93-Unit Complex Opens, Fills in Eight Weeks

Frost/Chaddock developed the approximately $30 million project on an infill site, razing a small commercial building, a single-family home and a small apartment complex to make way for 801 North. The complex features three levels of apartments, including a rooftop deck, over the retail space. Levy credits the strong location, competitive rents and the project design as factors in filling the 93 units so quickly.

"Based on our rent surveys, we are a bit less expensive than some of our comparable competition," Levy says. "Ours has the feeling of a boutique building; the others in the area are larger and more resort-style."

Levy explains that the location is on a stretch of Fairfax Avenue that, while close to transportation and amenities, is still removed from the hustle and bustle of other parts of Fairfax. He says the location is part of a pedestrian-friendly corridor that is developing along that part of Fairfax, which is on the border of West Hollywood.

The 801 North project was always planned as apartments, never as condos, even when the condo market was hot, according to Levy. He notes that the complex is one of the first to be developed under new City of Los Angeles zoning rules called RAS-4 that provide for streamlined permitting of mixed-use residential and retail projects. In addition to reaching 60% occupancy on the retail portion of 801 North, he notes, Frost/Chaddock has strong interest from prospective tenants in the remainder of the retail space.

Frost/Chaddock broke ground on the 801 North project in 2007 when the real estate markets were still strong, but the development firm had some concerns about how on the 801 project would lease up as the completion of construction neared. "We were more than confident in the product, but we didn't know if the demand would be there for all 93 units," Levy says. As it turned out, rents have remained strong in the area despite the downturn. The only concession the company offered to new tenants was a month of free rent, compared with the two months that many other landlords are offering, Levy says.

Levy points out that Frost/Chaddock, which got its start in 1994, is a long-term holder of its properties and still owns every building that it has developed from the ground up. Its projects include two apartment buildings not far from 801 North that the company built in 2005 that are strong performers, he adds.

The 801 North project is part of a Frost/Chaddock portfolio that includes more than 640 operating apartment units under management, 320 apartment units under entitlement or construction and 50,000 square feet of retail space in various stages of entitlement or construction, all of it in the Greater Los Angeles area. The company has acquired, developed or managed more than 160 properties valued in excess of $300 million.