Homebuilder City Ventures LLC has sold a fully entitled, 43-unit condominium project in Redondo Beach to Toll Brothers Inc. for $30 million in a deal that works out to nearly $698,000 per unit.
Craig Atkins, the chairman and co-founder of Irvine-based City Ventures, called the residential development an “entitlement success in a challenging market.” The sale closed June 30.
“Although home and land sales moderated in certain California markets this year due to rising interest rates and tariff concerns, strong demand continues in prime urban areas such as Torrance,” Atkins told the Business Journal. “Our solid land holdings in markets like these give us a strong foundation for continued growth.”
It is the first time City Ventures and Toll Brothers, a national homebuilder, completed a deal together, Atkins added.
The development is located at 122 and 126 Pacific Coast Highway in Redondo Beach and would be built on land once owned by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The property was also used by the local St. James parish.
Toll Brothers is taking over an entitled development that will be designed by KTGY, an Irvine-based architectural firm. The 43 townhome units would range in size from 1,466 to 2,096 square feet. Each townhome would rise three levels and feature three-bedroom layouts with two-car garages.
Three of the 43 units are designated as affordable to very low-income households, helping Redondo Beach meet its state-mandated housing goals.
Atkins said City Ventures earning entitlements from the city of Redondo Beach was no easy task. The city, per Atkins, has been “historically resistant to new housing. City Ventures was able to secure its entitlements, however, by leveraging California’s Housing Accountability Act and State Density Bonus Law,” according to Atkins.
Redondo Beach Planning Commission approved the project’s permitting and California Environmental Quality Act exemptions in February.
“The Redondo Beach transaction is a powerful example of how City Ventures is leveraging California’s evolving housing legislation to unlock approvals in cities that have historically resisted growth,” Ryan Aeh, the executive vice president for land acquisition at City Ventures, said in a statement.
“By navigating the entitlement process in just nine months, we demonstrated that even the most challenging jurisdictions can yield opportunity when approached with creativity and persistence.”
Toll Brothers ranked second on the Business Journal’s list of the largest homebuilders that work in Orange County. The Pennsylvania-based homebuilder sold 266 houses in Orange County in 2024.
City Ventures
City Ventures is an urban infill homebuilder based in Irvine and San Francisco. The company’s website says City Ventures “works to supply California with a leading inventory of solar-powered and ecologically responsible townhomes, condominiums, lofts, mixed-use, live/work and single-family detached homes.”
The Irvine-based homebuilder also has projects planned in La Habra, Livermore, Morgan Hill, San Bruno and Sebastopol. Completed residential projects include Eginhouse in Artesia, Concord Court in Compton, Melodia in El Cajon and Towns on First in Upland.
City Ventures was co-founded by Atkins and Mark Buckland in 2009. Atkins, prior to City Ventures, founded land brokerage firm O’Donnell/Atkins in 1992. Before that he was a project manager for Warmington Co.
Buckland, the president and co-founder of City Ventures, co-founded urban homebuilder The Olsen Co. in 1988. He was also a development manager at Bixby Ranch Co. and project manager at University of California, Irvine’s Office of Planning.
