Looks like a fire has destroyed Castle Kashan in Malibu:

"Flames consumed the landmark Castle Kashan, a stately fortress-like home with turrets and arched windows, as about a dozen residents watched from across a street. Chunks of brick fell from the exterior of the burning building overlooking the coast."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-7013337,00.html

If you have taken the Pacific Coast Highway from Los Angeles to Malibu, you have probably noticed this castle house in the distance off to the right. In recent years it has been rented out for special events. www.malibucastlekashan.com

For a video of a drive up the coast on PCH, take a look at A drive on PCH from Santa Monica to Malibu on YouTube

ultimateLA.com

When I put together my Los Angeles Restaurants page, I made it a point to always seek out a restaurant's official website. It was surprising how often a restaurant simply wasn't on the web. If this was the case, I would link to an interesting restaurant review instead. One of my favorite "Classic Los Angeles" restaurants that was without a website was Langer's Deli in Downtown L.A., near MacArthur Park. Well, no longer, as I have stumbled onto their new website, and it certainly makes me hungry! You can see their menu, and most importantly, you can see a picture of their mouth watering pastrami sandwich. I recommend the #19, the Pastrami, Swiss Cheese and Cole Slaw with Russian Style Dressing. Langer's is really a lunch and breakfast establishment, open from 8am to 4pm Monday-Saturday (closed Sunday). As MacArthur Park is probably the fake ID headquarters of the country, don't be surprised when you are propositioned for a fake ID card during the short walk across the street from the parking lot to the restaurant. I guess it all adds to the character of the experience. So, treat yourself to lunch at Langer's and enjoy!

Langer's Deli
704 S. Alvarado
Los Angeles, CA 90057
213-483-8050

Los Angeles Restaurants
Los Angeles on the web - www.ultimateLA.com

The Mission Westwood Apartments
1350 S. Midvale Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90024

Looks like The Mission Westwood apartments are ready for rent. This new building is located a couple blocks south of Wilshire Blvd and a block west of Westwood Blvd. As far as big-block apartment buildings go, it looks like they did a pretty nice job. Westwood is of course a great location, but what I like specifically about this property is that it is a very short walk to Border's bookstore, the Equinox gym, and Novel Cafe. For more rental ideas, be sure to check out Los Angeles Apartments.

Los Angeles on the Net - www.ultimateLA.com

Artist Rendering of The New Century City Plan

I came across an interesting website today, www.thenewcenturyplan.com. This site outlines the proposal of Westfield (the owners of the Century City Mall in Los Angeles) to renovate the property. Here are the major elements of the plan from their website:

*Remove two aging office buildings at 1801 Avenue of the Stars and 1930 Century Park West and integrate those properties into the New Century, creating a unique combination of state-of-the-art new retail and parking together with a new mixed use condominium tower on Avenue of the Stars
*Increase new shopping and dining options by approximately 40% to 50% and create more parking and amenities throughout the center
*Reduce current office space by approximately two-thirds
*Add 260 luxury condominiums to provide a new choice for Angelenos to live and play where they work

It looks to me like the "sales pitch" for this project is still in the very early stages. It will be interesting to watch. To learn a little more about the history of Century City, here is some background from Wikipedia.

We have added the link to this proposed Century City Mall redevelopment to Los Angeles Real Estate.

Los Angeles on the Net - www.ultimateLA.com

An ad for The Hollywood condos "Modern design in the heart of hollywood" caught my eye in today's Los Angeles Times real estate section. This real estate project is currently in its construction phase (estimated to be completed at the end of 2006), and we have added it to our Los Angeles Real Estate page. I think this project is interesting for a few reasons; a focus on modern architecture, the fact that it is all two and three bedroom units, and a sales pitch that targets the strategic location and transportation options for someone in the entertainment industry. This will be an interesting real estate project to watch, and their website says that this is the first such development to take place in Hollywood in decades.

