A joint venture program between Mountain Real Estate Capital and Harridge Development recently expanded with the acquisition of a bank-owned residential infill site in Los Angeles.
The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
The partners are in the process of re-entitling the site from multifamily to single-family lots, which they plan to sell to homebuilders.
“The acquisition of this project on Melrose Avenue is the exact type of infill opportunity MREC and our developer partners have been seeking and closing in Southern California,” said Peter Fioretti, MREC’s chief executive officer in a press release. “Identifying such opportunities is just the first step—the more challenging part is value-add through creative land planning and product design to meet current market demands. That is why we team up with best-in-class developers and builders like Harridge on projects like this: to identify and create hidden value and assure success.”
This represents the sixth REO acquisition made between the joint venture in Southern California, accounting for over 300 lots for development and house construction. Projected sales value is expected to exceed $140 million.
“It was fortunate that we had recently closed our first joint venture with MREC, because this new opportunity involved some tricky land use and development issues and also required a quick decision,” said David Schwartzman, a Los Angeles-based real estate developer who founded Harridge Development.
“Because MREC’s principals have development experience and are not merely capital providers, I was confident that we could work together to overcome these challenges in a timely fashion,” he continued.
Lance Franklin Lance Franklin, senior investment manager, originated and managed the closing of this transaction for MREC.
“The Harridge team has demonstrated a unique ability identifying niche infill opportunities in the Los Angeles area and creating value through creative re-entitlement and site design,” Franklin said. “We believe that Harridge will continue to be a great partner in pursuing additional infill Los Angeles opportunities.”
