By Mary O’KEEFE

Representatives of Glendale Community College (GCC) have been attending meetings throughout Montrose and La Crescenta sharing a proposal to remodel and rebuild the Professional Development Center (PDC) and former Citibank locations in the 2300 block of Honolulu Avenue. 

The meetings have raised a lot of questions from business owners and community members including residents in Sparr Heights who would be directly affected by the construction. 

In a recent interview, CVW sat down to discuss the proposal with Dr. Ryan Cornner, superintendent/president of Glendale Community College. He stated that the plan is not to change the “footprint” of the two buildings. The PDC will require some remodeling; however, the Citibank building will have to be entirely demolished. The parking lots will remain the same. 

The plan is to bring training for students of occupational therapy and physical therapy under the guidance of USC Verdugo Hills Hospital. 

“We really saw this as an opportunity to build a program that could support students with a living wage job [and] also support the community by training the workforce that’s going to be needed,” Cornner said.

It seemed a natural process to move the program to the Citibank property, which the college owns. The program could be embedded in the area the community frequents and where the college wants to increase student involvement. 

But there are some residents’ concerns with one being there has yet to be a meeting that focuses on how this proposal will actually affect those who live close by. 

Sparr Heights is a unique neighborhood that runs directly behind the Montrose Shopping Park. Neighbors are used to the Citibank/PDC parking lots at the location being used for events, including the Montrose Christmas Parade, Oktoberfest, Spooktacular – events that spill into their neighborhoods. 

A group of residents in the Sparr Heights area are very concerned about the proposal and what it will mean to them, especially during construction and later. 

“We attended the meeting at MSPA,” said resident Steve Miller.

Last week, Steve, his wife Angela and neighbor Carol Clark invited CVW to sit down with them to share their increasing concerns about the GCC proposal. 

One of their concerns centers on the original GCC proposal at the Garfield Campus. The campus is located at 1122 E. Garfield Ave. in Glendale. In  2017, fencing was erected around 11, later 13, properties. Residents at the time, according to reports, were concerned about an expansion they had not been told about. 

GCC had planned to replace the housing with additional parking. Houses in the area were purchased and the plan was approved. The neighbors in the area, which included Adams Square, voiced their worries about traffic and asked about an environmental impact report (EIR); however, the college representatives said, at the time, an EIR was not required. The parking lot was completed and a ribbon cutting ceremony was held in November 2022.

The Sparr Heights residents worry that history could repeat itself and they will find that the proposed project will adjust to something else. 

To note, Ryan Cornner was not the superintendent/president of GCC at the time of the Garfield expansion. 

Other concerns if the project moves forward include how long will residents have to deal with the parking lot being a construction staging area, when will construction begin and end and what will be done to mitigate any dangerous chemicals, like asbestos.

“Why are they bringing USC-VHH here?” Angela asked. 

Cornner said that bringing occupational and physical therapy to the area will bring in more people to shop at local stores and eat at local restaurants. He also said there will not be a lot of people at the locations at any given time.

“He said about 60 people in total,” Steve said. That would include students and patients.

The Millers and Clark attended meetings that Cornner presented, including a GCC governing board meeting. 

“We know the building [Citibank] can’t sit empty,” Steve said. 

They, as residents, would just like to be included in the process and outreach efforts of the college. They understand that businesses will be affected – but they will as well. 

“We don’t feel their [GCC] involvement has been [with us],” Angela said. 

In addition, they are also worried about what this might mean for the town of Montrose. 

“We love it here,” Steve said. 

They have all lived in the area for years and love the community involvement, the MSP and Chamber events, along with other events in the area. They are concerned this proposal could change the “small town feel” of Montrose.

“I don’t want to see Montrose become a medical corridor,” Clark said. 

They would like to meet with Cornner to discuss their issues. They have also created a resident group titled Montrose Moving Forward and want residents who have questions or concerns to contact them at montrosemovingforward@gmail.com.

CVW had reached out to GCC but as of press time had not received a response.