Santa Monica Property Blog

U.S. RESIDENTS STILL BELIEVE IN THE AMERICAN DREAM

March 26, 2009 on 12:36 am | In Fascinating Information, Statistics, Uncategorized, all | 10 Comments

U.S. RESIDENTS STILL BELIEVE IN THE AMERICAN DREAM

by Jodi Summers

Once upon a time, when the world was not a global village, foreigners believed that America was the land of opportunity, with street paved in gold. A recent poll by the Pew Charitable Trusts has concluded that nearly 80% of Americans believe it is still possible to improve their economic standing and remain optimistic that their family’s economic circumstances will improve within their lifetime and across generations.

“If you can’t do it here, where else can you do it?” asks Reda, who emigrated to the U.S. from the former Soviet Union.

The beautiful part of the finding, is that all people living here believe life can be better here. The conclusions hold true across racial lines and even among lower-income, less-educated and unemployed people, according to the national public opinion poll conducted for Pew’s Economic Mobility Project by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and Public Opinion Strategies.

“Although the current economic crisis seems to be deepening each day and many families are feeling the pinch – either through company layoffs, decreasing home values or loss of retirement savings – Americans are taking a longer-term view,” said John E. Morton, managing director of Economic Policy at The Pew Charitable Trusts. “We may be struggling in our daily lives, but Americans are confident in themselves and their ability to get ahead in the future.”

A majority of those polled support a wide range of policies the government could adopt to encourage upward economic mobility, such as making college more affordable, investing in early childhood education, making retirement savings easier or providing job training and financial education. In addition, a majority (71 percent) think it is more important for the country to provide people a fair chance of improving their economic standing than it is to reduce inequality in the United States.

“This poll confirms the long-held American belief that hard work and talent brings a just reward, and our society should aim to provide equality of opportunity, not guarantee equality of outcomes,” noted Morton. “These results convey a clear message to policy makers – the solutions to the economic challenges facing American families should focus on promoting opportunity and upward mobility.”

OUR PRIOERTIES

By a 71 to 21 percent margin, Americans said that personal attributes such as hard work and drive are more important to economic mobility than structural issues such as the state of the economy and one’s economic circumstances growing up. Similarly, respondents said personal attributes, including poor life choices, taking on too much debt and lack of education, are the factors that are most likely to contribute to someone falling down the income ladder.

Looking to the future, more than two-thirds of people (72 percent) believe that their personal economic circumstances will be better in the next ten years than they are today and most parents say their own children will have a higher standard of living than they had (62 percent). Notably, Americans largely define the American Dream as freedom to accomplish anything you want with hard work or having future generations be better off than their parents. “Becoming rich” was one of the lowest ranked definitions of the American Dream.

THE OBAMA FACTOR

African Americans are the most optimistic group about their and their children’s opportunities for economic mobility. Eighty-five percent believe their economic circumstances will be better in 10 years than they are now, compared to 71 percent of whites and 77 percent of Hispanics. When asked whether their children would have an easier or harder time moving up the income ladder, whites are the most pessimistic, with 54 percent saying it will be harder to move up the income ladder, compared to 34 percent of African Americans and 41 percent of Hispanics.

“This research shows that Americans throughout our diverse society have an abiding faith in their ability to get ahead,” said Ianna Kachoris, project manager of Pew’s Economic Mobility Project. “However, our economic analysis has previously reported there are considerable racial gaps in mobility, as well as significant immobility for many Americans at the bottom of the income ladder. People’s perception of their ability to get ahead may not necessarily coincide with reality, and special attention should be paid to improving mobility for all Americans.”

For all the information please go to:

http://www.pewtrusts.org/news_room_detail.aspx?id=50022

http://geology.com/world/the-united-states-of-america-satellite-image.shtml

2009 Sustainable Quality Award Winners Announced

March 21, 2009 on 11:30 pm | In Of Local Importance, Problem Solving, Recycling, Uncategorized, all | 14 Comments

2009 Sustainable Quality Award Winners Announced

The Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, Sustainable Works and the City of Santa Monica are proud to announce this year’s Sustainable Quality Award (SQA) winners. Dean Kubani, Manager of the City’s Office of Sustainability and the Environment, commented that “This was a very diverse and highly accomplished group of applicants. Our hope is that we can promote a business climate where all businesses achieve the level of commitment to sustainability that these award winners exemplify.”

Laurel Rosen, President and CEO of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, remarked that “Now more than ever it is clear that the future of our city and nation is going to be based on environmental, social and economic viability. We are pleased to be a part of a city that is on the forefront of sustainability. The businesses being recognized for their contribution to our city realize that being green is not only a good investment in the community but a very smart business plan for future success.”

The voluntary activities these businesses have undertaken result in cleaner air and water, less waste, reduced traffic and pollution, improved quality of life for residents and workers, and a strong and viable local economy.

