By Eric Engelbert

Los Alamitos almost never gets new homes. The city is small, built out, and surrounded by neighbors, which is a big part of its appeal and a big part of why buyers compete so hard for what little comes up for sale. So when a 12-acre former federal office campus on Lampson Avenue was approved for 246 new homes, it was one of the most significant housing decisions the city has made in decades.

Nearly two years later, the project, now in the hands of national homebuilder Lennar, still has not broken ground. The reason is not zoning, financing, or neighborhood opposition in Los Alamitos. It is a sewer line, and a standoff with the neighboring city of Seal Beach that has drawn in the State of California. Here is the plan, the history of the site, and where things stand.

What Is Planned

Lampson Park Place covers about 12.3 acres at 4665 Lampson Avenue, just south of the Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos and directly across Lampson from Seal Beach's College Park East neighborhood. The approved plan calls for 246 homes in three formats:

55 detached single-family homes
114 townhomes
77 rental apartments, 76 of them restricted to lower-income households plus one manager's unit

Buildings are two to three stories, with a maximum height of 41 feet, 577 parking spaces, drought-tolerant landscaping, and 441 new trees. Notably, the developer asked for less than it could have. The site's R3 zoning allows 25 units per acre, or roughly 308 homes, and state density bonus law could have added more on top of that. The plan stayed at 246.

Project	Lampson Park Place
Address	4665 Lampson Avenue, Los Alamitos
Site size	About 12.3 acres
Developer	Lennar (site purchased in 2025)
Total homes	246
Detached homes	55
Townhomes	114
Affordable apartments	77 (76 income-restricted, 1 manager unit)
Height	Two to three stories, 41 feet max
City approval	November 18, 2024
Status	Approved; sewer connection unresolved

From Federal Offices to Housing

For decades, the site was Poplar Plaza, a federal property with an office building of more than 92,000 square feet that housed government offices and agencies. When the federal government declared it surplus, it went to auction through the General Services Administration. In 2021, a group of investors led by MWInvestment Group bought it for about $26.5 million.

That group took the property through the entitlement process, and once the City of Los Alamitos approved the 246-home plan, the value of the land changed dramatically. In spring 2025 the site was resold, reportedly to Lennar, for about $65 million, according to the Orange County Business Journal citing CoStar data. That is roughly two and a half times the auction price in four years, a clear picture of what housing entitlements are worth on a large infill site in this part of Orange County.

How It Got Approved

The Los Alamitos Planning Commission unanimously recommended the project in October 2024 after a long and heated hearing, adding conditions on sewer service, the timing of the affordable units, and site access. On November 18, 2024, the City Council certified the environmental impact report and approved the tract maps, the affordable housing application, and the site development permit on a 3-1-1 vote.

Much of the opposition came from across the street. Seal Beach residents in College Park East raised concerns about density, traffic on Lampson, and roughly 39 months of construction activity on a road their neighborhood depends on. Because the site is in Los Alamitos, though, those residents had no vote on it, which set up the conflict that followed.

The Sewer Fight

Here is the unusual part. Even though the site sits in Los Alamitos, its sewer service has come from Seal Beach since around 1975, back when it was federal offices. To build homes, the project needs a new connection, and Seal Beach has declined to approve one. City Attorney Nicholas Ghirelli has argued that Seal Beach has no legal obligation to serve a property outside its city limits and service area, and that any arrangement would have to be negotiated voluntarily and possibly approved by the county's Local Agency Formation Commission.

The State of California disagrees. In March 2025, the Housing Accountability Unit of the state Department of Housing and Community Development wrote to Seal Beach citing a state law that requires water and sewer providers to give priority to developments with lower-income housing. The state said Seal Beach must either approve the connection or make written findings, backed by an engineering analysis, that its system does not have the capacity.

Los Alamitos approved the project with a backup plan: service through the Rossmoor/Los Alamitos Area Sewer District, which issued a "will serve" letter. That route has its own problems. The sewer district is a very small agency, and a new line along Lampson would have to work around a high-pressure natural gas pipeline that runs under the street, a safety concern raised by residents and a Seal Beach planning commissioner. In September 2025, Los Alamitos staff said the project was nearing a sewer connection agreement, with new pipe work expected along Lampson.

The dispute escalated again in March 2026, when an attorney for Lennar sent the Seal Beach City Council a letter invoking the state's Housing Accountability Act, which bars cities from using post-approval permits and delays to effectively block housing. He said the Rossmoor connection had already been approved and warned that the state, not Lennar, could take Seal Beach to court if the city did not reconsider. As of the most recent reporting in March 2026, no lawsuit had been filed and no agreement had been announced.

What It Means for Buyers and Neighbors

For buyers, Lampson Park Place is potentially a rare opportunity. Los Alamitos is known for its small-town feel, its proximity to the beach and the 405 and 605, and the highly regarded Los Alamitos Unified School District. New for-sale homes almost never come to market here, and 169 new houses and townhomes from a national builder would be one of the largest additions to the city's ownership housing in a generation. Pricing has not been announced, and nothing can be sold until the infrastructure issue is settled and construction begins.

For neighbors in Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, and College Park East, the trade-off is familiar: construction traffic and density in exchange for a long-vacant federal campus becoming a finished residential neighborhood with new trees, new homes, and 76 affordable apartments. Once complete, new housing on a former office site tends to stabilize and support values around it rather than drag them down.

The bigger lesson is how many things have to line up for housing to actually get built. This project had zoning, a city approval, a well-capitalized builder, and support from the state, and it was still held up by a pipe. If you are following housing projects across the county, see our New Developments in Orange County page.

Interested in Lampson Park Place or Homes in Los Alamitos?

We are tracking Lampson Park Place and will share updates as the sewer issue is resolved, construction starts, and Lennar opens an interest list. In the meantime, if you are looking to buy or sell in Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, or Seal Beach, we can help you understand what is available now and how projects like this affect the neighborhood.

Email "Lampson Park Place" to get on our updates list

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