by Timothy Rutt
MonteCedro, the retirement community that will take the place of the former Scripps Home, plans to finally break ground on the project this month.
Sam Baum, senior director of sales and marketing for MonteCedro, made the announcement at Saturday's Sheriff Support Group Concert in Farnsworth Park.
Baum said that there would be a ceremonial groundbreaking on Sept. 26, and construction would begin Sept. 30. Baum said that the project was scheduled to be open in late summer, 2015.
The project has been in the works since the late 2000s, when the organization that is now Episcopal Home Communities purchased the Scripps Home and adjoining properties. The Scripps Home buildings were leveled (except for the Gloria Cottage, which is still on the site) and owners of adjoining homes along Crawford Avenue were allowed to continue to live there as renters until earlier this year. Despite ambitious plans, the project was stalled by the plunging economy in 2008, leaving the site Altadena's largest vacant lot ever since.
