EAGER TO BE LAUSD PARTNER VILLARAIGOSA SUPPORTER SEEKS SUPPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT PLAN.

Byline: Rick Orlov and Naush Boghossian Staff Writers

Developer Richard Meruelo, the largest individual donor to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's election campaign, will make a final push today for a 23-acre Glassell Park site he purchased last year that LAUSD officials want for a 2,300-student high school.

Although Meruelo's $600 million Riversedge Village plan also includes a high school, Los Angeles Unified officials are leery about the deal, and the cost and timing of getting the campus built. The school board is set to decide whether to push ahead with its own plan for the high school or to partner with Meruelo on his mixed-used project.

``If there are proposals, we would certainly listen, but we want to move expeditiously,'' said Ron Bagel, director of real estate for the Los Angeles Unified School District. ``What we're most interested in is getting that school built as quickly as possible to service so many children that are in the overcrowded schools that surround that location.''

But Meruelo, whose $82,000 contribution helped Villaraigosa get elected, said he has a broader vision for the so-called Taylor Yard property - one that would revitalize a stretch of the Los Angeles River with houses, retail development and the high school.

``We're trying to get the LAUSD to focus on the bigger picture,'' Meruelo said in a recent interview. ``We agree with them on the need for a school. We just think it can be planned better. This can become a showcase for how joint-use projects are developed.''

The board's action today involves accepting an environmental review for 23 acres at the heart of Meruelo's proposed development. If district officials decide they want it for a high school, they likely would acquire it through eminent domain - paying Meruelo the fair market value, an amount he estimates could be as much as $3 million an acre.

Meruelo maintains that a partnership with the district would be more cost-effective, but district officials say they haven't gotten firm estimates on what the deal would cost.

``We have yet to see any real numbers from them on what they are proposing,'' board member David Tokofsky said. ``If it's a real solution to our problem of building a school there, we will be all for it. But we don't want to get into a bidding war and we want to see a real proposal with all the details worked out, not some pie-in-the-sky proposal that is contingent on future negotiations.''

Meruelo would not provide numbers, but assured that the cost to the district would be significantly less than if they condemned the land.

To sweeten the deal and make the site more cohesive, Meruelo said he's also in talks to purchase an eight-acre parcel, now being used by FedEx. The school district is not interested in purchasing that property - which is located between the park and the vacant land being eyed for the school - Bagel said.

Meruelo's Riversedge Village plan includes locating a 2,300-student high school on a smaller parcel than proposed by the district. There also would be 1,200 housing units and a 80,000-square-foot commercial project to include restaurants and small shops.

``As long as he is talking about a real school on the site, not some baby campus, that's fine with me,'' said Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, D-Los Angeles, whose district includes the site. ``If the district thinks what he has come up with works, then I'm all for it. We need a major school there.''

Councilman Ed Reyes, who also represents the areas, has the same concerns, aides said. Reyes had initially voiced opposition to the Meruelo plan, but is willing to sign off on the project if the school district believes it meets its needs.

Glassell Park activists said they have fought too long and hard to build a high school in that area, and they want to make sure it happens.

``Who knows what kind of delays he's going to hit. We want the quickest path toward having a sound, comprehensive high school in our community and Mr. Meruelo wants the quickest path to a profit,'' said Helene Schpak, vice chair of the Glassell Park Neighborhood Council. ``Neither is bad, but ours is just the greater need.''

Meruelo drew heat when it was first learned in 2004 he had brought the property for $30 million, or $600,000 more than the district's offer.

He insisted he was told the district had dropped its plans to buy the site, but the district is conducting an inquiry to see if he benefited from insider information and was able to snatch up the property to drive up its price.

Villaraigosa has stayed away from discussions involving the project, after the controversy involving the timing of the purchase, as well as the mayor's campaign to take over governance of the district.

Longtime Democratic consultant Michael Bustamante who worked for former Gov. Gray Davis, has been hired by Meruelo to help counter criticism of the plan.

He said he hopes the board is able to weed through the politics and focus on the project.

``Hopefully, they will take politics out of this and look at this for what it is - a chance to build a new high school, revitalize the river and a project that makes sense,'' he said.

Rick Orlov, [phone]

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo, map

Photo:

Developer Richard Meruelo, in his downtown office, is seeking support for a housing, commercial development and a school in the Glassell Park area of Los Angeles.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer

Map:

Taylor Yard