A 16-year-old plan to construct multifamily housing and retail space near the Sherman Oaks Galleria is inching forward, according to a motion introduced last week by Los Angeles City Councilmember David Ryu.

The Il Villagio Toscano development, approved by the City Council in 2013, is slated for a more than five-acre site at the northwest corner of Sepulveda Boulevard and Camarillo Street.  Plans call for the construction of sprawling low-rise complex consisting of 325 rental apartments, approximately 44,000 square feet of retail space, and associated parking.

Ryu's motion, which has been referred to the Public Works and Gang Reduction Committee for consideration, calls upon the City's Bureau of Engineering to issue a revocable permit for work in current public rights-of-way along La Maida Street and Peach Avenue.  Construction permits for the full project are currently pending with the Department of Building and Safety.

The development site, nestled just southeast of the interchange of the I-405 and US-101 Freeways, was purchased in July 2019 by Los Angeles-based developer IMT Residential for $58 million.

Plans for Il Villagio Toscano date to 2004, according to a website created by opponents of the project.  Prior owner M. David Paul Development, LLC initially sought to larger complex featuring as 500 apartments, tapping KFA Architecture to design the project.  In the nine years that followed, the developer incrementally scaled back the project, first cutting the number of apartments to 399, then to 325. 

Sherman Oaks-based IMT Residential has developed numerous multifamily housing projects in the San Fernando Valley.  The company recently obtained entitlements to build 249 apartments on land surrounding the former headquarters of the Sunkist Growers Cooperative.