Getting in the Act for Police Academy II : Development: Community leaders say selection of the old Franciscan ceramics site for the $40-million training facility would make financial sense.

ATWATER VILLAGE — A coalition of Northeast Los Angeles community leaders has launched a campaign to persuade city and police officials to build the new Police Academy on the site of the former Franciscan ceramics plant.

Arguing that the academy would enhance property values and help local businesses, neighborhood leaders are circulating petitions asking Northeast residents to demonstrate support for building the facility on the now-vacant land.

A plan to build a shopping center on the 45-acre property fell through nearly two years ago after the developer was forced to spend millions of dollars on toxic cleanup and went into bankruptcy.

“It’s very important to use that lot appropriately,” said Barbara Lass, director of the Atwater Village Chamber of Commerce. “The Police Academy is a better choice than many of the other things the land is zoned for.”

The Franciscan ceramics site is one of six sites under consideration by the Police Department for a new $40-million police training facility to replace the overcrowded existing academy in Elysian Park.

Three of the six sites--the former Taylor railroad yard in Glassell Park and two parcels in Sylmar owned by the Department of Water and Power--have almost been ruled out, police officials said.

Also being considered are a 24-acre lot next to Olive View Medical Center in Sylmar and an expansion of the existing academy in Elysian Park.

Sgt. Dave Dalton, project manager for the new academy, said some police officials prefer not to build the new academy on the Elysian Park site because they would like to retain the old facility for officer training.

An environmental impact report due to be released in January or February will designate one of the three sites as the preferred location for the project.

Atwater Village residents and business owners want to be sure that when the report is released, the Franciscan site is named as the preferred location.

Although they have already expressed this wish in several public hearings, they are trying to mobilize a broader base of support from the entire Northeast area. So far, they have received the endorsement of groups from Silver Lake, Eagle Rock and Elysian Valley, and they expect to receive support from other groups.

“People see this as an issue of the heart of the city versus the outskirts of the city,” said coalition leader Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which operates the Out of the Closet thrift store in Atwater Village.

“We are trying to get private industry to invest in the (older parts) of the city and the city is setting a different example by investing its money in Sylmar,” said Weinstein, who is a candidate for the 13th district council seat being vacated by Michael Woo. “It’s sending the wrong message.”

In addition to the petition drive, supporters of the Atwater Village site will have a public meeting on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Glenfeliz Elementary School to organize a comprehensive strategy for the campaign.

Assemblyman Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles) has also promised to lend his support.

“We are in an age of Nimbyism where nobody wants anything in their back yard,” said Bill Mabie, Polanco’s chief assistant. “Here we have a community that actually wants this.”

But Dalton said the neighborhood groups may be facing an uphill battle against the bottom line. Although police officials believe the Franciscan property would be a “great” site, they worry that the price, estimated at more than $50 million, might be prohibitive.

A subsidiary of the Los Angeles-based Schurgin Development Co. initially paid $21 million for the land, then had to borrow $23 million after the discovery of asbestos on the site sent the cost of toxic cleanup far above the $6-million estimate. The Los Angeles Community Development Department also loaned $9.5 million for the cleanup.

The developer filed for bankruptcy in February, 1991, after the primary creditor, a savings and loan, indicated that it planned to foreclose.

The prime piece of real estate is scheduled to be auctioned on Dec. 9 on behalf of the former owner, who is now in the midst of bankruptcy proceedings. Dalton said the city cannot bid on the land now and would have to negotiate with the future owner.