Multifamily developer Jamison expanding in West LA with development site purchase

The prolific Koreatown multifamily developer intends to build 100 units at new property

Jamie Lee of Jamison and the property
Jamie Lee of Jamison and the property

Prolific multifamily developer Jamison is expanding its reach in West Los Angeles.

The firm, which has been on a multi-year construction and buying binge in and around Koreatown, purchased a development site for $16 million, and intends to build a 100-unit development. The property is located at 11600 Santa Monica Boulevard. It is 28,300 square feet, which means the deal pencils out to $564 per square foot.

Laurie Lustig-Bower and Kadie Presley Wilson with CBRE represented the sellers — a family partnership between local investors and the owner of Blue Wave Hand Car Wash, located on the site. The property will be leased back while Jamison pursues entitlements.

The 0.65-acre property is located at the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and Federal Avenue, near CIM’s mixed-use project at Santa Monica Boulevard and Granville Avenue, which opened in April.

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Jamison has spent much of the year filing for developments — mostly multifamily conversions — and securing construction loans. Earlier this month, the firm secured a $48 million loan for a 193-unit project in Koreatown, and in April, the developer secured a $54.5 million loan for a 13-story apartment building with 248 units in Westlake.

Multifamily development in Los Angeles is expected to remain at relatively high levels through 2019 and 2020, despite higher construction, land and financing costs, according to CBRE research.

About 27,700 units were under construction as of the first quarter of this year, an 11.4-percent decline from the prior year. The units under construction will add about 3.3 percent to the multifamily base in the Los Angeles market.