A portion of the former Panavision headquarters site in Warner Center has been sold to a local builder that plans a development of 232 multifamily units. The 3.2-acre parcel at the northeast corner of Variel Avenue and Erwin Street was acquired by California Home Builders of Canoga Park from REW De Soto Partners. Financial details on the transaction were not disclosed. Dinerstein Cos. in Houston purchased the 10-acre site in 2012 and is finishing up the 395-unit Millennium Woodland Hills, a luxury rental community with multiple courtyards, a fitness center and other amenities. REW retained an option to sell the smaller portion of the land to a different developer once the property was divided into two parcels. California Home Builders, a division of Evenhaim Industries Corp. in Canoga Park, plans to start construction next year on a 232 unit project of either apartments or condominiums on the 3.2-acre site, according to Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura, the listing broker. The property is fully entitled. California Home was founded in 1994 and has built more than 1,500 homes and 2 million square feet of residential projects in Los Angeles County. John Battle, principal with Lee & Associates, who represented the seller, said there were at least seven offers on the property. “The scarcity of vacant land with entitlements in place made this a very attractive offering,” he said in a statement. “The strategy from the beginning was to proceed with two separate development plans, one for the six-plus acres acquired by Dinerstein and a second to commence later.” Movie camera maker Panavision had long occupied the site before moving to smaller offices on Variel Avenue in 2012.
