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Wilshire Boulevard near Western Avenue 3DMart | Shutterstock

51 projects taking over Koreatown

The neighborhood’s development boom is not slowing down

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Los Angeles is always evolving, but some neighborhoods change faster than others. Projecting a few years forward, it’s hard to imagine any part of the city looking as different as Koreatown. With new buildings going up left and right, entire blocks could be nearly unrecognizable in a relatively short amount of time.

Much of the area's development activity is concentrated around the Wilshire corridor, but a number of projects are also popping up to the north and south. And one developer in particular—Jamison Services—seems to be on a mission to singlehandedly reinvent the neighborhood. The firm recently wrapped up work on its first new construction project in the area, and plenty more are on the way.

To give a sense of what's going on in Koreatown, we've mapped out all the major developments that have been proposed or are under construction within the busy neighborhood.

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3545 Wilshire Boulevard

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Designed by Gruen Associates, this project is one of many being developed by Jamison Services. It would include a 510,000-square-foot mixed use structure sandwiched between two towers (one 32 and the other 14 stories). The complex would have 428 condo units and 32,000 square feet of commercial space.

Vermont Corridor project

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Construction just began on this cluster of buildings, rising on county-owned land. The project will include a mix of housing, government offices, retail space, and a community center. The sites are being redeveloped through a partnership between the county and Trammell Crow Company.

Wilshire Galleria project

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Planned around the historic Wilshire Galleria, this project from Harridge Development Group would flank the old building with a 35-story tower and a seven-story condo structure. Altogether, it's set to include more than 500 condos and a hotel.

Korean American National Museum

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The forthcoming Korean American National Museum will occupy what's currently a city-owned parking lot on Sixth and Vermont. City officials agreed to lease the property to the nonprofit for $1 per year, despite the late addition of 103 units of housing to the project plan (which would help fund the museum). It's scheduled to open in 2020.

631 Vermont Avenue

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Located right next to the future museum, this project would take out a Denny's, replacing it with a 33-story building with 200 hotel rooms, 250 condos, 49,227 square feet of office space, and 28,490 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

A tall city building. Photos via Department of City Planning

3800 West Sixth Street

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Initially proposed as a 16-story development, this project has since grown to 20 floors, with 192 hotel rooms and 122 condos. Plans show it would also have 15,200 square feet of commercial space on the bottom two levels.

Via Los Angeles Department of City Planning

640 South St Andrews Place

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Jamison Services was planning a 16-story structure (pictured) to go alongside the historic Wilshire Professional Building. Plans for that project were approved by the city council in February, but the developer may be shifting course. It submitted plans in July for a shorter project with 227 units of housing.

678 South Ardmore Avenue

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Another Jamison project, this one would add five stories of housing to a two-level parking garage. In total, it would bring 123 units to the neighborhood.

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Wilshire Boulevard Temple expansion

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The Wilshire Boulevard Temple, a city landmark and home to the oldest Jewish congregation in Los Angeles, could soon get a stylish new addition right next door. The new event space would be designed by celebrated architect Rem Koolhaas’s firm, OMA. The project is set to include a ballroom, meeting rooms, and landscaping by local firm Studio-MLA.

Rendering of Wilshire Boulevard Temple addition Courtesy of Wilshire Boulevard Temple

3440 Wilshire Boulevard

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This project, developed by Jamison Services, would bring 641 apartments and 18,454 square feet of commercial space to a parking lot behind an office complex.

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682 S Vermont Ave

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City Council President Herb Wesson proposed this site for a temporary homeless shelter, but, facing strong objections from community members, Wesson began looking into alternative locations. He now says this city-owned parking lot could be developed with senior housing.

