Koreatown is undergoing a mixed-use development boom in the 2020s. Several projects are being proposed or are already underway, like the 3100 Wilshire project in the historic Bullocks Wilshire Building.
The large and diverse Koreatown neighborhood is one of the most walkable and transit-oriented in the entire city, with several projects receiving subsidies from the City of Los Angeles’ Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC) initiative. Developments with TOC subsidies must put aside a designated number of units for what the City categorizes as low-income or extremely low-income households.
The current development proposed on 550 South Shatto Place in Koreatown by Canadian homebuilder Townline is strategically located to take advantage of the TOC program, since it is just one block north of the Wilshire-Vermont Metro station on 6th Street. The building is also just one block away from both Vermont Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard, two major arterial roads with their own bus lines that run even late at night. The Vermont Corridor Rapid Bus Transit program is also underway, after one year of receiving feedback from Angelinos who live along the Vermont Corridor.
Initially, the development on 550 South Shatto Place was proposed as a 40-story tower with several hundred apartments. Given the subpar parking situation in Koreatown and the fact that Shatto Place is an incredibly narrow street housing both a major transit station and Young Oak Kim Academy, a middle school, a development that size in such a small lot next to a choked-off tiny street would’ve been impractical. If you plan to live in this development and keep a car there, be prepared to drive at a snail’s pace if you drive down Shatto Place, even at night, because of those barricades: this is why you’re incentivized to walk to the Metro or the bus! Unlike other neighborhoods, the entire city is your transit oyster when you live in Ktown.
Subsequently, the LA City Planning Commission approved the developer’s amended proposal to scale down the building to an eight-story unit containing commercial spaces. The approved proposal is for 318 apartments comprising studios, 1-bedroom, and 2-bedroom units with a two-level parking garage with space for 194 cars. 35 apartments will be designated for low-income renters.
550 South Shatto Place will also contain 21,000 square feet of commercial space, part of which will be located in the soon to be repurposed New Covenant Church and religious school.
While Shatto Place is not as large of a commercial artery as nearby Wilshire Boulevard and Vermont Avenue, Koreatown has numerous successful examples of mixed-use development that make the area a prime spot for expanding this type of construction. Not all mixed-use developments need to be as colossal as The Ivy in Culver City or nearby Wilshire-Vermont Station Apartments: even just one building with 1-3 shops, restaurants, or service businesses underneath them will attract local foot traffic and get more utility out of the lot than a single-family home or solely commercial-zoned lot would.
While other parts of LA are slower to embrace mixed-use developments, it’s exciting to see Koreatown gain another one and reclaim more of the city from car culture.
