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CATALINA REALTORS INC. 1(310) 510-1811

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PLANNING, CONSTRUCTION & REMODELING

Island Excavation 310-562-1273

Dave Zeller Construction (310) 510-8468

Fineline Construction (310) 510-1943

Catalina Plumbing (310) 510-0969

Geoff King Plumbing (310) 510-0751 ~or~ (310) 780-0751

City of Avalon, Planning Department (310) 510-0220

Sherrill's Marine Services, (310) 510-0618

 

LENDERS

Steve McCarthy, The Mortgage Guild email: smccarthy@TheMortgageGuild.om

Ron Trejo,  diTech/GMAC 1(800) 700-9261 ext. 6005  email: ron.trejo@ditech.com

Di-Tech/GMAC Loans http://gmacmortgage.com/home.asp

 

 

HELPFUL  WEB ADDRESSES

Catalina Realtors Inc. www.CatalinaRealtors.com

The California Department of Real Estate: http://www.dre.ca.gov

First American Title Company of Los Ageles:http://www.fatcola.com

American Home Shield Home Warranty: http://www.ahssales.com

CITY OF AVALON DESCRIPTION

The City of Avalon is located on Catalina Island, County of Los Angeles, approximately 21 miles southwest of Long Beach. Avalon is situated on a harbor on the north side of the east end of the island and is approximately 802 acres, or slightly over one square mile in area. Access to Catalina Island is primarily by boat. Travel time is approximately one hour from Long Beach and San Pedro. Additional boats run from Newport Beach. 15-minute air service is provided by helicopter departing from both Long Beach and San Pedro. Additionally, airplane charters are available from both Long Beach Municipal and John Wayne (Orange County) airports. 

Santa Catalina Island is approximately 22 miles long (east to west) with maximum width of 8 miles and a minimum width of one mile. Approximately 42,139 acres (86%) of the island is owned by the Catalina Island Conservancy, a non-profit operating foundation. The Santa Catalina Island Conservancy was organized in 1972 for the purpose of preserving and protecting open space, wild lands, and nature preserve areas on Catalina. In 1892 Catalina Island was purchased by the Banning Brothers. These were the three sons of General Phineas Banning who was known for operating the first coast to coast stage coach service. The Bannings formed the Santa Catalina Island Company for the purpose of developing Catalina as a pleasure resort. Catalina's development as a resort came to fruition after 1919 when controlling interest in the Santa Catalina Island Company was purchased by chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. In 1974 an easement agreement was made between the Santa Catalina Island Company and Los Angeles County whereby the County gained the right to share the use of 41,000 acres of Catalina's interior and much of its coastline for park, conservation and recreational uses for a period of 50 years. In 1975, the Santa Catalina Island Conservancy acquired title to much of the island, including virtually all of the acreage and coastline covered by the agreement with the county. 

Avalon, incorporated in 1913, is governed by a five-member city council which includes a mayor and a city manager. Police services are contracted with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The school system is part of the Long Beach Unified School District. Avalon has a 10-bed municipal hospital and an emergency clinic. Electricity, water and gas are supplied by Southern California Edison Company.  Telephone service is by Pacific Bell Company with both marine cable and microwave service between Catalina Island and the mainland. As the only incorporated area on Catalina Island, Avalon has a current permanent population of about 4,000 residents, representing growth from previous census counts of 1,500 in 1970 and 2,022 in 1980.

Catalina Island has evolved into one of the prime tourist destinations in Southern California with as many as 15,000 visitors a day during the summer vacation months. Weekly cruise ships moor offshore bringing hundreds to the island for sightseeing. Avalon suffers from a shortage of housing for permanent residents and workers in the year-round tourist industry. An 80 unit moderate and fair market cost apartment complex called Eucalyptus Hill was completed in late January, 1994. 

The City of Avalon and the Santa Catalina Island Company are addressing some of Avalon's most pressing issues including the housing shortage, a new transportation center to consolidate ticket buying and other travel functions, and the conversion of saltwater sewer systems to fresh water systems. Future development plans are long range in nature. Construction in the City of Avalon is limited by growth policies as well as availability of water and land. To date, the most notable development is Hamilton Cove, an exclusive condominium project located on the waterfront north of Avalon Bay. This project includes some 330 units having security gate entry, swimming pool, beach club, clubhouse tennis courts, croquet courts, weight/ exercise room, volleyball court, pitch and put golf and 27 moorings. Units range in size from 810 to 2,531 square feet and are located on land leased by the Santa Catalina Island Company. 

Tourism is the primary revenue source for Catalina Island. The months of June through October represent Catalina's busiest season. At last count, Avalon was experiencing in excess of 800,000 visitors per year.  The statistics compiled by the Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau exclude privately owned boat visitors or people arriving by airplane or helicopter.  Projected visitor count by month and year is presented below:

As evidenced from the forgoing information, Catalina Island continues to experience increases in visitor population. The average annual growth since 1980 is 2.4% per year. The increase between 1988 and 1989 was 3.15%.   Given Catalina's scenic beauty, mild climate, close proximity to the mainland, and rapid transportation across the channel, similar increases are expected in terms of visitor travel.

Summary

Given Catalina's natural beauty, mild climate, and close proximity to Los Angeles and Orange Counties, Avalon should remain an attractive vacation and resort destination well into the foreseeable future. Due to the mature and built-out state of Avalon, coupled with water and sewer moratoriums, future competition will be limited to the few projects that can obtain allocation rights. Problems include a shortage of workers in the year round tourist industry, due in part to limited employee housing. Measures are currently underway to ease this situation, but it is expected to continue over time. Property owners no longer need to be in close proximity to their job as the internet now allows people to work from their homes. This makes Catalina Island an especially attractive place to live and should have terrific future impact as this form of work from home takes hold.  The data indicates that prospects for continued property appreciation are good.