Writer Dave Rice at San Diego Reader lets us have a peak at how the other 1% live.
The 5-bedroom “Chateau Beau Soleil” at 889 Sunset Cliffs Boulevard is 7500 square feet and owned by a trust is on display:
Twenty-ish years ago, my weekends often involved meeting a handful of friends at my Ocean Beach apartment before a leisurely bike ride along Sunset Cliffs. We’d head as far south as we could, stash our bikes (which were, remarkably, never stolen) somewhere past the parking lot off Ladera, and scramble down the cliffs to walk as far as the tide would allow along the beaches below Point Loma Nazarene University. During the leisurely two-mile pedal back into town, my gaze would alternate between the sea to my left and the glorious houses, both new and old, perched just above road level to take advantage of the unobstructed views (well, except by the hundreds of people who flock to the cliff-edge trails) over the Pacific.
I wouldn’t have seen this week’s entry, Chateau Beau Soleil, on any of these rides, however, as the 7500-square-foot home that the Zillow agent remarks describe as an “unparalleled oceanfront masterpiece” wasn’t built until 2014. When I saw its listing pop up — the opening aerial photo showing not just the house, but the cliffs themselves, populated by the familiar joggers, strollers, and sightseers ignoring the signs to stay away from the unstable edges of the bluff — I was struck by a twinge of nostalgia. Let’s have a look at the place, shall we?
The first on-property photo on our tour highlights the “exquisite infinity pool and spa” looking west. Given the fact that you wouldn’t want to spoil the view with a fence, the yard doesn’t exactly offer a ton of privacy, but unless a house nerd like me happens by, I’m pretty sure that most pedestrians are more interested in watching the breaking waves across the street. More views of the backyard show extensive stonework on the patio, and liberal use of those “vanishing glass doors that effortlessly blur the line between indoor and outdoor living.”
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An ostentatious display of wealth for sure, but those big houses are built by skilled craftspeople making an hourly wage, many of whom live in OB.
A cabinetmaker buddy of mine was working on one of those multimillion dollar houses in OB last year. He invited me over for a tour with the owner’s permission. Oh lordy, not my thing for sure. The house had an industrial styling, it actually had urinals in the bathrooms, too. I couldn’t live there, couldn’t afford the power and water bill either.