One of the last, large parcels of undeveloped canyon land in the Malibu area is up for sale – and it can be had for some $12.6 million.

Provided the buyer has a stomach for a fight.

The 635 acres in the Santa Monica Mountains northwest of Pepperdine University features sheltered coves and oak-lined hills offering scenic views of the Pacific Ocean, as well as a creek that attracts such wildlife as bobcats and badgers.

There’s room for 17 estates. But the real danger for any developer will likely come from an array of affluent neighbors, conservationists and government officials who will demand a significant say about whatever might be built there – if anything.

“This is pretty much the best remaining unprotected coastal canyon left,” said Paul Edelman, deputy director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, which buys land to preserve it from development but which currently lacks the money to make a bid for the property. “(It) has been a high priority acquisition for every park agency, and the conservancy, to buy from Day One.”

The land, dubbed Rancho Corral, is being marketed by Brant Didden and Chris Frost of the Malibu real estate brokerage Pritchett-Rapf & Associates, and Steve Wiseman of the Century City office of CB Richard Ellis Group Inc.

It is comprised of 18 parcels, most of which were reassembled over the past six years by California and Colorado-based investors from what was once an 1,100-acre ranch owned for decades by a family named Auerbach.

It’s now owned by a group of limited partnerships, and while the brokers declined to identify individual owners, county planning officials and other local real estate sources say well-known coastal real estate investor Brian Sweeney, who has assembled similar land deals in the area, has an ownership interest.

South of Malibu Creek State Park, the property takes its name from the road that runs along most of its western boundary, separating it from the Malibu Bowl and El Nido subdivisions. East of the property is about 500 acres owned by film director James Cameron, whose own application to build a home is awaiting review by the California Coastal Commission. The Cameron property also was part of that ranch.

A sale to a conservation group or a single individual who promises to build discretely would most please Malibu residents and regulators. But the current owners also would entertain proposals from a developer who potentially could build up to 17 ranchettes. The owners have a “will serve” letter from the local water district and county certificates of compliance for that many lots, though most parcels now lack road access.

“We’re targeting corporate executives, high net-worth individuals, and developers,” Wiseman said. “It’s such a unique property that it would appeal to one individual who would want their own private retreat, but also be close to Malibu and downtown L.A.”

Opposition expected
The ownership group has made application to the county for development entitlements for a handful of the properties, with a parcel along Corral Canyon Road closest to El Nido being the furthest along in the process. Another application before the county would punch an access road though the southern part of the property from the Corral Canyon side to a parcel closer to the Puerco Canyon Road side on the east.

Wiseman said the owners, who generally are not developers, recently decided to see whether a single owner or single developer wanted to buy the land before they invest more money in the lengthy and expensive development process.