DIANE BELL
toured some homes for sale and fell in love with a newly built six-bedroom La Jolla house with spectacular coastal views. It had been on the market for months.
Harris submitted an offer but missed out when another buyer swooped in at the last minute.
Friends convinced the disappointed couple that this offered a new opportunity. So they kept looking. Soon they came across a vacant plot with amazing north coastal views and decided to build a forever home.
“We were up on the property praying that everything would work out OK and move in a positive direction,” Harris says. It did.
In the 16 months since, they’ve been designing their dream home and starting the building permit process.
Local land surveyor Michael Pallamary, who has been working with Harris and the city on the development plans, is impressed with the character of the basketball player and admires his generosity. After all, Harris gave away $1 million to nine Philadelphia charities last year after signing his new contract.
“He took time to meet with my granddaughter, Paige, the last time he was in town.” Pallamary says, noting that Harris doesn’t have ties to San Diego. “He just loved the area.”
Harris originally planned to propose on vacation, but COVID-19 nixed that. So he decided that the lot, with its sentimental value, was the perfect place. Harris was on the phone for hours with planners arranging all the romantic details, including the huge heart.
The couple haven’t yet set a wedding date.
“When I’m done with
basketball and retired, I’m gong to be waking up every day in La Jolla and enjoying my family,” Harris says.
The design of the 15,600square-foot home looks very modern from the outside, with its walls of glass framing ocean and canyon views, but inside it will be a mix of traditional and modern. “We want it to be a homey home,” he says.
One of his favorite features is an infinity pool. The estate also will include a movie theater, a weight room and a large family play area.
“I’m all about activity,”
Harris says.
His next big California adventure: “I want to learn how to surf.”
More giving: Escondido Vietnam veteran Joe McDonald has given the community another type of donation — his blood — 99 gallons of it. His donating earned him a 2020 spot in a special hall of fame this month.
He is one of 12 people nationally recognized in the Donation Hall of Fame, named for Fresenius Kabi, a global company that specializes in infusion and transfusion technology.
McDonald first gave blood after joining the Marine Corps at age 18 to help a fellow Marine. But he does more than just give blood during his regular visits to the San Diego Blood Bank’s North County donor center.
“Usually we give treats to people who donate, but he brings treats to our staff,” says Claudine Van Gonka, blood bank spokesperson. McDonald has even brought in a cake on someone’s birthday.
During the holidays, he visits dressed as Santa Claus, a tradition he began at a Vietnamese orphanage while in the Marines and kept up throughout his life.