Lion Signature Gets OK for Apartment Complex in Lake Balboa

Lion Signature has gained approval to build a 111-unit apartment complex in Lake Balboa.

The Burbank-based developer led by Egish Kuiumjian won a green light from the Los Angeles City Council for the four-story building at 16949-16955 Sherman Way, Urbanize Los Angeles reported. It would replace a former Sizzler steakhouse and parking lot.

The complex would be built on the north side of Sherman Way, west of Balboa Boulevard. Lake Balboa is an L.A. neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley originally part of Van Nuys.

Plans call for 111 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments above 4,500 square feet of ground-floor shops and restaurants, with parking for more than 160 cars.

The council approved the complex on the condition that Lion include 13 affordable units for very low-income households. The component was required by Measure JJJ, which stipulates that a developer seeking a zone change or general plan amendment include affordable apartments.

The white, brown and royal purple project, designed by Glendale-based Alajajian Marcoosi Architects, would be clad in painted plaster, composite wood panels and metal siding.

The E-shaped complex would include two courtyards outside a central leg, which would be topped by a rooftop deck. The apartments would contain large windows and exterior balconies trimmed in black, according to a rendering, with floor-to-ceiling windows for ground-floor shops.

Lion Signature bought the property in 2019 for $4 million, according to property records cited by the Commercial Observer. The developer applied to build the project in 2022.

The project has proved controversial with neighbors, who argued at a Planning Commission meeting in February that it would cause traffic congestion and a loss of privacy. The matter was supposed to go before the council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee in June, but was delayed as a result of community pushback, according to Urbanize.

Councilwoman Imelda Padilla, who represents the area, had sought to downsize the building, but was unsuccessful. The project was ultimately approved for the four stories sought by Lion.

Lion Signature, an incorporated firm founded in 2009, is run by three members of the Kuiumjian family, according to state business records.

Despite high demand for apartments in Los Angeles, the number of completed units in the region has plunged in the wake of high interest rates, according to the Observer. There were 3,513 units finished in the most recent quarter ending in June, compared to 4,314 units completed a year earlier, according to a market report from CBRE.

— Dana Bartholomew