Answers to common questions about the proposed Hamilton community, including neighborhood design, traffic and parking, community benefits, environmental review, and the public process.
Current proposal: A 156-home, for-sale residential community on the approximately 10-acre Hamilton site. The first formal application has been submitted to the City of Torrance and remains subject to technical review, environmental review, public hearings, and final City action.
Trumark is proposing a 156-home, for-sale residential community on the approximately 10-acre Hamilton site. The current plan includes 78 duplex buildings with a mix of two- and three-story homes, attached two-car garages, private outdoor areas, landscaped paseos, and common open space.
The first formal application has been submitted to the City of Torrance and is now under review. The project is not final and remains subject to community outreach, City technical review, environmental review, public hearings, and final approval.
Torrance Unified School District determined that the Hamilton property is no longer needed for its educational purposes and began evaluating how the site could be repurposed. Housing emerged as a logical future use because the property is already developed, served by existing streets and utilities, and surrounded primarily by residential neighborhoods.
Torrance is also a largely built-out community. New housing opportunities increasingly come from thoughtfully redeveloping underutilized sites rather than expanding into undeveloped land.
The proposed community would provide 156 for-sale homes in a mix of two- and three-story duplex buildings. The plan is designed to transition in scale toward the single-family neighborhood to the east while providing new homeownership opportunities for a range of Torrance households.
The Hamilton transaction also helps fund significant improvements associated with relocating the youth baseball and softball programs, allowing the site transition and the future of those leagues to be addressed together.
Torrance Unified School District selected Trumark through a competitive process.
After an extensive community discussion regarding the future of Hamilton, TUSD issued a Request for Qualifications and Request for Proposals seeking a development partner to pursue residential entitlements and support the broader property exchange and youth-field transition. Trumark submitted a proposal and was selected by the District.
Trumark Homes is a California homebuilder with more than 35 years of experience planning and building residential communities. Our work includes infill projects where design, neighborhood compatibility, public review, and long-term community relationships are especially important.
Selection by the District was only the beginning. The project still must earn City approvals, and we recognize that community confidence comes from how we listen, respond, and ultimately execute the plan. That is the purpose of the outreach and public review now underway.
No. The plan is not final.
Trumark has submitted the first formal application to the City of Torrance, and that application is now under review. The project requires multiple City approvals, including land use, zoning, subdivision, and environmental review. City departments including Planning, Fire, Public Works, Building and Safety, Water, and Traffic will review the plans and may require revisions.
There will also be a public process before any final decision is made, including environmental review and noticed public hearings before the appropriate City decision-makers.
We expect the plan to continue evolving as City review, technical studies, and community input progress. That is why we are engaging with neighbors now, while there is still an opportunity to address concerns through the design.
The site is surrounded by different types of homes, so the plan uses more than one building height to create a better transition to the surrounding neighborhood.
Two-story duplexes, approximately 27 feet tall, are concentrated along the eastern side of the site closest to the existing single-family homes. Three-story duplexes, approximately 35 feet tall, are located farther from that edge and are more compatible with the attached and multi-family housing to the west.
Using duplexes also allows the plan to provide attached two-car garages for every home while creating more room for landscaped setbacks, paseos, common open space, and private yards than a comparable detached-home layout could provide.
The intent is to create a neighborhood of individually owned homes that steps down in scale where it meets existing lower-density homes, rather than applying one building type across the entire site.
The plan is intended to create a residential neighborhood that fits the range of housing already surrounding Hamilton while improving the appearance and long-term maintenance of the site.
The community would include 156 for-sale homes in 78 duplex buildings. Two-story homes, approximately 27 feet tall, are concentrated toward the single-family neighborhood to the east, while three-story homes, approximately 35 feet tall, are located where the surrounding context can better accommodate that scale.
The architecture is planned in a Spanish Colonial Revival style with varied elevations, tile roofs, stucco, and traditional detailing. Landscaping, decorative lighting, private yards, paseos, and a landscaped frontage along West 182nd Street are intended to give the project the character of a residential neighborhood rather than an apartment complex.
The homes will be individually owned condominium lots within a homeowners association. The HOA will maintain the private streets, landscaping, lighting, and common areas under recorded standards, providing a consistent long-term framework for maintenance.
New homes will change views from some surrounding properties because portions of the site are currently occupied by ballfields and low-rise school buildings. The design therefore focuses heavily on privacy, setbacks, building height, walls, landscaping, and window placement along each property edge.
The eastern edge, adjacent to existing single-family homes, receives the greatest transition. Two-story homes of approximately 27 feet are proposed along this side, together with private rear yards, an approximately eight-foot privacy wall, landscaping, and limited upper-story window exposure toward neighboring yards.
Other edges of the site use a combination of perimeter walls, setbacks, and landscaping based on the adjoining conditions. Along West 182nd Street, the plan uses landscaping and varied wall treatments to create a more open residential streetscape.
We are also preparing scaled cross-sections to show the relationship between proposed homes and adjacent properties, including building heights, setbacks, walls, and landscaping. Neighbors with specific sight-line or privacy questions are encouraged to contact the project team so those conditions can be reviewed directly.
No. The 156 homes are being designed, marketed, and sold as for-sale residences, not as a build-to-rent community.
The homes will be individually owned condominium lots with private living areas, attached two-car garages, and access to community-maintained common areas. The project is intended to create additional homeownership opportunities for households at different stages of life, including first-time buyers, families, and existing Torrance residents who may want to downsize while remaining in the community.
