Yeah, yeah, I know…if there’s anyone out there still reading this I’ve been off-air a LONG time. But I’ve been busy.

First, by way of explanation, a little background:

Back in the day, Carmel Plaza had an I. Magnin’s that was eventually replaced by Saks Fifth Avenue when they moved from Del Monte Center in Monterey.

And also, back in the day, Carmel Plaza had an escalator to it’s garden level and fountain…an escalator that continually broke down. When Saks Fifth Avenue left the Plaza and was replaced by Anthropologie on the second level, the escalator and the fountain were removed and the courtyard was rebuilt.  But Anthropologie didn’t take the 12,000 sq. feet of the garden level that had been the Saks Men’s Department.  So the empty space with the ugly facade that had been hidden behind the escalator and fountain just sat and sat.  And sat. For 5 years.  Empty.

And that’s where Homescapes comes in and why I’ve been busy.

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

During construction I had every intention of blogging progress reports with photos.  Praising Level 5 and the construction team, discussing the design process working with architect Ron Brown, listing the steps BuildingWise was leading us through to get our LEED Gold certification.

And then the thought of all of the things we needed to accomplish to get back in business in downtown Carmel pretty much freaked me out and I REALLY didn’t feel like talking about it.

But now I’m back.  Homescapes is literally bigger and better and now it’s on to the future.

Stay tuned!