Sylmar ‘Infill’ Subdivision Set to Open in May
A private joint venture between former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry G. Cisneros and KB Home will open its first “infill” subdivision in Southern California next month.
The 317-home subdivision in Sylmar is the biggest development in the San Fernando Valley in years. It is the first in the Los Angeles area built by KB Home and American CityVista, a partnership formed last year by Cisneros and KB Home, Southern California’s largest home builder.
“Infill” is real estate terminology for small parcels of vacant land in otherwise fully developed communities, or existing properties that can be razed or renovated.
Homes in the project are priced to appeal to professionals and others who can’t afford a median-priced home in the Valley.
“These are people who work at Cal State Northridge or Disney or NBC, who want new homes and today would have to go all the way to Santa Clarita or Palmdale to get them,” said Cisneros, chief executive and chairman of American CityVista.
The median price for a new home in the San Fernando Valley is $335,500, said John Karevoll, an analyst at DataQuick Information Systems Inc. The project will offer single-family homes priced from $239,990 to $305,990.
American CityVista and KB Home are looking to build infill subdivisions in large cities in California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada and Colorado that haven’t had median-priced home development in recent years.
“Most infill construction tends to be gentrification that builders have to price high,” Cisneros said.
Homes in gentrified communities are often more expensive than homes built on the suburban fringe to compensate for land costs, permits and opposition by neighborhood groups that delay projects.
American CityVista also subscribes to smart-growth concepts, such as involving the community in planning for a new subdivision. To that end, Cisneros and his staff hold town hall meetings to discuss their projects and meet with area employers and school districts.
In Sylmar, the venture will help Sylmar High School solicit private contributions to wire its classrooms for computers and high-speed Internet access.
Also for the Sylmar project, the joint venture offers loans with no down payment and no closing costs to buyers who are firefighters, police officers, teachers or nurses. The program requires professionals to purchase a home under $275,000.
American CityVista also is working with Tarzana-based Montage Development to build a 109-unit subdivision in San Fernando. Homes at this site, across the street from a Metrolink station, will run from $210,000 to $229,000.
“There’s a pent-up demand for new housing in this area,” Cisneros said. “The Latino community is a major source of buyers here, and there are many families with kids who will want to stay in the area.”
