City eyes seven sites in Council District 10 for parks

Since assuming office, Councilmember Heather Hutt has for opportunities to add new green spaces large and small within the notoriously park-poor 10th Council District. 

Her targets have included large, hillside sites near Culver City that likely prove cost prohibitive, to pocket parks along the E Line, and even a pedestrian plaza in the heart of Koreatown. Now, Hutt's office has passed the baton to the Department of Recreation and Parks, which is set to evaluate seven city- and privately-owned properties in the 10th District.

Three of the sites under evaluation are owned by the City of Los Angeles, including two parcels next to the Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw Plaza Mall at 3700 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, an assemblage of lots sandwiched between the E Line and Obama Boulevard at 3791 S. Arlington Avenue, and short segment of Wilton Place to the north of Pico Boulevard.

The MLK Boulevard site, located at the northeast corner of the Marlton Square Site, was previously to be included in an assemblage of sites which the City of Los Angeles has sought for years to redevelop with commercial uses. The most recent proposal for the property, which included copious amounts of office space, is not moving forward.

The remaining properties under consideration are all under private ownership, including infill sites at 354 S. Kingsley Drive in Koreatown and 4600 St. Elmo Drive in Mid-City.

The final two sites are properties previously considered for redevelopment with high-rise buildings in Koreatown. They include parcels at 621-643 S. Vermont Avenue in Koreatown, once slated for a 33-story mixed-use tower, and an adjoining lot at 3201-3213 Wilshire Boulevard.

Also on the list is land at 3720 Wilshire Boulevard, also known as Beneficial Park, a large grassy space which often serves as a de facto park for Koreatown. Jamison Services, which owns the site, had once sought to redevelop the land with a 36-story high-rise, but after being stymied by a preservation battle, has instead moved to retain the grassy space and convert an existing 11-story office building to housing.

Recreation and Parks staff are expected to return at a later date with potential mechanisms for acquiring the sites. However, the availability of funding for any acquisitions is unclear, according to a staff report.

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