Huscroft House future on the line

Lolita Harper

COSTA MESA -- Without a strong private interest in the restoration of

the historic Huscroft House, the city will have to choose between two

problematic proposals or demolition.

At the end of a two-month open bidding process for the historic

Huscroft House, the city received only two formal bids.

One came from Jane Altman-Dwan, who has expressed interest in the old

Craftsman-style house since the city first announced it was up for sale,

and another came from Costa Mesa resident Michael Steiner.

Steiner said his letter to the city was not a bid but a communication

explaining his interest in saving the house but an inability to submit a

proposal because of the city’s time limits. According to the city’s

guidelines, the buyer would have to move the Huscroft House from its

current spot on Arlington Avenue within 90 days.

“I have the financial capability to move and restore the house, or

even purchase another lot onto which to move it, but your nearly

impossible time limit for moving the house will not allow me to do so,”

Steiner’s letter stated.

Altman-Dwan proposed to pay for the renovation of the house and open

it to the public in exchange for permission to add a ballroom, designed

to host a variety of social engagements. She said she wants to make the

house a community building open to all, especially children.

However, a staff report from the Public Services Department states

that Altman-Dwan’s proposal is inconsistent with the Fairview Park Master

Plan and could even require another environmental report. Her bid also

runs into legal problems by suggesting private ownership of a building on

public land, the report reads.

Originally built in Santa Ana, the 1915 Craftsman-style house was

moved to Costa Mesa in the 1950s and occupied by the Huscroft family. In

1998, the city accepted the donation of the house with the intent of

restoring it, moving it to Fairview Park and using it as a museum.

In July, the council voted to sell the house or demolish it if a buyer

could not be found. At that time, Newport Beach resident Chad Ware, owner

of Pacific Sales & Leasing in Costa Mesa, expressed interest. Ware, who

bought and is restoring the Old Pink House -- which is now white -- did

not submit a formal proposal for the Huscroft House.

Ware said he backed out because of the drop in the market and because

he realized how costly and time consuming restoring an old house is.

“I’m at the finishing part of my house and it is so slow and so costly

that it doesn’t pencil,” Ware said.

If the council decided to accept more bids, he would consider

submitting a formal proposal, Ware said.