Van Nuys

Van Nuys was founded in 1911 as the first town of the Los Angeles Suburban Homes Company subdivision and named for rancher Isaac Van Nuys. It became the Valley’s civic center, with the Van Nuys Civic Center courts and city offices, and the General Motors plant on Van Nuys Boulevard employed thousands until it closed in 1992.

Over the decades the neighborhood has shrunk on paper as its edges renamed themselves: Sherman Oaks, Lake Balboa, Valley Glen and Panorama City were all once part of Van Nuys. What remains is the central core around Van Nuys Boulevard, the airport on the west side and the residential grid between them.

Most single-family streets carry ranch homes from the 1940s to 1960s on 6,000 to 7,500 square foot lots. The streets south of Burbank Boulevard, closest to Sherman Oaks, generally bring the highest prices; the areas near the airport and the main boulevards the lowest.

Van Nuys has one of the largest apartment and condo inventories in the Valley, concentrated along Van Nuys, Sepulveda and Victory boulevards. For buyers, that means a wide range of condo prices and ages, and for investors it is one of the Valley’s main multi-unit markets.

Los Angeles Unified School District serves the neighborhood, including Van Nuys High School and its magnet programs and many elementary and middle schools. Attendance boundaries follow streets, so check a specific address with the district.

The 405 runs through the west side of the neighborhood and the 101 is just to the south, with the 170 on the east edge. The Van Nuys Metrolink and Amtrak station, the Orange Line busway and the planned East San Fernando Valley light rail line along Van Nuys Boulevard make it the transit center of the Valley. Van Nuys Airport is a general-aviation field, and noise from it affects the streets nearest the runways.