This year we are pleased to announce four SQA grand prize winners and six winners in the Excellence Category. The 2009 SQA Winners are:

Bryan Cave LLP SQA Grand Prize

Bryan Cave LLP is a leading business and litigation firm with a long history of success offering legal counsel and advice in virtually every area of interest to business and entrepreneurial clients. Bryan Cave’s sustainable business practices, outlined in their Sustainability Policy, range from adopting the ABA-EPA Law Office climate Challenge to purchasing post-consumer content recycled paper supplies. The firm, world-wide, purchases mugs for over 1,000 employees to further ‘Reduce and Reuse’ efforts. Innovative, local and socially responsible sustainable strategies include partnering with local non-profits. They coordinate beach clean-ups with Heal the Bay and Green Living Workshops with Sustainable Works for employees to participate in during paid work hours. They are also hosting a ‘Green Day Fair’ this year on St Patrick’s Day. Bryan Cave offers innovative employee programs such as online training, staff are promoted from within and ‘job-sharing’ where one position can be shared by two people. Coupled with an excellent benefits package that starts first day of hire, it’s not surprising that they also won one of the ‘Best Place to Work in LA’ in 2008 by the Los Angeles Business Journal.

Saint John’s Health Center SQA Grand Prize

Since its founding in1942 by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, Saint John’s Health Center has developed a national reputation as an exceptional place for health and healing. They have 340 licensed beds and 228 inpatient staffed beds. They served 164,000 outpatients and treated 31,109 patients in the Emergency Room last year. Saint John’s is committed to social, economic and environmental sustainability. They provided clinical training sites for 57 nursing students last year and improved their nurse retention practices resulting in 1 million dollars in savings. They provide on-site child care and opportunities for staff to perform community service. They support local non-profits and provide in-kind services to local clinics. They provided more than 3.9 million dollars in community benefits last year. They have a co-gen facility that produces 95% of the power for the Chan Soon-Shiong building. They save 300,000 gallons of water daily by recycling wastewater from their HVAC. They recycle more than 150 tons of paper and 96 tons of cardboard annually. They have also donated 8 hospital beds to a clinic in Africa which provided the clinic with much needed beds and kept 1.5 tons of waste out of the landfill.

Taxi! Taxi! SQA Grand Prize

Taxi! Taxi! is the largest, oldest, locally-owned and operated taxicab company in Santa Monica, serving the city’s finest hotels, restaurants, businesses, residents and visitors for over eighteen years. In 2007, Taxi! Taxi! was the first cab company in LA County to debut Hybrid cabs and remains the leader in the LA market with the largest fleet, now 10 strong. Taxi! Taxi!’s Hybrids save over 700 tons of toxic GHGs from polluting our planet and over 60,000 gallons of gasoline annually. The brilliant and efficient paperless dispatching system saves close to one million pieces of paper annually. Taxi! Taxi! demonstrates its commitment to Santa Monica’s Sustainable City Plan by maintaining local headquarters in Santa Monica, shopping locally, actively participating in community events, and supporting many local non-profits, namely its title charity the Westside Food Bank. Each Taxi! Taxi! employee is currently enrolled in University course(s) to improve skill sets which ultimately strengthens business operations. Employees also enjoy flex time schedules, health benefits, paid vacation, and work from home options when feasible.

Whole Foods Market SQA Grand Prize

Whole Foods Market strives to sell the finest natural, local and organic foods available, while maintaining strict quality standards. A strong commitment to sustainable agriculture, supporting local communities and natural environment is included in the companies’ core values. Whole Foods procures Fair Trade priced products such as coffee, jewelry, arts and crafts from individuals living in third world countries. In addition to specialized staff training, they also offer College tuition reimbursement and CGS (California Grocers Association) and Scholarship Programs. Employee pay levels and benefits such as Medical, free Wellness Programs, gift certificates, and prize raffles for exceptional customer service, far exceed minimum standards. In 2008, Whole Foods Market banned the use of plastic bags nation-wide. By recycling cans, plastic, glass, mixed paper, food waste, and construction waste, they boast 80% waste diversion from landfill. Instead of traditional advertising, Whole Foods practices social responsibility by donating 5% of store revenue to a chosen local non-profit organization.

Blair Graphics Excellence in Stewardship of the Environment and Economic Development

Blair Graphics has been offering printing and digital services for over fifty years in Santa Monica. They demonstrate excellent Sustainable Economic Development by keeping up with innovative printing and graphic design services. Blair Graphics took an aggressive role in responding to customer needs by initiating a ‘Green Program’. This service works with clients on identifying sustainable solutions for their presentation and marketing materials such as printing on both sides of posters and making scratch pads out of draft printed paper. They were amongst the first printers in Los Angeles to invest in new large Format Color Toner Based equipment to enable good quality prints on recycled content paper. Blair Graphics is a participant in Sustainable Works Business Greening Program.

