Last week was supposed to be the official opening for 360 South Bay... but they weren't quite ready.  The pool and gym were open for viewing but not any of the units. 

The grounds looked great. The pool area is set up like a resort with  little cabanas in addition to lots of lounge furniture.  The gym had a number of  machines and was fairly good size.  The clubhouse is lovely.  As nice as the amenities are what will sell the complex is the units and the prices.

This weekend the Flats will open and next week the Courts will be open for inspection.  Last weekend there were not  large crowds.  In fact when I went over around 1:00 there were  not as many people as I had expected.  I expect there will be more lookers once the Flats and the Courts finally open.

For those of you who have been waiting to check out what 360 South Bay is offering keep next Saturday open.  The Grand Opening is planned for Saturday February 20, 2010 from 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.  

The good news is that prices are lower then the projected prices I posted a few weeks ago.... although I suspect they may need to drop a bit more especially on the Plan 1 Sudios in The Flats.  Most folks are going to want a bedroom is they are going to spend almost $400,000 for a unit.    Location and price are  definitely going to be  issues for the development.  As Renee Moilanen pointed out in her column in the Daily Breeze last week  most of us know that there is a big difference between  living  in a beach community and Hawthorne.   

 

About a month ago I wrote a post on the return of the housing development at 360 South Bay.  The project was scheduled to open sometime this month but  it may take them a bit longer  with all the rain we have been having in the last few weeks.  In my last post I speculated about the possible pricing of these units.  I believe one of the reasons the project had such a tough time last time around was that the units were priced too high for the location.  A reader was kind enough to send me some information posted by the company in November about the prices the company was projecting upon the re-opening of the project. 

There are 3 phases to the project.  If all goes well the development will take about 3 years from re-opening  to completion.  The Flats and the Courts  will be offered for sale this year.  The Lofts and The Rows in 2011 and the Gardens  in 2012.   The prices above may not be the asking prices on the units when the project officially re-opens, but these are the prices the company was posting in November on the company financial information .

The prices for the Flats and The Courts appear to be fairly close to the  prices the last time around in 2007-2008 and we know they didn't generate the interest that William Lyon Homes  had hoped to see.   You can't help but wonder what they are  thinking... $495,000 for a  studio condominium in Hawthorne by the 405 Freeway in today's market seems rather pricey...especially when you can buy a 2 bedroom 2 bath unit at Fusion for less. 

 I'm hoping the above prices are higher then the actual asking prices will be when the project officially re-opens.  I would like to see the project succeed as we don't have much in the way of newer affordable housing in our area. However at  roughly  $500,000-$790,000 for the first phase  these units may not be affordable for most of the folks who would like to live there.   $790,000 will buy a nice rear unit  townhome  in North Redondo....

 The three rules of real estate are location, location, location... it will be interesting to see if folks are willing to pay these prices for new in this location.