Homeowner: Scott Ostlund

Occupation: Real Estate Developer

Home Location: Seal Beach

Scott is a successful real estate developer who has renovated and sold dozens of homes in Southern California. He is a developer known for taking on challenging projects, and the Sunset Beach Water Tower is a great example of his innovation and drive. Scott also admits that the water tower is special to him because he met his wife on the beach underneath the tower. He describes their meeting as “in the shadow of the tower,” so he feels a special attachment to the property, and feels that he owes much of his wonderful family life to its existence. Scott therefore felt it was his mission to not only keep the tower standing, but to also to treat it with care and make it part of his family and a property that would be standing for many years to come.  

Scott is a self-described child-grownup who still has the passion, imagination and enthusiasm that he had as a little boy. So when it comes to a home, he still carry’s his childlike wonder with him. Although not everyone understands why he’d decorate with pirate ships, have a secret/hidden room, or why he’d convert a Water Tower, it’s Scott’s unapologetic vision that makes the property so special and magical. When the couple had children, Scott loved utilizing the little nooks and crannies of the tower to also create a dream home for his kids. For example, he built a secret room where his sons used to play hide and seek, and where they would go as their own secret spot.

• The water tour soars 100 feet into the air above Seal Beach in Orange County, CA. It is widely known throughout Southern California as “the world’s ultimate beach house.”

• Originally built in the 1800s, the water tower used to supply steam trains as they made their way up the west coast. It originally held over 75,000 gallons of water.

• From the top of the rotunda, visitors have a 360 degree view of Southern California, and can see up and down the beach for miles.

• The home has a custom spiral staircase made of imported oak and a walk-around deck.

• The house has a bar with a built in fish tank that makes for an incredible entertaining space, especially at sunset!

• Scott integrated many other amazing details into the renovation of the tower, including stained glass windows, porthole windows that are a nod to the sea, and an elevator that allows for all guests to enjoy the tower, even if they cannot climb the spiral staircase.