Court Orders Housing Giant AIMCO to Stop Demolitions at Historic Lincoln
Place Apartments
Preservationists, Tenants, Jubilant over
Appellate Court Stay
by Laura
Burns
The appellate Court ordered on,
April 8, 2004 that the stay of asbestos removal and pre-demolition activities at
Lincoln Place will remain in place until it takes up the case and decides--which
should be sometime later this year..
The buildings are part of a now 45-building
complex known as Lincoln Place in Venice, California, designed by preeminent
African American architect Ralph Vaughn and built in the 1950’s in what is
known as the "Modern" style. The Lincoln Place complex was determined by the
State of California to be eligible for listing on the National Register as a
historic district in 2003.
The petition
for the emergency stay was filed by the 20th Century Architecture Alliance, the
Los Angeles Conservancy, the California Preservation Foundation, and the
National Organization of Minority Architects. The prominent historic
preservation organizations had filed suit against the City of Los Angeles for
issuing demolition permits for five buildings at the complex last year. That
case is now before the appellate court.
The
organizations are represented by Chatten-Brown and Associates and the
Brandt-Hawley Law Group.
AIMCO, the
largest apartment owner in the country after HUD, acquired full ownership of the
apartments in August of 2003. Last Tuesday, the Venice Neighborhood
Council’s Land Use Committee sponsored a two-hour forum on the future of
Lincoln Place with over 100 area residents attending. AIMCO, who had declined to
attend the meeting, had repeatedly assured me that no demolitions were planned.
Despite these assurances, the company
had already sent notices of asbestos removal to authorities and --less than two
days after the meeting--put up demolition fences. When the asbestos crews rolled
in on Monday, March 22, the preservation organizations raced to file for the
stay.
In a similar situation last
June, preservationists had sought a temporary stay of the 5 demolitions that
sparked the lawsuit. At 6 am on the morning of the scheduled hearing, AIMCO and
its then-partner demolished the Lake Street buildings. Before the judge arrived
in court, the buildings were completed destroyed, effectively mooting the stay
request.
The Neighborhood Council
Committee meeting had been called because AIMCO had announced to its
stockholders in a November conference call that the property had the
"potential" for 1300 new units or that it might consider selling Lincoln Place.
The neighborhood council is an elected body which officially advises the City of
Los Angeles. The community voiced overwhelming support for the preservation of
Lincoln Place at the
meeting.
CONTACT:
LAURA
BURNS
Lincoln Place
Tenant
Co-Chair Land Use and Planning
Cmte
Grass Roots Venice Neighborhood
Council
310-392-5079
perroudburns@earthlink.net
FOR
LEGAL QUESTIONS CONTACT:
JAN
CHATTEN-BROWN
Chatten-Brown and
Associates
310-314-8040
Posted: Sat
- May 1, 2004 at 04:06 PM