Avana North Hollywood

The building sits on a quiet side street in the re-emerging North Hollywood area. Located less than a block west of bustling Lankershim Boulevard and south of Magnolia Avenue, the project offers residents the cultural and entertainment amenities that the NoHo Arts District is famous for with proximity to Los Angeles’s Red Line mass transit and major Hollywood Studios.

Avana was developed with the high-level amenities demanded by this young and vibrant community, but the project required a major cleanup to realize its potential. Serving as a junkyard and storage facility for a nearby auto dealership, along with another junkyard site next door, the project required us to take a skillful and diplomatic approach to create order and value out of chaos.

By viewing site conditions and obligations as an asset rather than a liability, we overcame unsightly previous uses to create a true community gem. The team engaged directly with the community, oversaw the complex deals for land acquisition and cleanup, and engaged civic artists to tie the arts scene with the building itself. Avana has been a tremendously successful effort, and represents the single-most-profitable venture for our investment partner, Amstar, for the decade. We achieved 100% leased occupancy within three months of opening and ultimately sold the property for an internal rate of return of 55%.