30 new luxury homes coming to Seal Beach, priced above $2 million

Seal Beach is getting 30 new luxury single-family homes on a slab of land with a contentious history.

Shea Homes has begun sales at Ocean Place, built on an 11-acre waterfront parcel of land that was once the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s power plant in Seal Beach.

Ocean Place features homes ranging in size from 3,140 to 4,640 square feet with up to five bedrooms and six bathrooms. Pricing will begin above $2 million. The site, near the corner of Ocean Avenue and 1st Street, is across the San Gabriel River from the Ballast Point brewpub.

Bay City Partners bought the land in 2003, years after the LADWP demolished the shuttered plant. These investors and the city of Seal Beach fought extensive courtroom battles over control of the property. An eventual legal settlement set the groundwork for what became Ocean Place when Shea Homes acquired the land.  Six acres of the site has been set aside to create a park.

Ocean Place comes to market as Orange County house hunters are shying from new homes.

In May, builders countywide sold just 262 residences — down 42% in a year. The lofty median selling price of $944,000 — down 4.3% in 12 months — suggests Ocean Place will have plenty of competition.

Regionally, builders aren’t having much more luck. Six-county sales of 1,705 new homes were off 18% in a year. The median of $534,000 was down 8.3% in a year.