Home  /  Buildings  /  Marina del Rey  /  Pacific Star

Pacific Star

321 and 327 S Elm Drive, Beverly Hills  •  Thirty residences of 2015 on a South Elm Drive block

About the Building

Pacific Star, 321 and 327 South Elm Drive

A 2015 completion date is the most useful single fact about the building. It places construction under the 2013 California Building Code cycle, which means residential fire sprinklers throughout, current seismic detailing, modern glazing and envelope insulation, accessibility provisions in the common areas and, on a Beverly Hills infill site of this size, almost certainly subterranean parking beneath a podium. It also places the building outside every mandatory seismic retrofit programme in Southern California, all of which reach back to buildings permitted decades earlier. Systems that dominate reserve planning in older condominiums, such as roofs, elevators and plumbing, are still in their first cycle here.

The two-address structure deserves an early question. A development marketed under one name across 321 and 327 South Elm Drive may be a single condominium regime spanning both buildings, or two adjoining regimes under separate declarations that share a developer and a look. The answer changes which owners vote on what, which reserves fund which roof and whether an assessment at one address reaches the other. It is settled in the recorded declaration and condominium plan, both of which the seller must deliver, and it is worth reading before a buyer forms any view of the association's finances.

The size range implies a genuinely mixed community. A residence near 690 square feet is a one-bedroom or a compact studio configuration; one near 2,200 square feet, described by the same source as a penthouse, is a family-scale home. Dues are normally allocated by a fixed percentage interest set in the declaration rather than by measured area, so the relationship between what a smaller home pays and what a larger one pays is fixed at the outset and does not track the market. Ask for the exhibit listing every unit's percentage interest, then check where the residence you are considering sits within it.

Beverly Hills jurisdiction carries practical consequences worth pricing. Permits, plan checks and any future remodel run through the city's Community Development Department rather than Los Angeles Building and Safety, and the city's own construction hours and noise rules apply. The Beverly Hills Unified School District serves the address, with Beverly Hills High School, Beverly Vista Middle School and the district's elementary campuses; assignment boundaries change, so confirm the current attendance area with the district directly rather than relying on a listing portal. The City of Los Angeles transfer tax adopted under Measure ULA does not apply to property in Beverly Hills.

What could not be established should shape the diligence list. The architect, the developer entity and the number of storeys are not documented in any reliable source, the amenity list comes from a single aggregator, and no association website or governing-document set is published. That is not unusual for a small, recent building, and it is not a warning sign; it simply means the recorded plan, the declaration, the current budget and reserve study, and the statutory disclosure package are the only place the answers exist. A buyer should expect to work from those documents rather than from anything written online, including this page.

Amenities & Services

What the Building Provides

Controlled-access entry
Automatic vehicle gate to the parking garage
Closed-circuit camera coverage of common areas
Guest parking stalls

The Residences

What You Are Actually Buying

Flats, townhomes and penthouses in one development

The published mix combines single-level flats, multi-level townhomes and penthouses within the same thirty-home development, which is a common formula for Beverly Hills infill sites of this scale because it lets a developer use the ground plane for direct-entry homes and the top plate for larger ones. The practical consequence is that no two neighbours necessarily live in the same kind of home, and that stair-served townhouse plans sit alongside lift-served flats. Confirm which category the residence you are considering falls into on the recorded condominium plan, because marketing descriptions of these three terms are used loosely.

The compact end, near 690 square feet

The smallest floor areas recorded for the development sit close to 690 square feet, which in a 2015 building is a well-planned one-bedroom or a large studio configuration rather than anything cramped: modern code requires better light, ventilation and insulation than the 1960s and 1970s stock that dominates this part of Beverly Hills. Homes at this size carry the lowest percentage interest in the association and therefore the lowest dues share, and they tend to be the most rented within a building. Check the declaration's percentage table and the association's current leasing rule together.

The large end, above 2,000 square feet

At the top of the range the same source records homes reaching about 2,209 square feet, described as penthouses. In a building of thirty residences that is a substantial spread, and it usually reflects individually configured upper-floor homes rather than a repeating stack. Areas quoted in listings for homes of this type are frequently taken from marketing plans rather than the recorded plan, and the two can differ by a meaningful margin once terraces, light wells and stair enclosures are treated consistently. Take the figure from the condominium plan and the appraiser, not from the brochure.

