A vacant lot in Santa Ana is up for redevelopment with mixed-income housing, according to an item considered at a recent meeting of the city's Planning Commission.

Unison Real Estate Group, LLC, the applicant behind the proposed project at 1212 E. 4th Street, is planning the construction of a new four-story building featuring 15 studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments above parking for 17 vehicles.

Aerial view southwest cornerCity of Santa Ana

Plans call for one of the apartments to be set aside for rent by households earning less than 30-to-50 percent of the area median income level, or a maximum of $71,750 for a four-person household. The restricted below market-rate unit would make the project eligible for density bonus incentives, permitting waivers of development standards imposed by zoning rules.

A staff report describes the design of the new construction as being of a "contemporary architectural style similar to many multiple-family or mixed-use residential communities under construction in Santa Ana and the region." Plans call for art murals to adorn the eastern and western facades of the low-rise structure, with a stucco and fiber cement board exterior along the northern and southern facades.

Street-level view at 4th StreetCity of Santa Ana

The proposed project would sit roughly one quarter-mile southeast of the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center, and not far from the route of the under-construction OC Streetcar.

The project is smaller than another new development in the works for the East 4th Street corridor - a proposed complex from Fairfield Residential which would bring 449 apartments and 58 townhomes to a site located a few blocks to the east across the I-5 Freeway.

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