PLAYA VISTA, CA—Lincoln Property Co. took a chance on Runway at Playa Vista, a retail, office and multifamily mixed-use development, in 2010 at the height of the downturn. In hindsight, it was a great move. GlobeSt.com reported earlier this week that the first residential units at the development opened to major success, already two-thirds leased after only six weeks. Now, the developer is wishing it had bought more during the recession.

“I feel very fortunate, but, as a real estate guy, I wish I had bought more in 2010,” David Binswanger, EVP of Lincoln Property Co., tells GlobeSt.com. The company is ecstatic about the success of the first Runway apartment building. The remaining 320 units will open by the end of the year, and the developer anticipates a similar level of success for those properties as well, noting that they are giving between 15 and 20 tours a day to potential tenants. “Obviously, we are very pleased with our holdings down there, and we are very happy with our neighbors,” says Binswanger. “Brookfield Residential is turning out a bunch of for-sale product around us, and that mix of apartment and for-sale is really great for the demographic diversity.”

Lincoln Property Co. had already purchased and entitled land in Playa Vista prior to the recession, having built 1 million square feet of commercial real estate back in 2006. The firm still had an additional 1.2 million square feet of entitlements when the recession hit and halted their plans. This experience in the market, however, gave them cause to jump back in early on. “We had seen Playa really blossom at the peak of the last cycle,” says Binswanger. “Unfortunately, it peaked in 2008 along with the real estate market and didn't have enough time to really get its sea legs before being hit by a global economic recession. We had seen what Playa could become, and that gave us insight. When we saw the opportunity with Runway, we wanted to be a part of it with this mixed-use project.”

Still, they didn't expect the market to rebound so quickly and that Runway would be opening to this major success. “Even with that insight, we still couldn't have imagined that it would all come together in this way when we broke ground,” adds Binswanger. “We expected a five-to-six year horizon for it to become what it has become in two-and-a-half years.”

Construction of the project will be fully complete by the end of the year. Check back for more updates as the remaining portions of the building open.