Garden Grove / Central Orange County
Garden Grove has few national showroom brands: Ashley's and Sleep Number's locators list no Garden Grove store, and Lowe's California directory lists none either. The larger-format space is around Brookhurst and Chapman, where Wikipedia describes The Promenade at Garden Grove as a 353,217 sq ft community center with Walmart, Marshalls, Ross and PetSmart as anchors, and on the C-2 and C-3 corridors where furniture, appliance and home improvement stores are permitted by right. For auto and EV users, Toyota Place on Trask Avenue near Brookhurst shows where vehicle sales already operate.
Population
170,964
Median HHI
$92,174
Median age
40.2
Homeownership
53.1%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Primary retail corridors
Brookhurst Street · Harbor Boulevard · Chapman Avenue · Westminster Avenue · Garden Grove Boulevard
Specific shopping centers in Garden Grove that already carry credible co-tenancy for this use. Listed in approximate order of fit.
Chapman Avenue at Brookhurst Street
Anchors / key tenants: regional and value retail mix
Repositioned from the original 1956 Orange County Plaza. Long-running community center at the city’s most important retail intersection (Brookhurst/Chapman).
Existing operators are the most honest comp for whether a use can support Garden Grove rents. These are publicly visible showroom retail space businesses currently trading in the market.
Toyota Place
9670 Trask Avenue, Garden Grove, CA 92844
New and used Toyota dealer, per the dealership's own website. The Census geocoder puts the address a short distance west of Brookhurst Street. Motor vehicle sales are a conditional use in C-2 and C-3 under Table 1, so this is the kind of site an EV or auto showroom user would compare against.
01
Furniture and appliance stores are easy on zoning: Table 1 of Section 9.16.020.030 (as restated in the July 8, 2025 Zoning Amendment A-042-2024(B) ordinance) lists Furniture, Carpets, Household Appliances as permitted in C-1, C-2 and C-3, and Building Supply, Plumbing Shop as permitted in C-2, C-3 and M-1. Neither is allowed in O-P, so an office-professional building will not work for a kitchen, bath or flooring showroom.
02
No parking discount for big display floors: Section 9.16.040.150 puts nursery, home improvement, building materials, furniture and general appliance stores with large display areas at 1 space per 200 sq ft, the same as retail under 40,000 sq ft. A 12,000 sq ft furniture showroom still needs 60 spaces, so check the center's surplus before you sign.
03
Home improvement centers: the code defines them as stores selling hardware, appliances, building materials, landscape materials and furniture, typically 25,000 sq ft or more. They are permitted in C-2, C-3 and M-1 and conditional in M-P, and Section 9.16.020.050.AH limits stacked storage to 20 feet, requires outdoor storage to be screened by a wall or fence no taller than 8 feet, and requires lighting to be directed away from neighbors.
04
EV and auto showrooms need a CUP: Motor Vehicle Sales (New) is conditional in C-2 and C-3 only. Section 9.16.020.050.AV sets a 15,000 sq ft minimum site, parts stored inside, service work only inside a building with bays not visible from the street, no outdoor amplified speakers, loading on site, 10-foot planters along street frontages, and removal of nonconforming signs. Parking is 1 space per 400 sq ft of indoor display, plus 1 per 2,000 sq ft of outdoor display, 1 per 500 sq ft of repair and 1 per 300 sq ft of parts area.
05
Garden Grove Boulevard sites: properties in the GGMU mixed-use zones follow Chapter 9.18. In the city's posted 2012 Chapter 9.18 ordinance, Furniture, Carpets, Household Appliances is permitted in the GGMU zones and new motor vehicle sales is a conditional use there. Confirm the parcel's current zone and table before assuming the Chapter 9.16 rules apply.
06
Reusing a big box: Table 1 makes an Indoor Multi-Tenant Retail Shopping Center conditional in C-1, C-2 and C-3, so splitting a large vacancy into a multi-vendor home furnishings hall is a CUP, while a single furniture tenant in the same box is permitted by right.
Zoning, licensing, and demographic figures on this page come from the public records below. Codes and licenses change, so confirm with the city and the licensing agency before you sign.