A 2.14-acre stretch of Normandie Avenue in Gardena that once housed a mid-century food and beverage warehouse is about to become a five-story apartment complex. Texas-based developer JPI is preparing to break ground next month on Normandie Apartments, a $125 million project bringing 257 studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units to 16911 S. Normandie Ave., with construction expected to wrap by March 2029.
The project marks the latest step in a joint venture between JPI and Tokyo-based institutional investor Chuo Nittochi America Corporation, according to Multi-Housing News. As Urbanize LA reports, JPI closed on the site earlier this year and will not be delivering the 75 townhomes that were originally entitled alongside the apartments as part of a larger 333-home plan. Seven of the 257 units will be set aside for moderate-income renters.
A Warehouse Site's Long Road to Redevelopment
The Normandie Avenue parcel was previously approved by the Gardena City Council in January 2025 under the name Normandie Crossing, a 333-home proposal from Saiko Investment Corporation and NextGen Apartments that combined 258 apartments with 75 townhomes on an abutting site, according to a report from Urbanize LA. Before that rezoning, the site held an 85,573-square-foot industrial food and beverage warehouse dating to the 1950s and 1960s. Whether the 75 townhomes will still move forward under a separate developer remains an open question.
Seth Dorros, senior vice president at JPI, framed the project as a response to a persistent regional housing shortfall. “Normandie Apartments will bring quality, well-located housing to a market that has been waiting for it,” Dorros said, adding that new apartment supply has barely kept pace over the last three decades. He also pointed to the strength of the local job market, noting the region has one of the strongest employment bases anywhere in Southern California, a claim tied to nearby aerospace and defense operations including Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman, per the same account from Multi-Housing News.
Amenities and Neighborhood Context
The finished complex will include parking for 416 vehicles along with a resort-style pool and spa with cabanas, a rooftop deck, a fitness center, a resident clubhouse with karaoke and billiards, a library, and an open-air barbecue kitchen area, according to Capdex. Nearby infill activity along Normandie includes a single-room-occupancy-style apartment building directly north of JPI's site, underscoring how thoroughly this stretch of the corridor is being reworked.
Gardena has approved several large multifamily developments in recent years as the city works toward a state-mandated Regional Housing Needs Assessment target of 5,735 new homes by 2029, a goal set under California's 6th Cycle RHNA and tracked by the City of Gardena. At Crenshaw and El Segundo boulevards, developers Cityview and Stockbridge completed the 265-unit Apollo complex in January, one of the city's largest recent residential deliveries, according to The Registry. Just south at 1610 W. Artesia Blvd., The Picerne Group cleared an industrial property last year to build a six-story, 300-unit building with 17 deed-restricted affordable units and 507 parking spaces.
JPI's Expanding South Bay Footprint
Normandie Apartments is one piece of a broader South Bay push by JPI, which is backed by parent company Sumitomo Forestry America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ltd. that acquired JPI's national platform in a $215 million deal in November 2023, according to Construction Dive. In nearby West Carson, JPI is also building 525 rentals near Harbor-UCLA, a project that includes 36 very-low-income units. The developer recently completed a similar infill conversion in Inglewood, where an old car wash site became a 222-unit complex near the K Line.
Whether seven moderate-income units at Normandie Apartments will meaningfully address affordability pressure in Gardena remains an open question, as does the fate of the 75 townhomes once planned for the adjacent parcel. For now, JPI says it plans to start construction in September, with the five-story building expected to welcome its first residents ahead of a March 2029 completion date.