Two bedrooms and three bathrooms as the common plan

An aggregator describes the typical residence here as a two-bedroom with three bathrooms, a configuration that implies an ensuite to each bedroom plus a powder room serving the living space. That layout is characteristic of mid-2010s condominium design aimed at buyers who expect hotel-style separation between sleeping areas, and it prices differently from a two-bedroom, two-bathroom plan of the same area. Where the third bathroom sits relative to the entry and the living room is worth looking at on plan, because the powder-room position governs how the main living space actually works.

Parking, storage and the deeded allocation

The development is recorded with a gated garage and guest stalls, which on a Beverly Hills site of this footprint means subterranean parking. What matters to a buyer is not the garage but the deed: how many spaces are appurtenant to the residence, whether they are deeded, assigned or exclusive-use common area, whether any are tandem or lift-served, and whether a storage locker travels with the home. All of that is written on the title report and the condominium plan, and none of it is reliably reported by listing sites. Read it before you value the parking.

Outdoor space and orientation

No reliable source publishes balcony or terrace provision for individual homes, and outdoor space on an infill Beverly Hills site varies sharply between a ground-floor patio, a projecting balcony and a roof terrace attached to an upper residence. Where a balcony or deck exists it is normally exclusive-use common area rather than part of the unit, meaning the association maintains the structure and waterproofing while the owner has sole use. That distinction determines who pays when a deck needs work, so confirm the classification in the declaration for the specific home.

Due Diligence

What to Know Before You Buy

Tenure and the title report

Nothing in the public record suggests this development sits on leased land, and a 2015 condominium on a Beverly Hills residential block would ordinarily be a straightforward fee-simple regime. Ordinarily is not the same as confirmed. The preliminary title report will state the estate conveyed, list every easement, and disclose any covenant, reciprocal access agreement or shared-driveway arrangement between the two addresses. Read it early, because tenure and shared-access rights are the two items that are cheapest to check and most expensive to discover late.

Which association you are joining

Because the development spans 321 and 327 South Elm Drive, establish at the outset whether one association governs both buildings or whether there are two. The declaration and condominium plan answer it definitively. The distinction drives the size of the reserve pool, who votes on capital work, whether insurance is written on one master policy or two, and whether an assessment levied at one address can reach owners at the other. Ask the escrow officer to obtain the recorded documents rather than relying on the managing agent's summary.

Reserves in a thirty-home association

California Civil Code section 5550 requires a reserve study with a visual inspection at least every three years, reviewed and updated annually by the board. In a thirty-home association the arithmetic is unforgiving: a roof, an elevator modernisation or a garage waterproofing project divides across thirty owners rather than hundreds, so a thin reserve translates directly into a special assessment. Request the current reserve study, the funding plan and at least two years of financial statements, and look at the percent-funded figure rather than the dollar balance.

What the dues actually cover

The association publishes no budget, and the amenity list is short enough that dues here are likely to be dominated by master insurance, management, common-area utilities, landscaping, garage cleaning and elevator service rather than staffing. Confirm in writing whether water, trash and sewer are billed to the association or to the owner, since that single line item moves the effective monthly cost significantly. The statutory disclosure package includes the current operating budget, and it is the only document that answers this reliably.

Insurance and the deductible gap

Master policies on newer California condominium buildings have tightened, and deductibles for water damage in particular have risen. The question for a buyer is where the association's coverage stops and the owner's HO-6 walls-in policy has to start, and who bears the master deductible when a loss originates in one home and damages another. The declaration allocates that responsibility. Obtain the current certificate of insurance and the deductible schedule, and give both to your own insurance broker before removing contingencies.

Leasing rules

No leasing rule for this development is published anywhere. California law sets the floor: Civil Code section 4741 prevents an association from adopting a rental cap below twenty-five percent of units, while permitting a prohibition on tenancies shorter than thirty days. Beverly Hills separately regulates short-term rentals at city level. If letting the home matters to your plan, ask for the current adopted rule and any waiting-list policy in writing, and confirm what proportion of the thirty residences is presently tenanted.

Seismic and code position

A 2015 building falls outside every mandatory retrofit programme in the region. The Los Angeles soft-story ordinance reaches wood-frame buildings constructed under code standards enacted before 1 January 1978, and the non-ductile concrete programme reaches earlier concrete buildings still; neither applies here, and neither is a City of Beverly Hills programme in any case. What a modern code cycle does not guarantee is performance in a specific event, so a structural walkthrough during the inspection period remains worthwhile, particularly at the podium and garage transfer level.

