Luxury Apartment Deal.

R.W. Selby & Co. Inc. has purchased a 582-unit luxury apartment complex off Centinela Avenue near Westchester that it plans to make even more luxurious.

Selby officials would not disclose the sales price, but they said the total price of the acquisition and planned refurbishment will come to $70 million. The deal also included the assumption of an existing loan with John Hancock Life Insurance Co.

The seller was longtime owner West Palm Associates, managed by New York-based U.S. Realty Advisors. Selby had been in "intermittent talks" with the former owner for several years, said Daniel Fried, director of acquisitions.

Selby plans to upgrade the 12-year-old West Palm Apartments to a luxury resort-style community and rename it "The Heights." The garden-style complex consists of eight, three-story buildings around a large landscaped courtyard.

The property features one- and two-bedroom units and lofts, with a full array of amenities -- two pools and spas, fitness and aerobics facilities, jogging trails and a business center.

One-bedroom units currently rent for $1,075 a month and two-bedroom units go for $1,500. The apartments are 99 percent occupied.

"It's considered a little below market (rate), which is why we have plans to upgrade," Fried said. "There's great demand in the area for rental housing."

The West Palm Apartments sit on 11 acres of hilltop property on Alvern Circle, with views of West Los Angeles, near the Howard Hughes Center and Playa Vista. It also sits directly above Casden Properties' $90 million, 624-unit Villa Azure Apartments, another luxury complex under construction on Centinela.