mission beach makeover

voice of san diego has an article about the oceanfront transformation that's taking place in mission beach as neglected cottages are torn down and replaced by gleaming, architecturally unique condos and houses. amazingly, it's all being done by one architect/developer couple, ken and beth cornell, owners of ocean pacific companies (san diego listings page).

it's remarkable that the cornells alone are largely responsible for the modernization of mission beach's waterfront housing, and even harder to understand how such a dumpy set of houses could line the boardwalk for so long. sure, it's largely a college and party vibe there, and not the first place an older wealthy couple might be looking to park a couple million on a home. but it's still beachfront, and you're likely getting much better value here, and an architecturally interesting home to boot.

and the homes are definitely interesting. the article describes ken cornell's use of sophisticated building techniques and attraction to gadgets, but his desire to build unique properties is probably the most beneficial to those of us who can never afford them. instead of building tasteless structures that often get built on the oceanfronts of wealthier beaches, his use of glass and steel is clean, contemporary and hardly boring.

part of me is sad to see the cottages go - until i remember what absolute dumps some of these places were. unsurprisingly, residents haven't been up in arms about the makeover, unlike their snooty counterparts in la jolla to the north; the cornells ran into much more resistance there. hey, we'll always have ocean beach for more modest homes (well, maybe not).

it's too bad there aren't more architect/developers like the cornells who actually consider design while they rake in the bucks. hopefully they can inspire others to do the same in a city that hasn't reached its architectural potential.