New 657-unit development proposed for former Boomers site in Fountain Valley
When Fountain Valley found out it would have to plan for thousands of housing units by the end of the decade, city staff began putting together a list of locations that could accommodate such projects.
The opportunity sites, as they have been called, would provide land for projects to help the community reach its mandated Regional Housing Needs Assessment, under which the state tasked Fountain Valley with adding 4,839 units by 2029.
A large-scale development has now been proposed at 16800 Magnolia St., the site previously occupied by Boomers, the family amusement center just off the 405 Freeway that provided entertainment such as arcade games, go-karts and miniature golf until June 2020.
The proposed project was submitted by Holland Partner Group in March 2024. If approved, the developer would build a total of 657 apartment units in two separate, seven-story buildings. The 6.87-acre site would have vehicular access between the two buildings, courtyards and a public dog park.
Amenities at each building would include co-working and fitness areas on the ground floor. The plan also calls for a pool, spa, lounge seating and barbecue areas on the upper level. Additionally, the buildings would provide 4,460-square-feet of commercial or retail space.
'This project has been carefully designed to meet the goals and the requirements outlined in Fountain Valley's general plan, the zoning regulations and the housing element,' said Matt Turk, senior development manager for Holland Partner Group. 'The mixed-use community will deliver much-needed housing alongside vibrant neighborhood retail space and a public dog park.'
Planning commissioners took a look at the project during a study session on May 14. Omar Dadabhoy, the city's community development director, said the project is scheduled to return to the commission for a public hearing on June 11.
'There will be a density bonus and affordable housing agreement for the project,' said Steven Ayers, the city's principal planner. 'The project will include 78 deed-restricted low-income units, which is 15% of the base density of the project.'
The project, as proposed, would have 95.6 units per acre, using a state density bonus law to achieve that number. If the development did not include affordable housing units, it would have been capped at 515 units.
In September 2022, the City Council approved an ordinance that allowed some developments to have up to 75 units per acre. The conditions to qualify for that allowance included having a mixed-use site at least 400 feet away from a single-family residential zone, or when the nearest property line of a mixed-use zone is separated by the 405 Freeway.
Only two of the initial 11 opportunity sites identified by city staff for potential housing developments met the criteria to be built out to the 75-unit-per-acre base density. Those sites, staff said, were Warner Square and the former Boomers.
'This is an area that the [general plan advisory committee], City Council and Planning Commission saw as an area that could hold more units than the rest of the properties in town that we included in our housing element,' Dadabhoy said.
Ayers said the project would generate an estimated 3,138 daily trips to the area. There would be 980 parking spaces included at the site, including two seven-story parking structures. Ayers said state density bonus law required 776 parking spaces for the proposed development.
'We have 916 stalls that are going to be dedicated to residents,' Turk said. 'Those are going to be access-controlled in the parking garage, and then we have an additional 64 stalls that are going to be dedicated to retail guests and the public. The majority of those — 45 of those — are service parking stalls. So anyone who wants to go to the retail or go to the dog park is going to have a lot of options for parking.'
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