Koreatown WELCOME HOME

According to a series of recent case filings from the Los Angeles Department of City Planning, a slew of new multi-family residential developments are planned throughout the hyper-dense Koreatown neighborhood. Plans were submitted to the city in late November for a new 16-story, 220-unit residential tower at 3875 Wilshire Boulevard. The one-acre property, listed amongst the portfolio of office landlord Jamison Services, is currently developed with the 12-story Wilshire Professional Building.

Shocker of the week: another underutilized Koreatown property is slated for redevelopment. Plans were filed late last year for a new residential-retail complex on a roughly half-acre property at 3100 West Eighth Street. The proposed development would consist of a seven-story structure, featuring 100 residential units above ground-floor commercial space. A density bonus requested by the developer indicates that at least some of the units would be reserved as affordable housing.

Soaring high above Wilshire Bouelvard, the $200 million Vermont Apartments serve as ostentatious symbols of the recent influx of upscale housing into previously downmarket Koreatown. The densely populated community, long overlooked due to its isolation from the Southern California freeway network, has recently become a residential hotspot due in part to its relative affordability and thriving night life. Consequently, the market has responded with dozens of new and revived residential developments in all reaches of the neighborhood, including adaptive reuse projects and ground-up construction.

According to new information from the Los Angeles Department of City Planning, a proposed development which would house the Korean American National Museum (KANM) has received a design overhaul. Revised plans for the half-acre property at 605 South Vermont Avenue call for a seven-story structure featuring 101 apartments above two floors of museum space. An earlier report from New America Media indicated that the museum would encompass 45,000 square feet of floor area, with amenities such as a community auditorium, two exhibition halls and a study room.

According to documents from the Los Angeles City Council, a property owner in Koreatown is continuing to push ahead with plans to add a multi-family residential development above a public parking garage. The project - spearheaded by developer KP3, LLC - would stack three floors of residential units atop a parking structure at the intersection of Sixth Street and Kenmore Avenue, resulting in a seven-story building. The proposed development calls for a mixture of 53 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, complemented by a landscaped interior courtyard and other residential amenities.

If at first you don’t succeed, then try, try, try, try, try and try again. That is the lesson to be learned from Colony Holdings LLC, the relentless developer of a proposed residential-retail complex in Koreatown. For nearly six years, the Beverly Hills-based company has attempted to obtain a zone change and general plan amendment which would allow for the construction of a high-rise apartment tower at the intersection of 8th and Catalina Streets.

Earier this week, plans were filed with the City of Los Angeles for a new mixed-use complex near the busy Wilshire/Vermont Metro station. The project, which is being developed by local real estate firm Century West Partners, would rise from an approximately .8-acre property at 621-643 South Vermont Avenue. Plans call for a seven-story structure, featuring 173 apartments, 12,000 square feet of commercial floor area and a 234-car parking garage. Proposed amenities include an on-site conference room, a fitness center and an outdoor pool and sun deck.

Heavy equipment is now stripping asphalt from an approximately three-acre property in Koreatown, clearing the way for a new residential-retail complex by real estate developer Century West Partners. The project, named for its location at the intersection of 6th Street and Virgil Avenue, will consist of a seven-story structure featuring 398 apartments and 20,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. Designs for 6th & Virgil come from Santa Monica-based Killefer Flammang Architects, whose website describes the building as a place to live, work and play.

A tipster in Koreatown has sent word that a new multi-family residential complex is in the works for three parcels at the intersection of 5th Street and Kenmore Avenue. According to a notice of public hearing posted last week at 443-453 South Kenmore Avenue, a trio of low-rise apartment buildings may soon be felled for a larger development. The approximately .61-acre site is owned by Canfield Development, a Los Angeles-based real estate firm which specializes in infill projects.

Jamison Services Inc., one of Southern California’s largest private office landlords, plans to construct a low-rise residential-retail complex on the southern fringe of Koreatown. The project, located at 3060 Olympic Boulevard, will consist of 226 apartments and street-fronting retail space and two levels of underground parking. Plans call for a mixture of one- and two-bedroom dwellings supplemented by amenities such as a gym, a club house, a podium-level pool and a rooftop deck.