UCLA's Hannah Carter Japanese Garden - Up for Sale
UCLA's Japanese garden is a beautiful oasis close to campus. Few know of its existence, but those who have seen it love it. Naturally, administrators are coming under fire for yet another bungled decision-making process. According to one of donor Hannah Carter's sons, "There was no communication with any of Hannah Carter's children...We are greatly saddened by this shameful behavior and hope that the university will choose to take the garden off the market."
The bidding process is supposed to start in May. It's possible a future buyer would preserve the land as it is (the buyer would be an idiot not to), but it's sad to think that UCLA could lose this gem.
4 months ago
bryanucla
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See, when it comes to generating new sources of revenue
Block and Co. are as conservative and tightfisted as they come. But raising a quick buck by selling off preexisting cultural assets? Can’t greenlight that fast enough!
This was one of my favorite spots on Earth
when I was in school. UCLA’s Japanese garden has always been one of those unique, world renown cultural gems that helps set UCLA apart from other schools. Maybe they can raffle off those ugly ass Penn State knockoffs we wore for the SC debacle?
I visited the Japanese garden exactly once in 4 years
Sorry, but I agree with the university on this one. They probably should have done a better job on communicating with the family and maybe worked with some groups to transfer ownership to some other interested public organization, but the garden was too far from UCLA and too restricted in access to make it a true asset to the university or the students it is suppose to serve. Especially in these days of fiscal pressure, I can certainly understand why the university decided to try to get rid of the property and perhaps benefit the university a little.
Still a bad sign
selling off instead of having a marketing (sports) campaign. this kinda thinking is reactionary, and not proactive. This is move made out of weakness, rather than a move made out of strength…
"Players with fight never lose a game, they just run out of time"
~ John Wooden
don't worry
I bet a lot of UCLA alumni don’t know it exists. Or confuse with the botanical garden in South Campus
LOL, we have botanical garden?
The only garden I know of is the Sculpture Garden. Guess you know which part of campus I spent all my time at here :P
Same with me
I didn’t know about it. I assume it wasn’t there 40 years ago, but I still think I would have at least heard about it since them. Where is (was) it?
Strong Parallel to Athletics
Per the LA Times, the decision to sell the Japanese Garden was made based on the criterion that any facility was fair game to be sold, unless it had an academic or research purpose.
Thus, anything of importance at UCLA takes place in the classroom or the lab. That was sure not my experience. I learned as much outside the classroom as in.
But based on this criterion (academic or research), here is a logical target list for the next round-
Dykstra
Reiber
Sproul
Ackerman Student Union
Pauley post-renovation
Drake Stadium
Chancellor Block’s residence
list is tongue in cheek
But not the sense that Block has blinders on, and does not care about the broader university experience, including athletics
I was about to say hyperbole :-P
I don’t see the Japanese Garden as any part of the broader UCLA experience.
If anything, we need to get rid of Hedrick
those extra few steps up the stairs are evil. That’s why nobody wants to live there.
hey don't hate on Hedrick
Hedrick dining hall was the best. I’d give it 5 stars on Yelp. Greeted with a smile, clean, courteous staff and the food was always edible (can’t say that about Rieber).
Dump Dan!
by bruinclassof10 on Jan 23, 2012 9:24 PM PST up reply actions
Other "worthless" items at U.C.L.A. with no research or academic purpose
Janss Steps.
The Inverted Fountain.
The Bruin Bear.
Founders Rock.
The Sculpture Garden.
The admin has no shame.
greg in denver, U.C.L.A. guy for life - BruinsNation.com
Next up on Bruin Walk:
$5 admission to see the Bear!
$2 to have your photo taken next to a statue in the Sculpture Garden!
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
You guys have a Japanese garden?!
[drool]
They have one up here in Portland, and it’s really neat. Would’ve been cool to have one by campus :)
I am one of those who never knew of it's existence.
So, from my point of view, let me get this straight. You (administration) don’t tell your student body this thing exists. Nobody uses it. And, now you want to sell it off because nobody uses it.
Unreal.
Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. ~ Vince Lombardi
its like 2 miles from student housing, its up Stone Canyon road, so you really can’t walk there, its limited in its ability to handle traffic.. what do you expect? I don’t get your disbelief. What do you think UCLA should do?
Give it back to the family
so the family can donate it to someone who will honor the intent of the donors.
This behavior is disgraceful. You keep your promises. Don’t intend to keep them, don’t take the gift.
Need money? Raise funds the honest way. Donations down because people don’t want to give to Block, Guerrero, or to a university that won’t keep it’s word to donors? Solve the problem.
If we are in a money crunch, let the Chancellor pay for his housing. Cut DG’s salary — under the chancellor’s strict limits, DG is not a teacher and not related to research.
sjh
+1
I think I had the same thought as you.
by Trueblue'09 on Jan 23, 2012 8:40 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
I'm over 40 and would not hesitate to walk 2 miles.
I also remember a large populations of bicycles on campus. Your argument is in invalid.
I remember that part of my time on campus was finding cheap or free choices to take a date. Accordingly, picnics in the Botanical Garden and the Sculpture Garden were always a plus. There is no way I would not have found a way out to the Japanese garden. I can’t imagine a better place to eat and study with a beautiful girl.
Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. ~ Vince Lombardi
LOL
Have you ever walked up Stone Canyon Road? I don’t think so. The grade on that street is steep.
I had to run up Stone Canyon Rd every so often for ROTC physical training. Its like 1 step forward, 2 steps back going up that hill. Your argument is invalid as you’ve obviously never been up there.
I found out about the Japanese Garden & went. Was very nice, but not something feasible for students.
