That statement was attributed to Mayor Pam O’Connor of Santa Monica California and I remembered seeing it in the papers at the time. It came to mind the other day when I saw an advertisement for Ocean Avenue Condos For Sale in Santa Monica.
I was born in California; but have spent most of my adult life outside that State; however, I have now reached that level of financial independence where I might be tempted to relocate back to the State of my birth – particularly those parts of it that are on the ocean’s shoreline. As a young kid and teenager, I have many fond memories of the “resort city” of Santa Monica and felt the possibility of purchasing one of these condos could prove to be an opportunity too good to be missed.
The advert certainly played up the elegant and exclusive design of the condominiums soon to be available in a couple of tower blocks built alongside the Pacific Ocean; but, I wasn’t so sure that I would want to part with the sort of money needed to purchase one of these Ocean Avenue Condos For Sale. Particularly, if all I was going to get would be luxury living with a great, unobstructed ocean view from an, apparently, run down part of the city.
NOTE – “Has Been”; Not “Currently Is”
A little research informed me that the mayor was talking about a time; not so long ago; but, before commencement of some fairly extensive redevelopment of downtown Santa Monica. It seems that the city’s Civic Center district (around City Hall) was, indeed, a pretty dead place. Sure, lots of people went into the area to conduct business at City Hall, the courthouse or the civic auditorium; but, once that was over; they immediately rushed back to the bustling, prosperous districts to either the north or south (there being next to nothing to tempt them to linger longer in the old downtown area).
Ocean Avenue is on the ocean edge of this area and it too was, at that time, “amazingly vacant of people” for much of the time. But, that was then and now is 2014 and most of the development is finished or nearing completion. The whole area has been transformed with a specific intent of getting people to live, eat, drink and work within the district. Residential properties have been included and there are two tower blocks rising out of a mixed use ground level development. The Ocean Avenue Condos For Sale are located in these blocks and I hope to complete my purchase any day now since I cannot wait to be living in this now exciting district that is bustling with life.
The Seychelle at Ocean Avenue South features beautifully designed interiors by world-renowned Clodagh Design International. Visit our website for more information.
