Onni Group of Cos. has purchased a 1.4-acre site in Mid-Wilshire as a high-rise development opportunity.
The site, at 5350-5376 Wilshire Blvd., is currently being used for retail shops, with tenants including the United States Post Office and The Wig Shop.
CBRE Group Inc.’s Kadie Presley Wilson and Laurie Lustig-Bower represented the seller, two private families, in the transaction.
“We took the site to market at the height of the pandemic and generated 20 offers despite rising construction costs,” Presley Wilson, a first vice president at CBRE, said in a statement. “Demand for multifamily housing in the Greater Los Angeles area, especially with proximity to mass transit, remains at all-time highs, making development opportunities such as this (highly) sought after.”
The property has a Tier 4 designation with L.A.’s Transit Oriented Communities program. Under this program, multifamily developments located near transit that contain affordable units can receive density bonuses or reduced parking requirements, among other incentives.
Onni, which is based in Vancouver, has a large presence nationally and in L.A. The company’s U.S portfolio contains more than 8 million square feet of commercial properties, roughly 7,000 apartment units, several hotels and a development pipeline of more than 20 million square feet. Onni has three multifamily projects currently underway in L.A.
“This was a fantastic opportunity for the Onni, which is an experienced high-rise developer,” Lustig-Bower, an executive vice president at CBRE, said in a statement. “The property will continue to provide some income while the buyer works through the entitlement process.”
Onni recently purchased the Marina Shores in Long Beach for $67.9 million from Regency Centers Corp. The property, currently a shopping center, is also pegged for redevelopment. Marina Shores is located at 6500 E. Pacific Coast Highway and has views of the marina in Belmont Shore.
