After failing to secure tax incentives for a hotel project, the owners of a currently vacant site at 3800 W. 6th Street in Koreatown are opting to entitle the property for a mixed-use residential development instead.

The project, which would span the south side of 6th Street between Hobart Boulevard and Serrano Avenue, now calls for the construction of an eight-story edifice featuring 301 studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments above approximately 6,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space and partially subterranean parking for 160 vehicles.

View looking southeast from 6th and SerranoTCA Architects

Applicant Gateway Regional Center, a company specializing in EB-5 funded projects, is seeking the approval of Transit Oriented Communities affordable housing incentives to achieve greater floor area and density, as well as a decrease in required on-site parking. In exchange, 31 of the new apartments would be set for rent by qualified households at the extremely low-income level.

TCA Architects is designing the contemporary podium-type building, which would be clad in plaster and metal, and include amenity areas at the podium and roof levels.

"The concept for the design is inspired by the idea of interlocking masses," reads a narrative included with the project's entitlement filing. "Double height volumes are located at primary corners with carved outs and glazing to create focal points on the building skin. It introduces indoor and outdoor spaces for pedestrian activation and visual connection to the retail experience at street level. Enhanced materials and finishes are placed at the base to break up architectural massing with grounding elements to strengthen the form visually. The lower portion of the building takes on more movement in window fenestration. The top portion provides a simple stacking order with window and balcony arrangement, clean lines, and a light color palette."

Rendering of the approved Hyatt Centric hotel and condominiumsAXIS/GFA

The new plan for 3800 W. 6th Street is significantly scaled back from a project which was approved for the site in 2019. However that plan, which envisioned a 21-story tower featuring a 192-room Hyatt Centric hotel and condominiums under a single roof, was dependent on securing financial incentives from the City of Los Angeles. City officials backed away from a tentative arrangement to provide tax benefits for the hotel in October 2020.

Other projects which also aimed to develop a hotel and housing simultaneously in Koreatown have also been felled in recent years. One block east, troubled developer Urban Commons abandoned plans to develop a 10-story building at 6th Street and Harvard Boulevard in January 2020, opening the door for prolific local developer Jamison Services to entitle the site for apartments.