Proposed Korean American National Museum Adding Housing

Future home of the Korean American National Museum (Image: New American Media)

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.  However, the exact nature of the proposed changes to KANM are currently unclear.  The original plan for the museum had called for a standalone three-story facility.

More definitively, city records indicate that KANM is planning for a three-level garage with parking accommodations for up to 146 vehicles and 83 bicycles.  The proposed garage would offer slightly less parking than required by code, and will thus require a discretionary approval from the city.

Wilshire Office Towers Becoming Apartments

Jamison Services, one of Southern California's largest office landlords, recently filed plans with the City of Los Angeles to convert two of its numerous Wilshire Boulevard office buildings for residential use.

The first of these properties is a 13-story tower located near MacArthur Park.  A case filing from the Los Angeles Department of City Planning indicates that the renovated building at 2500 Wilshire Boulevard would contain 248 residential units, in lieu of its current 230,000 square feet of office space.  The developer also states that the project will utilize exemptions from "density limits, floor area, yard requirements and [a] site plan review."

The mid-rise structure, completed in 1969, would likely face competition from a second mixed-use development planned across the street.  The New York-based Somerset Group, owner of the parking lot at 2525 Wilshire Boulevard, is currently pursuing construction permits for a seven-story residential-retail complex on the property.

New Developments Reshaping Koreatown

The Vermont Apartments

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.

Now, this ongoing wave of multi-family development is pushing east towards MacArthur Park.  Take a quarter-mile trip down Virgil Avenue, where a series of new mixed-use developments are replacing blighted properties on Koreatown's eastern fringe.

More Residential Over Retail in K-Town

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.

The project, which would replace a two-story commercial building, is located within walking distance several large-scale residential developments.  North on Berendo Street, developer Century West Partners is midway through construction on the second phase of their K2LA apartment complex.  West along Eighth Street, a proposed 27-story residential tower lingers in development hell, with no clear path out.

New Wave of Residential Developments Hitting K-Town

Wilshire Professional Building, 1932 (Image: Water and Power Associates)

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.  The Art Deco landmark has stood at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and St. Andrews Place since 1929.

It is currently unclear whether the proposed development entails the adaptive reuse of the historic building, or new construction on an adjacent surface parking lot.  Jamison Services had previously submitted plans to the city for a low-rise apartment building which would abut the historic office tower.

K-Town Apartments Finally Shooting Upwards

685 New Hampshire Avenue

In Koreatown, construction forges onward for phase two of K2LA, a low-rise apartment complex from developer Century West Partners.  The project, designed by Los Angeles-based architect David Forbes Hibbert, will consist of two seven-story buildings at 680 Berendo Street and 685 New Hampshire Avenue.  Phase two, which is replacing back-to-back surface parking lots, will offer a total of 347 studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments.  Each building will feature a fitness center, conference rooms and a rooftop amenity deck.

The first phase of K2LA, located on an adjacent property at 688 Berendo Street, opened this past May.  With 130 apartments, the seven-story structure offers a similar blend of dwelling units and residential amenities to its phase two counterparts.

K2LA is one of several new multi-family residential developments which have recently sprung up on the eastern periphery of Koreatown.  Less than a half-mile southwest, a team of local investors plans a 27-story apartment tower at the intersection of 8th and Catalina Streets.  Further east, Century West Partners has proposed a seven-story mixed-use development on a property near Lafayette Park.

685 New Hampshire Avenue (Image: David Forbes Hibbert)

Shiny New Renderings for 3033 Wilshire Boulevard (UPDATED)

3033 Wilshire Boulevard (All images: Steinberg Architects)

New information has emerged regarding 3033 Wilshire Boulevard, a proposed high-rise apartment complex which would straddle the border between Westlake and Koreatown.

Los Angeles-based Steinberg Architects, design architect for the project, recently updated its website with a new a page for the proposed 18-story building.  The tower, as envisioned by developer UDR Incorporated, would consist of 190 apartments, 5,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space, and four levels of below-grade parking.  Residential units would range in size from studios to luxury penthouse spaces, each of which would contain two bedrooms and two bathrooms.

Steinberg's design for the building would feature an exterior consisting primarily of glass.  A series of protruding decks would gradually change in shape and size while moving up the tower's mass, giving the facade a fluid texture.  The building would be capped by a rooftop pool and amenity deck, offering panoramic views of Downtown Los Angeles, the Hollywood Hills and the Pacific Ocean.

The project site - located at the northwest corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Virgil Avenue - was first slated for high-rise development nearly one decade ago.  According to the website of consulting firm PMA, the new apartment tower is scheduled for completion in February 2016.