Alterations and the association's review

No architectural standard for the development is published. Expect the ordinary pattern for a recent condominium: board or committee review of any alteration, restrictions on penetrating the floor slab, an acoustic underlayment specification for hard flooring, and no unilateral change to windows, doors or balcony surfaces, which are typically exclusive-use common area rather than part of the unit. Beverly Hills permits and inspects the work separately. Ask for the architectural guidelines and the approval history of any renovation already carried out in the home you are buying.

Everything above is drawn from public records, city permit data and published sources. The association’s statutory disclosure package is the only authoritative answer on dues, rules, reserves, insurance and litigation — Ben will request it and read it with you before you remove contingencies.

Common Questions

Pacific Star, Answered

When was Pacific Star built, and by whom?
A listing aggregator records the completion year as 2015. No architect, developer or general contractor for the project could be verified from any reliable source, and no reachable city record names them. That is common for a small Beverly Hills infill development. The recorded condominium plan and the original public report filed with the California Department of Real Estate will name the subdivider, and both can be obtained during escrow if the authorship matters to you.
How many residences are there?
Thirty, according to the aggregator that documents the development, spread across the two addresses at 321 and 327 South Elm Drive and combining flats, townhomes and penthouses. No association source publishes the figure, so treat thirty as a working number until the recorded condominium plan confirms it. That plan also settles whether the two addresses form one condominium regime or two, which matters more to a buyer than the headline count does.
How large are the homes?
The published range runs from about 690 square feet at the smallest to about 2,209 at the largest, with an average near 1,586, and a two-bedroom, three-bathroom plan described as typical. That is a wide spread for thirty homes and points to individually configured upper-floor residences rather than a single repeating stack. Areas quoted in listings are frequently taken from marketing material; work from the recorded condominium plan and your appraiser's measurement instead.
What amenities does the building have?
The only facilities documented are controlled-access entry, an automatic gate to the parking garage, closed-circuit camera coverage of the common areas and guest parking stalls. No pool, gym, doorman or attendant is recorded in any verifiable source. For a thirty-home building that is entirely normal, and it usually means dues are spent on insurance, management and maintenance rather than staffing. Confirm the full list, and what dues cover, from the association's current operating budget.
Is the land owned or leased?
Nothing in the public record indicates a ground lease, and a 2015 condominium on a Beverly Hills residential block is ordinarily fee simple. The preliminary title report is the authoritative answer and will state the estate conveyed along with every easement and recorded covenant. Because the development spans two addresses, that report will also reveal any reciprocal access or shared-driveway agreement between them, which is worth understanding before you commit.
Which schools serve the address?
The Beverly Hills Unified School District serves this part of the city, operating Beverly Hills High School, Beverly Vista Middle School and its elementary campuses including El Rodeo and Horace Mann. Attendance boundaries and grade configurations change over time, and the district reorganised its campuses in recent years, so confirm the current assignment directly with the district office rather than relying on a listing portal or on this page.
Does Measure ULA apply when I sell?
No. The transfer tax adopted by City of Los Angeles voters under Measure ULA applies to property within the City of Los Angeles. Beverly Hills is a separate incorporated city and levies its own documentary transfer tax at its own rate. Confirm the current Beverly Hills rate and any city transfer-tax obligation with escrow before you sign, because the figures are set by ordinance and change from time to time.

Keep Exploring

Comparable Buildings

The Building Directory

Off Market & Coming Soon

Be First to Know at Pacific Star

Residences here reach the open market rarely, and some never do. Ask Ben to tell you when one is coming, including quietly.

No obligation. Ben reads every request himself, and your details are never shared or sold.

Work With Ben

Watching Pacific Star?

Units here often trade before they are ever listed. Tell Ben what you are looking for and hear first when something opens up, including off market.

Start the Conversation

Off Market & Coming Soon

Be First to Know at Pacific Star

Residences here reach the open market rarely, and some never do. Ask Ben to tell you when one is coming, including quietly.

No obligation. Ben reads every request himself, and your details are never shared or sold.

Request a Tour

Ben personally receives every request. Your information is never shared or sold.

Request Sent

Ben will reach out shortly to set up your tour.