Chatsworth Hills Academy Buys 12 Acres from Landlords for New Campus

The Chatsworth Hills Academy recently bought a 12-acre property from its landlords to make way for the construction of a new campus. But the sale didn’t come easy as several years of legal disputes preceded the deal eventually brokered by L.A. City Councilman Mitch Englander in April.

In 1996, the private K-8 school with an enrollment of 220 students purchased four acres it was initially leasing from the late Leon Fenwick, whose family has owned the property since the early 1970s. A parking lot and a sports field sit on that parcel now owned by the academy.

The lease of an adjoining eight acres, occupied by a series of modular bungalows, remained intact. It wasn’t until the economic downturn of 2008 when administrators sought to build a new campus on the school's own four-acre property and relocate everything there. The plan would end the lease with the landlords. 

"We were going to be able to finance the build of the new campus for less than what we were paying in rent to the Fenwicks," said Head of School Ann Gillinger.

In Aug. 2011, the school approached the Chatsworth Neighborhood Council for its support of a 21,000-square-foot project featuring seven buildings with 20 classrooms, science and media labs, a library and a gymnasium.

But it was at that point when a member of the Fenwick family said they were blindsided by the proposal. The patriarch's son, Chad Fenwick, said his father father reduced the school’s rent by 30 percent before passing away in 2011, amounting to a $500,000 loss to the family over three years.

Another son, Jim Fenwick, declined to be interviewed for this story, while family attorney Fred Rafeedie did not return several phone calls for a comment.

Gillinger told Patch that in addition to the issue of money, some of the academy's structures had worn down since the school opened in 1977 at 21521 Rinaldi St. and that it was time for an upgrade as well as a chance to pursue increasing enrollment. 

The proposed project eventually won support from the local neighborhood council, was favored by Englander and a conditional use permit was issued allowing for a maximum enrollment of 400 students. Grand opening was set for fall 2013, but eventually began a series of legal battles that postponed those plans.

Chad Fenwick told Patch in 2011 that if Chatsworth Hills Academy left, they'd invite another academic institution to move into the former site.

"We intend to continue what we have been doing for the past 40 years," he said.

Having two separate schools right next to each other in that neighborhood was a scenario that drew concern from Englander.

"I don't know if it would be conducive to be supporting two schools," he told the Daily News in 2011. "There remain a lot of unanswered questions and the impact that would bring to the community."

A judge sided with the Fenwicks, stating in his ruling that the school's administrators breached the lease when they did not maintain the premises and buildings. Chatsworth Hills Academy was asked to pay more than $4 million in legal fees and future rent costs.

Then, the school took the Fenwicks to court for allegedly questioning the title of the land owned by the school when it came time to apply for financing said Erich Miller, parent of two students and a member of the school's board of trustees.

But all of that came to a grinding halt when Englander said he had enough. He arranged for both parties to meet in the same room and hammer out a deal.

"They never sat down in the same room for all these years, the only spoke through the judicial system," the councilman said, adding: "They were not going to leave the room until we saw white smoke."

Eventually, the Fenwicks agreed to sell the remaining eight acres for an undisclosed amount and have the arbitration thrown out. Gillinger would not say how much the school paid, but that the amount was more than an appraisal.

"The Fenwicks received higher than the market value," she said.

An additional four acres that housed a family home and some storage sites were also purchased in the sale.

However, reaching the settlement puts Chatsworth Hills Academy back at square one for developing a new campus since millions that were to be spent on the project went toward buying the acreage.

Gillinger said she would still like to expand enrollment, but that there needs to be some rethinking. She said board members will start talking about a new project at an upcoming retreat.

"It's time to go hit the reset button," Gillinger said. "We're working with our architects and our families to revision what this whole thing might look like now. There's obviously a lot of land here, there's more than we leased."