MARINA DEL REY-Developer Jerry Epstein has slated a groundbreaking later this month for a new 544-unit apartment complex here called Shores that will replace a 202-unit complex that Epstein built in the 1960s as one of the first developers in Marina del Rey. Financing for the project financing closed in early March, and Epstein's staff has been working on site preparation, demolition and grading since.

Construction of Shores is expected to create 950 construction jobs and generate $170 million of economic activity in Los Angeles County, according to an announcement by Red Mortgage Capital LLC, the mortgage banking arm of Red Capital Group, which is providing $125 million of non-recourse construction and permanent financing with a 42-year term to Shores. The loan represents the largest FHA Section 221(d)(4) unsubsidized loan ever insured by HUD, Red Mortgage notes in the announcement.

The Shores apartment development will comprise 12 buildings of four and five stories over a two-level concrete podium parking structure. Many units will have views of the Pacific Ocean to the west or of the main channel of Marina del Rey to the east. Amenities will include a landscaped two-acre central courtyard featuring pool and spa areas as well as several sundecks, outdoor fire pits, barbeque facilities and seating areas. Other project amenities include a business center, clubhouse with communal kitchen, and second-floor fitness center overlooking the courtyard. Fifty-four apartments will be offered as affordable housing to income-eligible households.