A half year after we last dropped by, glass cladding now almost fully encases Hallasan, a new apartment tower from Holland Partner Group near the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Vermont Avenue in Koreatown.

View looking northwest from Vermont AvenueUrbanize LA

Currently under construction at the northeast corner of 7th Street and New Hampshire Avenue, the new 38-story building will feature 375 residential units and nearly 3,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space when it opens later this year.

Designed by MVE + Partners, the contemporary glass-and-steel tower high-rise includes an eight-story parking podium which is clad in a transparent screen. Architectural plans and renderings show amenity decks above both the building's podium and rooftop.

Aerial view looking eastMVE + Partners

Hallasan originated as the signature component of a larger mixed-use project proposed by Harridge Development Group. Under that plan, a former I. Magnin department store on Wilshire Boulevard would be transformed into a 160-room hotel, and an adjoining parking lot would be redeveloped with a low-rise apartment complex.

The tower is the latest in a recent string of high-rise developments along in Koreatown, following the 25-story Kurve on Wilshire and 3033 Wilshire. Other projects in the works include a two-tower complex from Jamison Services near Wilshire/Normandie Station and the 40-story Terrace Block development.

696 S New Hampshire AvenueGoogle Maps

Holland Partner Group, in addition to Hallasan, is also building a 185-unit apartment building in East Hollywood, and is behind proposed projects in Echo Park, Mid-Wilshire, and San Pedro.