Business.com Excellence in Social Responsibility

Business.com is the leading business search engine, directory and pay-per-click advertising network, targeting over 40 million online business buyers. Business.com demonstrates excellent social responsibility by having an open-door policy among all management, offering excellent employee benefits including but not limited to tuition assistance up to $1k/ year, referral services for family assistance programs and Lunch N’ Learn opportunities ranging from “How to be greener at home and in the office”, to “First-time homebuyers’ workshops”. Leftover foods are donated weekly to Santa Monica West Side Food Bank. The company pioneered an employee ‘Green Team’ in 2006, consisting of roughly a dozen employees with a mission to introduce and sustain efficient business operations in order to obtain Santa Monica Green Business Certification (www.smgbc.org).

Community Corporation of Santa Monica Excellence in Economic Development

Community Corporation of Santa Monica (CCSM) is a locally based, non-profit organization committed to developing and managing affordable housing. CCSM currently manages over 1,500 units serving over 3,000 residents in Santa Monica. CCSM purchases and rehabilitates existing buildings to preserve affordable housing and improve neighborhoods. Their goal is to extend the building’s useful life by 40-50 years, to improve the quality of life for the residents, to upgrade the built environment in the neighborhood, and preserve rental units within the city of Santa Monica. CCSM also develops new properties throughout Santa Monica employing where feasible, a range of environmentally-friendly design, materials and technology such as water and energy conservation, energy production, and green building materials.

Pluralistic School #1 Excellence in Social Responsibility

PS#1 Elementary School incorporates employee driven leadership programs such as a Faculty Evaluation committee that works together towards improving the institution continuously to ensure the perpetuity of their core values of competence, confidence and connection. They offer a range of work-life programs for employees and their families including community involvement, tuition reimbursement and use of the campus during non-schools hours for functions such as birthday parties or weddings. They go above and beyond by offering programs for all segments of the Santa Monica community including children, adults and seniors. Their extensive support of local charities, ranging from students packing lunches to distribute to local homeless shelters and Ballona Wetlands Clean-up events, wins them Excellence in Social Responsibility.

Santa Monica College Excellence in Stewardship of the Environment

Santa Monica College (SMC), founded in 1929, is a public two-year community college. It is a leader among the state’s 110 community colleges in transferring students to the University of California, UCLA, USC and Loyola Marymount. SMC has a Center for Environmental and Urban Studies, recently renovated to incorporate green building materials, so students and community members can learn how to reduce their environmental impact and lead a more sustainable lifestyle. SMC partners with local non-profit, Sustainable Works, to offer students extra credit by participating in an extra curricular Environmental workshop. SMC is also a state leader in recycling – highlighted by their outstanding large scale vermiculture (worm) recycling program that collects pre-consumer food waste and cardboard. The castings are utilized on campus as fertilizer and pesticide. In 2008, SMC recycled 2.8 tons of food waste. Through a partnership with the District, Associated Students, and the Big Blue Bus the College offers free transportation to all students, faculty and staff via the Any Line, Any Time program.

Studio of Environmental Architecture Excellence in Stewardship of the Environment

The work of David Hertz, FAIA, Architects Inc, and S.E.A., (Studio of Environmental Architecture), focuses on the design and construction of environmentally responsible residential and commercial buildings. David Hertz, FAIA, LEED AP, founded the practice in 1983 as Syndesis where he developed the material Syndecrete®. Studio of Environmental Architecture has particular experience in the practice and incorporation of sustainable and resource efficient design principles in its built work. S.E.A.’s office uses 40% less energy than an average office its size. Integrated energy efficient design like dimmable electronic fluorescent fixtures and occupancy (motion) sensors, ensure lights used at minimum. Green building highlights include a “green” roof with drought tolerant succulent plants and solar panels. Other sustainable business operations range from recycling some construction and demolition waste locally -via neighboring plumbing supply store- and promoting alternative transportation by storing an electric bicycle onsite for employee use.

One of the Sustainable Quality Award Grand Prize Winners and three of the Excellence Winners participated in the Sustainable Works Business Greening Program. The Business Greening Program is a FREE service for businesses located in Santa Monica and provides the SQA with several strong candidates each year. Please contact Sustainable Works at 310.458.8716 x2 for more information.

Winners will be honored at the Sustainable Quality Awards Luncheon. This year’s luncheon will include keynote speakers: Sheila Kuehl, former California State Senator and, Andy Lipkis, Tree People Founder and President. Peter Kreitler, host of Earth Talk Today, will Emcee.

