A Denny's restaurant near the Expo Line in Santa Monica has bit the dust, and construction is now underway for a new mixed-use development in its place.

Located at the northwest corner of Lincoln Boulevard and Colorado Avenue, the project from WS Communities will consist of a five-story building featuring 100 apartments atop 13,800 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and basement parking for 232 vehicles.  Plans call for a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units, as well as live-work lofts.

Santa Monica-based KFA Architecture is designing the project, which will feature two central open spaces - including a courtyard visible from Colorado and a paseo off of Lincoln.  Other common areas will include a rooftop pool deck.

The project site is located across the intersection of Lincoln and Colorado from a larger 280-unit mixed-use development by Century West Partners that broke ground earlier this year.  South on Lincoln, construction is also underway for a 64-unit affordable housing complex known as the Arroyo.

WS Communities inherited much of the development portfolio of NMS Properties, including several projects in the Santa Monica area.