Toberman House Saved At Last Minute

Success again for Hollywood Heritage! In keeping with a tradition of practicing what we preach, Hollywood Heritage has succeeded in saving the home of 2 time Los Angeles mayor J. R. Toberman from certain demolition. On September 16, Fran Offenhauser closed escrow on this 1907 Queen Anne/Classical revival home at 1749 North Harvard Boulevard, along with the 8 unit unhistoric apartment house on the same lot.

Upon learning of the impending sale of this landmark to apartment developers, who planned to demolish it, Hollywood Heritage had quickly prepared a winning Cultural Heritage nomination. With the help of Councilman Tom LaBonge in calendaring the motion (and the moral support of Councilman Eric Garcetti), the house was declared Monument #769 on October 29,2003. But the owners, still eager for their sale, quickly listed the home again for sale.

Kay Tornborg made a point of keeping in close touch with Susan Bernard, the real estate broker. She combed the non-profit world of Los Angeles for a potential buyer, and asked Hollywood Heritage president Fran Offenhauser to help organize a possible rescue for the building. Kay shepherded the landmark nomination, made up and circulated flyers, followed up on leads, coordinated with the Council office, and persisted in seeking a buyer.

Fran commissioned an appraisal at her own expense from an appraiser specializing in both historic properties and in vacant land. They needed to insure that a valid price could be offered if an appropriate non-profit buyer could be found. Fran also advised the broker on how to keep the substandard structure from being grabbed by the City under a pending “REAP” action, which would have scared off buyers and lenders and hurried the home’s demolition.

Kay’s diligence paid off. The broker courteously called March 23, 2004 to let her know that the property had been relisted, and that offers were pouring in. Hollywood Heritage had shown such good faith – our goal in every preservationist vs. landmark demolition situation – that the broker returned the good faith. Kay immediately called Fran Offenhauser, and in the absence of a committed non-profit to make the purchase, Fran wrote up an offer that afternoon.

There are many other heroes in this tale:

· Michael Mekeel, Fran’s husband and likely the most serious preservationist in Los Angeles, agreed to share the risk of purchasing the house as a public service gesture, although no non-profit buyer was on the horizon

· Dave Monks and both HUNC (Hollywood United Neighborhood Council) and GGPNC (Greater Griffith Park Neighborhood Council). Monks first brought the house to Hollywood Heritage’s attention and the Neighborhood Councils both helped promote saving the structure and supported the Cultural Heritage Nomination throughout the process. The then-president of the Cultural Affairs Dept., Michael Cornwell, noted at the hearing that this was the first instance in which the newly-functioning Neighborhood Councils had actively participated in a nomination and we thank both of them for their interest and efforts as well as the various nearby neighborhood groups working with Hollywood Heritage member Fran Reichenbach..

· Maria Kushko, former owner of the house, and her son Ted Wojdlya trusted Fran over a nailbiting escrow period, extending deadlines, and giving Fran free rein to repair the house while they still owned it and lived in it so it could be saved

· Sally Beaudette, Hollywood Heritage Advisory Board member, who immediately understood the importance of the house to Hollywood’s (and Los Angeles’ history) and jumped in to help in the search for a non-profit buyer. She enlisted support for preservation from John E. Bryson, Chairman, President and CEO of Edison International, whose interest stems from J.R. Toberman’s mayoral role as lighter of the first electric street lights. After that she called Lucy Toberman McBain, who was kind enough to join preservationist John Welborne in talking about the nomination with their friend, Councilman Tom LaBonge. Mrs. McBain also led us on a treasure hunt in her attic and loaned us many family photos and other J.R.-era memorabilia (including a tiny photo of both J.R. and C.E. Toberman’s houses when they stood side-by-side in the then treeless tract).

· Mary Deckeback, First Republic Bank, arranged real estate financing for a property which was long on emotional history but short on just about everything else

· Martin Eli Weil donated his services for an historic paint analysis

· Mary Sullivan prepared the Cultural Heritage nomination in a mad rush over a weekend

· Fran’s real estate broker waived his real estate commission

· Larry Kaplan and Jennifer Hranilovich of the Trust for Public Land, who offered gap financing and assisted in the search for a non-profit buyer

· Don Scott of First Financial Bancorp, whose commitment to Hollywood is so great he stepped in to help with financing

· Dan O’Connell and Vicki Gill, appraisers, for seeing a future in the past.

The escrow period was a cliff hanger, and not just because it became increasingly clear that there was going to be no non-profit buyer who could perform within the escrow time limits.

Two huge crises loomed. The juggernaut of the City Building and Housing departments would not stop.. Fran stepped in during escrow at great risk to correct the substandard conditions and keep the Building Department at bay. In 5 weeks she installed a new heating system, repaired wiring, windows, fences, roofs, water heater, plumbing, etc., and replastered and repainted large portions of the house. Susan Bernard arranged for more repairs and met with inspectors on a nearly daily basis – going far, far beyond the call of duty for a real estate broker. On May 12 the City signed off the building violations.

The largest crisis was obtaining financing. In the world of commercial real estate, a clean apartment building with new wiring and plumbing and a long steady rental history is an easy sell to a bank. A house that looks like its from a horror film, is about to be grabbed by the City, and is occupied by two family members and two boarders is a recipe for bank rejection. Fran’s long time lender drove by the house and backed out.

Mary Deckeback of First Republic Bank went the extra mile to help Fran build a case directly with the owners of the bank, showing that Fran’s long record in real estate development and in restoration of landmarks boded well for the bank and for Hollywood.

Just as people look at the El Capitan Theater, and the Cinerama Dome, and many historic buildings in Hollywood, and assume that they still stand because they are landmarks, people will look at the Toberman House and never imagine how close this important landmark came to the wrecking ball.