One of the last, large parcels of undeveloped canyon land in the Malibu area is up for sale and it can be had for some $12.6 million.
Provided the buyer has a stomach for a fight.
The 635 acres in the Santa Monica Mountains northwest of Pepperdine University features sheltered coves and oak-lined hills offering scenic views of the Pacific Ocean, as well as a creek that attracts such wildlife as bobcats and badgers.
There’s room for 17 estates. But the real danger for any developer will likely come from an array of affluent neighbors, conservationists and government officials who will demand a significant say about whatever might be built there if anything.
“This is pretty much the best remaining unprotected coastal canyon left,” said Paul Edelman, deputy director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, which buys land to preserve it from development but which currently lacks the money to make a bid for the property. “(It) has been a high priority acquisition for every park agency, and the conservancy, to buy from Day One.”
The land, dubbed Rancho Corral, is being marketed by Brant Didden and Chris Frost of the Malibu real estate brokerage Pritchett-Rapf & Associates, and Steve Wiseman of the Century City office of CB Richard Ellis Group Inc.
It is comprised of 18 parcels, most of which were reassembled over the past six years by California and Colorado-based investors from what was once an 1,100-acre ranch owned for decades by a family named Auerbach.
It’s now owned by a group of limited partnerships, and while the brokers declined to identify individual owners, county planning officials and other local real estate sources say well-known coastal real estate investor Brian Sweeney, who has assembled similar land deals in the area, has an ownership interest.
South of Malibu Creek State Park, the property takes its name from the road that runs along most of its western boundary, separating it from the Malibu Bowl and El Nido subdivisions. East of the property is about 500 acres owned by film director James Cameron, whose own application to build a home is awaiting review by the California Coastal Commission. The Cameron property also was part of that ranch.
A sale to a conservation group or a single individual who promises to build discretely would most please Malibu residents and regulators. But the current owners also would entertain proposals from a developer who potentially could build up to 17 ranchettes. The owners have a “will serve” letter from the local water district and county certificates of compliance for that many lots, though most parcels now lack road access.
“We’re targeting corporate executives, high net-worth individuals, and developers,” Wiseman said. “It’s such a unique property that it would appeal to one individual who would want their own private retreat, but also be close to Malibu and downtown L.A.”
Opposition expected
The ownership group has made application to the county for development entitlements for a handful of the properties, with a parcel along Corral Canyon Road closest to El Nido being the furthest along in the process. Another application before the county would punch an access road though the southern part of the property from the Corral Canyon side to a parcel closer to the Puerco Canyon Road side on the east.
Wiseman said the owners, who generally are not developers, recently decided to see whether a single owner or single developer wanted to buy the land before they invest more money in the lengthy and expensive development process.
“At the end of the day, we want the buyer make the decision on how to proceed,” he said. “Our preference would be to have a single owner. Selling off the parcels individually is not our focus.”
Edelman said the conservancy would favor one buyer who would build a single-family compound, if the conservancy were unable to purchase the land. And even though the land is unincorporated, the adjacent city of Malibu is likely to be an influential player in the land’s future, given the community’s longstanding opposition to wide scale development.
“We don’t like to see big developments in our town or out of our town,” said Councilmember Andy Stern, who’s a real estate broker. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re two feet in our border or two feet out of the border.”
Stern noted that any developer would face tougher development requirements for grading land in the Santa Monica Mountains and constructing homes along its ridgelines. The requirements were adopted by Los Angeles County more than two years ago. And that would be only the first of the obstacles.
“After the county, you eventually have to go to the California Coastal Commission, and the Coastal Commission can do what they want,” he said. “The (sellers) are dreaming if they think someone can build a whole bunch of stuff up there.”
Meanwhile, the conservancy has been objecting to efforts by the owners to obtain county permits to construct roads and other improvements without environmental safeguards.
However, the conservancy’s coffers have been tapped out in recent years by its participation in the acquisitions of Ahmanson Ranch in 2003 and the former Soka University of America campus last year in Calabasas. In comparison with the $12.6 million being sought for the Rancho, the consortium of local, state and federal agencies paid $35 million for the more developed 588-acre Soka site.
But if Rancho Corral isn’t snapped up quickly by a private buyer, the conservancy is hoping that Proposition 84 passes on the November state ballot, which could provide the opportunity to preserve the property as open space. The measure would set aside $5.4 billion for water and natural resources protection.
Edelman said his group talked with representatives of the owners more than a year ago, but their asking price at the time was too steep.
In meantime, early last week the brokers listed the property on the online real estate site LoopNet and it elicited several calls within a few days. “This is a chance for someone to own one of the most magical properties in Malibu,” said Didden of Prichett-Rapf.
