Life at a once lively complex is a lonely existence these days
OCEAN PARK A modestly-sized 24-unit apartment complex was once the life of the party in this beach neighborhood, with endless nights of barbecues and neighborly conversations in the center of it all — a vibrant garden courtyard.
But the party has long been over at 125 Pacific St., as the remaining few tenants make preparations to pack up and leave, served with an eviction notice to vacate by Sept. 7. Those units no longer occupied are now boarded up, leaving the impression to outsiders that the apartment complex is a ghost town.
“The party’s over, so to speak,” said Carlo Brooks, who has lived in the building since February 2002. “It’s still pleasant to live in this area, but it’s no longer pleasant to be a part of this courtyard.”
The building was once the battleground of a feud between tenants and the property’s owners, 125 Pacific LLC. Fighting the imminent eviction notices and demolition of the building, the tenants sought to historically preserve the building — a bungalow courtyard constructed in 1924 in the simplified mission revival architectural style.
The Landmarks Commission fulfilled their wishes on July 14, 2004, designating the property as a landmark. The designation was appealed by the property owners and upheld by the City Council more than a year later, paving the way for demolition.
Slated as its replacement is a nine-unit, multi-story structure, which will be developed by Cedar Signature Homes, the same company that built a residential community at 417 Ocean Park Blvd. and the Santa Monica Collection on Seventh Street.
“The design is more contemporary, playing off some of the older modern projects as well as the newer ones,” said Ralph Mechur, of Ralph Mechur Architects, last week.
The project is estimated to cost approximately $6 million and construction would take about 18 months, said Adam Pasori, the property manager for 125 Pacific LLC.
Construction is expected to begin as soon as the last tenant leaves, which could take up to another year. The 120-day eviction notice was sent to tenants on May 18, giving them until Sept. 7 to vacate the premises. Elderly and disabled residents have up to one year under the Ellis Act.
Brooks, who has type 1 diabetes, successfully petitioned for an extension until May 2008.
The once lively courtyard has lost its buzz, with the majority of its windows and doors facing the courtyard now covered in plywood. A few barbecue grills remain — a reminder of the days when the tenants would lounge outside together deep into the night.
Boarded entrances throughout the building are covered in graffiti, threatening phrases such as “Stay the ‘F’ out of here.” The artists behind the colorful phrases is a former tenant who moved out about two weeks ago, Brooks said.
Brooks’ unit is a small one-bedroom, a simple layout that includes a separate kitchen with a dining area, covered in old-fashioned black and white tiles. It was the only affordable place he could find near the beach, located just one block from the ocean.
“The courtyard bungalows are more appealing than the multi-story dingbat apartments,” Brooks said, referring to the common box-shaped architectural style found in many Los Angeles apartments. “You don’t have to worry about who’s upstairs or downstairs.”
The layout of the apartment building lent itself to neighbors getting to know each other, whether they wanted to or not, crossing through the courtyard to get to their destination.
Though he has nine more months to find a new home, Brooks is already searching, but with very little luck.
Brooks isn’t pleased with the fact that the owners have boarded up the vacant units, believing it poses a danger, giving off a feeling of abandonment to the homeless.
Randy Davidson, another tenant, has called Santa Monica Police to kick out the homeless people hanging out in the apartment complex.
“It really detracts from the building,” Davidson said on Wednesday.
The windows are boarded to avoid break-ins and keep unwanted people from entering the unit and turning the electricity and water on, Pasori said.
Pasori said he would’ve preferred the route of refurbishing the existing building, adding a second story and selling the units rather than demolition.
The current city zoning laws are “archaic” in that it would be economically more feasible to tear down the building and erect a nine-unit townhouse project rather than build on the existing 24 units, Pasori said.
He referred to the project at 417 Ocean Park Blvd. as a good example of how the industry has been able to refurbish existing buildings.
“We can make something average and dull into an absolute gem,” Pasori said on Wednesday.
Several of the current and former tenants called the Pacific Street apartment complex — known as Christie Courtyard — home for many years, including Davidson, who has lived there for 10 years.
“I like the courtyard style of living, where you see neighbors face to face and interact in a nice garden city,” Davidson said. “It draws people out of their houses and living room and away from the TV set.”
Several former Christie Courtyard residents say they were surprised to see the apartment building boarded up during a recent visit, even more shocked to see people were still living there.
“I describe it as a war zone, but not literally that,” said David Wood, who lived in the building for about a year before moving out in November 2006, on Monday.
Wood recalls time spent hanging out in the courtyard when his brother and wife lived in the building, but before he moved in. There were lazy afternoons and evenings spent drinking beers and relaxing. It was the kind of environment where strangers inadvertently ended up hanging out, Wood said.
Kurt Heim, who lived in Christie Courtyard for several years, still has a good view of his old home — he lives right across the street.
Heim recalls the apartment complex being inhabited by many non-California natives, including tenants from Ukraine, Ireland and another from Oregon. Heim is originally from South Africa.
On Sunday nights, the tenants would gather in the courtyard for a cookout and conversations over bottles of wine.
“There was absolutely an amazing vibe, with the garden lit up and the people barbecuing,” Heim recalled on Monday.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 9, 2007. Read the original PDF.