NAVY GRANT/Historical Architect News

 

As I had revealed in an earlier letter to the owners, my husband, Dr. Jon Rich and I, had submitted an extensive application to the LB Navy Memorial Heritage Association, on behalf of the St. Regis, in order to secure funds for restoration and improvement to our Second Place Entrance.  On March 28, 2013, our Board President, Rodney Hilburn and I attended the Awards Ceremony where Rodney accepted the award for our building. This gift will help us move forward with plans to replace the aluminum door with a beautiful, new mahogany set of period-appropriate front doors complete with coordinating hardware finished with the oil-bronzed patina. This finish had been reviewed and chosen with the help of our Decorating Committee, Eli Guzman (and myself), President Rodney Hilburn, and our On-Site Manager, Theresa Madrid. Moving away from the brassy or aluminum finish on hardware, you may notice the new lobby light fixtures have a more subdued and elegant look too. Echoing that theme, you will notice that Rodney recently replaced all the carpet 'transition strips' down all the halls, and will shortly be replacing the long missing strips to the front entrance, thus giving the lobby a more polished and completed look.

In addition, the Grant provides funds that will replace a missing chandelier and two flush-mount light fixtures over the doors. We are reviewing now other associated changes related to the replacement of the doors, including a new placement of the entry system, etc. The Board hopes to finalize the decisions regarding these improvements soon. The final phase of the Grant award would consist of the repair of the concrete centered around the damage to the pediment surrounding the facial perimeter of the building just above the First Floor and the restoration of the seashell corbel at the top of the south column at the Second Place Entrance.

Our President, Rodney Hilburn, and I, met yesterday with a Historical Architect, Mr. Jonathan Glasgow. The Navy Grant included in our award, the fee for Mr. Glasgow to study, advise and review all the choices for our improvements, in order to give us a clearance to  proceed with a 'Certificate of Appropriateness'. The Historical Association of LB is an active voice within the city and is working to preserve and restore older buildings such as the St. Regis, which was built in 1922. In the presentation of the Grant, Rodney described our lovely building as THE oldest building along the LB coastline, even pre-dating the Villa Riviera. As a member and possible upcoming Tour Guide for the Historical Association, I hope to work to eventually add the St. Regis to the list of buildings on the roster of 'must see' landmarks.

In addition, Mr. Glasgow will be working with us to ascertain the possibility of re-opening our stunning Solarium! Our rooftop Solarium, original to the building, allows for an amazing 360 degree view encompassing the Queen Mary, Naples, Signal Hill, and distant points such as Catalina, downtown LA in the distance, etc.  We are forming a Committee now to study all the different aspects involved in this wonderful new project and having our own paid liaison and advisor on-board, is invaluable in helping us navigate the different exemptions that might apply, in our quest to re-open. The possibilities for potential are endless with this jewel and Mr. Wayland Moore, the contact person in the past for TV/Movie filming within the building, informed me that several directors had expressed interest in our Solarium for filming. The possibilities are endless and several people have expressed to Rodney and myself an interest in the various roles on a Committee. Check out the filming that has been done here in the past:
 

If you know of anyone in the TV/Movie business who might be interested in filming here, please contact Eli Guzman, namzug173@gmail.com.

...............Sign up and Stay tuned!

Welcome New Owner-Occupants!

Jon and Jodi Rich, their son Sean, along with their friend and neighbor, Eli Guzman, hosted a New Owner Luncheon on Saturday, April 13, at 2 p.m.  Our very first luncheon was a roaring success with 100% attendance by all the St. Regis new owners. We are all thrilled to welcome this new group of vocal and interested homeowners. They consisted of Francesca and Katerina, Tera and her sister Pamela, Kelly and Joey, and Dr. Cynthia, a distinguished Oncologist at USC/Norris Cancer Center and Hospital. Also in attendance were President Rodney Hilburn, and our terrific On-Site Manager, Theresa Madrid.

 

We were amazed when Katerina sang a beautiful operatic song for us; what a lovely voice! Katerina also helped me serve lettuce wraps, veggie sticks, hot tea/mimosas and she and her Mom such brought delicious cupcakes. We all got to know each other quickly and felt like ‘old friends’ right away. We hope we can be a support to them all as they get settled in their new home and community.

 

This is such a talented and illustrious group; we feel so lucky to have them all as our new neighbors.   Our new O/O’s would like to jump right in with Board/Building Participation and may be interested in serving on the two new committees (The Solarium Study, and the Parking Committee). The group came up with several concerns that were added to the April agenda. We are already planning the next luncheon for May.

