Seaside city wants to kick the nickname

VENTURA IS in the process of reinventing itself with a major downtown makeover, combined with moves to brand the city as a center for the arts.

As part of its new image, more use is being made of the city’s original, official and more romantic name, San Buenaventura, especially to describe the central downtown area. That’s also home to the San Buenaventura Mission, the ninth of California’s 21 missions, founded in 1782 and completed 27 years later.

San Buenaventura’s name was shortened with the arrival of the railroad in 1887, Ventura apparently being much easier to fit on printed timetables. That name quickly passed into common usage and today almost everyone refers to this beach town of 105,000 residents simply as Ventura.

Looking back

Long before the arrival of Europeans, Ventura was densely populated by the native Chumash people. The founding of the mission was a milestone, as was Ventura County’s blossoming oil industry about a century later.

Standard Oil put down roots in Ventura in 1877, although area reserves were not seriously developed until 1914.

Although oil brought wealth to the area, it also took a toll on the city of San Buenaventura, according to longtime resident and community activist Doug Halter. A student of the city’s history, Halter said much of the immediate coastline became so industrialized and unattractive during the early decades of the 20th century that those who could afford it often chose to build homes in Montecito or Santa Barbara.

Halter, a past chairman of the Ventura Chamber of Commerce and member of the Downtown Ventura Community Council, said that with the rise of suburbia after World War II, the downtown began declining.

Looking forward

Over the last 10 years, however, the downtown area has undergone a revival. A lot of time and money have been poured into San Buenaventura, protecting and preserving the history while making the area an attractive place to live, work, shop and spend time.

This renaissance is evident along East Main Street, where several historic buildings, beautifully renovated and marked by plaques, are among the houses, restaurants, antiques shops, offices, galleries, boutiques and cultural venues. All this is just a few minutes’ walk from the beach, which, like the city center, is improving. Among the latest projects planned for the promenade is a 189-room hotel with about 10,000 square feet of additional restaurant and retail space.

The city also is moving forward on projects designed to enhance Ventura’s reputation as a center for the arts -- and artists. A 19,000-square-foot addition to the Museum of Ventura County has been approved, and a slew of residential and mixed-use downtown developments are in the works, including WAV -- Working Artists Ventura. This project will create an arts community with more than 50 affordable housing units, plus work space.

What’s on the market

Downtown’s housing supply is tight, said Sherry Stuckey, associate broker at Lux Coast Properties. A dozen properties are on the market from $714,000 to about $1.5 million; however, a number of estate-quality homes, in the $2-million to $4-million range, are being marketed privately, she added.

Two-bedroom, two-bathroom condos have been selling for $500,000 to $800,000; for buyers looking for a little piece of history, there are fine Craftsman homes available.

Period homes are typically priced from $900,000 to $2 million, though smaller bungalows sometimes fetch around $500,000, Stuckey said. Right now, a 2,500-square-foot farmhouse built in 1911, with a second smaller home added to the site five years later, is listed at $1,475,000.

The downtown hillside offers a blend of “urbanism and naturalism” at a median price of just more than $1 million, Stuckey said. “Deer feed on the hills . . . yet high-end boutiques, restaurants, theaters and the beach are just a few blocks from the front door.”

Good news, bad news

The proximity of homes to the bustling core of San Buenaventura means residents can walk to all amenities, but some may bridle at the noise, the crowds and traffic.

And those looking for a good-sized yard may be disappointed. Most of what were originally large lots have been subdivided, Stuckey said.

Report card

Lincoln Elementary, with pupils from kindergarten through fifth grade, last year had an Academic Performance Index Growth Report score of 810 out of 1,000. Students can move on from Lincoln to nearby Cabrillo Middle School, just beyond downtown. Cabrillo, with students in grades 6, 7 and 8, had an API score of 814. From there, most go to Ventura High, which scored 713.

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Sources: cde.ca.gov; www.ci.ventura.ca.us; Sherry Stuckey, associate broker, www.luxcoast.com; www.californiamissions.com; www.ventura.com/community /history.asp.