Hearing Scheduled for Office Proposal

The city will hold a zoning hearing Nov. 16 on a two-story, 26,000-square-foot retail and office building proposed for Gramercy Place and Pico Boulevard.

The $3.9-million project is a joint venture between the Pacific Asian Consortium in Employment (PACE) and developer Stuart Ahn. The project, called Los Angeles Builders Mart, has received some federal funding and is one of the consortium’s community development projects, said Cirilo N. Pinlac Jr., PACE’s controller.

The developers want a permit to build the project, which would include retail stores, offices and storage space, loading docks and two parking lots with a total of 90 spaces.

The site, at 3230-3262 W. Pico Blvd., is currently zoned for commercial use, but because one of the proposed parking lots would extend into an area zoned for residential use, a zoning variance is required, said Richard Nam, an architect for the project.

All the building’s tenants will have businesses related to the construction and building trade, Pinlac said. The development is expected to house 10 to 20 tenants.

The first floor of the building would provide 14,744 square feet of retail and storage space and the second floor would offer 10,922 square feet of office space.

Partial funding for the project will come from grants from the Office of Community Services and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as well as from equity contributions from PACE and Sunnyland. If approved, the development is scheduled to be completed by mid-1993.

Established in 1975, PACE is a nonprofit corporation with programs focusing on community and economic development, job training, education and housing. Ahn, owner of Ko-Am Construction Co. Inc., Ahn and Han Architects Inc. and Sunnyland Development, has designed and developed several commercial and residential projects in Koreatown and other parts of Los Angeles.

The hearing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. in Room 561-A of City Hall.