Wood Partners has purchased a four-plus acre development in the Woodland Hills district of Los Angeles and plans to begin construction of its new $75 million Warner Park luxury apartment community on the site by mid-August. The construction time is estimated at 22 months with the first units to be available in early 2013.

Warner Center is a mixed-use hub that is home to more than 50,000 jobs and millions of square feet of retail property. The community lies just 25 miles from downtown Los Angeles — 20 miles east of Burbank, a major source of media-related jobs, and 16 miles from the biotech, high-tech, healthcare and insurance employment opportunities along the Route 101 corridor.

The 298-unit complex, evenly divided between one- and two-bedroom units, will be located at 6701 and 6703 Eton Ave. in the Warner Center section of Canoga Park in the San Fernando Valley.

The property is six miles west of I-405 and the Van Nuys airport and two miles north of the Ventura (101) Freeway, which provides direct access to Ventura and Santa Barbara to the west and north and downtown Los Angeles to the southeast.

The Warner Park project is fully entitled and construction drawings are complete. All financing for the project has been secured, says the developer.

“Our Warner Park development is occurring at an ideal time,” says Brian Hansen, Wood Partners’ director of development for Southern California. “We will be building during a favorable construction market, delivering when all the supply of 2007-2010 in Warner Center has been absorbed and competing against limited new supply.”

The Los Angeles apartment market has consistently outperformed the nation. From 1999-2007, Los Angeles posted an average occupancy of 96% and average rent growth greater than 6%, according to Axiometrics, an apartment market research firm.

After bottoming out at 92% in the fourth quarter of 2008, the overall apartment occupancy in the Los Angeles market has rebounded to just under 95%, with the San Fernando Valley submarket above 95%. Rents have stabilized and are expected to increase 5.8% in 2011 and 6.6% in 2012.

“We like what we’re seeing in the Los Angeles market right now in terms of apartment fundamentals and so do our capital sources,” says Hansen. “Wood Partners will continue to aggressively pursue apartment development deals in this market.”

Warner Park is walking distance from retail centers such as the Westfield Promenade, a 56-store mall anchored by Macy’s, and the upscale Westfield Topanga, anchored by Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus.

The Westfield Group is planning an additional 1 million sq. ft. commercial development in the area with the first phase, which will include a Costco Wholesale membership warehouse, to be delivered by 2013.

Once completed, Warner Park will feature interior finishes such as granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and vinyl flooring. Other features include a resort-style pool, modern clubroom with bar area, televisions with gaming consoles, an Internet café, business center, universal Wi-Fi and a state of the art fitness center.

Nearby recreational opportunities abound. Twenty-acre Warner Center Park is less than two miles away and the Woodland Hills Park & Recreation Center, a 19-acre park complex featuring an Olympic-sized pool and various sports programs such as baseball, basketball, flag football and softball also is within two miles of the property.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Wood Partners is a private real estate company that acquires, develops, constructs and manages high-density and mixed-use communities. The company has 15 offices throughout the country.

Construction on Warner Park luxury apartments in Los Angeles is slated to begin sometime this month.