J.H. Snyder Partners with Washington Capital

January 31, 2011
By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

Courtesy Flickr Creative Commons user kla4067

J.H. Snyder Development Co. has signed a deal with an equity partner for the development of The Vermont, a transit-oriented apartment project that will sprout up in Los Angeles’s densely populated Mid-Wilshire district. Pension fund investments manager Washington Capital Management is serving as the lead equity investor on the two-tower $150 million project.

WCM’s investment is being enhanced by J.H. Snyder’s recent equity contribution for the project that will be erected at a two-acre entitled site that has sat vacant for quite some time at the intersection of Wilshire Blvd. and Vermont Ave. It’s is a prime location just across from a Metro station and within close proximity of downtown.

A quarter-acre courtyard will be at the center of the 25-story and 30-story Jerde Partnership-designed residential buildings, which will also feature an aggregate 41,000 square feet of ground-level retail. The list of amenities at The Vermont is conceived to attract area professionals seeking a state-of-the art, service driven dwelling. In addition to high-end finishes throughout, the apartment community will offer a large recreation center containing a swimming pool, fitness facility, spa, business center, lounge-style shared workspace, and there has even been talk of a theater.

The Los Angeles apartment market certainly took its punches during the recession, but in certain areas, demand is quite strong. “What’s happening in L.A. right now is nobody’s building; there’s like a record low in permits being issued,” Jamie Adner, president of Adner Realty Group, an entity of Keller Williams Realty Hollywood Hills, told CPE. “By developing this project in Mid-Wilshire, they are taking the opportunity to capture some upward momentum in rents in a supply-constrained area. People are going to get off their roommate’s couch and get out of mom’s house, so a development like this will capture demand.”

Not only is there a dearth of new development activity in the corridor, there is simply a dearth of the new. “There are a lot of great, classic buildings with a lot of character that were developed in the 1930s and 40s, but those who live and work downtown are going to be looking for amenities. Downtown is really coming up. It’s all about being close to the urban core and it’s all about being close to the job market.”