Local News in Brief : Snag in Hospital Takeover

A drug rehabilitation high school bearing First Lady Nancy Reagan’s name may not be able to take over a bankrupt San Fernando Valley hospital because another group already has offered to buy the property.

“There is a signed agreement from a group that has told us that they intend to use it as a hospital,” said attorney Richard Seidenwurm of San Diego, who represents the investors who have first claim on profits from the sale of the Lake View Medical Center site.

Gilbert Robinson, the court-appointed trustee for the property in Lake View Terrace, said the hospital group’s offer will be filed with the bankruptcy division of U.S. District Court as early as today.

Phoenix House, which is planning the Nancy Reagan Center, still plans to submit a bid on the property later this week, said Larraine Mohr, a vice president of the organization.

But Robinson and Seidenwurm said other bids cannot be officially reviewed until the hospital group’s offer goes to bankruptcy court next month. Even then, the hospital group, as first bidder, would have an edge in the quest to buy the property, Robinson said.