APARTMENTS SPROUTING MULTIPLE PROJECTS PLANNED IN WEST VALLEY.

Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer

WOODLAND HILLS - The west San Fernando Valley will see a mini-boom in multiple-family housing, with a 522-unit complex planned at the former Ray Art Studio and a 136-unit building under construction at a busy Warner Center intersection.

Coupled with another large luxury complex under construction, Warner Center could eventually boast of more than 1,200 new units.

Irvine-based Archstone Communities has sketched out plans for Archstone Warner Center in documents filed with the Los Angeles Planning Department.

The complex at the 6625 Variel Ave., site of the former film studio, will be three to four stories tall and feature 260 one-bedroom, 234 two-bedroom and 28 three-bedroom units, records indicate. However, it is not clear whether this will be an apartment or condominium project.

It will have parking for 1,028 units and plans call for it to be finished by 2005.

Since this project meets the guidelines of the Warner Center Specific Plan, it just needs to be approved by the city's planning director, officials said.

Archstone officials did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Officials in Councilman Dennis P. Zine's office are aware of the project but have not yet taken a position.

``The councilman's stance now is since we have neighborhood councils, all projects will go in front of the ... councils,'' said Tom Henry, Zine's deputy.

Neighborhood council President Sandy Enfield could not be reached for comment.

Archstone's project is in the same neighborhood as Warner Pointe, being built by Carlsbad-based The Morgan Group at the southeast corner of Erwin Street and Canoga Avenue.

That parcel had been an eyesore since the 1994 Northridge Earthquake severely damaged a 100,000-square-foot office building. It was never repaired and it's now being demolished.

Construction of the $30 million, 136-unit luxury complex should take about 20 months, said Louis Kuntz, a regional partner at The Morgan Group.

Future tenants should prepare for sticker shock, with rents at Warner Pointe ranging from $1,900 to $2,400 a month.

Kuntz is not worried about competition from Archstone's planned project or Legacy Partners Bella Vista at Warner Center, a hillside luxury complex at the northeast corner of Oxnard Street and De Soto Avenue.

``We think its a great intersection,'' Kuntz said of his project's location. ``There is a tremendous employment in the surrounding area and lots of amenities.''

The luxury complex of 78 one-bedroom units and 58 two-bedroom units will be a five-story structure with the first level used for parking. Apartment sizes will range from 750 square feet to 1,125 square feet.

Apartments will have a variety of amenities, including nine-foot ceilings, crown molding, island kitchens, high-speed Internet wiring and built-in computer desks.

Legacy Partners project will be the first one to market, with the 125-unit first phase ready sometime in September, said company spokesman Scott Morrison.

It features one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom units with monthly rents ranging from $1,437 to $2,618.

Two more phases, totaling 454 units, are planned with the construction schedule based on market conditions, Morrison said.

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