TARZANA : Mulholland Park Sold in Foreclosure

J.M. Peters Co., a Newport Beach home builder, has paid $26 million in cash for 175 estate-size housing lots in Tarzana in a foreclosure, company officials said.

Called Mulholland Park, the 125-acre, gated community in the Santa Monica Mountains with a view of the San Fernando Valley was sold to J.M. Peters by Bank of America, which took over the property from a development partnership in a foreclosure.

Mulholland Park was designed for luxurious custom residences, with lots ranging from 10,000 to 17,000 square feet. J.M. Peters plans to build houses on those lots ranging from 3,500 to 5,500 square feet and priced between $500,000 and $1 million.

“As our initial project in post-recession Los Angeles County, we are sparing no effort to make Mulholland Park the jewel in the crown of our entire Southland building program,” said Dale Dowers, chief operating officer. Work will begin at the end of this year, Dowers said.

In mid-May, J.M. Peters sold $100 million worth of junk bonds to pay down debt and buy land. The company, like most Southern California home builders, has been hard hit by the real estate downturn. Since posting a string of losses in the early 1990s, however, the company reported a $3.9-million profit for its latest fiscal quarter.