Galaxy Commercial returns to San Pedro with 137-unit project

Project is in an Opportunity Zone and qualifies for TOC bonuses

Raffi Cohen and the site
Raffi Cohen and the site

Galaxy Commercial Holdings is back in San Pedro with another multifamily development.

The firm’s president, Raffi Cohen, filed plans to build a new 137-unit apartment at 511 S. Harbor Boulevard, a 33,300-square-foot lot across from the Battleship USS Iowa Museum.

The project would require the demolition of a vacant, 4,200-square-foot Grinder restaurant. The current owner of the property is Blender Enterprises LLC, which is run by Bert Blender, president of Dick’s Grinder Inc. Blender purchased the site in 2003.

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It’s located inside an Opportunity Zone, a district designated for the federal program that allows long-term investors and developers building within its boundaries to reduce or avoid capital gains taxes.

Since the project would include 16 units for very low-income residents, it is also eligible for tier-2 bonuses from the city’s Transit-Oriented Communities program. The Beverly Hills-based firm is requesting a density bonus, a waiver for height restrictions, and a reduction in required public open space.

The project is located near a 375-unit apartment project under construction at 550 South Palos Verdes Street by Holland Partner Group and Starwood Capital Group, which recently tapped into its Opportunity Zone funds to join the project.