Don Hankey aiming for Ktown apartment project

The Hankey Investment Company, the real estate arm of subprime car loan king Don Hankey’s Hankey Group, is aiming to develop an eight-story apartment project on a vacant parking lot in Koreatown.  

The project is located at 638-642 South Berendo Street, near the neighborhood’s Wilshire/Vermont intersection — one of the busiest transit corridors in the city — and would include 163 units. Scott Dobbins, an executive with Hankey’s firm filed the project application with the city planning department in late June, although details of the application had not yet been registered. 

It was also unclear if Hankey intends to develop the property solo or with partners, as the firm has done previously. Dobbins nor a representative from Hankey responded to a request for comment.

The plans would add yet another apartment building to Koreatown, a neighborhood that’s long ranked among L.A.’s densest and most populous and has also seen a recent surge in new development. Major projects currently underway include 3545 Wilshire Boulevard, a two-tower complex from Jamison with 428 units; “The Parks in LA,” a complex from Charles Parks & Associates with 251 units; and “Hallasan,” a Holland Partner Group project with 375 units. 

In recent weeks more applications have come in from The Hudson Group and Jamison, among others. 

The Hankey Investment Company is perhaps more known for its investments — the company counts over $1 billion in office, retail and mixed-use holdings across Southern California, according to its website — but it’s also developed several high profile residential projects, including The Pearl on Wilshire, a 346-unit complex in Koreatown that was a joint venture between Hankey and Cityview; Circa, a 648-unit luxury complex in Downtown L.A.; and Kurve on Wilshire, a sleek 644-unit building in Westlake. Both Circa and Kurve were joint ventures with Jamison. 

An entity tied to Hankey bought the Berendo Street site in late March for $14 million, property records show. The seller was listed as Berendo, Inc, a company managed by the Beverly Hills-based attorney Wayne Johnson. In early 2022 Berendo had filed an application for a 22-story, 343-unit highrise at the site.  

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