Los Angeles Real Estate
Los Angeles on the Net - www.ultimateLA.com

One result of this housing boom has been the investment of big money into Downtown Los Angeles for the both new construction and the re-hab of historic properties into condos/lofts. One nice thing about a real estate mania (versus a dot com mania), is at least at the end of real estate run, society is left with a new supply of housing stock. Yes, sometimes developers or those who bought in at the top go bust, but the property is always recycled into stronger financial hands through the mechanism of the free market. So whether real estate continues its upwards ascent, or if the "bubble" pops, a Downtown Los Angeles with alot more residential living options is certainly the result. Take a look at Los Angeles Real Estate, where we have added many Downtown L.A. condo/loft projects to our website. The cumulative level of investment into the city is really impressive. Here are some of the properties:

Artisan on Second - New mid-rise condo complex near the Little Tokyo section of Downtown Los Angeles
Axis at Union Station - new condo units next to near Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles
The Brockman - condo/loft conversion of a 1917-built Downtown Los Angeles building.
Eastern Columbia Lofts - loft conversion project of the turquoise art-deco 1930s high-rise on Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles
Eleven South - condo project in Downtown L.A.
Evo - new construction, luxury 23-story condo high rise in Downtown Los Angeles
Flower Street Lofts - lofts for sales adj. to Staples Center in Downtown L.A. This is a re-use project of the old UPS building, originally constructed in 1936.
Grand Lofts - Downtown L.A. loft project in the old Western Auto Supply Headquarters building (built 1924).
Library Court - new condo/lofts in heart of Downtown Los Angeles
Little Tokyo Lofts - Downtown Los Angeles lofts built in the industrial space of the old Westinghouse building
Market Lofts - condo/lofts being built above a new Ralphs grocery store in Downtown Los Angeles
Mercury Rising - condo conversion of the 1960s built Getty Oil Building at Wilshire & Western
Pan American Lofts - Downtown Los Angeles condo/loft conversion of a architecturally significant Beaux-Arts style property dating from 1895. I think the windows on this building are really interesting.
Rowan Lofts - conversion of a Downtown Los Angeles 1912-built office building into Lofts
Savoy - new luxury condos and lofts, encompassing an entire block in Downtown Los Angeles
Sky Lofts - The 12th-22nd floors of this office tower in Downtown L.A. are being converted to lofts. This will give this building a mix of retail (bottom floor), residential, and office users.
Tara Village - condominiums for sale in Tarzana
Toy Factory Lofts - Downtown L.A. Lofts
1100 Wilshire - high profile office-to-condo conversion on the western end of Downtown Los Angeles

Take a look at Los Angeles Real Estate for the links to the properties.

Los Angeles on the Net - www.ultimateLA.com

I had always heard that somewhere in Westwood there was a small cemetery that was the final resting place of Marilyn Monroe, and other Hollywood luminaries. So after a dozen years of living on the westside (including four at UCLA in Westwood), I finally set about to find this hidden cemetery. Well, you really have to be on the lookout for it. It's located just south of Wilshire, between Glendon & Malcolm Avenues. As you walk south on Glendon, take the driveway to the left that cuts in behind the Avco movie theater, and you will see a sign for the Pierce Brother's Westwood Village Memorial Park (1218 Glendon Avenue, Westwood, CA). So this is the final resting place of Marilyn Monroe, Burt Lancaster, Jack Lemmon, Dean Martin, Eva Gabor, and many others. There is an excellent map, produced by the seeing-stars website, that you can access here. This map will give you the locations of the gravesites and crypts.

Los Angeles Places to Go & Things to Do

Los Angeles on the Net - www.ultimateLA.com

Here is a new Los Angeles restaurant to add to your rotation, the Novel Cafe in Westwood. After doing a little research online, it appears that this is a spin-off from the Novel Cafe and used bookstore in Venice. The Novel Cafe in Westwood is really more of a pure restaurant, although it maintains the used bookstore theme. What I like best about this place is the high quality of the food and the fact that they don't totally over-do it with the portion sizes like so many restaurants do. For breakfast, I recommend the New York Scramble (eggs, lox and cream cheese), it's a great combination that will leave you thinking of the Big Apple. Also, the coffee is excellent - some of the best is town in my opinion. The Novel Cafe is located right across the street from Headlines restaurant, on the corner of Gayley Ave and Kinross Ave.

