$3.5-Million Crow’s-Nest : Fabled Former Water Tank-Turned-Bachelor Aerie for Sale to High-Minded Buyers

In the current real estate rush, an ocean-view house should be a snap to sell. But there are exceptions.

Take the converted water tower that Dr. Robert Odell is selling, for example, the one perched a breathless 85 feet above Sunset Beach--with an equally breathless price of $3.5 million.

There have been some nibbles in the two months the tower has been on the market, but not many. Odell says he was offered nearly $3 million for the home but decided to hold out for more. He points out that the three-story structure, which includes two master bedrooms and an entertainment center with a 25-foot bar and a hardwood dance floor, is perfect for bachelors. He knows that first hand.

Odell says he is willing to wait for the right price. “Houses like this take six months or so to sell,” he said.

Odell, a 41-year-old anesthesiologist, recently bought out the interest of his partner, George Armstrong, who with his son designed the tower conversion.

Armstrong said he decided to sell his interest to raise money to invest in a ranch resort he is building in Arizona. Besides, he owns another water tower in Huntington Beach that he said he plans soon to begin converting into an abode.

Odell said he is willing either to sell the entire Sunset Beach water tower or take on another partner.

It was Armstrong’s dream that the tower--originally built in 1940 with a 75,000-gallon redwood tank to store water for Sunset Beach, an unincorporated county strip, and adjacent Surfside, which is in the Seal Beach city limits--could be made into a fine place to live.

“It was done as a challenge. No one had done anything like it before,” Armstrong recalled.

Armstrong and Odell have been living in the tower since 1985 and enjoying it immensely, they say. The only drawbacks have been the rather restricted space in the 3,000-square-foot structure, which has forced them to limit the size of parties to about 80 guests, and the occasional knock on the door from curious passers-by who hope to be given a tour.

Not that the public hasn’t had a chance to see Armstrong and Odell’s handiwork. They have frequently made the place available for tours and parties to raise money for sundry charities.

Odell said the 360-degree, panoramic view from the tower will be forever etched in his memory if he moves to a less lofty home: “The top floor is 700 square feet; but the view is over 700 square miles on a clear day.”