Boxy development would bring 89 condos to Koreatown

A proposed condo development in Koreatown is making its way through LA’s approval process, and the planning department can’t wait to tell you about it.

On Wednesday, the department tweeted a rendering of the project, which was approved last month by the city planning commission. Located at 500 South Oxford Avenue, it would rise seven stories in height and include 89 units of housing.

The project site is now a large vacant lot at the southeast corner of Oxford and Fifth Street, but as the department’s tweet notes, the land is actually four parcels combined as one to accommodate a project of this size.

As the rendering illustrates, the project will have a boxy design with wall-sized windows and balconies for residents. It also won’t be short on parking. The developer, listed in planning documents as Fred & Jamison, LLC, plans to put 201 spaces in a two-level, subterranean lot.

Building amenities would include a gym, swimming pool, recreational room, dog run, and a courtyard space.

What won’t be included is public green space. The Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust appealed the project, saying the developer should have been required to set aside some of the land as a park (the closest park to the project site is nearly one mile away).

But the commission agreed with planning staff that, given the high number of parks in the wider central Los Angeles area, it would be enough to require the developer to pay a fee toward the creation and maintenance of other nearby parks.

If approved by the City Council, the project would take about six months to construct and could be complete by next year.