SeaCliff in H.B. grows from gritty neighborhood
built by big oil to a luxury oceanside community
 |
When Huntington Beach was emerging from its gritty oil past, a
new residential development was simply titled "upper" and "lower," a
no-frills public golf course was 20 years from becoming a private
country club and a supposedly modern shopping center was better
known for its elaborate roof-high bird murals than for its retail
mix. What a difference 40 years makes. Since the mid-'60s, SeaCliff has experienced a huge makeover and evolved into a hotbed of luxury homes that surround the SeaCliff Country Club and branch out in several directions. The area has become a magnet for actors, athletes and musicians, as well as the upwardly mobile looking for housing choices that include ocean views, steps to the ocean, equestrian trails, parks and greenbelts and city lights. SeaCliff roughly extends from Pacific Coast Highway on the south, Seapoint Avenue and Edwards Street on the west, Ellis Avenue on the north and Goldenwest Street intersecting at Yorktown Avenue and Main Street on the east. |
It's close to the
Huntington Beach Central Park, Huntington Central Park Equestrian Center and the
27-acre SeaCliff Village Shopping Center, which underwent a $22-million
renovation in 1998, and it's a short bike ride to the beach. Several distinct
neighborhoods exist within its boundaries and offer homes in a variety of
architectural styles. They include the Peninsula, the
Estates at SeaCliff
Country Club, SeaCliff on the Greens and
Edwards
Hill.
Beginnings
Like many other Southern California
communities, big oil built Huntington Beach.
Through the years, the
Chevron Land & Development Co. invested millions in the city. In 1964, the
public golf course and two large residential developments sprang up and the
SeaCliff brand was born.
The next big push came in the '80s when the
100-acre SeaCliff on the Greens was developed. Also, the Estates at SeaCliff
Country Club and the Peninsula put homes steps from the fairways, and Edwards
Hill offered buyers huge lots (some are more than an acre) with space for
stables in their backyards.
As Chevron divested its Huntington Beach real
estate holdings over the next decade -- 600 acres in 1996, for example -- more
oil wells were capped and more high-end developments popped up in and around
SeaCliff.
Trying to name a builder who doesn't have its fingerprints on
the area is tough to do. Shea Homes, Taylor Woodrow, Lennar, New Urban West,
Cayman Development Co. and Christopher Homes have all left their mark on
SeaCliff.
Insider's viewpoint
In 1986, Jim and
Carrie Thomas were raising a family in a small tract home behind St. Bonaventure
Church on nearby Springdale Street. Through a friend, they found out about a new
development, the beginnings of equestrian-themed Edwards Hill.
"The big
draw for us was that we wanted to get our kids out of a 6,000-square-foot city
lot where they couldn't be kids," said Carrie Thomas. At the time, she said,
many locals found out about the new development through word of mouth. The
Thomases traded up and built a custom home on a 16,000-square-foot
lot.
Housing stock
There are about 3,500 homes in
SeaCliff. While the area is
experiencing a slowdown, it's not as dramatic as other areas. The median price
in SeaCliff, including town houses, is about $1.2 million.
Current listings range from $649,000 for a town house short-sale to nearly $3
million for a single-family home with six bedrooms, 5 1/2 bathrooms and 5,388
square feet in Edwards Hill.
Report card
Most
SeaCliff-area students attend the Huntington SeaCliff Elementary School, a
California Distinguished School that scored 926 out of a possible 1,000 on the
2007 Academic Performance Index Base Report. From there, students may attend
Ethel Dwyer Middle School, which scored 837, then Huntington Beach High School,
766.
Copyright 2008 Los Angeles Times
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