The final components of a mixed-use project centered on a historic I. Magnin & Co department store in Koreatown are finally moving forward.

View of the Wilshire Galleria / former I. Magnin & Co. building looking southeast from Wilshire Boulevard in 2018Hunter Kerhart Architectural Photography

Just south of the Wilshire/Vermont subway station at 3240 Wilshire Boulevard, Harridge Development Group is in the process of securing construction permits to convert the late 1930s retail building now known as the Wilshire Galleria into housing. Plans call for transforming the existing five-story frame into a nine-story structure through the addition of mezzanines and a rooftop penthouse. The resulting project would include 107 residential units and more than 29,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial uses.

An earlier plan to convert the Wilshire Galleria building into a 160-room hotel were abandoned in 2022, according to city records.

684 S. New Hampshire AvenueGoogle Street View

Directly south at 684 S. New Hampshire Avenue, a parking lot which previously served the Galleria has been turned into a dirt pit, where permits have already been issued for the construction of a seven-story, 170-unit apartment which would feature 170 apartments, just over 900 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, and three-level, 253-car underground parking garage.

Archeon Group is designing the project, according to permit records.

View looking southeast from New Hampshire AvenueArcheon Group

In October, Commercial Observer reported that Madison Realty Capital had provided a total of $115 million in construction financing for the project, going to a joint venture consisting of Harridge, Silverpeak Real Estate Partners, and Urban Green Investments. That report indicated that the project would include one-bedroom lofts in the former I. Magnin building, with studio, one-, and two-bedroom units in the new construction. Planned amenities include fitness centers, co-working space, recreation rooms, and rooftop pools.

Harridge entitled half of a city block which spans New Hampshire Avenue between Wilshire to the north and 7th Street to the south. The third component of that plan has already been completed - the 36-story Hallasan apartment tower was developed separately by Holland Partner Group, and opened for residents earlier this year.

684 S. New Hampshire AvenueGoogle Maps

The project is the latest in a series of infill developments built on the blocks surrounding Wilshire/Vermont station within the past decade, including the roughly 470 apartments of the K2LA complex and the adaptive reuse of an office tower now taking shape at 695 S. Vermont Avenue.

Harridge, in addition the Galleria redevelopment, is also planning a revamp which would add housing and other uses to the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza shopping center, as well as a proposed high-rise development surrounding the Crossroads of the World complex in Hollywood.

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