UPDATE 11/22/14: Heavy equipment and construction materials are present at the development site.

Whoa: Koreatown High-Rise Project Revived

3033 Wilshire Boulevard, by Steinberg Architects (Image: PMA, Inc.)

Longstanding plans to build a high-rise apartment building in eastern Koreatown have suddenly kicked back into gear.

According to a series of permit applications with the Department of Building and Safety, Colorado-based developer UDR, Inc. is moving forward with an 18-story residential tower at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Virgil Avenue.  The 201-foot building, designed by Steinberg Architects, would feature 190 residential units and slightly over 5,500 square feet of ground-level retail space.

Plans call for a wide variety of indoor and outdoor amenities, including a rooftop pool, a fitness center, and bike-storage racks.  The mixed-use development would also offer parking accommodations for as many as 302 vehicles, situated within four podium levels.

Proposed K-Town High-Rise Still Plodding Along

Long-standing plans for a 27-story residential tower in Koreatown continue to plod forward, with the release of the project's initial study by the Department of City Planning.  The proposed Catalina Apartments would rise from a 1.5-acre site at the corner of 8th and Catalina Streets, replacing a small cluster of low-rise buildings.

Designs from Oakes Architects call for an approximately 300 foot tall structure, offering 269 apartments (studio, one and two-bedroom units) and 7,500 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.  Residential units would be served by a total of 562 parking spaces, contained within a podium garage.  Proposed amenities include a fitness center, outdoor pool, and rooftop deck.

The mixed-use development is planned by Colony Holdings, a Beverly Hills-based limited liability corporation.  At first glance, their project would seem to fit in well with the surrounding neighborhood.  The eastern stretch of Koreatown has recently seen the arrival of several large residential complexes, including the 476-unit K2LA apartments and the skyline-altering Vermont Towers.

Koreatown Development Wave Spreading South

A half-block of modest apartment buildings and strip malls on Koreatown's southern fringe may have a date with the grim reaper.  According to plans submitted to the city in late September, a 1.6-acre site at 3076 W. Olympic Boulevard is slated for demolition, to be replaced by a low-rise residential-retail complex.  The mixed-use development, which would rise between Kingsley Drive and Ardmore Avenue, calls for a four-story structure featuring 226 residential units, ground-floor commercial space, and a two-level subterranean parking garage.

The project, still in the early stages of the city's cumbersome approval process, will require at least one zoning variance to be built in its proposed form.  3076 Olympic could be considered a southern expansion of Koreatown's recent development wave, which has up until now consisted of low-rise apartment complexes near Wilshire Boulevard.

More Residential Flooding into Koreatown's Western Fringe (UPDATED)

Per an LADCP case filing from last month, a sizeable multi-family residential development is headed to the western edge of Koreatown.  The apartment complex, pegged for an approximately one-acre property at 700 South Manhattan Place, would offer 162 residential units within a seven-story structure.  The project site, currently developed with surface parking and a nondescript two-story structure, spans slightly more than one acre near the intersection of Western Avenue and 7th Street.  Residents would be located just one block south of the Purple Line's current Wilshire/Western terminus, offering quick service to Downtown Los Angeles and connections to all other points on the Metro Rail network.

The new development is situated in a highly walkable section of Koreatown, with a slew of stores and eateries strewn about surrounding blocks.  Unsurprisingly, other multi-family projects area slated for the neighborhood.  The locally-based Hankey Group is in the planning stages for a similar low-rise residential development, intended for a long vacant property at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Hobart Avenue.  South along Western Avenue, a 79-unit mixed-use complex is proposed across the street from Koreatown Plaza.

(UPDATE) An e-mail tipster has noted the following about 700 S. Manhattan Place:

"The project requests three variances: (1) to allow an approximately 35% increase in density; (2) to average floor area ratios across residential and commercial zones; and (3) to permit vehicular access for a commercial zone from a residential zone.

Probably not coincidentally, these variances would be available to the project as Density Bonus incentives if the project provided affordable housing.  Density Bonus projects providing a certain amount of units covenanted for very-low or low income households are entitled to a 35% increase in density, FAR averaging and parking access from a less restrictive zone.  The variance filing appears to be a means of avoiding providing affordable units."

Second Phase of K2LA Still Inching Along

680 Berendo Street

Construction is slow but steady in Koreatown, where developer Century West Partners is (still) working on the 347-unit phase two of their K2LA apartment complex.  The two seven-story buildings, designed by local architect David Forbes Hibbert, have progressed slowly since breaking ground in late 2013.  After nine months of construction, the structure at 685 New Hampshire Avenue protrudes just one floor above ground, while its companion at 680 Berendo Street has yet to reach street level.  Both buildings were previously scheduled for completion in late 2014, a target date which is now highly unrealistic given the project's current status.

