In Brief


• Is There A Shuttle in Our Future?

• 5 Rose Apartments Sold

Is There A Shuttle in Our Future?

Andy Layman of Venice Suites and the Chamber of Commerce have initiate an effort to bring a shuttle to Venice. A May 9 meeting on the topic brought out several Venetians and representatives from Playa Vista (which is mandated to operate a shuttle), County Supervisor Don Knabe’s office, and the Santa Monica Blue Bus.

There is interest in a shuttle both for tourists (visitors) and for residents. Everyone agreed that for a shuttle to become a reality, it would have to have the active support of Councilmember Bill Rosendahl.

Linda Gamberg from the Blue Bus talked about the new Mini Blue routes they are starting in Santa Monica. They will be modeled after the Tide Shuttle. She said they had neither the buses nor the money to extend the service to Venice. She estimated that the Tide Shuttle costs around $100 an hour to operate.
No plans were made for future meetings. The next step seems to be getting Rosendahl’s support.

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5 Rose Apartments Sold

“Sale of Historic Apts Tops Asking Price,” says the press release from GlobeSt.com. It continues, “The Oceanview Apartments, a historic building originally developed as a hotel in 1905, has sold for $300,000 more than the asking price for the property. Sperry Van Ness brokers who negotiated the Oceanview sale report that the property, which is adjacent to Pacific Coast Highway at 5 Rose Ave. on the Venice Boardwalk, sold for $10.8 million.”

It claims that more than 20 prospective buyers made offers on the building. It wrongly states that the building “including retail on the ground floor and basement levels.” The winning buyer was “a Los Angeles-based private investor who acquired the property from Encino-based Urbatec in a deal that went from listing to close of escrow in 60 days.”

The building includes 59 apartment units (most of them converted hotel rooms), “all with ocean views, with rents ranging from $827 to $1,600.” The press release does not mention the numerous Section 8 (low income) residents who have been there for years.

Housing activists are monitoring the actions of the new owner to make sure there is no attempt to kick out the current residents. One obstacle to gentrifying the building is that there is no parking.

Posted: Fri - June 1, 2007 at 09:00 PM          


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