Mike Barry Approved for Koreatown Hotel, Apartments

A Koreatown property owner has pushed through plans to build a seven-story hotel and apartment complex, despite some local pushback.

The Los Angeles City Planning Commission has approved plans by Mike Barry to build a 60-room hotel with 20 apartments at 3216-3222 West 8th Street and 800-814 ½ Mariposa Avenue, Urbanize Los Angeles reported.

It would replace a four-unit apartment complex and parking lot.

Though not faced with an appeal, the project received vocal opposition from the Los Angeles Tenants Union, which sent numerous members to argue the project would accelerate gentrification in Koreatown and fail to provide replacement housing for existing residents.

The developer and city staff said the project complies with state laws relating to replacement housing, and the applicant is working on an agreement for displaced tenants.

Barry’s initial plans, filed in 2018, called for a hotel and residential project. In 2022, he revised his plans to feature a six-story, 95-room hotel. In February, he reverted to his original proposal.

Plans now call for a seven-story building with a 60-room hotel, with 20 apartments above 4,000 square feet of shops and restaurants and three-level underground parking garage.

To replace the rent-controlled fourplex, Barry would include four affordable units for extremely low-income households. The property’s current tenants would have the right to return to the new project if they meet income eligibility requirements.

The U-shaped project, designed by EWAI, would include separate hotel and residential wings, with swimming pools at the second floor and rooftop. The hotel would include a 1,400-square-foot rooftop bar.

The proposed hotel and apartment building has mostly floor-to-ceiling windows, and is trimmed in white, gray and slate blue, according to a rendering.

Pending approvals and a zone change, the developer would break ground late this year and complete the hotel/apartment project in 2026.

Mike Barry owns the H Hotel at 3206 W 8th Street in Koreatown, adjacent to the proposed 60-room hotel and apartments.

— Dana Bartholomew