The developer of a proposed hotel and condo tower in Koreatown is seeking financial assistance from the City of Los Angeles, according to a motion introduced last week by City Council President Herb Wesson.

The proposed development, which comes from local investor Leo Lee, would rise from a block-wide property at 3800 W. 6th Street.  Approved plans call for the construction of a 21-story tower featuring 122 market-rate condominiums, 14,500 square feet of retail space, and a 192-room Hyatt Centric hotel.

Lee, who has already cleared the property of buildings, has requested economic incentives similar to those issued to other hotel projects by the City of Los Angeles.  The developer has agreed to provide $150,000 to the City of Los Angeles to finance an economic report to evaluate the request.

In requesting a Wesson's motion cites a continued need for new hotel supply in support of the Los Angeles Convention Center - located approximately 2.5 miles east in Downtown's South Park neighborhood.

"Los Angeles has made great strides to improve its convention and tourism business over the past decade," writes Wesson.  "To be more competitive, the City needs more hotel rooms capable of serving the Convention Center demand and growing tourism in the vicinity."

Currently, Los Angeles has less than 3,300 hotel rooms within a half-mile radius of the Convention Center - a figure that compares unfavorably to other West Coast cities such as San Diego, which has 9,000 rooms in close vicinity to its facility, and San Francisco, which has over 20,000 rooms within a half-mile of the Moscone Center.

Wesson's motion has been referred to the City Council's Economic Development Committee for consideration.

Multiple hotel projects in the Downtown area have received, or are poised to receive, financial incentive packages, including Lighstone Group's two-tower, 1,100-room Fig + Pico development and Mack Real Estate's proposed 16-story, 243-room hotel at 12th and Olive Streets.

While most of those hotel projects are typically located within walking distance of the Convention Center, the 3800 W. 6th Street project is not the first outside of a half-mile range that has sought financial assistance from the City of Los Angeles.  The developer of a 160-room hotel near Wilshire Boulevard and Vermont Avenue sought an economic incentive package in 2018, as did the developer of a 298-room complex near Exposition Park. 

Wesson, who is currently running for a seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, has recently called for the establishment of "anti-displacement" zones surrounding new housing developments that lack on-site units for lower-income renters.