Manhattan Beach’s Rosecrans corridor could look very different in a few years, as Fairfield Residential moves to swap out a low-rise office complex for a block of new housing.
The developer has filed plans to tear down a roughly 78,000-square-foot office building at 1440 Rosecrans Avenue and replace it with six- and seven-story structures containing a combined 500 apartments on the more-than-five-acre site. About 100 of those units would be reserved for lower-income households, and the project is slated to include roughly 800 parking spaces. The proposal is one of several large housing applications now lining up along Rosecrans, and the city has already posted an informational notice to neighbors and nearby property owners.
Details were first reported by Urbanize LA, which outlined Fairfield Residential’s plan to raze the existing building and construct the new housing blocks. Commercial real-estate listings show the current Kinecta office at 1440 Rosecrans measures roughly 78,065 square feet on about 5.14 acres, consistent with the city’s description of the site. Because the proposal includes affordable units, it would qualify for development incentives that allow a larger building than standard zoning would typically permit.
Where the project fits in the city policy
The plan taps into Manhattan Beach’s Residential Overlay District, a program created under the city’s 6th Cycle Housing Element to channel new housing toward commercial corridors such as Sepulveda and Rosecrans, according to the city’s planning pages. A nearby site at 1500 Rosecrans, which changed hands last year, is proposed for an eight-story, roughly 550-unit building tied to Lincoln Property Company, a move first reported when the property was sold. Together with other proposals on Rosecrans and on the former Fry’s site, the corridor is in the middle of a fast shift from office and retail uses toward large multifamily development.
Neighbors and next steps
Projects that include deed-restricted lower-income units can qualify for state density bonuses and by-right review, which, as explained in the city’s project notice for 1500 Rosecrans, means qualifying applications are handled at the staff level without public hearings. Local groups opposed to taller development have begun organizing around the corridor, and neighborhood activists have flagged the Rosecrans proposals as part of a broader campaign against high-rise construction in the city. City planners say additional project materials and official contact information will be posted as each application moves through preliminary review.
What this could mean for Rosecrans
If the proposals move forward, Rosecrans would gain hundreds of new homes, which would reshape traffic patterns and boost demand for neighborhood services along the stretch. Urbanize LA and city records both point to other projects, including an application for the former Fry’s Electronics site that could bring about 273 apartments, which together would significantly increase housing capacity on the corridor. Application materials and staff contact details are available on the city’s project pages for residents who want to follow, or challenge, the review process as it unfolds.
