Of Trees and Roots

In 1976, Suzanne Bell decided to buy her first house, an 800-square-foot bungalow in the Tree Section of Manhattan Beach. Friends praised her financial planning skills, her real estate savvy and the wisdom of investing in property close to the beach.

“All I knew was that I was tired of living in an apartment and hearing my landlord flush the toilet every morning,” Bell said.

And Bell knew she had picked the right place when the neighbors on either side of her new home offered to help her move in. “On moving day, we ended up having a get-together in the backyard with a bunch of the neighbors,” she said. “Some of those people still live here.”

Twenty years later, it seems both she and her friends were right about the decision. Bell, now a professional photographer and a fourth-grade teacher in Hawthorne, paid $58,000 for the two-bedroom, one-bath home with a two-car garage and an attached art studio. The house recently appraised for $365,000.

Situated three miles south of Los Angeles International Airport, Manhattan Beach covers about four square miles and boasts a two-mile strip of beach at the southern end of Santa Monica Bay. The city’s Tree Section is bordered by Sepulveda Boulevard on the east, Rosecrans Boulevard on the north, Manhattan Beach Boulevard on the south and Valley Drive and Bell Avenue on the west.

The area got its name, said Robert Freedman, an agent with Re/Max Beach Cities Realty, when the original builders named many of the streets after trees. “Then they planted a lot of trees, so today, everyone thinks it’s called the Tree Section because of all the trees.”

The Tree Section includes roughly 3,000 homes, with about 60 for sale, according to Dorothy La Rose of Shorewood Realtors in Manhattan Beach. Home prices range from $350,000 for a 1,000-square-foot cottage with two bedrooms to $750,000 for a 3,000-square-foot four-bedroom home with 3 1/2 baths, La Rose said.

“The top-of-the-line house would go for about $900,000, and the median price would probably be $500,000 for a 2,000-square-foot home with three bedrooms and two baths,” La Rose said. “In Manhattan Beach, the closer you get to the beach, the smaller the lots get,” she added. “People like the Tree Section because they can be fairly close to the beach, but they can still have a nice-sized lot.”

The city of 33,000 attracts a lot of professionals in aerospace, high-tech and computer jobs, according to Realtors. About 20% of the residents are self-employed, according to Freedman. “Most people here live within 30 minutes of where they work,” he added.

One of the benefits of living in Manhattan Beach is the town’s proximity to LAX and the 405 Freeway, LaRose said. “But you still have the feeling of being in a beach community.”

Suzanne Bell’s two-bedroom home, built in 1948, sits on a 40-foot-by-116-foot lot typical of many of the original Tree Section homes. “It’s cozy, but there’s plenty of room for two,” Bell said. It’s the “beach town” atmosphere that she loves most about living in Manhattan Beach, she added. “Along with the fact that we have a great school district and a terrific police force. I feel safe here.”

Bell said she is sadden by some of the changes the last two decades have produced. “They’re stuffing one house on top of another these days,” Bell said of the trend toward tearing down the old bungalows and erecting large new homes. “I think they’re spoiling a lot of the old beach bungalow charm.”

But others feel it’s possible to build large homes in the Tree Section while maintaining the atmosphere that makes this town so popular.

When Greg and Valerie Goeser began house-hunting in early 1996, they had two goals in mind: “We wanted to live close to work,” said Greg Goeser, co-owner of NovaQuest InfoSystems, a computer sales and service company in Torrance. “And we wanted to live in a place that really felt like a community,” added Valerie Goeser, the company’s marketing coordinator. “I’m from Montana, and I’m used to a small-town atmosphere.”

Although they loved their Hollywood Hills home, the area wasn’t really geared toward families with young children and, Valerie Goeser said, “We had to drive wherever we went.”

Today, except to go to work, the Goesers rarely need to start their engines. Since closing escrow on their 3,400-square-foot home in the Tree Section in April, “I just haul out the stroller and [9-month-old daughter] Taylor and I walk to the local stores,” Valerie Goeser said. “It’s great.”

Their $765,000 home, custom-built in 1991, has a three-car garage, a Jacuzzi tub in the master bath, two fireplaces, a limestone-and-stucco exterior and a slate roof.

“I never thought I’d go for a house with a modern design,” said Greg Goeser. “But this house has such interesting lines. And we love the tall ceilings. I think the lowest ceiling is 12 feet high.”

According to Freedman, the Goesers took advantage of “a growing trend toward gentrification” in the Tree Section.

“Builders are trying to buy properties valued at $325,000 or less,” he explained. “They’re tearing down the original tract houses that were built just after World War II and building new homes in the $800,000 price range.” Most of the new homes, Freedman said, are between 3,100 and 3,300 square feet, and many have five bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths.

“There are probably hundreds of these homes in the Tree Section that have either recently been built or are in development,” he said.

Although the Goesers won’t have to buy baby Taylor her first lunch box for a few years, good schools were a big part of their decision to buy in Manhattan Beach, said Valerie Goeser.

“We’re just a few blocks from Pacific Elementary School, which has a great reputation,” she added. And it didn’t take long for the Goesers to settle into the beach community’s laid-back lifestyle. “We love the summer concerts in Polliwog Park, walking downtown to the Hometown Fair in October and hanging out at the beach,” said Greg Goeser.

Shopping, too, is easier here, according to the Goesers. “I can walk downtown to Manhattan Market for really good meats. I buy Taylor’s clothes at the little baby shops downtown. There’s even a pharmacy downtown. About the only time I have to get in the car is to go to the bank,” said Valerie. “Even most of the restaurants deliver.”

This year, Greg Goeser is looking forward to walking from his home to the Manhattan Beach Pier with his wife and daughter to witness the yearly fireworks over the pier, to introduce Taylor to Santa Claus and to join in the community Christmas caroling. “That’s why Manhattan Beach is such a great place to live,’ he said. “Seeing our daughter grow up with memories like this is what it’s all about.”