A landmark building in Panorama City, vacant for more than two decades, has reopened as multifamily housing. 

The Panorama Tower, located at 8155 N. Van Nuys Boulevard, made its debut in the early 1960s as commercial offices.  Standing 13 stories in slow-slung Panorama City, the Welton Becket-designed structure is easily recognizable from surrounding communities.

But despite its prominence, the Panorama Tower long sat vacant - a result of the 1994 Northridge earthquake.  Local investor Izek Shomof, who acquired the property for approximately $11.9 million in 2015, has since converted the property into 194 rental apartments.

Listings show that rents at the property range between $1,550 and $2,350 per month.  The building is currently 70 percent leased.

David Takacs Architecture designed the approximately $25-million adaptive reuse project, which included seismic retrofitting, electrical upgrades, new plumbing, and a the addition of a new glass exterior.

“Through the decades, Panorama City has survived both natural and economic earthquakes,” said Council President Nury Martinez in a news release. “It is an extremely resilient community and what I’m most proud of with the opening of the Panorama Tower is that our local residents and stakeholders did not give up. They wanted something meaningful at this site and now we have it, with more to come.”

The project is the largest in a slew of residential and commercial developments in the works for Panorama City, including new affordable housing slated for a County-owned site along Lanark Street and and the proposed expansion of the nearby Panorama Mall.