flew BAILDIIIG Developmenls.. .

Fox & Carskadon, Redwood City, Calif., realtors, has purchased for nearly $4.5 million one of the last big estates in the San Francisco Bay area, the 574 acres of land in the foothills west of Menlo Park that were bought in 1908 by the son of William Sharon, Comstock Lode millionaire. Acreage will become a residential and commercial development, with initial work to start about June 1. Tentative plans call for some apartment units and probably 1,500 $30,000plus homes on lots of one-quarter to one acre. A shopping center is also proposed in the area.

Culter Academy, Los Angeles, plans to raze present structures and replace them with new buildings to accommodate more than 1,000 students. Project will approximate $2 million.

Louis Lesser Enterprises, Beverly Hills, will cover 14 cities in six states in its 1958 construction program, including more than 2,500 hornes in Los Angeles county, Orange county, Sacramento and Pueblo, Colo. Additional plans include two shopping centers in San Diego, 750 apartment units in Orange county and on the San Francisco peninsula, and 2,500 military housing units.

Ontario Plaza, a multimillion-dollar shopping center at 4th street and Mountain avenue in Ontario, Calif., is being completed on 23rl acres. Occupancy of stores is planned for October 1958.

The Skyways Mortel at 9250 Airport Blvd., Los Angeles, will be expanded with an $800,000 second wing.

Max Factor & Co. acquired a l3-acre site in Hollypark Industrial Center as a site for a major cosmetics manufacturing plant and warehouse in southern California.

Southland Builders Edward K. Zuckerman and Barney R. Morris announced a 1958 program of $30,000,000 in development and cons'truction. Projects include activity in the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Gardena-Hawthorne area, West Los Angeles, the Brentwood Hills and Burbank. Plans call for $13 million of new homes in the Palos Verdes Hills, $5 million worth in Brentwood, and $3,500,000 worth in Burbank, and more than $2,00O,000 in apartment buildings in West L.A. In 1957, the builders completed 3,821 homes in the Grandview Hollypark area.

Cinderella Motels, Inc., announced a 100-room motel near Disneyland in Anaheim at $500,000 cost.

Construction is announced on a new rehabilitation center at Cedars of Lebanon hospital in Los Angeles at $l million cost.

Construction is underway on the first uni,t of the new West Covina hospital at a total $670,000 cost.

A $2M,000 project is announced for additions to the Century Park and Center Avenue elementary schools in Los Angeles. Classrooms are the major build'ing.

Total construction cost will be $500,000 on the new Brierwood Terrace Valley Convalescent hospital and home for the retired at 16530 Ventura Blvd., Encino.

Los Angeles City Planning Council has rezoned 53 acres for housing developments in Chatsworth.

Twai,ts-Wittenberg Co. will be construction engineers on the $1,4m,000 addition to the San Bernardino county courthouse scheduled for completion early in 1959.

Cost will be $1,500,000 on the new Southwes,t Foundation hospital on a 4-acre site at La Brea and Coliseum street in Ils Angeles.

Builder Fritz Burns announced a new multimillion-dollar shopping center and hotel develo,pmenrt in Westchester at Manchester and Lincoln boulevard.

The Buena Park City Planning Commission approved a permit for two elementary schools in the Centralia district, the Raymond Temple school at 780O Holder St., and one unnamed at 8301 Mars D,rive. Costs will be $700,000.

Valuation will be $2 million on the new shopping center in North Torrance extending from Inglewood on the east to Anza on the west on l90th street. It is being developed by the Dominguez Estate Co., owners of the land since 1784 by virtue of a Spanish land grant.

The Orange Unified School District called for bids on $700,000 improvements to be made to the high school.

Gallegos Corp. of Santa Ana was successful bidder at $1,790,000 on the Hoag Presbyterian hospital addition in Newport Beach.

Richmond, Calif.. will convert its Eastsrhore Park urban renewal area, once mostly temporary war housing, into a new residrntial neigh'borhood with the aid of a $3,425,916 federal loan and $1,868,916 capital .grant approved by UR'Commissioner Steiner. Removal of 1,200 units of war housing left the 122-acre park area with 123 private housing dwelling units and plans call for construction on the site of detached and row housing to accommodate more than 1,000 families, also a shop,ping center. Net cost is estimated at $2,724,432. Refer: Robert L. Rumsey, executive director, Redevelopment Agency of Richmond, 400 Nevin Ave.. Riohrnond 5. Calif.