Santa Monica Property Blog

A NATIONAL LANDMARK IN HOLLYWOOD GOES UP FOR SALE - YOU CAN OWN THE EL CAPITAN THEATER

A NATIONAL LANDMARK IN HOLLYWOOD GOES UP FOR SALE - YOU CAN OWN THE EL CAPITAN THEATER
 

Get your sealed bid offer in. A National Historic Landmark, the El Capitan Theater complex, located along the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6834-6838 Hollywood Blvd. is now on sale for an undisclosed price. The property features a six-story 85,000-sf class A office building, as well as the landmark theater and retail store.
 

The theater has been restored to its original Spanish Colonial exterior, as originally designed by Stiles O. Clements, and its East Indian interior, as originally designed by G. Albert Landsberg. is directly across from the Kodak Theater, where the Academy Awards are presented. It is close to some of the best-known tourist attractions in Hollywood, including Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Hollywood and Highland retail entertainment center, and a new Madame Tussauds that is soon to be completed.
 

Between 1926 and 1936, more than 120 live plays were produced at the El Capitan, which included stars such as Clark Gable, Buster Keaton, Will Rogers, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Henry Fonda, Lon Chaney, Jr., and Jason Robards. The theater was also the site of the world premiere for Orson Welles’ Academy Award-winning “Citizen Kane.”
 

A tempting tidbit about our subject property - the El Capitan’s theater is reportedly the highest grossing single screen theater in America, with more than 1,000 seats, state-of-the-art digital projection and sound systems, a refurbished 1928 Wurlitzer pipe organ and a movie screen that rises to reveal a 50-foot stage for live performances. Adjacent to the theater is Disney?s Soda Fountain and Studio Store, where patrons can purchase ice cream themed to the film currently playing in the cinema next door.
 

The building is 100% occupied by entertainment industry tenants and was renovated by CUNA Mutual, which installed state-of-the-art mechanical systems and other upgrades.
 

For more information please contact jodi@jodisummers.com.
 

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Info source:
 

http://www.globest.com/news/1247_1247/losangeles/173870-1.html
 
 

BUY THIS CONDO - 428 HILL ST., suite 13 - OPEN SUNDAY

Jodi Summers | Sotheby’s International Realty | 310.260.8269 428 HILL ST., suite 13, Santa Monica, CA Location! Location! Location! + Value in this 2+2 nicely upgraded Ocean Park condo. offered at $599,000     Year Built 1973 Sq Footage 854 Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms 2 full, 0 partial Floors 1 Parking 2 Car garage Lot Size 854 sqft HOA/Maint $296 per month DESCRIPTION Now accepting all offers! Sellers have found a new home.Location! Location! Location! + Value in this 2+2 nicely upgraded Ocean Park condo. Light + bright with crown molding, stainless appliances, granite counters, built-ins. Easy walk to Main St. + the beach. Great neighborhood. Nice 22-unit building. You will enjoy living here.OPEN SUNDAY 2:30-5:30   see additional photos below PROPERTY FEATURES Walk-in closet Living room Breakfast nook Dishwasher Refrigerator Stove/Oven Granite countertop Stainless steel appliances Balcony, Deck, or Patio COMMUNITY FEATURES Garage parking Laundry on-site Storage space(s) Gated property Secured entry   OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES Location! Location! Location! Nice building. Nice neighborhood. Comfortable unit. Ocean view street. Easy walk to the beach. Stumble home from Main St. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS Seller contact info: Jodi Summers Sotheby’s International Realty 310.260.8269 For sale by agent/broker   Equal Opportunity Housing Posted: Sep 24, 2008, 9:24am PDT

 

 

HOMEOWNERS THE GOVERNMENT CONSIDERS FINANCIALLY BURDENED

HOMEOWNERS THE GOVERNMENT CONSIDERS FINANCIALLY BURDENED

 The Associated Press reports that nearly 15 percent of U.S. homeowners who had a mortgage on their home in 2007 spent at least half of their income on housing costs.  The data, released by the U.S. Census Bureau, found that the number of homeowners included in this category — some 7.5 million — is up from 7.1 million in 2006.

According to the report, the government and many lenders consider homeowners to be financially burdened when they spend 30 percent or more of their income on housing costs, a definition that now covers approximately 38 percent of American homeowners with a mortgage, or 19 million owners.

An analysis of Census data by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University found that of the top 13 metro areas where the most mortgage holders spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing, nearly all were in California and Florida — Las Vegas was the only other infamous metro area.

