A nondescript commercial building on one of the busiest thoroughfares in Boyle Heights could be razed to make way for a mixed-use development, per an application submitted earlier this month to the Los Angeles Department of City Planning.

The proposed development, which would rise at the northwest corner of Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and Chicago Street, would replace an existing single-story structure which dates to 1910, as well as an adjoining parking lot.  In its place, plans call for the construction of a new five-story edifice featuring 50 rental apartments above 3,163 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and one level of subterranean parking.

Requested entitlements for the project include Transit Oriented Communities incentives, permitting a larger structure than allowed under zoning rules due to the property's location near a bus stop with frequent service.  To achieve the incentives, five of the proposed apartments in the roughly 60,000-square-foot building would be set aside as affordable housing at the extremely low-income level.

City records list the project applicant as an entity managed by Diana and Will Tiao of Silver Lake-based real estate firm Tiao Properties.

The project site is located two blocks west of the intersection of Cesar Chavez and Soto Street, where Abode Communities broke ground earlier this year on a mixed-use project featuring 76 units of affordable and supportive housing with community-serving commercial space.