It’s not often that a community gets a new neighborhood, but it has happened in “The Nuys.”
Los Angeles-based KB Home held a ribbon cutting on Thursday for its Greenwood Square development of 132 residences in central Van Nuys, a development that creates a unique nifty optical illusion.
Passersby will think they are seeing a collection of town homes in four buildings, but they will be wrong, said Tom DiPrima, the company’s president of urban operations, pointing out that the project was approved under the city’s small-lot ordinance.
Here’s what creates the illusion: There is a five-inch gap between the exterior walls of 128 homes on the site, with a decorative sheet metal strip installed at the front and back of each unit and capped to seal the gap.
“They are small-lot detached homes,” DiPrima said. “While they look attached, they are really detached units.” There are also four traditional-looking single-family houses.
Greenwood Square fronts the northwest corner of Sherman Way and Hazeltine Avenue. The site had been home to a Pinecrest Schools campus for more than six decades.
The project comes out of a strategy KB Home initiated in 2005, when it created its urban division.
“This was great for us. We really like this location. We’ve been really focused on trying to find coastal and urban infill (land), and we have a lot slated this year from the Bay Area through Los Angeles and into Orange County,” DiPrima said.
Another attraction was that the development would be close to employment centers and mass transit.
The community’s four three-story floor plans range in size from 1,409 to 1,676 square feet and include up to three bedrooms, three baths and two-car garages. The homes will feature second-floor high ceilings, built-in storage spaces and Spanish or Craftsman facades. Prices range from the low $400,000s for the small-lot homes to the low $700,000s for the one-story stand-alone houses.
Greenwood Square is also a green project. Walkways throughout the project have pavers designed to let rain seep into the ground, homes are pre-wired for electric-vehicle charging and solar panels, and the units are equipped with energy-efficient appliances. There’s also a park built for residents.
Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Krekorian was an early supporter of the project. “This is a fantastic residential development and a great addition to Van Nuys,” he said in a statement.
