Nearly three years after breaking ground in Downtown Los Angeles, a mixed-use apartment building near Pico Station is nearing its peak.

The project, located on a single parcel at 1317 S. Hope Street, is a seven-story podium-type building.  The completed project will include 38 studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments - with six priced as very low-income affordable housing - above ground-floor retail space and a parking garage.

DE Architects designed the contemporary apartment building, which will include a rooftop amenity deck and a series of recessed balconies along its northern face.

Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm FMB Development is behind the project, which will be operated as part of the company's Ayala brand.

The development site, located two blocks from the Los Angeles Convention Center, is surrounded by a series of proposed hotel projects - including the 42-story Fig + Pico development and smaller infill project now under construction on an adjoining property at 1320 S. Flower Street.

Another developer has also announced plans to fold the historic Morrison Hotel at Hope and Pico Boulevard into a mixed-use high-rise hotel and condominium complex.