By Eric Engelbert | September 2026
53 Units on 0.66 Acres: A Clinic in How State Density Bonus Works
Most apartment projects in Garden Grove sit on a half acre or more and deliver 30 to 50 units. The project approved for 12233-12239 Choisser Road does something different: it stacks 53 units onto four combined vacant lots that add up to just 28,793 square feet, or 0.66 acres. That works out to approximately 80 units per acre, among the highest densities of any project in the city's current pipeline.
It gets there through a deliberate use of California's State Density Bonus Law. Developer Danny Wei of Garden Grove-based Investel designated five units for very-low-income households, which triggered a density bonus and unlocked eight separate waivers from Garden Grove's development standards. The result is a six-story, 68-foot-9-inch podium building where the entire ground floor is a parking garage and residential units occupy floors two through six. The Planning Commission approved it unanimously in February 2023.
This project is a working example of how a small local developer can make a tight urban parcel financially viable in a high-cost market by leaning fully on state housing law. It is also a preview of what the International West corridor may look like if more of its small, underused lots get developed the same way.
The Site: Four Vacant Lots on a Quiet Side Street
Choisser Road is a short residential street in Garden Grove's International West district, the planning area that covers the city's Vietnamese-American commercial corridor running along Harbor Boulevard and Garden Grove Boulevard. The four parcels at 12233, 12235, 12237, and 12239 Choisser Road sit on the west side of the street, just north of Twintree Lane. Before this project, all four lots were vacant.
The combined parcel measures 28,793 square feet across the four lots. Under the vesting tentative parcel map (PM-2021-206) approved alongside the site plan, the four parcels are consolidated into a single lot to facilitate the apartment building. The lots are zoned PUD-128-12, a Planned Unit Development designation, with an International West Mixed Use Overlay that allows residential and mixed-use development in the corridor.
The neighborhood is a mix of older single-family homes, smaller apartment buildings, and the commercial strip along Harbor Boulevard a short distance west. Garden Grove Hospital is nearby to the north on Garden Grove Boulevard. The 22 Freeway provides regional access. For future residents, daily needs including Vietnamese grocery stores, restaurants, and services along the Harbor Boulevard commercial corridor are within easy walking or biking distance, making the location attractive for households looking for urban walkability without central-city rents.
Project Specifications
| Addresses | 12233, 12235, 12237, and 12239 Choisser Road, Garden Grove, CA 92840 |
|---|---|
| Case Numbers | SP-120-2023 (Site Plan) and PM-2021-206 (Vesting Parcel Map) |
| Location | West side of Choisser Road, north of Twintree Lane |
| Zoning | PUD-128-12 with International West Mixed Use Overlay |
| Site Area | 28,793 square feet (0.66 acres), four lots consolidated into one |
| Total Units | 53 apartment homes |
| Building Height | 6 stories, 68 feet 9 inches |
| Building Configuration | Podium: ground floor parking garage, residential units floors 2 through 6 |
| Affordable Units | 6 total: 5 very-low-income, 1 low-income |
| Density Bonus | Yes (32.5%), per State Density Bonus Law; 8 concessions and waivers granted |
| Developer | Danny Wei / Investel, 12966 Euclid Street, Garden Grove |
| CEQA Status | Exempt (Section 15332, In-Fill Development Projects) |
| Planning Commission Vote | Unanimous, 5-0 (February 16, 2023, Resolution No. 6058-23) |
Eight Waivers: How a 6-Story Building Fits on 0.66 Acres
Including five very-low-income units triggers a density bonus of 32.5 percent under California's State Density Bonus Law, meaning the developer can build 32.5 percent more units than base zoning would otherwise allow. The law also entitles the developer to request concessions that reduce development costs and waivers from any local development standard that would otherwise make the affordable units infeasible.
For the Choisser Road project, the city approved eight separate concessions and waivers, each one removing a constraint that would otherwise limit how much could be built on the small lot:
- First habitable floor on the second floor. Standard zoning typically requires residential uses to start closer to grade. This waiver allows the entire ground floor to be parking, enabling the podium design.
- Reduced parking. The city is prohibited from requiring more than the State Density Bonus Law's reduced parking minimums when affordable units are included. The building carries fewer parking spaces than Garden Grove's standard multifamily code would require.
- 45-degree encroachment plane waiver. Mixed-use properties abutting residentially-zoned lots are normally required to step back from a 45-degree angle along the side yard. This waiver allows the building to occupy that envelope, adding usable floor area on the tightest dimension of the lot.
- No individual unit storage. The standard code requires a dedicated storage space for each unit. That requirement is waived here, reducing building footprint and cost.
- Reduced open space per unit. Standard code requires 300 square feet of open space per unit. The project is allowed to count a rooftop deck and indoor fitness center and lounge as the full 100 percent of required open space, replacing any requirement for ground-level or private open space.
- Reduced private open space per unit. The 90-square-foot private open space requirement per unit is waived, consistent with a high-density podium building design.
- Passive recreation area dimensions. Standard passive recreation areas must meet minimum width and length requirements. That requirement is waived, with the rooftop and indoor areas satisfying the full recreation standard.
- Parking space length. Standard parking stall length is 19 feet. The building uses 18-foot stalls in the podium garage, recovering additional square footage in the structure.
Taken together, these eight waivers allow a 68-foot, six-story building with a full parking podium and indoor amenities to fit on what would otherwise be a difficult-to-develop assemblage of four small lots. Two nearby residents raised concerns at the hearing about parking spilling into the neighborhood, and one letter was received in opposition on parking grounds. CalHDF submitted a letter in support, citing the project's contribution to housing need. The Commission approved unanimously.
