Engineering FIrm Developer Mobbil Goes Green in Koreatown

Investor Shahram Shamsian and engineering firm Mobbil filed an application Oct. 27 to build a 109-unit apartment building with the working name Arapahoe Apartments near the Pico-Union and Koreatown neighborhoods.

The application filed with Los Angeles’ City Planning Department proposes a five-story building at 957, 961, 963, 965 and 967 South Arapahoe Street. The project would feature 93 market-rate units and 16 affordable units.

Rental price points will range from $2,258 for a one-bedroom unit to $3,980 for a three bedroom unit, said Behrouz Bozorgnia of Mobbil.

Plans for the building include a number of open spaces, including a gym, a multi-purpose room, a courtyard and a garden where tenants could grow vegetables. Plans also call for a sun deck on the building’s fifth floor, as well as grilling pavilions and a dog-walking area.

The Mobbil team designing the project includes Bozorgnia, who serves as the project manager. Building plans include environmental features such as landscape areas to filter stormwater and evergreen trees on the northwest side of the building to create a wind barrier.

If plans are approved, the developer would knock down a four-unit residential building at 961-963 South Arapahoe Street and a neighboring residential building at 965-967 South Arapahoe. The proposed apartment building would also cover a vacant lot at 957 South Arapahoe.

The proposed Arapahoe Apartments would be located a short drive away from the Los Angeles landmark of MacArthur Park.

The Mobbil project joins a number of other pending apartment projects in the market, particularly in Koreatown. Jamison Services, the largest landlord in Koreatown, plans to add to its portfolio with a 125-unit building at 730 South Western Avenue. The company also plans to build a 188-unit project at 3000 Wilshire Boulevard, also in Koreatown. In addition, the owner of the Dragon restaurant at 966 South Vermont Avenue plans to knock down the eatery and replace it with 90 apartments.