In Koreatown, prolific local developer Jamison Services, Inc. is putting the finishing touches of Gemma, a housing complex involving the adaptive reuse of a mid-century office building and new construction above an adjoining parking garage.

Rendering of 3540 Wilshire BoulevardJamison Services Inc.

The project, located at the southeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Ardmore Avenue, is centered on the conversion of a 1950s office tower into rental apartments.  The 13-story building is scheduled to reopen in December 2021 with 206 apartments on its upper floors, while retaining existing ground-floor retail.

The nearly finished product closely resembles renderings of design work by Corbel Architects, which depicted the contemporary mid-rise building lined with red horizontal bands.

On a neighboring site at 678 S. Ardmore Avenue, Jamison has transformed the office building's two-story parking garage into the podium level of a new apartment complex.  Five floors of wood-frame construction will contain 123 residential units, as well as a courtyard swimming pool and a rooftop amenity deck.

View of 678 S Ardmore AvenueUrbanize LA

The new construction, designed by DFH Architects, is on pace to open in October 2021.

Gemma represents a tried and true formula for Jamison Services, which previously transformed the former Los Angeles area offices of Texaco into a housing development known as the Crosby.  That project also involved the construction of new housing above an existing parking structure just south of Wilshire Boulevard on Catalina Street.