The long-running plan redevelop the parking lot of Koreatown's Pio Pico Library with a pocket park continues to take small steps forward, following a motion introduced on May 24 by Los Angeles City Councilmember Heather Hutt.
The proposed project at 649 S. Oxford Avenue, which has been in the works for more than six years, calls for rebuilding the existing surface level parking lot with a 50-car underground garage, supplemented by 25 stalls along adjoining streets. That would leave 26,000 square feet of room for new park space one block south of Wilshire Boulevard.
JFAK Architects is designing the new park, which would include a playground, an event space, a shade structure, fitness equipment, a walking loop, benches, tables, trees, and landscaping.
An initial study published in 2019 by the City of Los Angeles estimated that the construction process for the pocket park will take roughly 18 months.
Location of Pio Pico Library and proposed pocket park in KoreatownGoogle Maps
The motion by Hutt, which has been referred to the Council's Community Enrichment Committee for consideration, would request that the Board of Recreation and Parks Commissioners instruct the Department of Recreation and Parks to report on the necessary steps for allocating up to $3.4 million in Quimby fees to the Bureau of Engineering for the pocket park. That money would cover part of the estimated $26.6 million cost for the project - a steep increase from the approximately $15.2-million budget that was projected in May 2022.
An initial study published in 2019 by the City of Los Angeles estimated that the construction process for the pocket park will take roughly 18 months.
Plans for the Pio Pico park follow a failed effort by CRA/LA to convert the one empty lot at 7th Street and Hobart Avenue into a "Koreatown Central Park." That plan fell through with the demise of the statewide CRA systems, and the proposed site has since been redeveloped with an apartment building called the Pearl on Wilshire.
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