-density requirements with the desire to provide more affordable housing. The vote came amid concerns that the city’s current policy for evaluating and approving the conversion of apartments into for-sale condominiums against strict, low-density zoning requirements may be discouraging developers from taking the projects on. Many of the older apartment buildings do not meet the requirements for more per-unit parking and other current standards, but are allowed to exist unchanged under a grandfather clause.

The following crime reports for La Crescenta, La Cañada, Montrose and Glendale were taken from the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station and Glendale Police Department. Sunday, May 13 3 Berkshire Place, LCF someone spray-painted graffiti on a concrete bridge and nearby private property. Saturday, May 12 4100 Block of La Crescenta Ave., LCR someone entered the 20 unit condominium complex’s underground garage and stole construction supplies.

The Glendale Planning Commission has approved a tentative subdivision map for a 20-unit project under construction at Montrose and La Crescenta. The commission was limited in its consideration to whether the units can be marketed as apartments or condominiums, according to deputy city attorney Michael Garcia. Garcia told the commission that the project has all its permits and has received environmental clearance. The only way other issues could be considered was if the commission determined the subdivision map action opened other mitigation issues.

As residents, we are once again facing intrusive development in our backyards that threatens to encroach upon our neighborhoods, our hillsides and our quality of life. I am referring, of course, to the proposed high school and condominium project in Mountain Oaks ("Mountain Oaks plan proceeding," Oct. 14). I grew up blocks from this natural wonder and spent a good deal of my childhood hiking in the hills surrounding this area and learning to appreciate the beauty and tranquillity of this open space.