The developer of a proposed hotel in Koreatown is seeking a financial incentive package from the City of Los Angeles, similar to those provided to recent projects in Downtown Los Angeles.

In early 2016, Harridge Development closed on its $49-million purchase of the Wilshire Galleria shopping mall at 3240 Wilshire Boulevard - a deal that included an adjoining surface parking lot.  Four months later, the company filed plans with the City of Los Angeles which call for converting the former I. Magnin & Co. department store into a 160-key hotel, as well as the construction of up to 555 residential units with ground-floor retail on the attached parking lot.

According to a motion introduced last week by City Council President Herb Wesson, Harridge has indicated that financial assistance is needed to construct the proposed development, and has provided $150,000 for the City to hire a consultant to "analyze the economics and financing" for the project.  Similar arrangements have recently been made for the three-hotel Fig + Pico development and the Hotel Indigo at Metropolis, both of which neighbor the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Harridge's project is highlighted by a 35-story, 395-foot-tall high-rise building that would rise at the northeast corner of 7th Street and Vermont Avenue.  Construction is expected to occur over approximately 31 months, although a groundbreaking date for the mixed-use complex is unclear.

Harridge is also behind plans for the multi-tower Crossroads Hollywood development in Hollywood, which would create a similar blend of multifamily residential, hotel rooms, and retail space anchored by the iconic Crossroads of the World on Sunset Boulevard.