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Brandywine Homes Will Build 42 Two-Story Single Family Homes in the Orchard Development on the Site of a Demolished La Mirada Strip Mall

Brandywine Paid La Mirada Redevelopment Agency Nearly $5.9 Million for the Former Alondra Center

LA MIRADA, CA – February 27, 2011 – A former strip mall site that has been demolished since 2008 will return to life in the form of 42 new single family homes under terms of a development deal between Brandywine Homes and the city of La Mirada.

Brandywine, based in Irvine and one of Southern California’s most successful infill developers and homebuilders, will build the Orchards community of two-story homes ranging from 1,300 to 2,000 square feet on the site of the former Alondra Center on Alondra Blvd. east of Escalona Road.

Brandywine paid the La Mirada Redevelopment Agency $5,890,985 for the site. The businesses were all relocated by 2007. Brandywine and the city have been in discussions for about 18 months about the project.

“An integral part of our business plan has been working with city governments and their redevelopment agencies on these infill sites,” said Jim Barisic, chairman of Brandywine Homes.

“Without redevelopment agencies you can’t create projects like these,” he said. “That’s why public-private partnerships work for us more often than not. Cities have ability to put the pieces of the puzzle together and developers have the construction and marketing expertise to build and sell the units.”

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“La Mirada has long been recognized as a very desirable bedroom community. We think it has a lot of pluses. The site is right next to some nice single family homes built about 40 years ago. I think the neighborhood is very happy.”

The Craftsman-style homes will have three or four bedrooms, two and one-half to three and one-half bathrooms, two-car attached garages and will feature private fenced rear yards.

The homes in the Orchard will be priced at approximately $500,000 and six of them will be underwritten by the city for moderate-income buyers.

“Those homes will be smaller (approximately 1,300 square feet and priced at about $250,000) but they will be fully integrated into the community,” said Barisic. “La Mirada said ‘We’re not going to create a stigma.’ It’s a great way of solving some of the affordable housing issues.”

Construction on the Orchards is expected to begin this summer.

About Brandywine Homes

Brandywine Homes is a residential homebuilder based in Irvine, Calif., that specializes in challenging infill development. Founded in 1994, the family-owned and operated company has built or developed almost 600 homes in 21 small- and mid-sized infill communities, revitalizing some of Southern California’s oldest and most established neighborhoods. www.brandywinedev.com

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