Ryland Group’s Westlake office to close in 2016 due to merger
Alex Kacik
The Ryland Group office in Westlake Village will close in 2016 following the company’s merger with Standard Pacific Homes.
Homebuilders Ryland and Irvine-based Standard Pacific recently completed a $5.2-billion merger to create CalAtlantic Group, the nation’s fourth largest residential home developer. Larry Nicholson, former CEO of Ryland, will serve as CEO of the new company but the approximately 49 other employees will likely be laid off or relocate.
CalAtlantic spokeswoman Danielle Tocco would not confirm the number of job cuts or relocations.
“With any merger, there is consolidation of facilities and workforce,” she said in a prepared statement. “Those decisions are carefully and fairly made based on the needs of the new company. In regard to the Westlake office, we will be closing it in 2016 and employees that are moving forward with the new company will be relocated to other offices.”
CalAtlantic is planning to establish a presence in Northern Virginia while also maintaining its Irvine location, according to a news release. CalAtlantic anticipates that the merger will result in a 10 percent cut in its workforce and it could save $50 million to $70 million in production and purchasing efficiencies per year, the company said.
Oxnard-based NAI Capital Vice President Fred Ferro said he wasn’t surprised by the decision to relocate.
“I am confident their space will lease up fairly readily,” he told the Business Times. “It may be someone coming out of West San Fernando Valley looking for a larger block of space. There aren’t many large contiguous space suites in the Conejo Valley. It would be well-suited for health services or insurance-related businesses.”
While Ryland is leaving, there are other companies coming to the area to offset the loss, said Haider Alawami, economic development officer for the city of Thousand Oaks.
Easton Baseball/Softball is bringing around 100 employees to Thousand Oaks when it moves in spring 2016 to a new 90,000-square-foot headquarters at 3500 Willow Lane. Chinese company BOCOM Pharmaceutical will add about 200 workers to the region when it moves to 2300 Corporate Center Drive, Alawami said.
“There’s always an impact when established businesses move out of the city,” Alawami told the Business Times. “There’s an economic impact on local businesses and on the housing market but some industrial areas are filling up, which will hopefully balance the job market.”
95 homes coming to Oxnard
Lancaster-based homebuilder K. Hovnanian Companies recently broke ground on a $48 million, 95-home community in Oxnard.
The Veranda at RiverPark will include three designs of single-family homes up to 2,437 square feet. RiverPark is a group of several communities adjacent to the outdoor shopping mall The Collection.
The single-family detached homes will be on 4,600-square-foot lots and feature private backyards, two-car garages and second-floor loft spaces. Prices will range from $450,000 to $550,000.
Construction at 581 Owens River Road will begin in January and homes will be ready in March.
“This is a refreshing new community and concept for Oxnard,” said Jared Knickmeyer, land acquisition manager for K. Hovnanian.
According to the National Association of Home Builders, the Veranda will generate $27.2 million in local income, $3.4 million in taxes and 374 local jobs.
San Diego-based real estate investment company Presidio Residential Capital funded the project on behalf of KHOV.
Oxnard apartments sold
A 14-unit apartment complex at 2512 Balboa St. was recently sold for $1.2 million.
The development includes six one-bedroom units, eight studios and a 1,200-square-foot warehouse space.
Oxnard real estate investors Martin and Noelia Perez sold the 62-year-old complex to Gino Dean, who owns several other apartment buildings in the area.
Dean recognized the potential to raise the below-market rents, said Nick Henry, a broker at The Channel Group, which represented the buyer.
The complex changed hands in 2006 for $312,000, property records show.
• Contact Alex Kacik at [email protected].