The Affordable Units: Who They Serve and What They Cost
Of the 53 units, six will be affordable: five designated for very-low-income households, and one for a low-income household. The five very-low-income units are the specific set-aside that triggered the State Density Bonus Law's application. The sixth, low-income unit is an additional commitment by the developer.
Income eligibility for both tiers is calculated using Orange County's Area Median Income (AMI), which stands at $169,200 for a family of four as of 2025.
| Very Low Income (50% AMI) | Up to $84,600/year for a 4-person household |
|---|---|
| Low Income (80% AMI) | Up to $135,360/year for a 4-person household |
| Typical max rent (VLI, 2-bed) | Approximately $1,900 to $2,100/month |
| Typical max rent (LI, 2-bed) | Approximately $2,500 to $2,700/month |
For Garden Grove's International West neighborhood, where many households are working-class Vietnamese-American families earning incomes below the county median, affordable units within a new building with modern amenities and a central location represent a meaningful option. The six affordable units at 12233 Choisser Road will be deed-restricted, meaning they remain affordable to qualifying households for the duration of the affordability agreement regardless of turnover.
Danny Wei and Investel: A Local Developer in the International West
Danny Wei is the principal of Investel, a Garden Grove-based real estate development company operating out of 12966 Euclid Street, a commercial address near the Euclid Street corridor in western Garden Grove. Investel is a smaller, locally based developer, and the Choisser Road project reflects a pattern common among local developers in this part of Orange County: quietly assembling underused infill parcels in the International West corridor and bringing them through entitlement using the density bonus tools that California law now provides.
Unlike the larger institutional developers that tend to dominate bigger projects like Brookhurst Place, a developer like Investel is typically financing and building a single project at a time, with the development carrying significant personal risk for the principals. The decision to include five very-low-income units is therefore not a philanthropic gesture but a financial calculation: the density bonus unlocks enough additional units to make the economics of a six-story building on a tight site work in a way that a smaller, less dense building would not.
International West: Garden Grove's Other Development Corridor
Garden Grove has two distinct commercial and cultural districts that are shaping its housing pipeline: OC Koreatown along the Brookhurst Street corridor, and the International West district along Harbor Boulevard and Garden Grove Boulevard. The International West covers the city's Vietnamese-American business strip, which runs from the Garden Grove city limit near Brookhurst north through the Harbor Boulevard corridor and has been a hub of the Vietnamese diaspora in Southern California for more than four decades.
The International West Mixed Use Overlay Zone, which applies to the Choisser Road site, was created to enable denser, mixed-use residential and commercial development along and near the Harbor Boulevard corridor, recognizing that the area's established commercial base and transit connections make it a logical location for housing. The PUD-128-12 zoning on this specific site predates the overlay designation but operates consistently with its goals.
The Choisser Road project is smaller and quieter than Brookhurst Place, but it represents the same underlying dynamic: a developer identifying underused land in a culturally significant corridor and using state housing law to build more than conventional zoning would allow. If other vacant or underbuilt parcels along and adjacent to Harbor Boulevard follow the same path, the International West could see meaningful housing supply addition in the years ahead.
Garden Grove's Housing Obligation: Why Every 53-Unit Project Counts
Garden Grove's state-mandated housing obligation for the 2021-2029 planning cycle is 19,168 units. With its active development pipeline adding a few hundred units across all projects as of early 2026, the city is running well behind that pace. The Choisser Road project, at 53 units, represents a fraction of the total but contributes in a way that is disproportionate to its size: it demonstrates that small infill lots in established neighborhoods can support six-story buildings through state density bonus law, without needing the rare ingredient of a large developable parcel.
If that approach becomes a template, Garden Grove has dozens of similarly configured underused lots in the R-3 and mixed-use zones of the International West and OC Koreatown corridors. Each is an individual project with its own entitlement, financing, and construction timeline, but collectively they represent a scalable path to housing delivery in a city where large, vacant sites are nearly nonexistent. The Choisser Road approval shows the Planning Commission is willing to grant the waivers necessary to make that density work.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will the Choisser Road apartments be built?
The entitlement was approved in February 2023. As of early 2026, the project was still appearing in Garden Grove's active development project list, indicating it remained in plan check or pre-construction. No public groundbreaking date has been announced. Projects of this scale and complexity typically take 18 to 30 months from planning commission approval to construction start, depending on financing, plan check, and permitting timelines.
What will rents be at the Choisser Road apartments?
No rent pricing has been announced. Six units will be rent-capped at affordable income levels. The remaining 47 market-rate units will likely reflect rents competitive with comparable new construction in the International West area, which has limited modern multifamily supply. Market-rate one-bedroom units in similar new Garden Grove buildings have been ranging from approximately $2,200 to $2,700 per month.
Is there parking at the building?
Yes. The entire ground floor is a parking garage. Parking counts are reduced from Garden Grove's standard code requirements pursuant to the State Density Bonus Law waivers, and parking stall length is 18 feet rather than the standard 19 feet. Two neighbors raised parking concerns at the hearing, and a management plan addressing on-site parking rules was required as a condition of approval.
What is the International West Mixed Use Overlay Zone?
It is a Garden Grove planning overlay applied to properties in the International West district, the area around the Harbor Boulevard and Garden Grove Boulevard corridors associated with the city's Vietnamese-American business community. The overlay allows higher-density residential and mixed-use development in recognition of the area's commercial base, transit access, and planning goals for the corridor.
Investing in the Garden Grove Market?
The Choisser Road project illustrates something important about where Garden Grove's housing growth is happening: not on large master-planned sites, but on small assemblages of underused lots where local developers are using state housing law to build six stories on two-thirds of an acre. That pattern, repeated across the city's corridors, will gradually change the character of Garden Grove's rental market and the comparable data that drives property values in surrounding neighborhoods.
If you are buying, selling, or evaluating rental investment in Garden Grove or the International West corridor, reach out anytime.
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