People get into the real estate business for a lot of reasons, but most Realtors agree that among the most interesting facets of the profession is that no two days are alike, and every sale, especially in the South Bay market, is likewise singular.
Last month, Ed Kaminsky facilitated a sale that was utterly unique in his 38 year career — side by side Strand homes in Manhattan Beach. One is a concrete modernist house with a “nod towards Brutalist” built in 2006. The other is the oldest Strand home still standing, a cozy wood-shingled cottage built in 1922.
The properties, even together, are not the most valuable in the world of Manhattan Beach real estate. As Realtor Dave Fratello noted on his blog, MB Confidential, that honor still goes to the triple-lot merged home built 20 years ago at 212 Strand, which two years ago went on the market for $150 million and ended up leasing for $135,000 a month. But the sale does top the record sale price achieved last year, $24.5 million, on the same block at 1800 The Strand. The two homes, at 1808 and 1812 The Strand, sold to a single buyer for $25.725 million.
“If you call it a single sale, which effectively it is, this is the largest sale to take place in Manhattan Beach,” Kaminsky said. “It’s not the most expensive property in Manhattan Beach, but it’s the largest closed sale.”
Kaminsky said the buyer has asked to remain confidential for privacy reasons. But he was able to disclose that the homes were formerly owned by Mary and Robert Looker. He was a naval officer when they married in 1945 and went on to a successful career in manufacturing. She was an early environmental citizen activist who would be appointed to the Central California Coastal Commission. Together, they founded the Looker Foundation in 1995, a nonprofit organization that funded educational, environmental, and philanthropic endeavors focused on children in need. Mary, in particular, had a gift for giving — she was involved in more than 50 nonprofits in her lifetime, and was a prodigious fundraiser, raising money for the UC Santa Barbara art museum. After Robert’s death in 2012, she and her daughter took up a cause near to his heart, helping the U.S. Naval Academy address cybersecurity concerns — and helped raise $90 million towards the effort. She passed away, at the age of 100, in February. The homes went on the market in May.
“They were art collectors,” Kaminsky said. “I mean, that wasn’t their job, but that was something that they liked to do. And so they owned that little beach house, and when they had the option to acquire the lot next door that they decided to build this house [in 2006] that was really just suited for them. They wanted a place where they could live and also showcase their art, and that was kind of the reason they built the way they did — it is essentially a one bedroom house, but with a little guest quarters.”
The modern house, designed by architect Frederick Fisher, is 3,550 square feet, while the 1922 cottage is 1,068 square feet. Kaminsky, who was friends with the Lookers, said he didn’t really understand what Brutalist style was until he happened to see the movie, “The Brutalist”, in May, and suddenly he better understood that house.
“It’s definitely a nod to that style for sure,” he said. “The owner was a Navy guy and so probably was around that architecture as he traveled the world, and then he was in the shipping freight business. So they were very committed to long term real estate ownership. They didn’t want to ever sell anything.”
Now that it is sold, there is some concern within the community that, like so many other historic properties, the Strand cottage will be torn down to make way for a larger, two-lot home. But Kaminsky said a lot merger would face a much more difficult path than the triple lot merger that occurred on the same block two decades ago. The City has passed anti-mansionization measures that are even more restrictive than the Coastal Commissions.
“Right now, there are no plans to do anything,” he said. “You know, the Coastal Commission is not putting up an easy path to merge lots on The Strand. When you develop on The Strand, you have to go through the Coastal Commission, and the City, and you’ve got all the state laws. So right now, the ability to merge two lots on The Strand is not an easy path.”
The Brutalist house, Kaminsky said, is a lot warmer inside than its stark appearance from the outside would indicate.
“A lot of people walked through the two properties — and they were priced pretty close to the same, because the assumption is the buyers would want to utilize the two properties together — and [the price] is almost land value in, in a sense. Because of the way that big homes function, it’s just not for most people. However, when we put it on the market, we had a couple big events there to showcase it. And the buyers were all very positively influenced by it once you get inside. Because you see all this concrete, not big windows, like you normally see on The Strand, but the way it felt inside…it felt good, surprisingly. I mean, obviously, you’ve got that concrete style, but this home will stand forever.”
The cottage has stood for 103 years. The Lookers kept its original style, and even its kitchen equipment. The Lookers used the houses together.
“They lived in the big house,” Kaminsky said. “The cottage was really more just an extension of the big house. So if they had guests come over, or maybe when they had events, they would utilize both properties. I went to her 100th birthday party there, and they did an Hawaiian theme that traveled across the two properties. So it was really more for an extension of entertainment.”
“They really took care of these properties,” Kaminsky said. “That cottage is in pristine condition. It has the original stove and original type of [electric] ice box, as they were called in the day. It’s pretty darned cool.” ER
