While public comment has stayed dormant for some time, discussions will soon ramp up once again on a divisive large-scale housing project.
On March 4, the City Council Chambers at City Hall will hold a public hearing by the Architectural Review Board to review a proposed housing project at 2601 Lincoln Blvd., which would replace the Gelson’s grocery store and accompanying retail center with 521 apartments in twelve 5-story buildings.
The hearing will cover project design, colors, materials, landscaping, lighting and signage; and serves as a chance for public input on the long-discussed Lincoln Center Project endeavor. It was initially scheduled for late January before being pushed into February, and later postponed until March 4.
The project was submitted for City review on March 11, 2022, and has since received administrative approval from City Planning staff. In a May 2023 administrative approval presentation by Koning Eizenberg Architecture the presentation notes that the mixed-use housing project is proposed to include 521 multi-family residential units, including 53 very low income units.
The plan also calls for 34,800 square feet of grocery, retail and restaurant space at street level, 2,400 square feet of outdoor dining and display, and 79,100 square feet of personal storage. Parking tabulations state that 825 parking spots will be provided in the project.
The amount of very low income residential units permits developers to exceed city mandated density limits under a state density bonus, which could be further exploited via a new law. Assembly Bill 1287 expands state density bonuses for developers that hit affordable and moderate income goals, and combines with Senate Bill 713 (which prohibits a local government from applying development standards if the standards preclude construction of development permitted by density bonus law) to put developers in more control of the project. Property owners SanMon Inc., a subsidiary of Balboa Retail Partners, are working with Koning Eizenberg and Cypress Equity Investments on the project.
Not without its detractors, the Lincoln Center Project was subject to scrutiny during a February 2022 community Zoom meeting, where various concerns were raised by residents. Public input included skepticism on the scale of the project, its impact on traffic and water supply, the number of affordable units and the smaller retail component. Later in the year, resident group Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City created a petition to oppose the project, which received over 2,000 backers with similar complaints.
A recent post about the March 4 meeting on community social media site NextDoor also had plenty of negative sentiment, with many pointing out the negative traffic impacts associated with a project adjacent to the already hectic Lincoln Blvd. Some residents have also voiced support for the development in the past, stating that it was important to address the local housing crisis and help Santa Monica meet a state-mandated requirement to facilitate almost 9,000 new units by 2029.
Along with Gelson’s, businesses at the 2601 Lincoln retail center include Fantastic Sam’s Cut & Color hair salon, Non Stop Sushi & Sake Bar, McCarthy Pharmacy and Dry Clean X-Press.