On the other hand, the more punctual phase one of the development opened its doors this past May.  Located at 688 Berendo Street, the seven-story building offers 130 studio, one and two-bedroom apartment units.  The low-rise structure features similar amenities to its phase two counterparts, including a fitness center, conference room, club house, and two roof decks with outdoor grills and fire pits.  Although 688 Berendo Street does contains no street-fronting retail space, the building does utilize a green wall to obscure its podium-level parking garage.

Over the past several years, Century West Partners has emerged as a prolific developer of multi-family residential buildings throughout Los Angeles County.  Besides K2LA, the company is also in the midst of construction on multiple mixed-use complexes both in Downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica.  The developer is also in the planning stages for a second project in Koreatown, which would replace an unused property at 6th Street and Virgil Avenue with 399 apartments and 20,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.

680 Berendo Street, rendered. Image credit: David Forbes Hibbert

Affordable Housing Headed Near Vermont/Beverly Station

241 N. Vermont Avenue

Much of LA County's Metro Rail network traverses walkable, urban settings.  Neither of those terms describe the immediate surroundings of the Red Line's Vermont/Beverly Station.  Flanked by a gas station and a Hyundai dealership, the auto-oriented locale hardly screams "subway station."  Luckily, change may finally be on the way.  According to an LADCP case filing from earlier this month, an affordable housing development is planned across the street from the station, located at 241 N. Vermont Avenue.  Consisting of 100 residential units, the project would occupy a group of mid-block parcels, spanning approximately one acre of land. Situated on the northern fringe of Koreatown, the development site currently exists as two-story commercial building and supplemental surface parking.  Despite sitting almost directly above a subway station for the past 15 years, 241 Vermont Avenue is currently zoned for use as an auto body/repair shop.  Situations like this really emphasize the importance of the ongoing rewrite of Los Angeles' zoning code.

Blighted Koreatown Lot to be Replaced with Mixed-Use Development

Thanks to a plan from a locally based investor, a blighted property on the eastern fringe of Koreatown is slated to be replaced by a mixed-use residential community.  Century West Partners, developer of the K2LA apartment complex, is proposing a similar project immediately west of Lafayette Park.  Planned at the southeast corner of 6th Street and Virgil Avenue, the development entails a seven-story structure with 399 rental apartment units and 20,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space.  The project is being designed by Santa Monica-based Killefer Flammang Architects, the same firm that converted the adjacent Sheraton Townhouse into affordable housing in 1996.

Proposal Would Stack Apartments Above K-Town Parking Garage

In packed urban environments such as Koreatown, the lack of easily buildable land often forces new developments to take creative measures.  Case in point: the nondescript parking garage at the northeast corner of 6th Street and Kenmore Avenue.  Already stuffed to the brim with ground floor commercial tenants, a developer now plans to construct additional floors atop the existing four-story structure, creating 53 apartment dwellings.  The new residential community proposes a variety of open space amenities, including a rec-room, community room, and courtyards for each additional floor.  Located at 3419 W. 6th Street, the project site sits in a dense, walkable neighborhood which has recently experienced an uptick in development activity.  Nearby on Catalina Avenue, plans for a low-rise apartment/hotel development known as "the Nest." are currently wending their way through the approval process.  South of Wilshire Boulevard, developer Century West Partners is in the midst of construction on the three building, 476-unit K2LA development.  All of these projects lie within a ten minute walk of both the Wilshire/Vermont and Wilshire/Normandie Metro stations, providing quick subway rides to Downtown, North Hollywood and all destinations in-between.

•  Case Information Summary Sheet (LADCP)

Affordable Housing Complex Starts Work on Vermont Avenue

Image credit: Dreyfuss Construction

According to pictures sent in by an e-mail tipster, a small church near the border of Koreatown and Pico Union was recently demolished, making way for a 40-unit affordable housing development known as Vermont Manzanita.  The apartment complex is being developed by the West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation (WHCHC), and will reserve fifteen of its units for at-risk families with children under the age of five.  The developer has partnered with the Children's Institute, which shall act as lead service provider for future tenants.  Plans call for a five-story edifice, designed by Hatch Colasuonno Studio, featuring first-and-second-floor landscaping, a children's play area, a barbeque pit, and a tenant community garden.  Located at 1233 South Vermont Avenue, Vermont Manzanita is WHCHC's second project within Los Angeles city limits.

