Small Sunset Boulevard Lot Hits Market at $5M

A roughly quarter-acre piece of land on Sunset Boulevard has hit the market for just shy of $5 million, representing one of L.A.’s priciest new development listings.

The property is located at 7045 West Sunset, in Hollywood near La Brea Avenue, and came on the market last week.

“This parcel affords an investor with unmatched flexibility,” the listings states, citing the vacant site’s commercial and residential zoning, which includes eligibility for L.A.’s popular Transit Oriented Communities program with density and other bonuses for projects near public transit. “Do not miss this opportunity to purchase a clean slate in trendy Hollywood.”

The property traded hands in 1997 for $400,000, when it was purchased by a Tarzana resident named Chia Tso Shiau, according to property records, and since then appears to have remained owned by the same family. The listing is held by Daniel Shamooelian of BRC Advisors.

The 0.28-acre, $4.995 million development offering ranks as one of the most expensive vacant small lots in L.A. Other listings in the category include a 0.36-acre site on North Doheny Drive that’s priced at just under $10 million; a 0.29-acre lot on the East Side that’s listed at $6.3 million; and 0.46-acre project on Sunset Boulevard listed at $5.6 million.

Because of the difficult lending environment and the city’s controversial new transfer tax, this year’s development market in the city has been brutal, with few properties trading and few new projects starting. But in the longer term Hollywood, which already ranks among the city’s most populous and densest neighborhoods, is likely to continue growing. In recent years numerous new apartment complexes have sprung up in the area, and the city has also pegged it for more development. Earlier this year, the City Council approved a major new zoning plan for the neighborhood that allows for 35,000 additional units.

At the $4.995 million asking price, the Sunset Boulevard property would narrowly avoid the city’s new transfer tax, which kicks in on property sales of at least $5 million.