A trio of small commercial buildings in West Los Angeles could give way for a mixed-use apartment building, according to an application submitted last week to the Department of City Planning.

The development site, located at 12001-12021 W. Pico Boulevard, sits roughly a half-mile south of Metro's Expo/Bundy light rail station.  The project's case filing calls for the construction of a six-story building which would contain 80 apartments - including eight affordable units - atop 4,117 square feet of ground-floor retail uses and 82 parking spaces on a ground- and basement garage levels.

The application was filed with the City of Los Angeles through the Transit Oriented Communities program, which allows for increased density and relief from zoning restrictions to developments that create affordable housing.

Property records link the site at Pico and Westgate Avenue to an entity known as 12001 Pico Property, LLC.  The shell corporation is associated with the Santa Monica-based company West Coast Investors.

A number of similar developments are reshaping the surrounding stretch of Pico Boulevard, bookended by the 405 Freeway in the east and the 10 Freeway in the west.  Almost directly across the street, work is underway for a five-story building that will feature 100 apartments over ground-floor retail uses. Five- and six-story apartment buildings are also planned at Pico's intersections with Gateway Boulevard and Centinela Avenue, respectively.