Homebuilder KB Homes has acquired a condo development site at the 18-acre former Daniel Freeman Hospital site in Inglewood. The deal comes as Inglewood development in the city plows ahead — including plans for the new L.A. Clippers arena — amid growing unease from some residents concerned about displacement.
Harridge Development Group and Varde Partners were the sellers. The property at 333 N. Prairie Avenue sold for $23 million, and is entitled for 55 single-family homes, sources told The Real Deal.
The entire development site encompasses 226 lots, Los Angeles County records show.
Harridge and Varde bought the entire development site from Shopoff Realty Investments for $36.3 million in 2017, when the hospital was still standing.
Shopoff had plans in place to build a 310-unit gated condominium community there and the joint venture said it would tweak those plans.
The site was cleared, approvals obtained for a 226-condo subdivision. In March, the joint venture sold about half of the condo lots to Atlanta-based developer Pulte Homes for $42 million.
Pulte is building 105 condos on its portion of the site. Harridge and Varde still own about 66 lots.
The site is close to the L.A. Forum and Inglewood’s two largest projects in the works: the under-construction SoFi Stadium (on track for a summer 2020 opening) and the site where the Clippers want to build their new stadium.
Both are driving investment and subsequent gentrification in the area, a trend the city has struggled to combat. Activists have sued the Clippers over its planned arena, claiming the site is better suited for affordable housing. This week, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer pledged $100 million for the city, including $75 million to build affordable housing.
KB Homes did not immediately return a request for comment on the Prairie Avenue acquisition. The Westwood-based homebuilder is active across the country and mostly develops suburban single-family home communities.
The firm has benefited from low mortgage rates in the current cycle. The drop of mortgage rates this year has boosted its stock price nearly 50 percent.
Harridge has other projects on its plate. In January, the L.A. City Council approved the Wilshire-based firm’s massive Crossroads of the World project in Hollywood. Plans for the 1.4-million-square-foot project includes 950 residential units, a 308-room hotel, and 190,000 square feet of commercial space.