My New Year’s Wish For Rockhaven Sanitarium

It’s been over 10 years since the City of Glendale bought Rockhaven Sanitarium, the last intact sanitarium in a community whose founding industry was sanitariums. Here’s a brief recap of events since then.

In 2008, Glendale bought the historic property with the stated intention of creating a historic park and cultural center. The lease from the city-owned Trader Joe’s property was to pay for the restoration of Rockhaven. The economic downturn put all that on hold and, in the ensuing years, the focus of the City shifted to South Glendale. When the City renewed its plans for Rockhaven four years ago, it saw the property only for its dollar value. In a meeting with City officials, I watched in horror as the then-city manager took our map of Rockhaven and penciled in a block of apartments in front of it. It was obvious our promised park was never going to happen.

It’s been a wild ride since then. Many proposals have been floated, but in each proposal, the property would no longer be open to the public. The only one even close to matching the original vision was submitted by Gangi Development, which proposed a park with a strong retail element. Here are some of the featured businesses Gangi has secured letters of intent from:

The Gelsinger Family, longtime Montrose restaurateurs and caterers (Zeke’s Smokehouse and Gelsinger Meats), would anchor  Rockhaven Historic Park. The restaurant would have a “farm-to-table” theme, with produce gardens and a flock of chickens on-site. They would also sell pre-made picnic lunches to enjoy in the landscaped gardens. One of their many ideas is to bring local schools in for educational tours on farm-to-table food production.

Working hand-in-hand with the restaurant, wine would be produced on-site at Rockhaven by a local vintner in a nod to CV’s wine-producing past. Bottles would be sold from a wine-tasting shop. The Theodore Payne Foundation would like to have a place at Rockhaven. Theodore Payne promotes the use of native and drought-tolerant plants, along with educational programs for children and adults. They want to have a retail nursery and seed shop on-site, along with a venue for classes.

Since Rockhaven was started to benefit women, and was owned and operated by women, what better use of the property than to have a women’s center on-site? Because of Rockhaven’s history, a successful Silver Lake-based non-profit wants to relocate its headquarters there. This women’s organization currently features professional development classes, a retreat space, artist studios and community gardens, and they would like to bring that creative energy to Rockhaven. This would create a regional draw from all over Southern California.

A successful Highland Park yoga studio wishes to open a branch at Rockhaven, as does an already established chiropractor, who wants to open a clinic there. A children’s daycare company wants to launch a site at Rockhaven. Besides full-time daycare, options would be made for parents wishing to take yoga classes or seminars.

Artist studios and galleries have signed letters of intent to have spaces there. Unique office space would be available for architects, lawyers, therapists and other small businesses. A local history museum is also on the table, not to mention a wedding venue. All of these businesses would be set in the beautiful landscaped gardens, winding paths and grand architecture already at Rockhaven. An existing acre of the property’s undeveloped land would provide parking. One needs only to look at LA’s Arts District to know this concept works.

Gangi has been working on this project for nearly two years now, putting time and money into the Rockhaven Historic Park concept. It has met all the City’s demands and deadlines. But three weeks ago, the City pulled out of negotiations with Gangi with no explanation. Sadly, Glendale has gained a reputation for being hard to deal with and this type of runaround has become a common occurrence for both businesses and homeowners.

It’s my New Year’s wish that the City will reopen negotiations with Gangi, and Rockhaven Historic Park will become a space for our community to enjoy.