President Rodney Hilburn

 

This week's blog features our current Board President, Rodney Hilburn. Rodney brings his own brand and interpretation to the presidency at the St. Regis and we have all benefited from it. From the outset, Rodney's focus has been on the 'Quality of Life' issues for the building and her residents. When you have an older building in need of restorative work, it is would be easy to search for simple solutions and quick fixes to complex problems. However, Rodney takes the time to listen and consider a situation from all sides and as the Heritage Society stated to us at the grant ceremony, "restoring an older building takes a lot of time and patience". As a "hands on" type of a leader, he leads by example as a 'servant-leader'. He isn't afraid to get his hands dirty, and for any job around the St. Regis that can improve the living conditions, he is ready, willing, and present here. Rather than just voicing opinions, he actively "shows up" at the site often, often bringing solutions in the back of his often-sighted El Camino. Listening to all sides, he tries to work using the team approach to solution-finding, vetting different solutions for each problem, one that is sensitive to different interests and points of view. We are a diverse group here, and trying to be sensitive to the needs of all points of view, whether it is the owner/occupants, the residents, or the investors, and to keep things flowing civilly is no small feat.

Accomplishments he (along with the Board including Lisa Chin, Karen McClory, Mercedes Julian, Bruce Peterson) have been instrumental in supporting include:

·         placement and hiring of our terrific new, On-Site Manager, Theresa Madrid

·         instituting a higher degree of maintenance personnel for help with interior/exterior cleaning

·         Ron, the handyman that is beginning the process of oiling and conditioning our interior doors, and help with the garden

·         Installing, along with our own resident, Dave Heitz, a stone-mason, the beautiful, new Retaining Wall on the lower patio to help with the erosion of the hill

·         personally delivering most of the bricks used on the wall

·         picking up countless necessary materials around the building

·         working with Jon and myself on the LB Navy Memorial Heritage Grant and will still involve several pending steps necessary (including getting the 'Certificate of Appropriateness' from the Historical Architect in order to replace and restore our new Front Door(including Appropriate Hardware)/Exterior Entrance Lighting and Concrete Restoration near the Second Place Entrances.

·         replacing all the old, aluminum and scuffed 'Transition Strips' on all floors with a more 'historically appropriate' oiled bronze shade of metal strips (listening to me "bug him" relentlessly about this)

·         helping to install a non-slip grit to the front steps

·         helping with the reduction and sealing of cracking concrete window sills

·         helping to begin the repair to our wrought iron fencing, including working with a welder to replace the missing and broken spikes at the top of fence at the entrance to the back patio

·         running over with his El Camino to pick up tables/furniture at Goodwill or some garage sale, or other far-flung sites, on the 'spur of the moment' because "quick, we found a great deal!"

·         searching for months with us until we found a deal on wrought iron patio sets for the beautiful new upper patio

·         and finally, being 'Johnny on the spot' with pop-up problems around the building including maintenance issues, tenant issues, etc.

Rodney’s focus on quality of life issues has helped to create an environment of greater satisfaction with safety and maintenance concerns. Long-term tenants, in turn, help us all make the St. Regis a safer, cleaner community.

Being the history buff and 'born and bred' Long Beachian that he is, Rodney's care for the preservation and respect for the history of the St. Regis, and the concern for the quality of life issues and the many souls that make their home here, make him an outstanding St. Regis President.

Thank you, Rodney Hilburn

Karen McClory - A St. Regis Star

Greetings!

I am highlighting this week, another St. Regis Star, and the services and contributions of a 2012 Board member, Ms. Karen McClory. The role of Board member is a working position, consisting of countless volunteer hours and practical action designed to serve the needs of the residents and care and maintenance of the building. Karen was such a hard-working and crucial member of the 2012 Board and all the positive changes that occurred this past year. These positive actions included:
…the responsibility of typing, editing, and submitting for printing all the notes from meetings

….the work involved in the acquisition of new paint and lighting for the lobby
….helping with the acquisition of the furniture for the lobby
….newsletters and other printed communication including posting building notes/memos, etc
….an integral role in the work involved in the hiring of staff, including our terrific manager, Theresa

When reflecting on her service, Karen stated,

Serving on the board really re-opened my eyes to the beauty and history of the St. Regis. I'm a Long Beach girl, born and nearly bred. We grew up in Compton during an easier time. I'm sorry everyone didn't get to grow up in the 50's... it was sweet! Anyway, my son's grandmother purchased #503 probably in 1975. She lived there with Olive, of course, Zeta Maney... what a character--she never went out of her apartment without a hat... a San Francisco style hat; Mrs. Colucci of the "plumbing Colucci family", Aunt Agnes Herbst... lots of interesting people. Mrs. Kellerman was the manager and she lived in the apartment just off the lobby... where Carl lives now. She was wheelchair bound but she was formidable! She ruled the roost and through the open slit in her door, she knew exactly who was coming and going and whether they should be! She spent a lot of time in the little office window, more or less as a concierge/manager, and while her rules were strictly enforced and I heard complaints from time to time, the building was always tip top shape. There were mostly resident owners back then. After Anna passed away and I became owner of #503, we had our annual meetings in the Solarium and they would get pretty heated. Interesting that the same faces who tend to heat up the arguments are still around... except for Dear Olive. There have been lots of changes in the last 40 years--that's for sure.

We cannot begin to count the many ways her integrity and responsibility served our building so well, and how the systems she initiated will continue to serve the St. Regis for many years to come. So, a big THANK YOU to Karen McClory-enjoy your retirement and please continue to visit us here.