Koreatown WELCOME HOME

Four months after purchasing Koreatown’s Wilshire Galleria for $49 million, Harridge Development Group is moving forward with a project which would incorporate the former department store into a mixed-use complex. According to a case filing from the Los Angeles Department of City Planning, the project would involve the adaptive reuse of the six-story structure at 3240 Wilshire Boulevard, as well as the construction of a high-rise tower on an adjacent parking lot.

CityView, a Los Angeles-based real estate firm, has unveiled its revised plan for a mixed-use complex now under construction in Koreatown. The project, which is being rebranded as the Pearl on Wilshire, is rising from a large vacant lot at the southwest corner of Wilshire and Hobart Boulevards. The seven-story building will feature 346 apartments above approximately 8,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, as well as residential amenities such as a swimming pool, a business center, a fitness room and a rooftop deck.

Later this week, the Los Angeles City Planning Commission will review a proposal for a new mixed-use development on the western edge of Koreatown. The project from local real estate firm Jamison Services would rise from a one-acre property at 3980 Wilshire Boulevard, replacing a surface parking lot and a series of low-rise buildings. Plans call for the construction of a seven-story building which would feature 228 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, approximately 17,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and parking accommodations for 340 vehicles and 267 bicycles.

Near the southwest corner of Wilshire and Harvard Boulevards in Koreatown, prominent local real estate firm Jamison Services, Inc. is in the midst of construction on a multifamily residential complex. The seven-story development, named for its location at 3640 Wilshire Boulevard, will feature 209 studio and one-bedroom apartments above 3,100 square feet of neighborhood-serving commercial space. Planned amenities include a fitness center, a rooftop terrace, a swimming pool and a zen garden.

Scouring the LA City Planning Department’s bi-weekly filings, this gem presented itself: LEVEL OF BASEMENT PARKING All of this just a quick walk from the Purple Line’s Wilshire/Normandie station (which makes the two levels of parking worrisome). If it seems like I mention Koreatown a lot in this blog, there’s a good reason for that. 535 S Kingsley joins a glut of new 5-7 floor residential buildings, including one behind the Wilshire Professional Building, Southwestern Law School’s new student housing, and the second phase of Century West’s K2LA development.

Koreatown is in the midst of a residential building boom, and it looks like a long dead development may want to get in on the action. The owners of the land once intended for Circa on Wilshire took out an extension on the tentative tract map for the lot which will last until 2015. Plans for a 18 floor/190 unit mixed-use tower at the corner of Wilshire and Virgil were put on hold back in 2008 amidst the real estate bust.

J.H. Snyder’s Vermont Towers topped out back in June and have since seen blue tinted glass rise to the top of their 29 and 23 story frames. When completed, the Vermont will bring 464 apartments and 40,000 square feet of retail to the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Vermont Avenue. The development is accompanied by a 12,000 square foot pocket park on Shatto Place. Unfortunately, the Vermont’s most striking feature at ground level is its seven story parking podium.

Koreatown has seen a boom in residential construction during the past calendar year, and that trend looks to continue on a parking lot just north of Wilshire Boulevard. Jamison Services Incorporated, one of Koreatown’s largest commercial landlords, has plans to build an 84-unit apartment building next to the Wilshire Professional Building. The project at 626 St. Andrews Place will stand six-stories, with design work from Corbel Architects. Despite the nearby Wilshire/Western subway station, 626 St.

Just west of J.H. Snyder’s Vermont Towers and their massive parking podium, Century West Partners are well into the construction process on the first building of their K2LA development. The project replaces three surface parking lots on a site bounded by Berendo Street, New Hampshire Avenue and 7th Street. When completed, K2LA will add 476-apartments just a short walk from the busy Wilshire/Vermont subway station. The project also includes two additional seven-story buildings that do not appear to have broken ground yet.

Over the summer, a proposal appeared for a mixed-use development on a pair of corner lots at the intersection of Vermont Avenue and James M. Wood Boulevard. I recently happened upon a rendering of the Vermont & James Wood via the Archeon Group, design architect for the two building project. Although the Archeon Group does not provide specifics on the dimensions of either building, both appear to stand over 10-stories tall, consisting of studio, one and two bedroom apartments.