Developers filed plans for two new Koreatown multifamily buildings this week

The development sites
The development sites

The Koreatown development boom continued this week, with developers filing plans for two new projects on South Kenmore Avenue and South Catalina Street, respectively.

Plans for the first project, a 68-unit, 54,000-square-foot building at 923 South Kenmore Avenue, were filed by SWW Investment LLC, according to property records. The five-story building would include two-story podium parking. Out of the 68 units, 15 would be set aside as low income housing pursuant to a density bonus request.

The nearly half-acre site is currently occupied by three duplex-sized residential structures, according to property records. SWW Investment purchased the three lots for a total $3.4 million last fall.

Just a block away at 836 South Catalina, another developer is planning to build a seven-story apartment building with 18 market rate units and 8 low-income units on a site currently occupied by an eight-unit rental building, city documents show. The applicant was Seong Lee under 748 Irolo LLC, an entity that CoStar connects to Stuart Whang, the founder of Colosseum Athletics in Compton.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

Lee and Whang have also been linked to a 32-unit, seven-story development at 425 South Union Street, The Real Deal reported in September. Property deeds show that 748 Irolo LLC purchased the structure and the 7,200-square-foot land on which it sits for $1.7 million in September 2015.

CPA Kenny Hong serves as the agent for both SWW LLC and 748 Irolo LLC.

Less than half a mile north of the two developments, Koreatown’s most prolific developer Jamison Services is planning a massive multifamily complex comprising 641 units across two buildings on the block bounded by 7th Street, Wilshire Boulevard, Irolo Street and Mariposa Avenue.