Morley Builders is one of the largest construction and engineering firms in Southern California. They constructed the US Green Building Council LEED Gold rated Santa Monica Main Library and many LA landmarks, including The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. In 2007, Morley participated in the Sustainable Works Business Greening Program. Then in 2008, Morley Builders received a Sustainable Quality Award Grand Prize for their above and beyond achievements in the areas of Stewardship of the Environment, Social Responsibility and Economic Development. Finally in 2009, Morley obtained Santa Monica Green Business Certification.

The Sustainable Quality Awards Luncheon will be held on Wednesday, March 25th from 11:30am-2pm at the Sheraton Delfina Hotel in Santa Monica. Pre-paid tickets are $50 for Chamber members and $55 for non-members until March 18th. Please reserve tickets by calling 310.393.9825. Tickets can also be purchased at www.smchamber.com/events.

Contact: Shannon Parry

310.458.2227

shannon.parry@smgov.net

HISTORIC PLACE 175 – VENICE OF AMERICA HOUSE

March 14, 2009 on 5:42 pm | In Fascinating Information, Historic Properties, Landmarks, Uncategorized | 10 Comments

HISTORIC PLACE 175 – VENICE OF AMERICA HOUSE

By Jodi Summers

Now that we’re good on our Santa Monica landmarks, we’ve got this new trend…checking out the properties in Los Angeles county that are on the National Register of Historic Places…of which there are 188. (Surprise, surprise) Recently, we took a happy afternoon stroll to property #175, Venice of America House.

Rumor circulating around the neighborhood has it that the Venice of America House was built by Abbot Kinney for his paramour. Built in 1906, on lot 10 of the Venice of America tract – this whimsical late Victorian, is one of the oldest properties in Venice, and as a 1916 postcard shows, canal adjacent.

The owner says is over the “Queen Anne” style. Notice the exquisite wood working, the rococo roof deck and finely constructed narrow slatted roof deck. The inside is magnificent as well, but they’re not allowing it photographed.

Venice, the Venice of America House, the canals, all of it was the vision of Abbot Kinney, a wealthy tobacco mogul, world traveler and co-owner of the Ocean Park Casino and Resort, was to turn the land south of Ocean Park through the Del Rey peninsula into a “Venice of America.” He envisioned a resort town culturally reminiscent of Venice, Italy, complete with canals, gondolas, amusement piers, hotels and Venetian-styled structures.

Kinney hired Los Angeles architects Norman Marsh and Clarence Russell to design Venice’s principal buildings. Both architects were familiar with the “City Beautiful Movement,” that advocated planned communities with generous public spaces, and understood Kinney’s mandate that all building exteriors in the business district would be built in “Venetian Renaissance” style. Their model was Venice, Italy’s Plaza San Marco, whose buildings featured enclosed colonnaded walkways.

Canal construction began in 1904, and the amusement pier went up in 1905. Kinney’s plan for Venice included 592 residential lots, some of which sold for as much as $2,700. Kinney also created affordable vacation housing for visitors. In 1925, Venice was annexed to the city of Los Angeles. By 1929, many of the canals had been filled in and paved as roads due to health and engineering problems.

Sources:

http://www.santamonicalandmarks.com/landmk49.html

http://www.westland.net/VENICE/history.htm

http://digitalcollections.lmu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/chgface&CISOPTR=687&CISOBOX=1&REC=1

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jodisummers/sets/72157615056698587/

GROSS REAL ESTATE RENTAL RATES EXPECTED TO INCREASE IN MAJOR CITIES

March 9, 2009 on 5:49 pm | In Uncategorized | 12 Comments

GROSS REAL ESTATE RENTAL RATES EXPECTED TO INCREASE IN MAJOR CITIES

By Jodi Summers…

It feels like the whole world is in an adjusting real estate market…and multiunits are predicted to become more affordable.

“Across the board, we still see property values are too high in terms of gross rental yields,” observes Matthew Montagu-Pollock, publisher of www.Globalpropertyguide.com. “Markets got ahead of themselves and eventually will collapse.”

Globalpropertyguide.com recently did the research for a Forbes.com report - World’s Priciest Cities To Own A Home.

The report indicates that the gross rental yields, a measure used in the United Kingdom, is the total yearly gross rent divided by the house price and expressed as a percentage, are between 4% and 5% in major cities such as Brussels, Belgium; Tokyo; Moscow; New York; and London.

The lower the gross rental yield, the more overvalued the property.

The “more reasonable” historical average for gross rental yields is 5.5% to 8%.

Six major cities currently offer rental yields of more than 10%. Topping the list is Chisinau, Moldova, with a 14.17% gross rental yield, and Cairo, Egypt, the least expensive property market, with an average price per square feet of $574 and gross rental yield of 12%.

The report suggests that it will take much more time to close the gap and return to normal averages.