Site of Koreatown homeless shelter Google Maps

Pio Pico Pocket Park

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One thing Koreatown lacks is green space, and this project would provide at least a small amount, topping a parking lot in front of the neighborhood's library with grass, landscaped grounds, a dog park, play structures, and more.

pio pico park rendering Rendering by John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects

3700 Wilshire Boulevard

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Plans for this 36-story tower took a major hit when the city gave landmark status to the patch of privately owned green space it would replace. Jamison planned to build 506 residential units and 62,000 square feet of commercial space on the site, but residents objected to the loss of the park-like space. The company will now have to run plans by the Cultural Heritage Commission to move forward with the development.

800 South Western Avenue

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A couple blocks south of the Wiltern Theatre, this proposed development will include 148 hotel rooms, 96 apartments, and 58,000 square feet of commercial space (including six restaurants). An Art Deco-style parking garage and commercial building now at the project site will be preserved in the new development.

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635 South Western Avenue

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Another project proposed right on top of a parking structure, this one would include 132 apartments and 900 square feet of retail space.

Via Los Angeles Department of City Planning

679 South Harvard Boulevard

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Jamison strikes again! This time it's a 110-room hotel with a restaurant and street-level retail set to rise from a surface level parking lot.

Rendering of proposed Harvard Boulevard hotel Courtesy CORBeL architects, inc.

3980 Wilshire Boulevard

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Having now demolished a TomNToms coffee shop and a Korean barbecue restaurant, Jamison now plans to redevelop this site with a seven-story mixed-use project. It would include 228 residential units and 16,429 square feet of commercial space.

2902 Wilshire Boulevard

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Whether this project should be included in a Koreatown map is debatable (many would say it's really in Westlake), but the 31-story tower should be tall enough to at least cast a shadow over the Koreatown neighborhood. Plus, it's being developed by Jamison. It's set to include 640 apartments and ground floor commercial space.

Rendering of Koreatown/Westlake project from above Department of City Planning

3751 West Sixth Street

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This mixed use project would replace an old post office with 200 hotel rooms, 44 apartments, and 18,000 square feet of commercial space.

Rendering of hotel project at 3751 W 6th St Images via Department of City Planning

Soul tower

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A 32-story tower could soon sprout from this parking lot alongside a church at Sixth Street and Shatto Place. Called Soul (get it?), the project is being developed by a pair of Canadian developers and would include 256 residential units.

Site of 550 Shatto construction (Soul) Google Maps

811 South Catalina Street

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Here's another project with a murky future. In 2015, members of the Planning Commission argued its large size made it inappropriate for its location several blocks from the taller structures along Wilshire, but Mayor Eric Garcetti and the city council overturned the commission's decision, arguing the amount of housing the project would bring outweighed its out-of-scale design. This year, the plot thickened further when a judge reversed the city's approval and ordered a full environmental impact review of the project.

Colony 27-story Koreatown tower Via Los Angeles Department of City Planning

Willard H. George building

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Architect Jingbo Lou is spearheading the restoration of this historic Art Deco building, which once housed furrier Willard H. George's extravagant showroom. The 1920s structure is set to hold a restaurant, bar, and apartments.

Willard H. George building exterior Jenna Chandler

2908 Wilshire Boulevard

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Another project on the border of Koreatown and Westlake, this one appears to be a joint development between Jamison Services and the Hankey Group. Located directly across from Lafayette Park, it would bring a 31-story tower with up to 644 apartments to the neighborhood.

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244 South Mariposa Avenue

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This seven-story project would include 121 residential units and 4,600 square feet of housing.

3470 Wilshire Boulevard

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Guess who's developing this project, which consists of two mixed-use buildings to be constructed atop a parking garage? Yep, it's Jamison. The buildings will include 641 apartments and 18,454 square feet of retail space.

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3170 West Olympic Boulevard

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Developer Cbs Property Group has proposed replacing a half-acre strip mall with 252 residential units (40 of them affordable) and 33,280 square feet of retail.

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500 South Oxford Avenue

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Approved by the planning commission late last year, this condo development would rise from a vacant lot some community advocates were hoping to turn into a park. Despite an appeal from the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, it doesn't look like that will happen.

