An agricultural company has purchased the historic Redman-Hirahara House, and the 14-acre parcel on which it is located off Highway 1 at the south end of Watsonville. Watsonville-based Elite Agriculture plans to farm blueberries and other organic produce on the land. Both the new owner, and Santa Cruz county officials, would like to see the Victorian, which is on the National Register of Historic Places be rehabilitated, but it will depend on what a restoration specialist says about the structure. The house was initially built by William Weeks in 1887 for beet farmer James Redman, and it was sold to the Hirahara Family in 1930. The Japanese family lived in it before and after their internment during World War ll. In 2005, the property was sold to the Redman-Hirahara Foundation, but in 2009 the non-profit filed bankruptcy and lost the house.
