A Santa Barbara-based investment group, Bradley Ventures, LLC, recently purchased an 80-acre site proposed for single-family homes and apartments in Orcutt.
The project, dubbed Key Site 30, also is known as Bradley Village, and is one of the last infill developments in Orcutt.
The vacant land recently used for grazing is on the west side of Bradley Road between Union Valley Parkway and Patterson Road.
The housing project has been planned for nearly 12 years.
Bradley Ventures’ principles want to remain anonymous, a representative said.
The previous owner sought $8 million for the property. The purchase price wasn’t released.
In May 2013, the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission gave permission to develop residences, open spaces and trails on the land.
A 10.6-acre portion of the property consisting of six separate parcels would be developed with up to 212 residential apartment, senior housing, and/or condominium units.
In addition to these units, the project has approvals for 69 single-family lots in three separate regions of the site, plus a 3.5-acre passive park and a 44.3-acre area for open space with a public multi-use trail.
Development would be limited to corner pockets of the property, since the majority of the undeveloped property is located within the Santa Maria Public Airport flight approach zone and no-build corridor, bisecting the site in a northwest to southeast direction.
Construction on the land likely won’t begin for 18 to 24 months, according to Bradley Ventures representative Christos Celmayster of Hayes Commercial Group.
The owners noted in a press release that Orcutt’s housing stock is predominantly single-family homes with only a few apartment projects offering rentals.
“Although Orcutt is no stranger to residential developments — with new homes still being released in projects such as Rice Ranch — very few apartments have been built in the area in the past decade,” Celmayster said.
“The Santa Maria market has seen a steady rebound from the recession, and no other segment of the investment market has fared as well as the apartment market.
“Rents in the area have been increasing, so acquiring a site that provides for new apartments in the most desirable region of the Santa Maria Valley was a no-brainer for the buyer. Couple that with the flexibility of the site’s six separate multi-family lots, and you see that this was a great investment.”
Homes in Orcutt sell for approximately $425,000, while the purchase price of newer homes (houses built within the past 10 years) average $525,000.
“There are very few sites like this in Orcutt, and we expect interest from several local and national builders,” Celmayster said.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.