Greatest share of mortgage holders spending 30%-plus on housing

1. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, 58 percent

2. Stockton, Calif., 57 percent

3. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., 55 percent

4. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., 55 percent

5. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif., 54 percent

6. Modesto, Calif., 54 percent

7. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif., 53 percent

8. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif., 53 percent

9. Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, Fla., 52 percent

10. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif., 52 percent

11. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif., 51 percent

12. Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., 51 percent

13. Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, Calif., 50 percent

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http://www.inman.com/news/2008/09/23/millions-spend-50-income-housing#comment-10202

ALL THE SOLAR YOU WANT – SOLAR POWER INTERNATIONAL 2008

ALL THE SOLAR YOU WANT – SOLAR POWER INTERNATIONAL 2008
  REGISTER BY FRIDAY, AND GET THE DISCOUNT
 Solar Power International 2008: North America’s Largest Solar Event
 Save The Date - 10/13-10/16
 Top vendors presenting the state-of-the-art in solar energy technologies and services; 60+ conference sessions and workshops; full range of solar energy technologies, including photovoltaics, concentrating photovoltaics, concentrating solar power, and solar hot water and space heating and cooling.
 

Don’t get closed out - the conference is expected to sell out in advance - Receive your name badge in the mail and avoid long lines in San Diego
 

Date: 10/13-10/16
Location: San Diego Convention Center
 

 For more information, please visit Solar Power Conference & Expo’s website.
 http://www.solarpowerconference.com/
 

OBAMA + MCCAIN SHARE THEIR VIEWS ON HOUSING

 We were poking around online, reading a feature on CBS news, and we found this segment of a feature highlighting Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama sharing their views of the mortgage crisis. We thought the info was worth sharing with you.  As big media reports:
 

A record four million Americans are either behind on their mortgage payments or facing foreclosure. With home values dropping, many are wondering where the candidates stand on the housing crisis.  
 

Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama both support a new federal housing program, beginning in October, which could help as many as 400,000 families. It encourages lenders to swap their customers’ risky home loans for new 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, backed by the government.
 

“This will not be a windfall for borrowers,” Obama said on May 27. “They’re going to have to share any capital gains as the housing market stabilizes and their property values start going up again.”
 

And that’s something else both candidates agree on: No help for spectators or risk takers.
 

On April 10, 2008, McCain said: “It is not the responsibility of the American public to spare them from the consequences of their own bad judgment.”
 

Overall, McCain favors less government intervention. He does support bolstering community groups that provide mortgage assistance. He also wants a specific government task force to investigate fraud in the mortgage-lending industry.
 

“If there were individuals or firms that defrauded innocent homeowners … they must answer for their conduct in a court of law,” McCain said.
 

While McCain supports the recent government takeover of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, he says he wants to downsize and eventually privatize them.
 

He’s called for: “More oversight, more transparency, more of everything. And frankly, a dramatic reduction in what they do.”
 

Obama also supports the bailout and calls for more regulation.
 

“If you expect the federal government to step in and to provide support if something goes wrong, then you’re going to have to follow by our rules,” he said on Sept. 8.
 

The rest of Obama’s at least $10 billion housing plan calls for a larger government role than McCain’s. He wants low-income homeowners to get a 10 percent mortgage tax credit, new criminal penalties for those convicted of fraud, a mortgage-rating system to educate homebuyers about their mortgage options and the creation of a foreclosure-prevention fund.
 

“If the government can bail out investment banks on Wall Street, then we can extend a hand to folks who are struggling on Main Street,” he said on May 27.
 

Obama also wants to change bankruptcy laws to allow judges to modify a homeowner’s mortgage payments.
 

The Impact
 

Obama’s plan may have helped Deanne O’Rear. She declared Chapter 13 bankruptcy, but soon found out it wouldn’t save her house.
 

“How big of a difference would it make for you if the bankruptcy courts could help refinance the terms of your mortgage?” Tracy asked.
 

“It would make all the difference in the world,” O’Rear said.
 

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The whole story @
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/16/eveningnews/main4453682.shtml?mpid=1732

BLOOMINGDALE’S IS COMING TO SANTA MONICA

Get ready to charge. Bloomingdale’s is coming to the renovated Santa Monica place. 

Shopping center REIT Macerich has landed Bloomingdale’s as a tenant for the Santa Monica-based REIT’s redesign and repositioning of its 550,000-sf Santa Monica Place mall, which Macerich is converting to an open air venue adjacent to the popular Third Street Promenade outdoor retail and entertainment district. Bloomingdale’s will join Nordstro as another anchor for Santa Monica Place—as a key addition that will replace the current Macy’s store at Santa Monica Place. Bloomingdale’s is scheduled to open in 2010 at the retooled shopping venue.