89 apartments to replace to trio of houses in Koreatown

Three parcels in southern Koreatown that were originally developed with single-family homes in the early 20th century could soon yield a new apartment complex, according to an application recently filed with the Los Angeles Department of City Planning.

Slated for a property at the northeast corner of Kingsley Drive and San Marino Street, the proposed development is envisioned as a seven-story edifice featuring 89 one- and two-bedroom dwellings above a two-level, 133-car subterranean parking garage.

Project applicant Saman Kerendian, operating through the entity Kian Investment, LLC, has requested entitlements using Transit Oriented Communities incentives to permit increased density and floor area beyond zoning limits, as well as decreases to required setbacks and on-site open space. In exchange, nine of the new apartments are to be priced as affordable housing at the extremely low-income level.

Sam Ghanouni is designing the project, named for its address at 926 S. Kingsley Drive, which would consist of a contemporary podium-type building consisting of five floors of wood-frame construction above a concrete base.

The project is one of numerous infill housing developments planned or in construction in the southern section of Koreatown, including a proposed 114-unit apartment complex from Jamison Services that would rise two blocks north on Kingsley.

• Koreatown (Urbanize LA)