Amenitized Buildings Flood into Koreatown

LOS ANGELES—Koreatown is on fire. Value-add investors are scooping up every last opportunity in the submarket since TruAmerica Multifamily's historic $283 million purchase of the Vermont last year, and now, developers are raising the bar. Century West Partners is set to deliver K2LA, which they are calling the most amentizied multifamily property in the submarket. The 476-unit mixed-use complex will be complete in March of 2016, with the second phase of units delivered this month.

"Our vision for our projects in Koreatown is to develop the most amenity rich, transit oriented apartment communities there," Steve Fifield, co-founder and principal of Century West Partners, tells GlobeSt.com. ""Until recently, Koreatown was one of the best kept secrets in Los Angeles. It has three times the population of downtown LA and a host of restaurants, clubs and spas. Yet Century West and JH Snyder are the only developers to add significant buildings to this vibrant submarket in the last seven years. Like downtown LA, Koreatown has attracted a lot of millennials, Hipsters and now generation Z renters who want easy access to all the amenities. With the subway two blocks away, you can even give up your car if you work in the mid Wilshire, Hollywood or downtown markets. And yes, we compete for renters with those same markets."

The crux of the three-building project is the lifestyle amenity package, which includes 24-hour concierge service, state-of-the-art fitness centers, business centers with conference rooms, heated resort style pools and spas, outdoor rooftop decks with BBQ grilling stations and Wi-Fi in all of the common areas. According to Randy Fifield, a partner at the firm, amentized buildings like this are in high demand in the market. "We love this market so much that we recently started construction on NEXT at 601 W Virgil with another 399 units and a new Target store on the ground floor," she tells GlobeSt.com. "It will deliver in 2017. Additionally we're also starting the 175-unit Chelsea at 635 S Vermont in 2016. All told this comprises 1051 units to be delivered over four years. And they lease up as fast as we deliver them because there's an unmet demand for luxuriously finished buildings with lots of amenities. Most of the apartment supply fills the 'rent by necessity' market, while Century West Partners projects fill the 'rent by choice market.'"

Interior units are a mix of micro-studios, spacious studios, junior one-bedroom, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, and feature quartz countertops, ceramic tile backsplashes, stainless steel appliances, sleek plank flooring and large walk-in closets.

The developer has already received strong feedback from the community. "We reached out to the local community early on to establish good ties," says Alla Sorochinsky, the firm's managing director. "We even did peer group reviews of our project to tailor them for this unique market. These groups chose the name K2 for our K2LA project."