Apartments Proposed Near Del Amo Fashion Center

High-density housing could come to the site of former big-box stores near Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance.

Vista Homes is planning to demolish a former Sports Authority and Sears Outlet site at 3610 Torrance Boulevard to make way for a new multifamily development, Urbanize Los Angeles reported. The developer’s proposal calls for 449 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, with 45 of them designated for low-income households.

By including deed-restricted affordable units in the development, Vista’s project is eligible for density bonus incentives, which will allow the developer to build a larger structure than zoning rules would typically allow. The project, designed by Ovalle Architects, would rise in a podium-style building of six to eight stories. The structure would be built atop a parking garage with capacity for 815 vehicles.

Construction is slated to begin in February, according to an environmental report tied to the project. It’s expected to wrap in September 2028.

The development is the latest to be proposed near Del Amo Fashion Center. Legacy Partners and DWS Group, for example, are building 200 apartments at 3863 West Carson Street for the Soto development, which will replace a surface parking lot. Lennar, meanwhile, is building 260 townhomes on a 16-acre site at 3405 West Carson Street and 21405-21515 Madrona Avenue for a development known as Fashion Square at Del Amo.

Another fully entitled development site in Torrance came under new ownership over the summer and is similarly in the midst of construction. CGI+ Real Estate Strategies sold the 4.9-acre location at 22107-22127 Vermont Avenue in Torrance to JPI for $40 million. In 2023, the Los Angeles County Development Authority approved a 525-unit housing project for the site known as The Bungalows on Vermont Avenue. Plans for that development call for a six-story building with studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments; of the 525 units, 35 are set aside for families making 30 percent of the area median income.

— Chris Malone Méndez