Q Lifestyle comes to Playa Vista

California Home Builders has expanded its Q brand to include an apartment complex near Playa Vista.
The developer closed the guarantee in July on a Class A, 376-unit residential community for $231 million.

It is located at 5901 Center Drive on Interstate 405 – on the border of Culver City and Los Angeles – formerly called Modera West LA. Since the acquisition, California Home Builders have begun renovating the property, changing its name to Q Playa and adding all Q amenities and services that are part of the five Q buildings or are planned in various stages of construction in the San Fernando Valley.

The original Q Buildings in Warner Center is where Q Variel, a 245-unit residence, opened nearly two years ago, and Q Topanga, with 347 units, opened 10 months ago. Q De Soto – 376 units currently under construction – will open in mid-2025. Q Erwin – with 260 units – will start next year, while construction of Q Califa – with 210 units – will begin in 2025.

All Q properties share a range of amenities including a 24/7 concierge, free valet parking, a Tesla with chauffeur, branded bikes, a resort-style pool with cabanas, fitness facilities, yoga with lessons, and spas for pets with grooming kits. at home.
The strategic move near Playa Vista marks a departure from California Home Builders in Canoga Park.

“We usually build our properties,” said Shaun Effenheim, founder and president of the company. “We wanted to expand the brand on Westside and[getting a property]was the quickest way to do that. It had everything we wanted so we could take it and turn it into a Q property.”

Those features included that it was a new building completed in 2019 and built to high quality standards.
“The location was very attractive, it’s close to the beach and it’s next to Playa Vista,” Effenheim.

upgrades

All common spaces met Evenhaim’s Q standards. There were areas that could be converted to include valet parking and a concierge desk. California Home Builders is currently updating furniture for common spaces, renovating landscaping, changing colors, designing indoor and outdoor spaces, and adding electric vehicle charging stations.

“The tenants are already feeling some of the characteristics of the Q community,” Effenheim said. “Improvements are taking place without interrupting the lives of the tenants who live in the building.”

There’s even a Q app.
“We’re running all the elements of society from there,” said Aidan Effenheim, Shaun’s son and the company’s director of brand marketing. “There you can see upcoming events and partnerships. We have a bulletin board where residents can communicate with each other.”
The Q brand was inspired by a certain pair of words.

“The two words that always come to our mind are ‘quality’ and ‘unique,’” said Shaun Effenheim. “The letter ‘q’ was very dominant. Usually when you have the letter ‘q’ you have the letter ‘u’ after it. For us, (“you”) is the tenant.”

The entire process of converting Modera West LA to a Q location will take between eight and 12 months.
“It’s an apartment building and we want to turn it into a community,” said Shaun Effenheim. “A lot of the things that are happening are not actually improvements to the property structure, they are social activities and community building activities. They have already been implemented.”

So far there have been two happy hours. In October there will be a Q Anniversary event with DJs and catering. There is also a sports program four times a week and a developed games area with table tennis and billiards.

“It’s part of our desire to change the living experience of apartment dwellers,” Effenheim said. “We want to give them a lifestyle that exceeds their expectations.”
Evenheim said the first happy hour attracted 100 residents.

“This was the first time that tenants could come together in the building for a landlord-sponsored event and get to know their neighbors and the team and enjoy the building, not just their unit,” Effenheim said.

spend money

Evenheim added that the additional investment he is investing in the property will be beneficial to the tenants.
“A lot of real estate companies are looking at the bottom line and how to reduce expenses,” he said. “We are looking at the way tenants want to live, how we can improve their lives and how we can make them feel part of a community and not just rent an apartment building.”

Effenheim said the building’s transformation into a Q-branded residence does not necessitate an increase in rents to existing tenants.
“We are not planning any specific increases at the moment,” he said. “There are record increases just to meet market rates, inflation and operating cost.”

Rentals at Q Playa range from $2,665 to $6,358.
Effenheim declined to say how much it would cost to convert to property Q for his company.