Fullerton Wants to Build Housing on Its Own Parking Lots. Why Hasn't Approval Been Enough?

On August 18, 2026, the Fullerton City Council voted 4–1 to explore selling or leasing three city-owned downtown parking sites for housing. The three are the vacant part of the SOCO structure at 118 W. Santa Fe Ave., the Fullerton Transit Center parking structure, and a surface lot at 125 W. Chapman Ave. Councilman Nick Dunlap cast the only no vote. In Voice of OC's coverage of the meeting, he described a council that rarely turns projects down: "The City hasn't actually said no to housing. The market forces have not supported housing development."

The council keeps approving projects, and few of them get built. Offering city land goes straight at the biggest cost city staff have named. Fullerton has tried a version of this before, though, and that history matters for anyone deciding whether to buy now or wait for new supply.

The cost a Fullerton builder pays before construction starts

Fullerton's state target for the 2021–2028 housing cycle is 13,209 homes. The Fullerton Observer's account of the March 17, 2026 progress report says the city had credit for 1,384 of them, leaving 11,825 to go. Community and Economic Development Director Sunayana Thomas blamed most of the delay on high interest rates, rising construction costs, and harder financing. She said several approved projects stalled because they no longer penciled out.

Then a council member asked why Anaheim has done better against its target. Staff pointed to land availability, cheaper land, and fewer site constraints. The Observer reported that Fullerton has little vacant land, so builders usually have to buy existing property and tear it down first. Thomas also explained how a project dies after approval. A developer gets entitlements based on early financing and construction assumptions, and when those numbers move, an approved project can stop working.

City-owned parking lots address that cost directly. Nobody has to buy out a gas station or a dental office. The city paid for its consultant, PlaceWorks, with a $300,000 grant administered by the Southern California Association of Governments and the OC Council of Governments. According to the staff report, PlaceWorks sketched about 60 homes plus 4,500 square feet of retail at SOCO, 100 homes at the transit center site, and 105 across from Bank of America on Chapman. Each concept uses state density laws, which require some affordable units. PlaceWorks chief economist Steve Gunnells said making 10% of the units very low income worked best with developer financing.

Fullerton already sold one transit-center site

The transit center has been tried. The city's development activity page shows this record for the Parkwest project next to the station:

1. December 20, 2022. Council approves the land sale.
2. April 26, 2023. The Planning Commission approves entitlements for a 124-room hotel, 140 residential units, and some commercial space.
3. February 2026. The city's updated listing still shows the project in plan check, including design changes to better fit the historic Santa Fe Depot.

The city identifies Westpark Investments and TA Partners as the buyer and developer. The environmental filing describes 286 homes across two sites. The city's own summary focuses on the 140 units at the first site.

So the land question was settled more than three years before that February update, and the project still wasn't under construction. A sale of city land spares a developer from buying and clearing occupied property, but design review remains, and so do the cost of building near a historic depot and the financing problems Thomas described.

Private projects have had similar timelines. Atlas Fullerton, 329 apartments at Orangethorpe Avenue and Lemon Street, was approved at a December 2021 council meeting. Staff told the council in March 2026 that it needed several extensions and took years to break ground. The same report said Casa Bella and a project on State College Boulevard were still on hold for financial reasons.

Where new for-sale homes are actually coming from

For a buyer, what matters is what kind of homes these projects create and when they arrive. Staff counted 11 large projects of 25 or more units. Three were under construction, two were stalled, and the rest were in plan check, staff review, or environmental review. Here is how the named projects break down, using the latest status in each source:

Only two projects on that list add detached homes or townhomes, the kind of property that competes with a typical Fullerton resale listing. The Pines is redeveloping part of the Sunrise Village Shopping Center on 12.52 acres. The Hermosa townhomes went through a Builder's Remedy application. The council denied them on May 5, 2026, then approved them on June 16, on the condition of a city-approved traffic study at Harbor Boulevard and Hermosa Drive.

The fastest-growing source of new homes is individual property owners. The progress report showed accessory dwelling units rising from 60 in 2021 to 160 in 2025. ADUs add rentals on existing lots. They don't add houses for sale.

What that means next to August's county numbers

Fullerton-specific monthly figures newer than mid-summer weren't available from public sources when this was written. Orange County data gives the current picture. In August 2026, the California Association of Realtors reported an Orange County median of $1,452,500 for existing single-family homes, up 4.9% from a year earlier. County supply was 3.1 months, and the median home sold in 27 days, compared with 32.5 days in August 2025. Freddie Mac put the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.40% for the week of October 8, 2026.

A rate that high hits buyers and builders alike. It's the same financing pressure Thomas cited for stalled projects, and it keeps resale inventory tight. With about three months of supply and homes selling faster than a year ago, a few dozen new townhomes and 49 detached homes won't change how Fullerton houses are priced. For a buyer comparing Fullerton with nearby cities, the comps that matter will keep coming from existing homes on existing streets for years. The new construction mostly adds rentals, student housing, and affordable units.

What has to happen before the downtown sites produce anything

The August vote authorized staff to look into a sale or lease and to start soliciting developers. The next steps are:

1. Surplus land rules. The city has to follow state surplus land requirements before it can sell or lease, then ask developers for proposals, with SOCO first in line.
2. Community input. Dunlap argued that residents should have weighed in on site selection first, and that the sites might suit retail better.
3. City finances. Councilwoman Shana Charles told Voice of OC the plan "might end up being something that also helps our financial situation." Consultants estimated that building all three sites would generate more than $418,000 in building permit fees and nearly $3.2 million in park fees. That matters because the council cut nearly $7 million from a late fiscal 2026–27 budget in August.

As of October 12, 2026, there's no public record of a selected developer or construction schedule for any of the three sites.

FAQ

Is Fullerton blocking new housing? Council members and staff say no. Dunlap told Voice of OC that every housing project brought forward during his time on the council has been approved. Staff blame stalled projects on financing, construction costs, and expensive land.

Will the downtown sites be condos or apartments? That hasn't been decided. The consultant concepts give unit counts and a 10% very-low-income share. They don't say whether the homes would be owned or rented.

Which new projects add homes buyers can purchase? The Pines at Sunrise Village, with 49 detached homes and 64 townhomes, and City Ventures' 32 townhomes on Hermosa Drive are the named projects that add that type of home.

If you're deciding whether to buy now or wait for new construction in Fullerton, Tony Real Estate Group can compare a specific property against the resale comps that actually set prices here, using current rate and supply figures. Get your free home valuation to see where your home stands.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.