PCS Development Inc., one of the pioneers in luxury rental housing in the San Fernando Valley, has put a portfolio of five of its properties up for sale, including its flagship apartment complex in Sherman Oaks. The properties, totaling 964 units in Thousand Oaks, Northridge and Sherman Oaks, are listed at $185 million, although the company is entertaining individual offers as well. “This is the largest multifamily offering in the market today,” said Gregory S. Harris, a broker with The Harris Group division of Marcus & Millichap, who is representing the seller. The portfolio is not just sizeable, however. The centerpiece of the offering, Premiere at Sherman Oaks, was redeveloped from the earthquake damaged Oakwood Apartments that once stood on the site, and was among the earliest ultra-luxury apartments built in the neighborhood. “With that large a project and turning it all into luxury units with that high level of amenities, I think it kind of set a standard at the time for rental housing in the Sherman Oaks area and in the Valley for that matter,” said Todd Shaw, president of PCS Development. The Premiere, at 4500 Woodman Ave., totals more than 370 units and includes such amenities as a common area screening room, conference rooms and banquet halls, along with pools and volley ball courts. The remaining properties in the portfolio, all built after 1997, are in the range of 150 units. They include the Premiere at Thousand Oaks, at 205 N. Conejo School Road; Natick Park, at 4701-4711 Natick St. in Sherman Oaks; Zelzah Court at 9810 Zelzah Ave. in Northridge and Balboa Court at 16901-16915 Napa St. in Northridge. Officials at PCS said they made the decision to divest the portfolio because of current market conditions for multifamily properties. “We just think it’s kind of a seller’s market right now,” said Shaw. “We always look at how best we can get the returns we want off of our property. Now, we think, is just a good time to put them on the market and see what happens.” PCS recently also decided to put a Sherman Oaks parcel it has just entitled for multifamily use on the market because of the prices land for housing, and in particular, condominium development, are commanding. And the company several years ago divested three other luxury apartment complexes it developed in Sherman Oaks, Woodland Hills and Los Angeles. That move, in part, was spurred by PCS’s move into senior care housing. The company is currently developing a continuing care retirement community in Sherman Oaks, and hopes to begin construction next April. The condominium project has required an especially long lead time because these developments are regulated by the state and require that half the units be committed before construction can begin. Harris said the latest portfolio is drawing interest from local investors as well as institutional investors. After the first week, he said the offering drew about 70 potential buyers. “This is the type of portfolio that would allow somebody from out of town to have an immediate market presence in probably the hottest market in the country right now,” Harris said. Three Final Bidders for NBC Project Sources last week said that the potential buyer list for the nine-acre campus that is part of NBC’s Burbank campus has been culled to three bidders. Investment Development Services Inc., M. David Paul & Associates and LNR Property Corp. are all believed to be competing for the parcel, which is in Burbank’s media district and is entitled for 875,000 square feet of media related office use. NBC Universal parent General Electric Inc., put the parcel on the block following the acquisition of Universal, which has a large campus nearby in Universal City. Although no listing price was established, sources said the property is expected to fetch $45 million or more. M. David Paul developed an adjacent property, The Pinnacle, a highly successful project that leased quickly at top of the market rates even during the leasing downturn. IDS recently acquired the Washington Mutual campus in Chatsworth, which the company since renamed West Valley Corporate Center. The company is also developing Conejo Spectrum, a 100-acre master planned business park in Westlake Village, and it is building Westlake Landmark, a 200,000-square-foot office project on Russell Ranch Road in Westlake Village. LNR most recently developed LNR Warner Center, a low rise office campus that also bucked the weak leasing climate of the past several years. Executives from the three development companies could not be reached at deadline. Camarillo Expansion Interconnect Systems Inc., a developer of semiconductor products, has acquired a 22,000-square-foot industrial facility in Camarillo to expand its operation. The deal is valued in excess of $2.2 million. The company, which is currently headquartered in leased facilities nearby, will use the additional space, about double its current facility, for engineering and manufacturing. The new facility, designed for two tenants, is currently about 50 percent occupied, and Interconnect plans to occupy the other half of the building for the short term. “The ultimate goal is to expand into the entire facility,” said Joe Jusko, a broker with Lee & Associates LA North/Ventura Inc., who represented the buyer. “It is a long term facility planning acquisition.” The new facility is in walking distance from the company’s headquarters. “We were very fortunate to have the building come available and be a turnkey facility,” Jusko added. “We were looking for an extended period of time, and it just kind of fell in our lap.” Stuart Scott and Michael Stevens, both brokers with GVA Daum represented the seller, Albion Partners. Senior reporter Shelly Garcia can be reached at (818) 316-3123 or by e-mail at [email protected].
