Hankey Investment Company, the real estate arm of subprime auto lender Don Hankey’s Hankey Group, plans to develop an eight-story condominium project in a vacant parking lot in Koreatown.
Located at 638-642 South Berendo Street near the nearby Wilshire/Vermont intersection, one of the city’s busiest traffic corridors, the project will include 163 units. Hankey executive Scott Dobbins submitted a project application to the city planning department in late June, but details of the application have not yet been registered.
It’s unclear whether Hankey intends to develop the property alone, as the company has done before, or with a partner. Representatives for Dobbins and Hankey responded to requests for comment.
The plan would add another apartment building in Koreatown, which has long been one of Los Angeles’ densest and most populous neighborhoods and has seen a recent surge in new development. Major projects currently underway include 3545 Wilshire Boulevard, a two-tower complex in Jamison with 428 units; Charles Parks & Associates-designed “The Parks in LA,” a 251-unit complex; “Hallasan,” a Holland A project of Partner Group with 375 units.
Companies such as the Hudson Group and Jamison have received more applications in recent weeks.
Hankey Investment Company may be best known for its investments — it has more than $1 billion in office, retail and mixed-use assets in Southern California, according to its website — but it has also developed several high-profile residential projects, including The Wilshire, a 346-unit complex in Koreatown, a joint venture between Hankey and Cityview; Circa, a 648-unit luxury complex in downtown Los Angeles; Kurve on Wilshire, a Westlake Stylish building with 644 units. Circa and Kurve are both joint ventures with Jamison.
A Hankey-related entity bought the Berendo Street site in late March for $14 million, property records show. The seller is listed as Berendo, Inc, a firm managed by Beverly Hills attorney Wayne Johnson. In early 2022, Berendo applied for a 22-story, 343-unit high-rise on the site.
