Hankey Group has proposed nearly 1K apartment units in 2 weeks

Firm’s latest project is 490-unit complex in Koreatown

Hankey Investment Company Chairman Don Hankey and 200 North Vermont Avenue (Credit: Google Maps)
Hankey Investment Company Chairman Don Hankey and 200 North Vermont Avenue (Credit: Google Maps)

Hankey Group is going big in Los Angeles in 2019.

The firm’s latest proposal, a 490-unit apartment building in Koreatown, adds to the 432-unit project it submitted last week in Sun Valley.

The Koreatown project would be a six-story mixed-use complex at 200 N. Vermont Avenue, according to city filings. The development would be built on the first property that founder Don Hankey ever invested in, an auto dealership that he purchased a stake in more than 60 years ago. The 2.8-acre site is now vacant.

Hankey Group is planning to set aside 10 percent of the 490 units for “extremely low income” renters. It is seeking to take advantage of the property’s proximity to public transportation by claiming a 70 percent density bonus and other benefits through the city’s Transit Oriented Communities program.

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Don Hankey bought a 25 percent stake in Midway Ford in 1958 at that location, and took full ownership in 1972. He spent the next decade buying up dealerships before expanding into real estate.

This is the company’s fourth major project planned in L.A. in the last few years. Its Circa development in Downtown was a joint venture with Jamison Services. It opened last year.

Since 2016, Hankey and Jamison have also been working on a 23-story residential tower on the Koreatown and Westlake border.