Walk Streets

A colleague friend of mine is going to list a property on a "Walk Street" in the next couple of weeks. It will list in the neighborhood of about $5MM. It's about 4500 square feet--a little less than twice the size of the lot.

If you're not familiar with Manhattan and Hermosa Beach Walk Streets, I'm sure that you're having a tough time imaging why anyone would pay that kind of money for a house with a couple of nice decks, but no yard.

It's pretty simple when you come down to it. The Walk Streets are all within 3 or 4 blocks of the water. The closer to the water, the more desirable the property. In reality, the beach itself becomes your yard.

When my husband and I were first married we lived on a Walk Street north of the Manhattan Beach pier. Actually, we were one house up from the Strand. We had a deck, but we rarely used it. We'd take a glass of wine (Shh...don't tell!) down to the Strand to watch the sunsets or walk along the water most late evenings in the summer. Weekend mornings meant coffee on the Strand or the sand. If you like to swim, surf, run or ride bikes or just enjoy the beauty of the ocean, it's the perfect location.

Then, of course, there's the view potential. The Walk Streets north of the pier have the best view potential because they're on hills. The Walk Streets south of the pier are flat, which doesn't eliminate the view potential, but does limit it a bit.

The southern Walk Streets are wonderful neighborhoods, where everyone knows one another and the kids play in the front: lots of block parties and old fashioned "neighborliness." The Walk Streets north of the pier are more private, but the fact that all the homes on the Walk Streets open to a common area with no cars creates a special feeling.

And then there's the proximity to the downtown area. Stumble down the block to breakfast at Uncle Bill's, walk to dinner at Rock 'N Fish, Mucho or Mangiamo. If you stay too late at Ercole's, you can stop at the Kettle before you WALK home. It's just the best!

San Pedro Lofts

I have a client who is interested in buying a loft. There aren't that many in the Beach Cities, so I took her to San Pedro.

The San Pedro area between Gaffey and the water is just beginning a renaissance. There are plans for an amazing 9.5 mile waterfront transformation that include an extension of the Red Line, jogging and bike paths, parks, beaches, an amphitheater, fountains, boardwalk, a public plaza, museums and cultural attractions.

This is the historic area of San Pedro that was once home to the toughest roughest street in the world. Sailors and Marines from around the globe would hit the brothels and bars as soon as they were in the port.

That was roughly 100 years ago. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Pedro,_California There was a substantial clean up of course, and then international and seafood restaurants sprang up . As with many semi urban areas, there are lots of artists there now, which I really enjoy.

The Papadakis family was instrumental in the clean up efforts and their restaurant "Papadakis Taverna" http://www.papadakistaverna.com/ was opened by brothers John and Tom (both former all star athletes) in 1973. That used to be the only reason to go to San Pedro ... well that and the big bear hugs one or the other of the brothers gave to each and every woman who entered! We had some wonderful family dinners there over the years that included Greek dancing and plate throwing!

Now three loft style developments have opened and more are on the way. The Vue http://vue-living.com/ is very "Marina del Rey" with its high tower and concierge service. It is the most expensive. The Centre Street Lofts http://www.centrestreetlofts.com/ are nearby and are about 70% sold and occupied. They are priced from the mid 300's to the mid 700's. They are offering some terrific incentives for buyers of the last 30%. The Bank Lofts,http://www.bankloftssanpedro.com/ one street over, will open in the next month.

As the area grows and the waterfront is completed, these lofts and townhouses are sure to appreciate which spells good investment. I was there yesterday with another client who might be priced out of the Manhattan and Hermosa, but who could afford a loft here. I was impressed with the quaint shops and coffee houses, sandwich shops, etc that are new to the area. You can see the activity at the Port of Los Angeles from any of the the three developments I mentioned above. And it's tough to beat the view of the Vincent Thomas Bridge http://www.sanpedrochamber.com/champint/vtbrdg.htm.

As much as I love Manhattan Beach, this area promises to be a great place for young professionals to get into the market or for folks who want to "downsize" from the house with the yard yet still be within walking distance of good food and interesting things to see.

