Nearly one year after razing the post office at the northwest corner of 6th and Harvard Streets in Koreatown, developer Jamison Services, Inc. has commenced work on the mixed-use apartment building that will rise in its place.

Construction in progress at 6th and HarvardRichard Bourne

The project, named for its address at 549 S. Harvard Boulevard, will consist of a seven-story structure featuring 150 studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments atop approximately 12,900 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. Plans also call for a two-level, 192-car underground parking garage.

Jamison entitled the site for construction using Transit Oriented Communities incentives, which permits a building with greater density, height, and floor area than normally allowed by zoning rules. In exchange, 15 of the new apartments are to be set aside for rent as deed-restricted affordable housing at the extremely low-income level.

Interior of 549 S Harvard BoulevardJamison Services, Inc.

Next Architecture is designing 549 Harvard, which is depicted in renderings as a contemporary podium-type building clad in cement plaster with metal accents. Plans show that the building would have a U-shaped footprint above its second floor, wrapping an elevated courtyard. Other on-site amenities would include a dog park, a lounge, and a fitness center.

Jamison's under-construction project is the second attempted for the former post office site in the past decade. Previously, the site was under the control of developer Urban Commons, which had proposed the construction of a 10-story hotel and condominium complex on the property. However, an entitlement application for that project was withdrawn in January 2020, according to city records.

555 S Harvard BoulevardGoogle Maps

Jamison Services ranks among the largest commercial property owners in the City of Los Angeles, and is responsible for many of Koreatown's newest ground-up and adaptive reuse projects, including the two-tower Opus apartments now rising two blocks to the east at 3545 Wilshire Boulevard.

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