By Mary O’KEEFE

It appears the City of Glendale will continue to work with the Gangi Company regarding Rockhaven.

On Nov. 25, 2016, the Glendale City Council voted to work with the Gangi Design LED Build on a new project at the former Rockhaven Sanitarium site, a historical property in the 2700 block of Honolulu Avenue. The City purchased the 3.5-acre property in 2008. Initial discussions were to establish the property as a park and library; however, with the economic downturn, the property ended up sitting dormant for years. The City put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) in March 2016. Gangi was chosen out of the seven companies that submitted proposals. The company had the support of Friends of Rockhaven, a community-based non-profit that advocates for Rockhaven’s preservation.

After a closed session with the City Council, Matt Gangi was notified the City was ending negotiations with the developer. Several speakers attended the Dec. 11 City Council meeting to share their concerns about the cancellation of negotiations. Gangi also spoke at the meeting and shared all of the paperwork showing that he had met the deadlines required by the City. He shared designs, which took into consideration the historic preservation of the property, as well as letters from potential business occupants. The City Council decided to revisit the Gangi proposal in another closed session.

Friends of Rockhaven sent out an email at the end of December that stated Gangi had heard from City staff that it would continue to work with the Gangi group.

“We appreciate staff wanting to be certain that the best plan possible is executed at the historic Rockhaven property,” stated Friends of Rockhaven.

Glendale City Councilmember Paula Devine confirmed that negotiations with Gangi will continue.

  Mary Okeefe