Who's Moving In?
Publish Date: 04/29/2005
LA Weekly
Who's Moving In?
Apartment residents speak up
by CHRISTINE PELISEK
04.29.05
Monah Li, Clothing Designer
Monah Li is in the process of selling her Silver Lake home, where she’s lived for four years. She is moving to a 2,000-square-foot loft in downtown L.A.
"I don’t know how I got myself into buying a house. I don’t want to fix anything or work in my garden. I am not up for the responsibility anymore . . . I just thought living in a house was the right thing to do. You grow up and you buy a house. I have a daughter, and I didn’t think you could bring up a kid in downtown. Thirteen years ago in downtown it was very grim and scary. Now it is really changing. Since it has a swimming pool, it is all right with her. There are barbecue areas, and interesting people living here.
"I always lived in lofts downtown or in big communes in Vienna. I don’t like living in a house by myself. I like the community. It is a certain way of living, in a loft. It’s a lifestyle choice. I will be working and living there. Other people will be doing that. Those are the people I want to live near."
Mark Shunock
Santee Court , downtown, located on 7th and Los Angeles streets
Shunock, an actor, has lived at Santee Court for four months. He has a 1,000-square-foot loft, which he pays $1,800 a month for. Amenities include rooftop pool, Jacuzzi, basketball court, driving range, barbecue gas grills, fitness room, hot tub and driving range. It is all free wired, with DSL and two or three phone lines in each apartment. There’s 24-hour security, and parking is available. Apartments have cement floors and 25-foot ceilings.
"By chance I took a tour of downtown and fell in love with the big lofts. The complex is very appealing. They have taken over an entire city block and created a little community. There is a courtyard. A market is opening up. A food court is coming. We don’t have to go anywhere. Everything we possibly need is downstairs. Everyone is 40 and under and in the entertainment or fashion business. It is a cool, funky group of people. We knew we weren’t moving into a seniors’ home.
"It was a financial thing. I wasn’t in a financial position to live in a house. Here, there was a small security deposit. I lived for seven years in New York. If this apartment was for rent in New York, it would be triple the rent. This place would be $8,000 a month in New York."
Edber Mamisao
Santee Court
Edber Mamisao, 30, moved into Santee Court Legacy in February 2004. Originally from Canada, he’s been here for two and a half years and works, by day, at Disney as a production coordinator; by night, he is a filmmaker. His wife is a painter. They pay $1,650 for an 800-square-foot loft.
"There is a lot of support for artists. There was a show held in one of the lofts recently. Santee Court sponsored the event. There is space for my wife to paint and have clients come in and check out her artwork. We are close to a lot of art galleries. One of the galleries wanted to see her work. It was really convenient. They walked over, and she has a show in May.
"I am a creative person, and it’s a creative space. I am happy when I go home. I feel inspired. There is something about being downtown. It is so alive. So many things are accessible. It is also the architecture. I love seeing buildings. Forms. I get excited driving through downtown. Just passing Disney Hall excites me."
Katie Bogue
Santee Court
Katie Bogue, 25, is co-owner of Label Los Angeles, an online boutique that promotes L.A. designers. She runs her office out of the loft space, for which she pays $2,200 a month for 1,400 square feet.
"The lofts are also advertised as workspaces. We hold our meetings here. We have a fashion designer and photographer who work and live here. Half of the people are running their businesses here.
"We love the downtown area. We are right in the middle of the fashion district. It has a New York loft vibe. Cement floors, a bit of an edge. It is hipper than being on the Westside. It has a very homey feeling. We are really happy with it."
|
Press
Back to Press page
