Garden Grove homes, up close
Building permits peaked here in 1959, and the result is a city of modest three-bedroom houses on 5,000 to 6,000 square foot lots, laid out block after block. What has changed since is who is inside them. Around Little Saigon and the Korean Business District, and increasingly everywhere else, a single house often holds parents, grandparents and adult children, with a converted garage or a back unit added on.
That matters practically. Every bedroom is occupied, so nothing is a spare room we can skip. The kitchen sees real cooking two or three times a day, which puts more on the range hood, the backsplash and the floor than a lightly used one. And there is usually someone home, so we work around people rather than around an empty house. West Garden Grove, quieter and a little newer, runs closer to a standard suburban visit.
The building stock here
The baseline is 1,100 to 1,500 square feet on one level, three bedrooms, one or two baths, a slab floor and an attached garage that may or may not still hold cars. Lots are tighter than in the neighboring cities, so houses sit closer together and side yards are narrow. Add-ons are everywhere: enclosed patios, back units, second kitchens. There is also a large stock of apartments and older condominium complexes along the main avenues.