That’s encouraging,” Amalfi Estates’ Anthony Marguleas murmured as he peered out the window of his coffee beige Porsche to get a look at a school bus on Sunset Boulevard.
What would hardly warrant a second glance elsewhere was cause for optimism given that eight months ago the major thoroughfare—one of only three ways in and out of the Palisades—was gridlocked. Residents sat in traffic as they sought to escape January’s Palisades Fire, with many abandoning vehicles that were later bulldozed to clear the road.
Driving through the Palisades is different now.
The community, which Marguleas estimated saw about 5,900 homes damaged or destroyed by the fire, has had debris cleared from most lots as the wood frames of new construction begin to emerge.
Marguleas, who has run the Palisades-based residential brokerage Amalfi Estates for 31 years, and his wife Sue managed to evacuate unharmed, but their Alphabet Streets home was destroyed like so many others. The PTSD is real, he said.
It’s like a moment in time, like Pompeii with the volcano.”
Since January, Marguleas’ attention has crisscrossed land listings and sales (he’s sold or is in escrow on 28 deals in the past eight-and-a-half months), educating owners and buyers (40 percent of land deals are falling out of escrow due to lack of understanding around financing or construction), consulting with builders, launching the 1Pali community-building group and dispelling misinformation flooding the market.
“I just want to help the community rebuild,” Marguleas said.
It’s a simple sentiment lost in the political tension circling the rebuild and one that leaves Marguleas biting back tears.
“Our goal is to bring everyone home. It may sound kitschy, but it’s true,” he said. “That’s really the gist of what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.”
Marguleas spent a Monday in September with The Real Deal driving through the Palisades for a view from the ground of a community building back.
10:00 a.m.
Marguleas pulls up to 1186 Corsica Drive in the Riviera neighborhood.
It’s the former home of late actor and comedian Dom DeLuise, which hit the market in August with a $21 million ask. About 150 people came through the broker caravan and the first Sunday of the open house.
“Open houses as we know it are almost non-existent in the fire area,” Marguleas said, but noting some exceptions such as the Riviera and Huntington neighborhoods. “Open houses are when we typically see other agents. That’s when you find out about new listings. That’s when you get to network with your sphere. And we lost that ability. Our job has changed quite a bit from selling houses to being a community leader.”
11:21 a.m.
After an extensive chat on the state of the residential real estate market, Marguleas heads onto Sunset Boulevard for the Alphabet Streets: “We also call it ground zero.”
It was one of the hardest hit areas. Today, most lots are cleared and signs on some tout Thomas James Homes, Ram Miller Construction and residential brokerages.
Several builders are now renting vacant parcels to store their equipment and Marguleas has helped broker a few of those deals.
11:50 a.m.
Marguleas passes his home, which is blocked from street view by a wrap.
“This is my lot here on the right. We just got building permit approval, so we’re going to be starting construction. This one’s closing escrow tomorrow. It’s my neighbor’s. You still see the Christmas lights. It’s just weird. We’re in September. It’s like a moment in time, like Pompeii with the volcano.”
11:51 a.m.
Just a few seconds away, he stops at 915 Kagawa Street.
“That’s Thomas James. That’s the model home. That’s going to be the first home developed and they’ll finish it by Thanksgiving. See how many homes are going up here? Every week, it’s more and more.”
He parks along the curb and walks in through the home’s garage, talking to the site supervisor and taking a tour.
12:03 p.m.
Marguleas continues his drive through the Alphabet Streets, which are named after Methodist ministers and laid out in a grid alphabetically.
“There were wealthy people here, but the Palisades was also made up of a lot of retirees. Twenty-five percent of the Palisades locals are over 65. They bought their homes 30, 40 years ago for dirt cheap and it just happened to appreciate a lot. There were retired teachers and nurses. It wasn’t like Bel-Air or Beverly Hills. People were very down to earth. In the Palisades, there’s a great shirt that people would wear that said, ‘If you’re rich, you live in Beverly Hills. If you’re famous, you live in Malibu. If you’re lucky, you live in Pacific Palisades.’”
12:04 p.m.
The Alphabet’s Embury Street is adjacent to developer Rick Caruso’s Palisades Village shopping center. Barricades around the perimeter block public access as Marguleas drives past.
“Rick Caruso has been fantastic at merging the public and the private partnerships. He started [non-profit] Steadfast LA as a way to do that.”
Marguleas pointed to Archistar as an example. He credited Caruso with pushing for the artificial intelligence-based software at the local and state level to help with expediting permitting times.
12:06 p.m.
Lunch at Palisades Garden Café is a burger and Coke as Marguleas chats with Kevin Niles from the American Legion Post 283’s executive committee. They catch up on recent openings, including CVS on Aug. 25.
During lunch is when Marguleas opens up about Measure ULA and its implications for the Palisades.
“Whoever marketed that was brilliant. They called it a mansion tax. Half the people affected were commercial, these big buildings in Downtown L.A. It was a $5 million lot in the Palisades. That’s not a mansion.”
There’s also the day-to-day reality of businesses reopening, but not enough residents to serve: “That’s the chicken and egg: They open a restaurant and there’s not enough people living here or workers.”
12:56 p.m.
Back in the car, he motions to a stretch of Sunset Boulevard between Pacific Coast Highway and Temescal Canyon Road that’s become part of the density debate.
“The concern is multifamily; it’s not the single-family. If you own a house in the Alphabet Streets and you find out the person next door to you is building four units, and the person on the other side is building four units, you’re going to be in an uproar. But if you find out someone on Sunset’s building higher density, ‘It’s not near me.’”
Central to the tussle is Senate Bill 79, which lawmakers passed in September. It’s aimed at encouraging multifamily development near transit stops. As of press time, the bill was awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature.
1:08 p.m.
Marguleas wants to stop at Temescal Canyon Road, which reopened in August.
“I haven’t been down here since the fires,” he said.
It’s night and day.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began using the road Feb. 23 to do recycling of concrete and metals from burned properties. Excavators, magnetic claws, conveyer belts and trucks filled the street. Today it’s empty and quiet as a few cars pass.
From there, he swings back through the center of town to get to the Huntington, one of the pricier neighborhoods and relatively untouched by the fires.
Then it’s a peek at Will Rogers State Park, which is closed to the public temporarily as the state works to restore the property. He passes the polo field, a husk of itself after the fire consumed it along with the historic ranch house and other buildings.
For Marguleas, everything is glass half full as he and his wife prepare to return to the Palisades and begin their own rebuild.
“We’re planning on moving back in about a month,” he said.
“We’re going to rent a place because we miss the Palisades.”