Snyder Co. Buys Marina City Club
The Marina City Club, a 37-acre complex whose three towers have dominated the Marina del Rey skyline since 1972, has been sold to J. H. Snyder Co. by MDP Ltd., a subsidiary of Hughes Aircraft.
The Snyder firm plans to convert 600 of the 700 existing apartments to condominium ownership as soon as Los Angeles County approves long-term land leases for the towers, according to Jerome H. Snyder, the company’s president.
The three-party transaction will increase revenue for the county at the landmark development, a project Snyder said could not be duplicated today.
The purchase price was not divulged by the parties, pending final approval of the transaction by the county, which owns the land occupied by the Marina City Club. The 60-year lease negotiated with the county in 1968 expires in 2028; a 39-year extension to 2067 is being considered by the county.
Under the present lease, the county receives 7.5% of the apartment rent income, 3% of the gross income of the restaurants and 20% of the lease income from the 340 boat slips on the site.
Chris Klinger, the county’s chief of revenue properties for the marina, said the county would want 20% of the owner’s income on the sale and resale of the long-term leases and 7.5% of the annual gross revenue of the hotel.
In addition to a complete renovation of the complex, the Snyder firm plans to build a 308-room Ritz Carlton hotel on six adjoining acres. The concept for the hotel was approved in June by the county’s Beaches and Harbors Board.
The development also includes the private, 2,600-member Marina City Club, which has six tennis courts, swimming pools, facilities for paddle tennis and racquetball, two restaurants and a bar, hotel/banquet facilities and health spas for both men and women. Everything except the tennis courts will be renovated, Snyder said, adding that residents must be members of the club to use the facilities.
“We also have 2,000 non-resident members,” Snyder said.”We are absolutely delighted that the Marina City Club complex will become part of the J. H. Snyder Co.,” Snyder said.
Current apartment tenants will be given priority and discounts for purchasing the 600 tower units, including a county requirement that the owners assist current tenants in their search for financing to help them purchase their long-term leases. The rental nature of the project will be retained for the 100 units in the low-rise buildings that will remain as short-term rentals.
Over the last 25 years, Snyder’s firm, based in the Miracle Mile district of Los Angeles, has built about 35,000 single-family houses, as well as multi-unit residential projects, including the 1,500-unit Coronado Shores near San Diego, Beverly Glen Park and Glenridge in Los Angeles, with 800 units and the 317-unit Ocean Towers in Santa Monica.
Snyder’s commercial projects include the $165-million Wilshire Courtyard, a 1-million-square-foot office complex under construction in the Miracle Mile area of Wilshire Boulevard and the nearby Museum Square, the former Prudential insurance complex.
