Saiki Looks to Build 403 Apartments, Townhomes in Gardena

Saiko Investment seeks to build 328 apartments and 75 condominiums in Gardena.

The Manhattan Beach-based firm has filed plans for a seven-story apartment building and banks of condominiums at 16911 South Normandie Avenue, Urbanize Los Angeles reported. They would replace aging industrial buildings spanning 115,000 square feet.

The 403-unit project, dubbed Normandie Place, calls for a 328-unit apartment building on the north side of the property facing 169th Street, with studio, one- and two-bedroom units. It would include a central courtyard, a swimming pool and a rooftop deck.

On the south and west side, plans call for 75 three-story townhomes that would include two-, three- and four-bedroom floor plans, with access to common green areas.

The project, designed by Urban Architecture Lab of Mid-City, would include gray, white and ochre apartments, with black balconies. The townhomes would be in similar colors, with balconies on the second floors, according to renderings.

Approval of the development would require a zone change and general plan amendment.

Also, Saiko would be subject to a development agreement mandating that 5 percent of the apartments be set aside as affordable housing for 55 years, plus sidewalk improvements on 169th Street.

Pending approvals, the developer could break ground in June 2024 and complete the project by September 2027.

The project would be the largest apartment complex for the South Bay city in recent memory, surpassing the 265-unit development for which Cityview broke ground last year near El Segundo and Crenshaw Boulevards, according to Urbanize.

It also follows smaller developments on Normandie Avenue to the north, including a 63-unit apartment complex which opened last year across 169th Street, a 15-unit building now rising at Gardena Boulevard and a townhome project near Mas Fukai Park.

— Dana Bartholomew