Founded in 1986, WHCHC can claim a portfolio of more than one dozen affordable housing communities throughout the greater Los Angeles region.  Although they primarily focus on properties in West Hollywood, WHCHC has previously undertaken developments in Glendale and East Los Angeles.  Perhaps their most visible project is the Patrick Tighe-designed Courtyard at La Brea, a five-story structure located on Santa Monica Boulevard.

Apartment Development Proposed in Northeast K-Town

Jam packed Koreatown is about to become a little bit more dense, with a new residential project slated for a property located just south of 1st Street.  According to plans recently filed with the city, a five-story, 40-unit condominium development is proposed for the parcel at 111 South Mariposa Avenue.  The project's LADCP case filing indicates that the building would provide future residents with 90 parking spaces, supplemented by a whopping total of five bicycle parking stalls.  111 Mariposa's previous owner had commissioned K-Town's Corbel Architects to draft a conceptual design for the site.  However, those hypothetical plans called for a slightly larger project, consisting of 51 residential units.  At this time, the project site is developed with a two-story building, currently occupied by the Myung Sung Presbyterian Church.  The existing structure, which was constructed in 1917, would likely be demolished to make way for the condominium development.

Seven Stories of Mixed-Use Headed Towards Wilshire/Normandie

645 S. Ardmore Avenue

Earlier this year, the boutique Line Hotel opened up shop right above the Purple Line's Wilshire/Normandie Station.  Hopefully its windows are triple paned, because there could be construction activity on the horizon.  According to a document from the Wilshire Center Koreatown Neighborhood Council, a new residential development is planned for the land directly west of the hotel.  Rising seven stories at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Ardmore Avenue, the new apartment building would consist of 268 units above a ground level garage.  The document does not provide renderings, nor does it specify whether or not the development would feature ground level retail space.  However, a case filing with LADCP links the project to Christopher Pak, a principal at the Archeon Group (Solair Wilshire, 535 Kinsley).  The property itself is listed amongst the portfolio of Jamison Services Incorporated, one of Los Angeles' largest private office landlords.  Faced with a decreased demand for traditional office space since the recession, the Koreatown-based company has recently shifted its focus towards residential development.  645 S. Ardmore joins several other apartment projects planned between Normandie and Western Avenues, including the much downsized revival of 3670 Wilshire and a 209-unit building at the intersection of Wilshire and Harvard Boulevards.

• Agenda 12.9.13 (WCKNC)
• Case Information Summary Sheet (LADCP)

Massive Vermont Towers Finishing Up

Koreatown's Vermont Towers and their famously obtrusive parking podium are finally in the home stretch.  The mixed-use development from the J.H. Snyder Company is one of only a handful of high-rise projects to break ground in Los Angeles since the recession.  With towers of 29 and 23 stories, the Vermont adds 464 one and two bedroom units directly across the street from the bustling Wilshire/Vermont subway station.  Designed by the Venice-based Jerde Partnership, the $200 million project features residential amenities including an outdoor garden, heated swimming pool, gym and dog park with views of the Downtown skyline.  Despite its highly visible parking accommodations, the Vermont has also extended an olive branch to pedestrians.  The project has resulted in a variety of streetscape improvements along the western and northern sides of the property, including new palm trees and extra-wide sidewalks.  The towers will greet Wilshire Boulevard with a landscaped pedestrian plaza, centered around 40,000 square feet of retail space with room for a full service market.  After two years of construction, the towers are scheduled to open their doors in May of this year.  Mark it of on your calendars, everyone.

Apartments Heading Toward Lafayette Park

2867 Sunset Place

Resurgent Koreatown continues on its upward trajectory, with a new residential development planned one block south of Wilshire Boulevard.  A surface parking lot at 2867 Sunset Place, just a short walk from Lafayette Park, is set to make way for a new 60-unit apartment building.  Located three blocks east of Wilshire/Vermont Station, the development would include parking accommodations for 77 vehicles.  This section of the neighborhood is currently in the midst of mini-development boom, with the signs of adaptive re-use projects and ground up construction apparent throughout the neighborhood.  The J.H. Snyder Company is currently wrapping up construction on the $200 million Vermont Towers, which will open its 464 apartments later this year.  Jamison Services, one of Los Angeles' largest commercial landlords, recently converted the mid-rise office building at 3075 Wilshire into 123 apartments.  Midway between Lafayette and McArthur Parks, the New York-based Somerset Group plans for 154 luxury condominiums at the northeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Coronado Street.  An 18-story high-rise was also planned at the northwest corner of Wilshire and Virgil Avenue, although the future of that project remains unclear at this point.

• Case Information Summary Sheet (LADCP)