Mixed-use development pitched for 8025 Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood

A shuttered Bank of America branch on Santa Monica Boulevard could be razed and redeveloped with housing and commercial uses, according to a pending presentation to the West Hollywood Planning Commission's Design Review Subcommittee.

The project, proposed by Los Angeles-based real estate development firm Massachi, is named for its address at 8025 Santa Monica Boulevard, and would rise from a corner lot at the intersection of Santa Monica and Crescent Heights Boulevard. Plans call for the construction of a new seven-story building featuring 115 studio, one-, and two-bedroom dwellings atop 3,909 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. Parking for 115 vehicles would be provided at-grade and in two subterranean levels.

Massachi would be required to set aside 16 of the new apartments as affordable housing, according to plans. Additionally, the project would offer studio and one-bedroom units in "micro" floor plans, averaging 338 and 440 square feet in size, respectively.

"My company and I are extremely excited to be advancing such a progressive project that provides a wide array of housing typologies in the city of West Hollywood for all socioeconomic backgrounds," said Massachi chairman and chief executive officer Alex Massachi in a statement. "In a time of severe housing shortage, underutilized commercial lots on major thoroughfares make for the best locations for new housing -- not resulting in any existing tenant displacement and being in close proximity to renowned destinations."

OfficeUntitled is designing 8025 Santa Monica, which would incorporate amenities such terrace decks at its rooftop, an interior courtyard, and a pool deck.

"[T]he building appears from the street as a singular unbroken mass with each face differentiated by material interplay and layered elements," reads a staff report. "Changing façade treatments are calibrated nicely to address each exposure. The south face has the greatest dynamism, employing a basket weave approach using projections and recessions, and screens and balconies to create visual interest."

A staff report applauds the inclusion of micro units within the project, noting that smaller apartments can open the property to renters of different socio-economic backgrounds. However, the report also notes that the small size of those units makes the common and outdoor amenities the effective living rooms for those residents.

Several areas of potential improvement are suggested by staff, including the potential opening a northern staircase to the building's central courtyard and the relocation of a transformer to the underground below the driveway to make for a more active street frontage.

Massachi, the developer, has been active in the neighboring Hollywood community. Its projects include a new 24-unit building now rising just north of Santa Monica Boulevard's intersection with Orange Drive and a planned 24-story tower just north of Hollywood Boulevard.

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• West Hollywood (Urbanize LA)