The Groves in Whittier Brings Attainably Priced Homes to the Market

After 15 years in development, the Groves in Whittier has hit the market. The 75-acre master planned community has 561 for-sale homes and 189 apartment units along with retail space, but most notably, the community brings attainability to the Greater Los Angeles area at a time when demand is soaring for affordable homeownership.

“It’s a balancing act. As a developer, we thoughtfully plan to provide housing to a range of price points, and to household sizes,” Caitlyn Lai Valenti, senior director, of sales and marketing at Brookfield Residential, tells GlobeSt.com. “More attainable attached homes are mixed with single-family detached homes. This approach has been successful in all our Southern California markets. The New Haven masterplan in Ontario, for example, has been a national leader in sales of attached residences to millennials, side-by-side with larger single-family homes for move-ups. And Lantana@Beach in Stanton, also developed with Frontier Real Estate Investments as retail partner, has had over 165 sales in the past nine months, on a path to sell out its entire 208 for-sale residences by late 2020 or early 2021. Townhomes here start from the $400,000s to the high $600,000s and appeal to a community eager for new homes.”

The project began as a redevelopment of a former school with a vision of bringing homes that would support the community. “The Groves in Whittier is the result of an effort to transform a historic but long-unused former state school into a viable masterplan and help revitalize the site and enhance the surrounding community,” says Valenti. “It is one of the largest remaining opportunities for development in Los Angeles County. The development team—Brookfield Residential and Lennar, along with Frontier Real Estate Investments—worked closely with community and city leaders to ensure the creation of a phenomenal addition to the area.”

In addition, Brookfield paid homage to the historic buildings at the original site, which help to create a sense of community. “Essential to this vision was the preservation and thoughtful restoration of four historic buildings, some dating to 1919. These buildings are becoming a community center for residents and market-hall retail serving the entire surrounding community,” says Valenti. “The first of these restorations, the former chapel and commissary, is now The Commons, an 11,000 square-foot club. Its soaring architecture is infused with natural light, and now holds meeting and event spaces, fitness center, co-working lounge, game room, catering kitchen, coffee bar, safe package delivery, conference room and more.”