If it's that steep
then you should bike it. ;-)
greg in denver, U.C.L.A. guy for life - BruinsNation.com
The last half mile of Stone Canyon Road
is a straight up wall. We had to run it for rowing too. You can probably still see the stains from our vomit at the top of the hill.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
I honestly
don’t even know if you can climb it on a bike. It’s pretty ridiculous
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
It's only half a mile
but seriously, it’s a beast. You can’t even really run it, it’s like taking a million little steps.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
This property is news to me
Like some of us here, I’ve never heard of such garden/property until this news came out. I would’ve made an effort to visit the place, for its novelty reason: it’s owned by UCLA.
What bothers me is how the administrators went about their business. They went and asked the court to allow UCLA to nullify the agreement that the university maintain the garden in perpetuity. Once they’ve been granted by the court, isn’t it a proper thing to do for the university to let remaining family members know of the university’s intent to unload the property?
In terms of attracting donors, wouldn’t this type of action give someone a second thought? Why would they donate a near and dear property to the university if they know the university can overturn a binding agreement.
This is a PR fail.
by UCLAngels on Jan 23, 2012 7:58 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
The road towards privatization
Block clearly is aware of what he’s doing. What’s next? He’s going to put our school up for sale? Might seem extreme, I know, but they (Block and co.) are selling these properties to fund their paychecks. The solution is simple. Cut the administrators paychecks and useless spending (trips to Italy included). Just cut Gurrero’s check and the garden remains open. On second thought, just fire Guerrero and Block and the school will begin to reap the benefits of donors, alumni, and fans around globe.
by Trueblue'09 on Jan 23, 2012 8:38 PM PST via mobile reply actions
More nonsense
The money saved from shutting this down will be lost from the PR nightmare it creates. Who in their right minds would donate to UCLA after hearing this?
+1
Any money from this sale would be lost by killing a lot of future donations as it shows that UCLA will not honor its promises. Who in their right mind would donate something “in perpetuity” now know that the phrase means nothing to the University?
Disgraceful.
Who said anything about shutting it down?
UCLA is just selling the property. I have to believe that just as many people (if not more) would be equally upset if the university just GAVE away a valuable piece of real estate in these difficult economic times without getting a good return.
None of us have the numbers in front of us. We don’t know the operating costs, property taxes, etc. of the Japanese Gardens nor do we know how much revenue the property generates. I wonder if you would be so quick to judge the administrators if it were revealed that the gardens cost the university, I dunno, say 200k a year?
When times are tough, sometimes you have to make difficult sacrifices in order to preserve the overall economic feasibility of the university.
by BillytheSid on Jan 23, 2012 11:41 PM PST up reply actions
The gardens cost $139k/year to maintain.
They were given as a gift to the university with a promise the university keep the gardens in perpetuity. 1 year after the donors die, the university goes to court to renege on their promise. If the university can’t afford the $139k/year to maintain the gardens, they either should never have accepted the gardens, give them back to the rightful heirs, or donate the gardens to an organization that would keep the gardens going in perpetuity.
I think it’s terrible that our university would accept a gift, renege on a promise, then try and cash in on them by taking in an estimated $15 million for the two properties.
by bruin1999 on Jan 24, 2012 12:08 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Counterpoint
I think it’s terrible that UCLA, in these times of financial hardship, would continue to spend $139k a year maintaining a property that neither serves a university function nor is utilized by a significant population of students, regardless of any promises made to previous owners that are now dead.
That is horrible reasoning
It’s a cultural gem. And if UCLA, the poster child for political correctness, diversity and cultural enrichment, can’t find $139k per year to maintain a garden, they have no business calling themselves a university. It’s not about the cost, it’s about the university trying to make a buck. By your reasoning we should get rid of the Armand Hammer museum and the Fowler museum too.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
by tasser10 on Jan 24, 2012 6:48 AM PST up reply actions 2 recs
Understand your point, disagree with the execution
If you don’t think it’s worthwhile for UCLA to spend $139k/year for something that serves very little purpose for UCLA, fine. Then they should transfer the property back to the heirs or another agency that will spend the money to maintain it, for FREE since they got it for free.
That does NOT give them the right to sell it and make a quick buck off of it. It makes it look even more especially shady when they do this 1 year after the donor dies and NEVER consult or notify the heirs.
The article says that maintaining and staffing the garden costs $139k/year combined,
so it’s understandable that UCLA would want to offload it, especially with the limited number of visitors and distance from campus (and their characterization of "no academic or research purpose). However, why would they do this without notifying the family, leaving them to learn of the impending sale from someone who lives in the area? This does sound rather disrespectful toward the family of a former chairman of the UC Board of Regents.
According to the article, the law also mandates a “sealed-bid sales process.” I think it’s disingenuous for UCLA’s Erickson to say, “It’s not the case that we’re selling the garden with the intent it would be destroyed, It’s my expectation personally … that someone would buy it and maintain it.” How is he going to ensure that happens once the property is in someone else’s hands?
Hopefully the family and other people who want to preserve the garden are able to line up a sympathetic buyer.
This is a terrible and unnecessary loss
I tried several times as a student to go visit the Gardens with friends, only to have appointment times filled every time we called. It seems silly that the administrators couldn’t find a way to accommodate more visitors (and parking) but I think that was part of the beauty and the culture surrounding the Gardens.
The Japanese Gardens have an important part in UCLA’s cultural history and responsibility. The cost to maintain them is a drop in the bucket of the UCLA budget, and more could be done to offset those costs. We should be proud of our school’s role in maintaining the Japanese Gardens, and we should be ashamed at the recent underhanded and unethical efforts to sell them off to the highest bidder with no regard for their future or preservation.
Why does this not surprise me from our admin? When did our school lose its way like this?
greg in denver, U.C.L.A. guy for life - BruinsNation.com
The answer to your last question:
when California became as fiscally responsible as a crystal meth addict.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
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