A Dad Remembers Sept. 11

I have so many reasons to remember Sept. 11, 2001. We had moved—from Lindberg Park to Studio Estates—about six weeks before that infamous day. We were just about settled in.

I was in the middle of getting ready for work when we heard about the first plane crash on the radio. I turned on the television to see the first tower billowing smoke.

As we watched, my family and I witnessed the second plane's fatal crash into the second tower. As I drove to the office later on that morning, and as the shock wore off, I started to get really angry. I will never be able to get the image of people falling to their deaths out of mind—choosing that over being burned alive.

At that time, I was 18 months into my new career as a real estate agent. My second child was just over 2 years old. Life was good.

I came to this great country from England in 1994; I had harbored a desire to live here since a vacation in 1981. I loved the idea of America then—I would literally lie awake at night, visualizing living in a country with so much opportunity and freedom to chase your own personal dreams. Now here I was in 2001, totally in love with America now.

Then this happened.

Culver City was a very different place back then; the downtown area was barely open for business. There were only two restaurants that closed promptly at 10 p.m. on a Saturday night, no plethora of eateries, no multiplex theater or boutique shops as there are now.

In a grotesque twist of fate, the events of Sept. 11 may have inadvertently accelerated the development of Culver City into a thriving and shining example of how a small, incorporated city can make tremendous strides in a few short years. 

Why?

When those towers came down, America was in a state of shock. So to jump-start the patient, the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates dramatically over a relatively short period of time. This then lead to a massive surge in real estate prices, and an expansion of new businesses over the next seven years.

The Culver City Redevelopment Agency took full advantage of this demand and elevated the downtown area into a destination instead of a place to pass on your way to somewhere else.

If I could, I would be happy to go back to having just a couple of places to eat on Main Street if it meant erasing Sept. 11.  

However, the fact that Culver City developed more in the nine years since that day than in the 10 years before it is, in its own small way, a great testament to America's ability to get up off the mat—and not just come out swinging, but swing harder. I was attracted to this country for its resilient spirit.

I am happy to report that this spirit is alive and well in Culver City.

Mike King is an associate partner at Partners Trust Real Estate and Acquisitions. He is passionate about three things: family, real estate and McVities Chocolate Biscuits (or cookies to the uninitiated). You can connect with Mike on Twitter @mikeking4re and on Facebook.