Rendering of 500 South Oxford Avenue project Via Los Angeles Department of City Planning

1000 South Vermont Avenue

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This seven-story building would take out a gas station, an apartment complex, and a medical office building—replacing them with 228 units of housing and 53,498 square feet of commercial space.

Rendering of 1000 vermont Los Angeles Department of City Planning

4+N Lofts

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This seven-story structure planned for Normandie and Fifth is being developed by Jamison Services and will include 224 apartments above a parking garage. It’s now under construction.

4+N Lofts streetview Google Maps

950 South Berendo St

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Developers are increasingly targeting Koreatown’s older homes and apartment complexes, replacing them with larger buildings with more units. In this case, developer Berendo Partners plans to replace seven existing units with a six-story structure with 75 apartments (eight will be affordable to extremely low-income residents).

Streetview of project site Google Maps

689 South Catalina Street

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Planned right next to the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools (which replaced the Ambassador Hotel in 2010), this eight-story structure would include 61 new units of housing.

View of parking lot Google Maps

3921 Wilshire Boulevard

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Jamison plans to convert this 1959-built office building into a residential development with more than 100 units and a bit of retail space.

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3525 West Eighth Street

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Another seven-story structure. This one's being developed by a Florida-based company and will include a total of 367 units of housing and 52,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.

800 South Harvard Boulevard

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Jamison paid $14 million for this property and promptly demolished the commercial and residential buildings that previously stood on the site (pictured). Approvals are already in place for a project at the site with 131 residential units and retail space.

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Hampton Inn

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This six-story Hampton Inn headed for Third Street will offer 171 guest rooms and a two-level parking structure.

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2870 Olympic Boulevard

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Another hotel project, this one would bring 120 guest rooms to the intersection of Olympic Boulevard and Kenmore Avenue. The six-story structure would also include 6,103 square feet of retail space.

Rendering of 2870 Olympic Boulevard Via Los Angeles Department of City Planning

2482 James M. Wood Boulevard

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It's Jamison again, this time with a mixed-use development set to include almost 20,000 square feet of commercial space and 193 new units of housing—20 of them affordable.

Street view of project site at 2482 James M. Wood Boulevard Google Maps

3540 Wilshire Boulevard

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Who could be converting this 13-story office building into apartments? Jamison Services, that's who. The adaptive reuse project would add a total of 338 new units to the area, including 122 that will be built atop the building's parking structure.

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1011 South Serrano Avenue

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This project, now under construction, will replace a long-vacant lot with a 91-unit residential structure.

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731 South Oxford Ave

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This 30-unit apartment complex could soon be replaced with a larger 92-unit building. The new structure would include 30 apartments affordable to low- and very low-income tenants.

Street view of project site Google Maps

Grand Spa Hotel

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This project will add a six-story hotel to a parking lot behind an existing spa building. It'll offer 99 guest rooms above a parking structure.

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616 South Westmoreland Avenue

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Plans for this mixed use development call for 77 live-work units above 3,105 square feet of retail space.

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700 South Manhattan Place

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Another Jamison project, this seven-story building is on the rise just southeast of the Wilshire/Western Metro station. Expected to open next year, it will include 160 residential units and 10,300 square feet of commercial space.

Construction site Google Maps

4000 West Sixth Street

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This six-story mixed use project would replace a gas station with 44 apartments and a bit of street-level retail space.

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864 South Vermont Avenue

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Already under construction, this project should be wrapping up before long. It'll include a grocery store plus 22,000 additional square feet of commercial space.

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3100 West Eighth Street

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Construction started last year on this seven-story mixed-use project with 98 units of housing and 3,575 square feet of commercial space. Developer? Jamison Services.

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99-room hotel

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Planned for a low-slung residential block north of Olympic Boulevard, this project would replace a cluster of older bungalows with a hotel with 99 rooms. It would also include parking for 63 vehicles.