As with other for-sale communities in California, individual owners may have the ability to rent their homes subject to applicable law and the community's recorded CC&Rs. The project is not proposing a bulk rental program or an investor-operated rental community.
Traffic is one of the key issues being evaluated as part of the City's review.
A traffic engineering firm has prepared project trip-generation and Vehicle Miles Traveled analyses, and the City's Traffic Engineer and other staff are reviewing that work as part of the first formal application. The analysis also considers actual traffic generated by the existing Hamilton uses, rather than treating the property as a vacant site.
The proposed plan consolidates the site's existing driveways into one primary, purpose-designed entrance on West 182nd Street, with a separate emergency-only connection to 185th Street.
If the City's review identifies roadway, intersection, signal, or other transportation improvements needed to address the project, those requirements would become conditions of approval and would be funded by the developer.
The current plan provides 421 parking spaces for 156 homes, or approximately 2.7 spaces per home.
Each home has an attached two-car garage, providing 312 covered spaces. Another 109 on-site spaces are distributed throughout the community for residents and guests, including accessible parking.
Parking supply is only part of the issue. We also want the garages to function as parking, rather than overflow storage that pushes vehicles onto surrounding streets. Trumark's infill communities use recorded HOA and buyer requirements intended to keep required garage spaces available for vehicles, including garage-parking requirements, buyer acknowledgments, and compliance inspections.
Because this is proposed as a Planned Development, the final parking standards remain subject to City review and approval. Parking is one of the issues being evaluated through the entitlement process.
All regular resident and visitor access is proposed from West 182nd Street. The primary entrance would be located along the northern edge of the site, generally aligned with Casimir Avenue. A second connection is proposed at 185th Street for emergency vehicles only; it would be gated and controlled for Fire Department access and would not function as a resident or guest entrance.
The City's Planning, Public Works, Traffic, and Fire departments are reviewing the proposed access, internal circulation, and any related intersection or signal improvements.
The developer would be responsible for project-related public infrastructure improvements required as a condition of approval. If the City determines that roadway, intersection, signal, sidewalk, utility, or other improvements are necessary to serve or mitigate the project, Trumark would be responsible for designing and funding those improvements.
Trumark would also fund the streets, utilities, drainage, landscaping, lighting, and other infrastructure within the community. The private streets and common areas would then be maintained by the homeowners association, not the City. Project-related improvements would not be shifted to Torrance taxpayers.
The current plan is to keep both youth leagues in North Torrance and provide improved facilities before the Hamilton fields are no longer available.
North Torrance Little League is planned to relocate to an improved El Nido Park. The conceptual plans include two baseball fields, four batting cages, new restrooms and storage, a concession building, approximately 208 parking spaces, a remodeled recreation center, new basketball and pickleball courts, a new play area, and picnic areas. These improvements would be funded through the Hamilton transaction and other District/City funding.
North Torrance Girls Softball is planned to relocate to improved, lighted fields at North High School.
The final relocation arrangements are still being coordinated among TUSD, the City, the leagues, and Trumark. TUSD has also confirmed alternate locations can be used as needed to ensure continuity of play during the transition. The goal is straightforward: keep both leagues in North Torrance, avoid a lost season, and leave them with facilities that serve players and families for years to come.
Proximity to the I-405 is an important issue, and it is being evaluated through project-specific environmental analysis rather than assumed.
Michael Baker International is currently preparing a Health Risk Assessment to evaluate potential air-quality exposure for future residents using established regulatory standards. That work will be reviewed by the City and included in the environmental review made available to the public.
The site plan also creates separation between the freeway and residential living areas by placing open space and internal circulation along portions of the southern edge. If the Health Risk Assessment or other technical studies identify design or operational measures that are needed, those measures can be incorporated into the project and made enforceable through the City's approval process.
Separate environmental testing by ENGEO included Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments. ENGEO identified no Recognized Environmental Conditions for the property. It did identify lead-affected soil near some older buildings and asbestos-containing materials and lead-based paint in existing structures, all of which would be addressed through regulated remediation and demolition procedures. The environmental review remains underway, and the completed technical findings will be available for public review.
The project is undergoing environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), with the City of Torrance serving as the lead agency.
That review evaluates a broad range of topics, including traffic, air quality, noise, hazards and hazardous materials, geology and soils, drainage, biological and cultural resources, greenhouse gas emissions, public services, and utilities. The analysis is supported by project-specific technical studies.
Environmental due diligence has already included Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments. ENGEO identified no Recognized Environmental Conditions for the property. The testing did identify lead-affected soil near some of the older buildings, as well as asbestos-containing materials and lead-based paint in existing structures. Those conditions are well understood and would be addressed through regulated demolition, abatement, soil-management, and disposal procedures. ENGEO also noted contamination in a deeper groundwater aquifer from off-site sources; groundwater beneath the site is not proposed for use as drinking water.
The CEQA document is still being prepared. The current expectation is a Mitigated Negative Declaration, but the City will make the final determination based on the completed analysis. The draft environmental document and supporting studies will be made available for public review and comment before project action.
Community input is most useful while the project is still under review and the plans can continue to evolve.
You can participate in several ways:
You can also contact the project team directly at info@reimaginehamilton.com. We encourage residents to raise issues early so they can be evaluated as part of the ongoing design and City review process.
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