Developers plan 96-key Koreatown hotel

Six-story project proposal comes as LA hotels continue to struggle to fill rooms

956-962 Menlo Avenue (Credit: Google Maps)
956-962 Menlo Avenue (Credit: Google Maps)

Hotel construction projects in California may be struggling right now, but a pair of Los Angeles developers are looking to the future.

A newly-proposed development calls for a 96-key hotel to rise on the southeast corner of Koreatown, property records show.

An LLC managed by Kyong Baek and Jai Baek wants to build the six-story hotel at 956-962 Menlo Avenue. They could not be immediately reached for comment.

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Through 1040 Dewey LLC, the Baeks acquired the two small residential properties at that location in separate transactions for a total of $4.5 million in June 2018 and June 2019, property records show.

The filing follows a report in August that showed the near-term outlook bleak for proposed hotel development projects in California. Atlas Hospitality Group concluded that the vast majority of hotel projects in planning will not get built. The report tracked hotel projects in the first six months of 2020.

L.A. area hotels have improved slightly since the early days of the pandemic. As of mid-September, the vacancy rate at L.A. hotels was nearly 57 percent, according to hospitality industry tracker STR.