A Larchmont-based company wants to redevelop an infill site in Koreatown with 45 apartments.
Villas at Westmoreland LLC filed plans for the project with the Los Angeles Department of City Planning earlier this month, according to Urbanize.
The seven-story project is envisioned for 430 S. Westmoreland Avenue, between W. 4th and W. 5th streets. The site is a few blocks from the Metro’s Wilshire/Vermont light-rail station.
The lot is currently vacant and was previously home to a single-family home demolished sometime between mid-2016 and early 2017.
The developer wants to streamline the approvals process through via SB 35, a state measure passed in 2017 that requires cities to fast track certain development projects that include affordable housing and meet certain other criteria.
The developer is also requesting a density bonus for more floor area and height than allowed by zoning. In exchange for both SB 35 streamlining and the density bonus, the firm plans to set aside 26 units as deed-restricted affordable housing.
The design is standard fare for infill projects — a podium-style building with an amenity deck and balconies on the six floors above the ground level. The units would be a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments.
Developers held off on new projects in Koreatown in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic, but the pace of applications has picked up again. The neighborhood was seeing rapid redevelopment before the pandemic.
The first half of this year saw a few new proposals in Koreatown, including Jonathan Harouni’s proposed 88-unit complex on the corner of Normandie Avenue and 1st Street and Schon Tepler Group’s 19-unit co-living proposal on S. Gramercy Drive.
Later in the year, Elk Development filed plans for a 60-unit apartment complex at 728 S. Manhattan Place. San Francisco affordable developer Bridge Housing also filed plans for a 95-unit affordable housing development at 701-710 S. New Hampshire Avenue.
[Urbanize] — Dennis Lynch