A block south of the L Line's Azusa Downtown Station, a mixed-use project from Serrano Development Group is now rising from a long-empty lot.

The Orchard development, located on 2.24 acres of land at Foothill Boulevard and Azusa Avenue, will consist of 163 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments - including three live/work units - with 32,500 square feet of retail space and subterranean parking.  A four-screen Laemmle Theatre is planned for the building's ground level.

William Hezmalhalch Architects is designing the four-story building, which will incorporate replicas of the Azusa Theater and Bridge to Nowhere.  Plans call for on-site residential amenities such as a courtyard-level pool, a community lounge, a fitness center, a dog park, and a rooftop deck.

Construction of the Orchard commenced in September 2019, and is expected to be completed in early 2022.

The project is the latest in a series of new mixed-use and multifamily residential developments near stations on the L Line's Foothill Branch.  The City of Monrovia has been particularly aggressive in capitalizing on its at-grade stop, with more than 1,300 apartments currently in the works for nearby properties.

The Foothill branch of the L Line, which currently runs between Azusa and Downtown Los Angeles, is also in the midst of a second eastward extension.  Service to Pomona North Station - where another multifamily residential development recently broke ground - is scheduled to begin in 2025.

Serrano Development Group, the company behind the project, has built several similar mixed-use buildings in Los Angeles County.  The company, in partnership with Laemmle Theatres, opened an apartment building with a ground-floor movie theater in Glendale in 2017.  Serrano is also planning a housing project with a movie theater in the City of Bellflower.