Posted July 2026 | By Eric Engelbert | Updated as the project progresses.
27 Apartments Coming to Bixby Avenue: The Jager Co. Brings Density Bonus Housing to a Quiet Garden Grove Street
Site Plan No. SP-129-2023 proposes to demolish a former preschool at 9691 Bixby Avenue in Garden Grove and replace it with a three-story, 27-unit residential apartment complex on the 0.83-acre site. The project is being developed by The Jager Co., the Laguna Beach-based firm of William D. Jager, the same applicant behind the larger 98-unit Garden Grove Boulevard project approved in 2024. The Planning Commission approved the Bixby project in November 2023 and it is currently in building plan check, the stage between entitlement approval and the issuance of building permits.
At 27 units, this is an intimate residential project by any standard. Bixby Avenue is a residential street in a quiet neighborhood of Garden Grove, and the project's three-story scale is consistent with what a 0.83-acre lot in this location can reasonably support. The use of California's Density Bonus Law, enabled by the inclusion of three very-low-income affordable units, allows the project to exceed the site's base-level residential density while keeping the building at a neighborhood-compatible height.
The Location: 9691 Bixby Avenue, Garden Grove
Bixby Avenue runs east-west through a residential neighborhood in the 92841 zip code, passing between Carthay Circle and Peacock Court in the vicinity of the project site. The neighborhood is characterized by single-family homes, duplexes, and small apartment buildings that reflect Garden Grove's predominantly low- to medium-density residential character in the areas away from its major commercial corridors. The 9691 address places the project in a location that is within easy driving distance of Garden Grove Boulevard, Chapman Avenue, and other commercial and retail destinations, while remaining on a street that functions as a neighborhood rather than a thoroughfare.
The existing preschool use at the site is being vacated to allow for the residential conversion. Preschool sites often carry favorable development characteristics for residential infill: they tend to be adequately sized lots in residential neighborhoods, already cleared of environmentally sensitive features, and served by existing utilities designed for an occupancy load comparable to the proposed use. A 27-unit apartment building will have a similar or smaller traffic and utility footprint than an active preschool serving dozens of children and families at peak drop-off and pick-up times.
The surrounding neighborhood context places the Bixby Apartments project in an area where new multifamily residential construction is modest in scale. The project is not proposing a large complex or a mixed-use building. It is a 27-unit apartment building on a lot that was already being used for a community-serving purpose, and it will continue to serve the neighborhood in a different but equally local way as a source of rental housing for Garden Grove residents.
Three Stories, 27 Units, and the Density Bonus Law at Work
The project replaces all existing improvements on the 0.83-acre site, including the former preschool building, to accommodate the proposed three-story residential building with associated site improvements. The three-story building format is common for density bonus projects of this scale in Orange County neighborhoods zoned for multiple-family residential use: it allows a meaningful number of units without reaching the podium construction threshold that significantly increases building costs, and it keeps the building at a height that is visually compatible with adjacent residential development.
The three affordable units designated for very-low-income households are the mechanism that unlocks the project's density bonus under California Government Code Section 65915. A housing development is eligible for a density bonus of up to 50 percent above the base density when very-low-income affordable units are included at sufficient levels. The density bonus also comes with entitlements to concessions and waivers of development standards, which allows the project to deviate from certain zoning requirements that would otherwise make the project infeasible at the proposed density. Reduced parking requirements under the Density Bonus Law are also applicable, providing relief from the standard parking ratios that can otherwise constrain residential development on smaller infill sites.
27 total units
0.83-acre site
New construction
24 market rate
Density Bonus Law
Deed restricted
All improvements
to be demolished
Clean infill site
Between Carthay Cir
and Peacock Court
Garden Grove 92841
| Project Address | 9691 Bixby Avenue, Garden Grove, CA 92841 |
|---|---|
| Case Number | Site Plan No. SP-129-2023 |
| Total Units | 27 apartments (3 very low-income, 24 market rate) |
| Building Height | 3 stories |
| Site Size | 0.83 acres |
| Applicant | The Jager Co. (William D. Jager), Laguna Beach |
| Former Use | Preschool (to be demolished) |
| Planning Commission Approval | November 2023 |
| CEQA | Categorically Exempt (Density Bonus Law infill) |
| City Planner | Huong Ly, Associate Planner |
| Project Status | In building plan check |
From Preschool to Apartments: How the Density Bonus Law Makes This Possible
The Bixby Apartments project is an example of how California's Density Bonus Law functions in a purely residential neighborhood context. Unlike the Garden Grove Boulevard project, which sits in a boulevard mixed-use zone with higher density ceilings, the Bixby Avenue site is in a conventional residential zone. The base density under that zoning would allow fewer than 27 units on a 0.83-acre site. By designating three units as restricted for very-low-income households, the applicant triggers the Density Bonus Law, which entitles the project to additional units above the zoning baseline as well as concessions, waivers, and reduced parking.
The concessions and waivers that accompany the density bonus are negotiated between the applicant and the city during the site plan review process. For a project of this scale, they typically address issues like building setbacks, open space calculations, and parking count reductions that allow the project to fit within the physical constraints of the site while delivering the full density the law permits. The Density Bonus Law's reduced parking provisions are particularly significant on an 0.83-acre site where every square foot of surface parking represents a trade-off against unit count or common area.
Clearing plan check is the project's current milestone. Building plan check is the technical review process during which the city's Building Division confirms that the construction documents comply with all applicable building codes, structural requirements, fire life safety standards, and conditions of approval imposed at the time of planning approval. Once plan check is cleared and building permits are issued, construction can begin.
Small-Scale Infill and What It Means for Garden Grove Renters
Garden Grove's housing market is dominated by ownership housing that was built in large quantities during the postwar suburban expansion decades and a rental stock that has aged alongside it. New construction rental inventory in the city is limited, which means that when a 27-unit building is added to the market, even a modest project like the Bixby Apartments represents a meaningful contribution to the city's available rental options.
At three stories and 27 units, this is not a development that will reshape a neighborhood or generate significant traffic. It is the kind of small-scale infill residential project that produces housing for people who want to live in a Garden Grove neighborhood without being in a large complex. Renters who value a smaller community, quieter surroundings, and proximity to the established residential character of the city's interior neighborhoods are the natural audience for a building at this scale and location.
The Jager Co.'s concurrent work on the larger 98-unit Garden Grove Boulevard project suggests that the firm is actively building a presence in Garden Grove's residential development pipeline. That combination of a large mixed-use corridor project and a smaller neighborhood infill project reflects a development strategy that addresses different segments of the market with appropriate product types for each location.
Interested in Garden Grove Rentals or New Construction Investment?
The Bixby Apartments project is in plan check and has not yet broken ground. We follow Garden Grove residential development across the pipeline, from small infill projects like this one to the larger mixed-use corridor projects along Garden Grove Boulevard. Contact us for updates on this project, to discuss investment opportunities in the area, or to explore what is currently available for rent or for sale in Garden Grove.
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