85.7 F
San Fernando
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Developers Hope Postal Service Properties Deliver

In the past few weeks, developers have filed plans with the city of Los Angeles to transform two San Fernando Valley post offices into apartment complexes. The unrelated moves highlight the hurdles real estate developers face with the scarcity of land suitable for development across the Valley – as well as the declining need for letter delivery outlets. One project, proposed by Westwood-based Symphony Development, would raze the Northridge Postal Service building at 9534 N. Reseda Blvd. and replace it with a four-story mixed-use complex built to appeal to college students attending nearby Cal State Northridge. The $47 million development would include 128 apartment units, two levels of underground parking and about 7,500 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space, said David A. Hilliard, principal at Symphony. His firm, which last year bought the 1.5-acre midblock parcel from Reseda Halstead Partners of Encino for about $5.6 million, is in negotiations with the Postal Service, which leases a 12,000-square-foot building on the site as a retail postal outlet and mail-sorting facility. “They will be relocating when we start construction but we’d love to have them come back to our new building,” Hilliard said. The apartment complex will be student-oriented, renting space by the bedroom and mostly comprising studios and one-bedrooms with a few four-bedroom units. Symphony specializes in student housing and recently completed West 27th Place, a seven-story project with 161 residential units and 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space near USC. The firm also has a student housing complex in the works near San Jose State University. It typically hires Peak Campus Management of Atlanta to manage its buildings, Hilliard said. “We are just beginning the entitlement process on Reseda Boulevard, which is one of the city’s great streets, but we are very excited about moving forward with this project,” he said. The other project is in the planning stages for a site at 22055-22131 Clarendon St. that houses the Woodland Hills post office. The Postal Service has announced that it will relocate the facility when its lease on the property expires in 2017. Developer Amcal Multi-Housing Inc. of Agoura Hills has filed a zone change request with the city that would allow a 335-unit, five-story apartment complex on the 4.2-acre parcel just south of the 101 freeway. Amcal’s plans for the project include 17 units set aside for very-low-income residents, 51,012 square feet of open space and 564 parking spaces in a six-level garage. The developer first unveiled the project early this year before the planning and land-use committee of the Warner Center-Woodland Hills Neighborhood Council. While some council members praised the design, by Orange County architect Michael Heinrich of Architects Orange, others expressed concern about the project’s density and the traffic a six-level parking garage would generate. A traffic study commissioned by the developer says a residential development would generate fewer daily car trips than the post office or retail use of the site. Karen Koe, chairwoman of the planning and land-use committee, said Amcal has asked to come back before the panel to make another presentation later this month. Multifamily Purchase Universe Holdings, a private multifamily real estate investment firm in Century City, has purchased a 53-unit Van Nuys apartment complex for $10.5 million. The property, at 6600 Woodley Drive, features one- and two-bedroom units and sits on one acre at the corner of Woodley and Kittridge Street. Universe has rebranded the property Chateau W6600 and plans to put $750,000 into upgrades and improvements. “The acquisition continues the expansion of our Southern California portfolio,” said Henry Manoucheri, the company’s founder and chief executive. “Van Nuys and the Valley submarkets offer a diverse mix of workforce housing, regional connectivity and local amenities that make us very comfortable with a long-term ownership position in this and similar Los Angeles submarkets.” This is Universe’s third acquisition in Van Nuys, bringing its portfolio up to 158 units in the neighborhood, which it has identified as having strong long-term fundamentals. It also owns Chateau Lakeside at 16815 Vanowen St. and Chateau Woodley-Hart at 7025 Woodley Ave. The latest transaction was brokered by Joshua Luchs of Marcus & Millichap. Staff reporter Karen E. Klein can be reached at (818) 316-3123 or at [email protected].

Featured Articles

Related Articles