CITY OF THE ANGEL; DEVELOPER WOULD USE BELMONT FOR PARK SITE.

Byline: Greg Gittrich Staff Writer

The Los Angeles Unified School District could be saved by an angel - but it needs to have a little faith.

Nearly three months ago, the district received a confidential proposal from the developer of a curious angelic monument to buy the tainted Belmont Learning Center property downtown, the Daily News has learned.

The school board dismissed the idea in private without taking a vote and has not notified an advisory commission weighing the fate of the public works fiasco.

But the developer says the offer still stands.

``The Angel City project is expanding, and I'm extremely interested in the Belmont Center if it can't be completed as a school,'' said developer Brett-Livingstone Strong, an Australian-born sculptor.

``I am indeed interested in acquiring it for use as park land, which my project needs,'' Strong said.

Belmont, the nation's costliest high school, sits atop an oil field plagued by potentially deadly and explosive gases. State toxics officials are investigating whether the half-completed complex can ever be used safely as a school.

Backed by funding from the Bank of New York and CNB Capital, Strong has been snatching up land all around the stalled high school to build a tower topped by a bronze, sword-wielding angel. The Gothic celestial figure would be about twice the size of the Statue of Liberty.

While skeptics smirk at the idea, Strong has financing in place to purchase more than 80 acres east of the Harbor Freeway for the tower, park land, art galleries, restaurants, hotels and a museum for the city's entertainment industries.

In an Aug. 12 letter to school officials, Strong's lawyer detailed the financial backing behind the $3.6 billion Angel City project and offered to buy the Belmont site.

``Mr. Strong wishes to acquire the site of the Belmont Learning Center so that the site may be used primarily for park and open space in conjunction with the Angel City project,'' wrote attorney Timothy Lappen from the law firm of Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro.

`Everyone just laughed'

Key players in the preliminary negotiations told the Daily News that board member Julie Korenstein presented the proposal to her colleagues in August but couldn't get them to seriously consider the idea.

``Korenstein was verbally beaten up for even suggesting the board talk to the guy,'' said a school official who asked not to be named. ``Everyone just laughed at her.''

In an interview Saturday, Korenstein said she was stunned that the board had no interest in investigating the proposal.

``I wanted the board to consider every option, including selling the property if it couldn't be used as a school or administrative offices because of the environmental problems,'' she said.

``We were and still are at a very critical point in the decision-making process. It was a very logical proposal. I wouldn't want it to go away without serious discussion. That would be an enormous mistake.''

Valerie Fields was the only other board member who responded to questions for this story.

Fields said she hasn't seen a proposal from the developer. ``There is nothing in writing that I've seen that indicates there is a serious interest to buy the land,'' she said.

Nevertheless, the confidential letter from Angel City to Chief Administrative Officer David Koch explicitly offers to buy the Belmont site.

``Mr. Strong requests that the district obtain the necessary consents to sell the Belmont site to him with an escrow period of nine months, during which time Mr. Strong would complete all due diligence,'' Lappen wrote.

``I understand that the district is not yet in a position to discuss the possible price of the site but will be able to do so once the appropriate parties have reviewed the letter. We welcome that discussion when the district is ready.''

Early last week, Erik Nasarenko, a spokesman for the district's facilities division, said Koch and other LAUSD administrators only had one meeting with representatives from Angel City.

``It was exploratory and informal in nature,'' Nasarenko said. ``Until the Board of Education determines the disposition of the site, any consideration of alternative proposals is premature.''

Strong, however, said his offer came after several meetings between school officials and his advisers. Strong added he personally spoke with Superintendent Ruben Zacarias on one occasion.

``I don't believe I've heard from the school district since August,'' Strong said.

In the meantime, others have been taking him seriously. Angel City has approximately $180 million of property adjacent to Belmont under contract, he said.

The developer also has received letters of support from Mayor Richard Riordan and the City Council.

Kept in the dark

A panel of civic leaders appointed by the school board is scheduled to conclude its 60-day review of the Belmont debacle Wednesday. Led by former District Attorney Ira Reiner, the Belmont Commission will advise the school board to either complete or abandon the construction project.

While the commission was asked to weigh the environmental, legal and financial ramifications of completing or abandoning the complex, it has not been notified that Strong wants to buy Belmont, Reiner said.

Strong said he'd be willing to speak to the commissioners this week before they hand over a recommendation to the school board.

``I look at L.A. and compare it with other cities around the world - Sydney, Tokyo, Chicago and New York,'' Strong said. ``All those cities have beautiful large parks downtown. L.A. doesn't have that.''

``I don't want to be the person who stops a much-needed school for the neighborhood. But if they can't go forward, I want to buy the property. Here's a chance for Los Angeles to have many acres of park land right downtown. It would be spectacular.''

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Photo

Photo: (Color) Developer Brett-Livingstone Strong wants to use the Belmont Learning Center site for his proposal, shown in the rendering over his shoulder.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer