The three-storied Strand house in Manhattan Beach — built by homeowner Bob Salim, a successful developer — will host FOLA’s annual fundraiser
In 2004, Manhattan Beach resident Bob Salim purchased a rundown multi-unit three-story property on The Strand, built in the 1930s. As a seasoned developer, Salim took one look at the house and knew it was beyond repair. He and his team tore it down and drew up a blueprint for a new home that would reinvent the old contemporary style utilizing the maximum square footage allowed.
What now stands in its place is the ultimate modern beach house, luxurious with a pinch of rustic. The boxy, solar-powered three-story home, anchored behind a tiled patio, exudes a cool warmth, an effect of the mahogany finishing juxtaposing the wooden turquoise balcony floors and the vast, dark glass doors and windows. Behind the glass gate to the left, a tiled staircase leads up to the entrance, a bifold glass door made in Germany. Inside, it’s flanked by a custom-built elevator, stylishly lined with mahogany.
It’s hard to believe that the house, a five-bedroom four-bath, was built nearly a decade ago. The sleek warmth of its exterior penetrates throughout the 5,000 sq. ft. inside. The main living room boasts an 11-foot wooden ceiling, and the floor is covered with italian travertine tiles. On the west side is a vast sliding glass door which opens out to the patio facing the ocean.
The house has a brain of its own — at 4 p.m. sharp every day, the custom motorized blinds come down. At sunrise, the blinds draw back up. The lighting system is automatic, too.
“We normally would be getting cooked right now, between 12 and 3,” says Salim, who shares the home with his 17-year-old daughter Jordan and 4-year-old twins. He explains the glass windows are coated with Low-E, which prevents the sun from heating the floors and furnishings. “When you live on The Strand, you have to build it bulletproof. It’s crazy. Everything gets deteriorated so fast.”
Salim describes his home as a “hybrid-style” house — a contemporary design warmed with a mixture of woods, stucco, stones and glass. It looks similar the two dozen other homes he’s built across the Beach Cities.
“The days of the old contemporary being stark white with glass blocks and teal-colored handrails — you know the Miami look? People don’t want contemporary like that anymore,” Salim explains. “They want contemporary like this, with warm woods. It softens up the contemporary look so you don’t feel like you’re in a business. It’s still like you’re home.”
In the late 1980s, Salim, then working as an accountant, bought a house in Pacific Palisades. For six months he revamped the building as a personal project, and he ended up selling it for three times the amount he was making at his job.
“And that was it,” he says. “I got my license and was off to doing real estate.”
Within six years he became a developer and founded his own company, Jordan Development, named after his daughter who is now 17. In 2009, he founded Classic Beach Properties, a real estate company specializing in high-end luxury beach homes.
This particular house, he explains, took a year and a half to build. In keeping with the natural beauty of the beach and horizon that is undeniably the centerpiece of the house, the interior boasts impeccable and expensive details. Take the living room fireplace, for instance — its glass and steel enclosure is surrounded by the pastel mixture of glacial onyx. Brazilian blue granite adorns the kitchen counters.
The downstairs space has a similar layout with a living room (this one has a bathtub), a kitchen doubling as a full bar, a temperature-controlled wine cellar behind glass doors. The top floor houses the kids’ bedrooms and the master suite.
Come Saturday evening, Jan. 31, these floors will host the Foundation of Local Arts’ annual fundraiser, where some 100 attendees are expected in support of arts education. Its wall will feature the works of local artists, and the oceanside space will host a jazz band. Salim is this year’s event honoree.
“We came across this gem of a home through one of our artists,” says Angie Silverman, FOLA founder and president. “We thought it would make a great addition to the FOLA collection of the South Bay architecture scene.” B
FOLA FUNDRAISER
The Foundation of Local Arts
Sat, Jan. 31, 7-10pm
1516 The Strand, MB
To raise funds for local public arts education
Tickets, which include complimentary appetizers, an open bar and valet parking, are available for $50 each at foundationoflocalarts.com.
