AvalonBay Breaks Ground in Glendale

Real estate investment trust AvalonBay Communities Inc. has broken ground on its first apartment development in Southern California, a 233-unit project in Glendale.

When completed in fall 2003, Avalon at Glendale Court will have a value of more than $50 million, said Lawrence A. Scott, an AvalonBay vice president. The 5.12-acre project on Central Avenue north of the Ventura Freeway will be the city’s first apartment complex built since 1989, company executives said.

In the last five years, the Alexandria, Va.-based company has purchased and renovated 18 apartment complexes in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties. AvalonBay said it has a goal of building 700 to 1,000 apartments annually in the region.

“Since opening Southern California operations in 1997, we have been searching for the best possible location in which to build our first new luxury community,” Scott said.