Circa on Wilshire Coming Back to Life?

Koreatown is in the midst of a residential building boom, and it looks like a long dead development may want to get in on the action.

Circa on Wilshire, as designed by Ankrom & Moisan

The owners of the land once intended for Circa on Wilshire took out an extension on the tentative tract map for the lot which will last until 2015.  Plans for a 18 floor/190 unit mixed-use tower at the corner of Wilshire and Virgil were put on hold back in 2008 amidst the real estate bust.  Developer Williams & Dame quickly sold the land off, and it's remained a dusty vacant lot ever since (look below, see how dusty it is).

With the real estate market now recovering, an already entitled project such as this seems like an easy candidate for revival.  It's in a lively, walkable neighborhood that doesn't oppose dense development.  The Wilshire/Vermont subway station and Lafayette Park are both short walks away.  As an added bonus, the Wilshire frontage of the building would offer great views of Bullocks Wilshire, the 1929 art deco masterpiece located across the street.

Bullocks Wilshire

Of course, the new developers may very well decide to alter the scope and design of the project as they see fit.  In the meantime, I'll keep my ears to the ground and my fingers crossed for good news.

Mini Development Boom Spawning Near Lafayette Park

Strange as it is to say, it seems like developers have recently zeroed in on the residential neighborhood south of Wilshire Boulevard's Lafayette Park.  Last month brought the news that a new 60-unit apartment building would be replacing a surface parking lot on Sunset Place.  Now, plans submitted to the city indicate that a vacant lot on 7th Street will give rise to a much larger mixed-use complex.  Located just west of Hoover Street, the new six-story building would consist of 158 apartment units above an uspecified amount of street level commercial space.  Occupying the majority of a city block, this project joins a wide variety of low-rise apartment proposals which have sprung up in the Westlake neighborhood over the past twelve months.  While building so much market rate residential in a currently low-income neighborhood may raise some eyebrows, similar developments were once a questionable proposition in Downtown.  With enviable transit access and gentrification bearing down on all sides, this could finally be Westlake's time to shine.  Other projects recently constructed nearby include Seventh & Coronado, a self described "68-unit, transit-oriented, community of affordable housing with social service space for large families."

• Case Information Summary Sheet (LADCP)

Apartments Heading Toward Lafayette Park

2867 Sunset Place

Resurgent Koreatown continues on its upward trajectory, with a new residential development planned one block south of Wilshire Boulevard.  A surface parking lot at 2867 Sunset Place, just a short walk from Lafayette Park, is set to make way for a new 60-unit apartment building.  Located three blocks east of Wilshire/Vermont Station, the development would include parking accommodations for 77 vehicles.  This section of the neighborhood is currently in the midst of mini-development boom, with the signs of adaptive re-use projects and ground up construction apparent throughout the neighborhood.  The J.H. Snyder Company is currently wrapping up construction on the $200 million Vermont Towers, which will open its 464 apartments later this year.  Jamison Services, one of Los Angeles' largest commercial landlords, recently converted the mid-rise office building at 3075 Wilshire into 123 apartments.  Midway between Lafayette and McArthur Parks, the New York-based Somerset Group plans for 154 luxury condominiums at the northeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Coronado Street.  An 18-story high-rise was also planned at the northwest corner of Wilshire and Virgil Avenue, although the future of that project remains unclear at this point.

• Case Information Summary Sheet (LADCP)