Toll Brothers Inc. has purchased 60 single-family lots within the Tesoro Highlands master-planned community in Valencia. IHP Capital Partners was the seller. The completed transaction marks the first of a three-phase sale for a total of 137 lots within Tesoro Highlands.
“The closing of Toll Brothers’ first finished lots is an exciting milestone in the development of Tesoro Highlands, a beautiful new community in the scenic hills of Santa Clarita,” Chris Bley, co-president and chief investment officer at IHP Capital Partners, said.
According to Bley, IHP first began delivering lots within the Tesoro Highlands masterplan in the first quarter of last year and has delivered 348 finished lots as of March.
“We are pleased to welcome another quality homebuilder to the community that will bring the vision for Tesoro Highlands to life and provide an exceptional living experience for its residence,” he said.
Developed by IHP affiliate, Newport Pacific Land Co., Tesoro Highlands is a more than 1,270-acre hillside community entitled for 820 homes and more than 800 acres of preserved open space.
The mostly gated community will offer four distinct neighborhoods for families and single residents aged 55 and up. IHP previously delivered 288 single-family lots within Tesoro Highlands to Lennar Homes of California, which is actively selling homes within the masterplan.
Toll Brothers is offering two collections of single-story and two-story homes to prospective buyers at Tesoro Highlands, many of which feature landscape views.
Homes in the Bella Terra collection will range from 3,400 square feet to over 3,700 square feet and include four to six bedrooms. The Alta Monte collection is a bit bigger. Homes will range from 4,700 square feet to more than 5,100 square feet and include four to six bedrooms.
Toll Brothers started selling in January of this year. Model homes are under construction and are anticipated to open in the summer. — Brynn Shaffer
Engineering Firm Gets New Owner
Coffman Engineers Inc. finalized the acquisition of Donald F. Dickerson & Associates Inc., another engineering services company, in April.
Terms of the deal between Dickerson, in Tarzana, and Seattle-based Coffman were not disclosed.
The strategic partnership brings together the experience of both firms, with Coffman welcoming three Dickerson owners and 18 staff members.
April Trafton, president and co-owner of the San Fernando Valley-based Dickerson, said that her father, who founded the company in 1961, would have been excited to become part of the Coffman team and continue the company’s legacy.
“This new chapter allows us to continue serving clients how we have, and we will have access to additional resources and services at Coffman,” Trafton said.
Dickerson and Coffman share similar project experience across many markets, and the Valley firm adds significant experience in high rise, multifamily, and mixed-use projects.
Leadership and staff from both firms have existing relationships, which provides a foundation for a transition of projects, clients, and employees, the companies say in a release.
Dickerson has a long history in Los Angeles and throughout California, said Jonathan Wirthlin, vice president and managing principal of Los Angeles for Coffman.
“It is an honor to join with their engineers and designers and gain the experience they bring,” Wirthlin said. “Both of our firms share a commitment to high quality services and a friendly work culture, and we’ve already proven that this will be an amazing team.”
Among the projects that Dickerson has worked on are the renovations to the south wing of Los Angeles City Hall; mechanical, electrical and plumbing design work for the Bradbury building in downtown; and replacement of existing plumbing for the 3-story Wrigley Casino building on Catalina Island.
Coffman has contributed to such projects as the food hall tenant improvements at the Westfield Topanga shopping mall; building and fire code consulting for the design-build project of the Noyes Laboratory on the Caltech campus; and the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center lower level pharmacy expansion and remodel project.
— Mark R. Madler
UCLA Acquires West Hills Hospital
UCLA Health has acquired the 260-bed West Hills Hospital and Medical Center and related assets from HCA Healthcare and renamed the hospital UCLA West Valley Medical Center.
Financial terms of the transaction, which was finalized on March 28, were not disclosed.
The acquisition will help address the community hospital’s inpatient capacity needs, allowing UCLA Health to provide care to more patients across the region. It joins four other UCLA Health hospitals: the Ronald Reagan Medical Center, the Mattel Children’s Hospital and the Stewart and Lynda Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital all on the Westwood campus and UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center.
“This acquisition represents a strategic investment in our community and our mission,” Johnese Spisso, president of UCLA Health and chief executive of the UCLA Hospital System, said in the announcement.
“It will both increase convenience for patients living and working in the San Fernando Valley and provide critically needed inpatient hospital capacity in the UCLA Health system to serve more patients who require highly specialized care and treatments,” Spisso added.
Besides the 260 beds, the hospital facility includes seven operating rooms and a free-standing ambulatory surgery center.
Under HCA Healthcare’s control, the facility recently underwent an $80-million expansion that added a new emergency department, intensive care unit, cardiac catheterization laboratory as well as the Grossman Burn Center.
UCLA Health said in its acquisition announcement that it will develop a long-term strategic plan to upgrade the remaining facilities at the hospital.
According to the hospital’s website, it has a medical staff of about 450 and a total of about 900 employees.
“We are pleased to welcome West Hills staff members as UCLA Health employees as we work together to serve the community,” Spisso said.
— Howard Fine
Estrella Sells Its Assets
Estrella Media Co., a Spanish-language media company, has sold its assets to MediaCo Holding Inc. Estrella Media, which is based in Burbank, sold its content, digital and commercial operations to MediaCo., including its Estrella TV network and its digital video content business.
The deal closed mid-April and allows Estrella Media to retain its name. The transaction provided Estrella Media with a warrant for 28.2 million shares of MediaCo’s Class A stock, $60 million in series B preferred stock, a $30 million second lien term note and about $30 million in cash. Estrella Media Chief Executive Peter Markham said that the acquisition will help MediaCo to become the “preeminent media company” and serve its multicultural audiences.
“This is a natural next step in the evolution of Estrella Media’s content operations to better serve our important U.S. Hispanic audience,” Markham said.
Estrella Media will maintain ownership of its local TV and radio stations. New York-based MediaCo will provide programming for those stations and has the option to acquire those stations at a later date in exchange for 7 million additional shares of MediaCo Class A stock.
Estrella Media board member Jacqueline Hernández will step in as the interim chief executive of the combined company. Markham will remain at the helm of Estrella Media managing the operations for its stations. According to a company spokesperson, Estrella currently has 13 owned and operated TV stations, and 42 affiliate TV stations. The company also has eight radio stations, as well as its “Don Cheto Radio Network” that is in 32 markets.
“This combination of tested media brands and talented teams will fuel growth of content and distribution for the benefit of our multicultural audiences,” Hernández said in a statement. “We believe this combination is the first step in building a unique multicultural media company that will reach diverse U.S. audiences wherever they choose to consume content and create value for marketers working to reach these important audiences.”
An Estrella Media spokesperson said the two companies are currently in the process of transitioning their teams and identifying any staff redundancies.
Estrella Media was originally founded in 1987 as Liberman Broadcasting Inc. The company, later known as LBI Media, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2018. It then rebranded as Estrella Media, with Markham stepping in as chief executive in 2019.
MediaCo and Estrella Media said in a joint statement that the combined footprint of their companies positions it as “one of the strongest radio content providers for Spanish and Urban music,” with audiences that represent almost one-third of the U.S. population.
“This leverages the strengths of two great companies to build something new,” MediaCo Chair Deb McDermott said. “We are committed to representing and serving the Hispanic marketplace, as well as continuing to represent and grow the diverse audience that MediaCo already serves.”
— Grace Harmon