An Oxford Development Co. affiliate has closed on buying the East Liberty property for a new apartment complex near Whole Foods.

A firm called Emerald on Centre Apartments LP paid $3 million for two parcels at 5739 Centre Ave., one currently a Masterwork Paint operation, according to real estate records.

An Oxford spokesperson said the project is now expected to total 172 units, more than the previously proposed 148 units for the same six-floor proposal. The company now expects to have one level of subsurface parking along with a level of above ground parking. Before, Oxford planned to have two above-ground levels dedicated to parking.

The company offered no further comment.

Oxford applied for a $1 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Economic and Community Development in February, for which no word of an approval has yet been announced. Oxford has also been working its way through the approval process with the city.

Oxford’s location for the project less than a block from the East Liberty Whole Foods in the Baum Centre corridor is the most active in the city for new multifamily development, with more than 800 units either under development or construction within close vicinity.