Novel Cafe
1101 Gayley Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90024

Los Angeles Restaurants
Los Angeles on the Net - www.ultimateLA.com

There are a couple of new real estate projects under construction in the Mid-Wilshire section of Los Angeles that deserve mention. The first is the Perino's Apartments project, located on Wilshire Boulevard, just east of Crenshaw (next door to the historic Los Altos Apartments). This building is going up on the site of the old Perino's Restaurant. There will be 47 apartment units, as well as commercial space for rent. The neon signage will be preserved, as well as some chandeliers and other architectural features. All in all, it's an attractive looking project that cleverly retains some of the spirit of what came before it. Situated next to the Los Altos, this will make for a nice block of apartments. For more information on Los Angeles apartments, take a look at Apartments for rent in Los Angeles.

Also of note in the Mid-Wilshire area is the new Mercury condo project, which is an office-building to condos conversion. Located at 3800 Wilshire Blvd (the southwest corner of Wilshire and Western), this 22-story early 1960s built hi-rise was the former headquarters of the Getty Oil company. Over 200 condo units are expected to come online. The game plan appears to be similar to the project at 1100 Wilshire, with upscale amenities in the units and a rooftop pool and barbeque area in the offering. The new residences will have terrific views.

Los Angeles Places to Go & Things to Do
Los Angeles on the Net

Santa Monica Bike Trail - Buy this Art Print at AllPosters.com

More Los Angeles condo-conversion news. Any UCLA alums from the past twenty years would probably recognize the name Club California Apartments, or "Club Cali" as it was more frequently called. This is the apartment complex on Roebling Avenue, right on the cusp of the commercial/retail/restaurant section in Westwood. Well, Club Cali is going condo. The renters (primarily students) have been given their walking papers, and as current leases expire the construction will begin on the individual units. Quick stats: the complex was built in 1973 and has 209 units. Here is some detail on the financing for the project from multihousingnews.com:

Hypo Completes $81M for Condo Acquisition, Conversion

"Hypo Real Estate Capital Corp. plans on continuing to expand its leadership position in the condominium-conversion marketplace in California and across the U. S.," said Evan F. Denner, head of real estate finance for Hypo Real Estate Capital.

You can read more about the conversion and its affect on UCLA students at this article from The Daily Bruin, Roebling complex sends off tenants. I think this will be an interesting project to watch. Westwood has been searching for its identity for over a decade now. Does it want to be a real "college town," or does it cater to an older crowd with high-disposable incomes? (The Palomino restaurant, Napa Valley Wine Bar, EuroChow, etc). The Club Cali condo conversion will infuse more disposable income into the area, but the price will be the losing a little of that college feel. If any Bruin Alumni are out there, I'd be curious to see your comment on this project, and if you would consider buying a condo there when they become available.

Los Angeles Apartments
Los Angeles on the Net - www.ultimateLA.com

Prospective buyers should think twice before jumping into a deal like this. The fact that real estate is being fueled by creative financing (interest-only loans, etc) has been documented extensively in the media, so I won't belabor this point (just do a google search). What is not discussed enough in my opinion is the nature of condos, and how they could be particularly subject to a price correction. The argument given by the real estate bulls is that the supply of real estate is limited, and in SoCal especially we are built-out and "they aren't making any more of it" (meaning land). While this could be true for single family homes, it is not true for condos. The potential supply of new condos that could come on the market is limitless. Take a drive around town. Whenever you see an older single family home or aging duplex with just a little extra land, you are looking at a potential tear-town project with 10+ new condo units coming on the market. So if you are buying one of these new condos or condo conversions, make sure that you want to live there for awhile and that the property is special in some respect. That is the best way to preserve equity in a condo market that is historically fickle. And if you decide to rent instead of buy, take a look at our Los Angeles Apartments page for rental ideas.

Los Angeles on the Net - www.ultimateLA.com

Los Angeles on the Net - www.ultimateLA.com
Los Angeles Restaurants, Bars & Clubs

Los Angeles on the Net - www.ultimateLA.com