Homes built on a street median in Torrance are priced from $750K

After years of false starts, developers are nearly finished building 63 homes on the median of Normandie Avenue in Torrance, reports the Daily Breeze.

The median divides the street into what’s commonly called “Little” and “Big” Normandie Avenue. The houses are rising from a narrow ribbon of land—which measures 60 feet wide—from Torrance Boulevard to 223rd Street, says the newspaper.

The project, called Pacific Bougainvillea, will offer three-, four- and five-bedroom houses priced from $750,000. According to the development’s website, the houses will measure between about 1,900 and 2,800 square feet. They have “virtually” no backyards, but they do sit on spacious lots ranging from 4,500 to 5,000 square feet, says the Breeze.

Approved more than a decade ago in 2000, the project stalled with the economic downturn, when the original developer went bust. A second developer was also unable to finish the project.

The current developer, Newport Beach-based Pacific Communities, is planning a grand opening next month, but four of the new houses were already offered for sale at an open house on Saturday.

Sales rep Deborah Rogers told the Breeze that it’s unusual to see a new detached home in the South Bay sell for under $1 million. She said she expects the whole development to sell out in 18 months.

That’s impressive, considering that homebuyers “essentially would live on a glorified median with virtually no backyards that back onto busy Normandie,” but it speaks to the demand in the area for detached homes at this price point, says the Breeze.

• South Bay housing development built on highway median finally selling homes [Daily Breeze]