Korean Air Unleashes Plans for Downtown Megatower

The LA Times reported today that Korean Air, the South Korean transport conglomerate, plans to demo the existing Wilshire Grand hotel and replace it with a pair of sleek office/hotel skyscrapers. The company, which bought the 57-year old property in 1989, claims it has accumulated a special reserve of cash in anticipation of the economic downturn and argues that with sinking construction costs, there is no better time to build. The development will be the latest and greatest of a long string of Korean investment in Los Angeles. If granted approval from the city, groundbreaking could commence in 2011 with completion set for 2014.

The existing Wilshire Grand, while underused and aging, is located on a prime piece of downtown real estate - the corner of Figueroa St and Wilshire Blvd. The location, which is convenient to Korean Air's current LA headquarters, is significant because it is outside of the large and dense Koreatown neighborhood. The $1 billion 1.8 million sf center, built by influential LA developer Thomas Properties, will be an important testament to the growing clout of Koreans and Korean Americans in this city.

Plans call for a 40-story luxury hotel/condo tower connected to a 60-story office building by groundlevel retail and a public plaza. The property is located across the street from the 7th St Metro station. David Martin of endeared downtown architecture firm AC Martin will be the design architect. Rendering shows a sun-friendly north-south orientation and energy-generating photovoltaic panels. It will be the first new office tower built in Downtown since 1992. It may also mean hungry downtowners will no longer have to venture past Vermont Ave for their bulgogi fix.