The new owner of an already-entitled property at the southeast corner of Melrose and Oxford Avenues is going back to the drawing boards through the Transit Oriented Communities guidelines.

Harriman Capital, which acquired the vacant 27,000-square-foot site one year ago, is seeking to build a seven-story, 75-foot-tall building containing 42 apartments - including five for extremely low-income affordable units - and street-level parking for 28 vehicles.  Plans call for a mix of studio, three-, four-, and five-bedroom dwellings.

A project description to the Wilshire Center Koreatown Neighborhood Council describes the building as having a facade of corrugated metal with inset sections of smooth white stucco located at balconies.  The building is oriented around a central courtyard, with a community room to be located on the second floor.

The development site, previously improved with two single-family homes, was entitled by its prior owner for the construction of a six-story building that would have featured 45 apartments above ground-floor retail space and 77 parking spaces.  The new project from Harriman Capital is seeking new entitlements, rather than building off of the already-approved plan.

Two similar projects are already planned or under construction along the surrounding stretch of Melrose, including a 51-unit apartment building with retail at Serrano Avenue and a micro-unit development between Kingsley Drive and Harvard Boulevard.