Good Neighbors Map Their Neighborhood

One of the really great programs in the South Bay is Neighborhood Watch. It's one of the major reasons for our low crime rates. Since 911, the emphasis of NW has been on Disaster Planning and Preparation. Read more about what to have on hand here: www.redcross.org/services/disaster/0,1082,0_601_,00.html

I share the Neighborhood Watch Block Captain title and duties with my two nearest neighbors. We recently attended a meeting called Map Your Neighborhood. It's a program that's designed to get neighborhoods working together to keep injuries and fires to a minimum. It's great to know what to do for your individual family, but once things are set at home it's time to pull the neighborhood's talents and assets together for whatever the time period may be following, say, an earthquake until state and/or national help arrives.

We've done basic disaster prep training on our block. Now NW is helping us prepare for how to work together as a block in the first critical hour following a disaster -- called the Golden Hour. How many of us know our neighbor's first names let alone their skills, talents or special medical needs? And even if we know a couple of the neighbors, everything goes out of our brains in those first few minutes following something like a major earthquake.

Did you know that the most common injury is cut feet from glass? Keep a pair of sturdy shoes under your bed.

Did you know that first responders: police, fire, paramedics and utility folks will not/cannot stop to put out a fire until they have finished their assessment of the entire area? Knowing how to shut off the gas valve at your home, if necessary, will greatly reduce fires. Knowing where the gas valves are for every house on your block will help you take care of your neighbors and prevent a fire from spreading to your home. Having every home on the block put two fire extinguishers in front of their house will mean that someone can stop a fire at your home.

The Map Your Neighborhood program began in Washington state. Here's a link to the basics: http://www.emd.wa.gov/myn/index.shtml. My thinking about all this is that the more I know about what to do, the less likely it is that I'll have to use it. My life works like that.

A Little History...

We're a beach family. My Mom lives in Oceanside, my sister in Huntington Beach. My husband, the lucky dog, grew up in Hermosa Beach. We love the climate at the beach as well as the ever changing beauty of the ocean. The picture to the right is my Grandparents enjoying a day at Redondo Beach. My Grandma lived in San Bernardino growing up but spent the summers in Redondo Beach. They took the "Red Car" west and rented a house for the summers. My other Grandma relocated to Long Beach with her father. She loved to swim and would dive off the Long Beach Pier for money and swim in as a child! She was a grand swimmer well into her 80's.

Summer Sundays were very special when I was growing up in the 50's in Westchester. We'd get up early, go to church and then pack a lunch and head to the beach. We'd spend the entire day there. Our favorite beach at the time was El Porto. As soon as we saw the Eucalyptus trees on Rosecrans Ave, I knew that the warm sand and the waves weren't too far away.

My Dad would teach us about rip tides (now called rip currents): how to spot them and how to swim parallel to shore to get out of them. We learned to ride surf mats and couldn't wait for Dad to take us out. When a really big wave was coming, we'd dive hard and get as close to the sand as we could to escape as much of its pounding energy as possible. There was lots of tar in the water then and we'd have to have it all removed from our feet before we could come in the house once we returned home. As I remember, gasoline was my Dad's solvent of choice.

My high school was in Playa del Rey, so my beach of choice then was D&W (Dockweiler) -- at the end of Manchester. I'd ride the bus with my friends until one of us was old enough to drive. I couldn't imagine how cool it would be to live AT the beach and just walk or ride a bike. We'd be there from about 10am until 4 or 5 pm. Sunscreen was almost unheard of and getting that first "base coat" tan was critical. Once we could drive, we'd "cruise" the coast along Vista del Mar to Highland then jog down Manhattan Ave through Hermosa Beach.

I went to college in Long Beach and my beach days were spent at Seal Beach. I also spent a summer living in Hawaii. After college, when I was dating my husband we'd go right out the door of his apartment on 17th St. in Manhattan Beach. We'd pull beach chairs down to the volley ball courts to watch the Open or play ourselves. That first apartment was on 17th and Ocean. I would do almost anything to have that place back!

On Friday when I was checking out property for clients, I had to pull into the parking lot at the Manhattan Beach Pier and walk to the end of the pier because the ocean was just such a gorgeous color. Catalina was in view on the South and Malibu on the North. It was breath taking and I just had to drink it in. Imagine living with that view out your window!