Orange / Central Orange County
The one verified showroom operator is Sit 'n Sleep on East Katella Avenue near SR-55. Katella is also where the City created its CR (Commercial Recreation) zone for regional-serving retail, and the code allows furniture stores, design showrooms and home improvement by right in CR as well as in the CP/C1, C-TR, C2 and C3 zones. Several national showroom brands have no Orange store on their own locators (Lovesac's nearest showrooms are in Brea, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach and Mission Viejo, and Ferguson's nearest branches are in Anaheim), so a design or home furnishings user would be filling a gap rather than joining a cluster.
Population
138,266
Median HHI
$117,113
Median age
37.2
Homeownership
56.7%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Primary retail corridors
Chapman Avenue · Tustin Street · Glassell Street · Katella Avenue · Main Street · La Veta Avenue
Specific shopping centers in Orange that already carry credible co-tenancy for this use. Listed in approximate order of fit.
20 City Boulevard West
Anchors / key tenants: AMC Theatres, Nike Factory Store, Saks OFF 5TH, Last Call by Neiman Marcus
Open-air outlet center (former Block at Orange) owned by Simon Property Group. National outlet/value retail plus a dining and entertainment ring serving the 5/22 freeway interchange. Strong regional pull from Anaheim and Garden Grove.
1500 East Village Way
Anchors / key tenants: Target, Burlington
Value-tilted center on Tustin Street. The enclosed mall portion closed on January 31, 2024 and the site is planned for residential redevelopment, so confirm which buildings remain before touring.
Chapman Avenue at Glassell Street
Anchors / key tenants: historic downtown plaza, antique row, chef-driven dining
National Register historic district (listed 1997) with a walkable plaza around the famous Orange Circle. Antique row, chef-driven restaurants, coffee, boutiques, and Chapman University walk-up traffic. Strong visitor and student daypart.
Existing operators are the most honest comp for whether a use can support Orange rents. These are publicly visible showroom retail space businesses currently trading in the market.
Sit 'n Sleep (City of Orange Mattress Store)
1634 E. Katella Avenue, Orange, CA 92867
Mattress showroom. Sit 'n Sleep's own page describes it as a mattress superstore off State Route 55 on East Katella Avenue with on-site parking. Purple's retailer locator lists it as the one Orange store where Purple mattresses can be tried.
01
Use class: Table 17.13.030 (Ord. 13-18, 2018) has a row for Regional-Serving Retail Uses, which names bulk merchandise, design showrooms and sales, furniture stores, home improvement and garden centers, and office and electrical equipment. It is P in CP/C1, C-TR, C2, C3 and CR, P in NMU-24 and UMU, and not permitted in OP or in the three Old Towne mixed use zones (OTMU-15S, OTMU-15, OTMU-24). In CR the retail standards of Section 17.13.040(XX) also apply (integrated development, or a single tenant on a site of at least two acres).
02
Old Towne: the OTMU-15 zone surrounds the Plaza and lines Chapman Avenue and Glassell Street, and development there must follow the Historic Preservation Design Standards for Old Towne Orange. Because Regional-Serving Retail is not permitted in the OTMU zones but Retail within a building is, ask Planning which row a small design showroom would fall under before signing in Old Towne.
03
Parking works in a showroom's favor here: Table 17.34.060(B) sets bulk retail (such as furniture and appliances) at 2 spaces per 1,000 SF, against 4 per 1,000 for general retail, and vehicle sales showrooms at 2.5 per 1,000. Ask Planning to apply the bulk retail rate in writing, since a later change to general retail in the same space would need twice the parking.
04
EV and auto showrooms: Automobile sales and related service activities is C+ (conditional use permit with extra standards) in CP/C1, C-TR, C2 and C3, P in CR, C+ in UMU, M1 and M2, and not permitted in OP or the Old Towne zones. Under Section 17.13.050(G), a CUP site in a commercial or industrial zone needs an indoor showroom of at least 2,000 SF and at least 1,600 SF for any repair and service area, with service work enclosed or screened. A gallery-only EV brand should ask Planning early whether it is treated as vehicle sales.
05
The Village at Orange (1500 E. Village Way) is tagged in the catalog as a showroom fit, but its enclosed mall closed on January 31, 2024 and its manager plans housing on the site. Treat any showroom space offered there as short term until the redevelopment plan is known, and ask for a relocation or termination clause in writing.
06
The Community Development Director can approve up to a 20% parking reduction for a single nonresidential use with a parking study (Section 17.34.060), and the reduction ends with that business. A showroom taking a former restaurant or fitness space may find the parking math easier than the prior use.
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.