Posted October 20, 2026 | By Eric Engelbert | Updated as the project progresses.
Two Brea housing projects share a history, a former owner, and the Mercury name, and it is easy to mix them up. Village at Greenbriar is Lennar's 179 for-sale homes on the former Mercury Insurance office campus at 1698-1700 Greenbriar Lane. Mercury Lane is a much smaller, separate site: a vacant lot of about one acre at the southeast corner of Mercury Lane and North Berry Street, where C&C Development now plans 85 affordable apartments for seniors.
The two are connected on paper. Both properties passed through Brea developer Dwight Manley and then Lennar, and the Mercury Lane apartments are planned to satisfy the affordable housing obligation tied to Greenbriar. But they are different buildings, different products, different developers, and they serve very different households.
This post covers what is planned at Mercury Lane, the 2020 workforce housing plan it replaces, the October 2026 bond approval, who may qualify, and how the project fits Brea's state housing mandate. It is one of several new construction projects reshaping Brea right now, and at the end we round up every new home and apartment community in the city so you can see what is selling, what is coming, and who each one is for. For the full Brea picture, see the Brea development overview.
Mercury Lane vs. Village at Greenbriar: Quick Comparison
| Mercury Lane | Village at Greenbriar | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | SE corner of Mercury Lane and N. Berry Street | 1698-1700 Greenbriar Lane |
| Former use | Vacant lot | Mercury Insurance office campus and parking structure |
| Site size | About 1 acre | 9.7 acres |
| Developer | C&C Development (Cottle + Cottle) | Lennar (Hearthstone division) |
| Homes | 85 apartments (84 affordable plus 1 manager unit) | 179 attached homes |
| Rent or buy | Rent, income-restricted, seniors | Buy, market rate |
| Building | One five-story building | Five-plexes and three-level duplexes |
| Status | Bonds approved October 2026; construction permit expected | Approved April 2025; site cleared; sales not yet open |
If you are looking to buy a new home, Greenbriar is the one to follow: read the Village at Greenbriar update. If you or a parent are looking for an affordable senior apartment in Brea, keep reading.
October 2026 Update: $60 Million in Bonds Approved
In October 2026, the Brea City Council voted unanimously to take two actions on Mercury Lane:
- Canceled the old project. The council formally set aside the 114-unit workforce housing project it approved for the site in 2020, clearing the way for the senior plan.
- Approved up to $60 million in bonds. The bonds are issued through the California Municipal Finance Authority (CMFA). The developer, not the city, repays them, so there is no impact on Brea's budget.
The construction budget is about $44 million. Developer Todd Cottle described the $60 million authorization as a cushion, and Councilmember Steve Vargas questioned why the amount was set that high. The developer expected to pull its construction permit in October 2026. No leasing date has been announced.
The senior plan itself was approved by the City Council on August 19, 2025.
What Is Planned: 85 Affordable Senior Apartments
1 on-site manager unit
17 two-bedroom
Art deco design
About 1 acre
(Cottle + Cottle)
Affordable housing specialist
| Project Name | Mercury Lane (affordable senior apartments) |
|---|---|
| Location | SE corner of Mercury Lane and N. Berry Street, Brea, CA 92821 |
| Parcel | APN 296-141-05, about 1.01 acres |
| Developer | C&C Development (Cottle + Cottle) |
| Homes | 85 apartments: 84 affordable plus 1 manager unit |
| Unit Mix | 68 one-bedroom, 17 two-bedroom |
| Income Levels | Targeted to households at 30%, 50%, 60%, and 70% of Area Median Income |
| Preferences | People who live or work in Brea; veteran preference on 25% of units |
| Amenities | Game room, enclosed patio, laundry, fitness room, bike storage, rooftop deck, dog park |
| Zoning | Rezoned from Commercial-Industrial (C-M) to Planned Community (PC) in 2020 |
| Project Approval | August 19, 2025 (City Council) |
| Financing | Up to $60 million in CMFA bonds, approved October 2026 |
| Project Status | Approved and financed; construction permit expected; leasing not yet open |
The building keeps the art deco look from the earlier design, and the location is a practical one for seniors: it is close to Arovista Park, the Brea Senior Center, and local transit, with Downtown Brea and the Civic Center nearby.
Who May Qualify, and How to Apply
Rents at Mercury Lane will be restricted by income. Units are targeted to households earning 30%, 50%, 60%, and 70% of Orange County's Area Median Income. For 2026, the reported median is about $97,000 for a one-person household and $110,900 for a two-person household, so a 60% unit, for example, would generally serve a single senior earning roughly $58,000 or less. Exact income limits and rents are set by the program rules and will be published when leasing opens.
