Old Office In L.A.’s Koreatown Being Converted Into Apartments

A prominent developer in Los Angeles has started transforming another office building in the city’s dense Koreatown enclave into apartment units as demand for office space and housing go in opposite directions.

Jamison, which is based in Koreatown, and joint venture collaborator Arc Capital Partners are converting the 13-story, 233,000-square-foot building at 3325 Wilshire Boulevard into 236 apartments and 15,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. The project is financed via a $60 million taxable multifamily housing revenue bond from Western Alliance and First Hawaiian Bank, according to property records. 

Jamison acquired the building at 3325 Wilshire in 2005 for $15 million, according to media reports at the time. Corbel Architects designed the project with interior designer firm Donaldson + Partners. Residents are expected to move into the apartments in the next 18 to 24 months, per Jamison.

“There simply is not enough housing in Los Angeles to meet the demand, especially in Koreatown, as new residents from other parts of L.A. see the value in living in a 24/7 live-work-play environment in the heart of the city,” Jamison CEO Jaime Lee said in a statement.

Koreatown is one of the most densely populated areas in L.A., with 110,000 people living within three square miles, and where renters make up some 91 percent of the resident pool, according to Jamison, citing housing data.

To that end, Jamison has transformed about 1.4 million square feet of office space into 1,200 residential units in recent years, which makes up about 20 percent of its multifamily stable. Garrett Lee, president of Jamison multifamily development branch Jamison Properties, said that the conversion of 3325 Wilshire is the company’s 10th adaptive reuse project to date. Along with ground-up development, those projects have delivered 6,000 units with another 2,000 in the pipeline, Garrett Lee said. 

“Converting existing office vacancy into vibrant Class A apartments can revitalize mixed-use corridors like Koreatown while providing much-needed attainable housing for young professionals,” Neville Rhone, co-founder of Arc Capital Partners, said.

Although not an adaptive reuse project, Jamison secured approval from the L.A. City Council last month for two 26-story, mixed-use buildings at 3600 Wilshire Boulevard in Koreatown, which will replace a large parking complex. Plans for that project include 760 more residential units and about 6,400 square feet of retail space. 

Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.