An automobile repair shop near a busy intersection in Lake Balboa could be replaced with multifamily housing and retail space, according to an application recently submitted to the Los Angeles Department of City Planning.

The proposed development, slated for a .39-acre property at 17630 Sherman Way, would rise just east of White Oak Avenue.  Plans call for razing the existing repair garage, which was built in the late 1970s, to make way for a new four-story edifice featuring 39 one- and two-bedroom apartments - including five very low-income affordable units - above 5,822 square feet of ground-floor retail space and semi-subterranean parking for 67 vehicles.

Local architect Kamran Tabrizi is designing the project, which is depicted in elevation plans as a contemporary low-rise structure clad in stucco.  Architectural plans show that in addition to housing, the apartment complex would include a ground-floor recreation room and two rear-facing outdoor decks.

City records list the project applicant as Selective Investments Channel, LLC, a Tarzana-based entity managed by investor Hany Malek.

The property was purchased earlier this year for $2.6 million.