Simi Valley is one of the first development targets by a Chinese firm that is moving into the U.S. housing market with $1 billion to invest. A 187-unit residential development in the Ventura County city is among three initial projects that Landsea Group of Nanjing is building. The others are a townhome development in the San Francisco suburb of Dublin and a condominium complex in Weehawken, N.J. near Manhattan. Landsea, founded in 2001, is a major homebuilder in China with a focus on green, energy-efficient construction. It also builds in Hong Kong and Germany, and has plans also to build domestically in the Boston and Washington D.C. areas. It is setting up its U.S. operations in Pasadena and outlined its plans on Thursday at an event at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown. The Simi Valley project is a joint venture with Ravello Holdings Inc. of Los Angeles and has not yet received full entitlements from the City Council, said Assistant City Manager Brian Gabler. The project would span 13 acres at the southeast corner of Los Angeles Avenue and Madera Road. It would feature 152 homes from about 1,500 square feet to 2,100 square feet in size, in addition to a 35-unit senior complex, Gabler said. The developers were given permission to begin work on the site so grading will be finished before any winter rains, and then construction would begin next year presuming all entitlements were received.