Brea residents and people who work in Brea are expected to get a preference, and 25% of the units carry a veteran preference.
How to apply: Applications for affordable apartments go through the developer and its property management company, not through a real estate agent. Leasing has not opened and no application date has been announced. Watch the City of Brea's housing page and the developer for the interest list. We will update this post when the leasing process is announced.
If you are helping a parent downsize from a Brea home into senior housing, that is where we can help: pricing the home, timing the sale with a move, and handling the details.
Site History: From Workforce Studios to Senior Housing
Mercury Lane has been planned for housing for most of a decade, and the plan has changed hands several times.
The 2020 workforce housing plan (never built)
Dwight Manley proposed a five-story, roughly 68-foot podium building of about 141,000 square feet with 114 workforce housing units, a parking garage with 118 stalls, and 114 bicycle stalls. The concept was unusual: most of the units were studios reserved for people who work in Brea, with businesses paying a $500-per-year permit for access, and studio rents projected at about $1,300 to $1,695 per month. A Draft EIR was released in July 2019, and the City of Brea approved the project and rezoned the site from Commercial-Industrial to Planned Community on June 2, 2020.
It never broke ground. Manley later said construction costs rose about 75% after the pandemic, which made the project unworkable as designed.
The ownership chain
- Manley Fanticola Holdings (Dwight Manley) held the lot through the 2020 approval.
- Lennar Homes of California acquired it in 2025, alongside its Greenbriar plans.
- C&C Development (Cottle + Cottle) took over as the developer of the affordable senior community. According to a city staff report, Lennar identified this site, with C&C as its partner, to meet Greenbriar's affordable housing obligation.
That last link is the main reason the two projects get confused. Greenbriar's for-sale homes do not include designated affordable units on site; Mercury Lane is where that obligation is being met.
Why Mercury Lane Matters for Brea's Housing Mandate
Brea must plan for 2,365 new homes in the 2021-2029 cycle, including 1,062 very low and low income homes. Through its most recent reporting, the city had permitted only about 100 homes since 2021, roughly 4% of the total, with 38 very low income and zero low income units. Market-rate projects such as Greenbriar, Andaluz, and eventually Brea 265 add ownership housing, but deed-restricted affordable homes are the hardest category to build.
With 84 affordable units, Mercury Lane would be one of the largest single additions to Brea's lower-income totals this cycle. For neighbors, it also means the vacant lot near the civic center will finally be built out, with a senior population that typically generates less traffic than family or workforce housing.
New Construction in Brea: What Is Selling, Leasing, and Coming Next
Brea is a mostly built-out city where nearly every home on the market is a resale from the 1960s through the 1980s, so new construction in Brea is limited and tends to draw strong interest. Here is where each new development in Brea stands as of October 2026:
- Now selling: Andaluz by Van Daele Homes. 32 Modern Spanish new townhomes at 685 S. Brea Blvd in downtown Brea, priced from the mid $800,000s. The best option today for buyers who want a brand-new home in Brea.
- Coming next: Village at Greenbriar by Lennar. 179 new attached homes in three collections on the former Mercury Insurance campus. Approved and cleared; sales not yet open.
- Affordable senior rentals: Mercury Lane by C&C Development. 85 new income-restricted senior apartments, financed in October 2026; leasing not yet open.
- Long range: Brea 265. A master-planned community of up to 1,100 new homes on former oil land in the Brea hills, with deliveries still years away.
- New apartments: Brea Mall and Brea Plaza redevelopments are adding market-rate rentals near shopping and the 57 Freeway. See the Brea development overview.
Buying new construction in Brea? Builders have their own sales agents, but they represent the builder. Having your own agent on a new home purchase costs you nothing in most cases, and we can help you compare the incentives, lot premiums, HOA and Mello-Roos costs, and resale value of Brea new homes against the existing homes on the market. Register with us before your first visit to a sales office, since many builders require your agent to accompany you on that first visit.
Questions About Mercury Lane or New Construction in Brea?
We follow every new construction project in Brea from approval to move-in. Email us to get updates on Mercury Lane, Village at Greenbriar, and the rest of the Brea pipeline, or contact us if you are planning a move, including helping a parent sell a Brea home before moving into senior housing.
Search homes for sale in Brea | Village at Greenbriar | Andaluz townhomes (now selling) | Brea 265 | Back to the Brea development overview | View all OC new developments
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