New Housing Plan Includes Goode House

GLENDALE —  After seven years of thwarted attempts to save the historic E. D. Goode House as part of a development, a plan is taking shape to build a 25-unit apartment complex for handicapped adults around the sagging 104-year-old structure.

Proposed by the Crippled Children’s Society, the $3.3-million project would be built with federal and city housing money and would allow restoration of the house for use as a recreation center, said Madalyn Blake, director of community housing and development.

The city proposes to spend as much as $1.4 million on the project, including an estimated $400,000 to restore the house, the last example of Queen Anne/Eastlake architecture on its original site in the city.

Much of the city’s contribution would be used to build balconies, subterranean parking, inclined roofs and other amenities and to upgrade landscaping, which are not eligible for federal funds under Department of Housing and Urban Development guidelines, Blake said. “HUD just generally builds boxes,” she said.

The city has paid for similar amenities at other low-cost housing developments to enhance the appearance of federally sponsored projects.

The city earlier this month bought the house for $723,869 from Glendale developer Joe Ayvazi, who was unable to obtain financing for a proposed 40-unit apartment complex for low-income seniors. The new proposal calls for far less density in development around the house. The density of previous proposals had been the major objection of the Glendale Historical Society and other preservationists. The historical groups have not yet commented on the new plan, which would require approval by the city Historic Preservation Commission.

The Glendale Housing Authority, which consists of the five City Council members and two community representatives, voted unanimously Tuesday to grant the Crippled Children’s Society title to the property for an expected $225,000 in HUD money.

The society has until Sept. 30, 1993, to complete details of the project in order to receive a $1.8-million federal grant.

City officials said the purchase agreement is expected to be completed late next week.

Preliminary plans call for building a horseshoe-shaped apartment complex around the Goode House.

The development would be one story high at the front, step back to two stories and have three levels at the rear of the house so the height of the development will not overwhelm the historic structure, Blake said. It would be occupied by physically and developmentally disabled adults and a full-time manager.

The Goode House would be primarily for use of residents, but city officials are exploring ways to open it to the public.

“We have tried for how many years now to make the Goode House community-oriented,” Mayor Carl Raggio said. “That is high on my list of wishes.”

The two-story house with its distinct architectural appointments was the residence of Edgar D. Goode, a businessman who led the city’s incorporation drive in 1906. Vacant for years, it has deteriorated and become an eyesore in the neighborhood, officials said.