A renovation over a decade in the making is finally making serious headway through Santa Monica city government, giving new life to one of the area’s premier destinations.
During Monday’s meeting of the city’s Architectural Review Board (ARB), a presentation was given on the mass renovations planned for the Miramar Hotel site at 1133 Ocean Avenue, a project with near-unanimous approval by the board and public commenters. The comprehensive expansion and modernization of the Miramar would add to the full-service hotel by adding up to 60 residential condominiums and associated common areas, restaurant and retail spaces, a three-level subterranean parking garage and significant publicly-accessible open space.
Another key piece of the project will take place across the street, with 42 new affordable apartments planned at 1127 and 1129 Second Street. The housing site, approved by the ARB in May 2023, would be owned and operated by Community Corporation of Santa Monica and would include 11 three-bedroom, 15 two-bedroom and 16 one-bedroom units at affordability levels ranging from 30% to 80% income households.
The Miramar renovations, if approved by city staff and the city’s Landmarks Commission, would begin construction after a 13-year odyssey for the project. A development agreement application for the Miramar was submitted by Ocean Avenue LLC in April 2011, with the project site identified in both the 2010 Land Use and Circulation Element and the 2017 Downtown Community Plan as "a site for major investment." Santa Monica City Council approved the agreement in September 2020, following a lengthy community engagement and city review process, and the California Coastal Commission approved the project’s Coastal Development Permit in March 2022.
Updated design review plans reflect the review process, including preliminary review discussions held by both the ARB and Landmarks Commission in 2019. The Landmarks Commission will ultimately have a say on the project via a Certificate of Appropriateness application, due to the complex’s Palisades Building and the Moreton Bay Fig Tree’s designation as city landmarks.
The Moreton Bay Fig Tree, the 80-foot-tall landmark planted by a sailor in the late 1800s, would become the "focal point of the site" with the redevelopment. The updated site plan, applicant Ocean Avenue LLC stated, "was designed to provide a pedestrian friendly open space network," and includes an approximately 14,000 square foot publicly-accessible space surrounding the tree, holding the Fig Tree Deck and the Miramar Gardens Terraces among other spaces.
"The site design is really anchored by the historic Moreton Bay Fig Tree … one of the primary guiding principles was to open up the hotel parcel, most of the surrounding streets and also to pedestrians," said Principal and Vice President of developer The Athens Group Dustin Peterson.
Board members and the vast majority of public comment were amazed by the attention to detail in the presentation, with board member Jesse Campos stating that the applicant has handled challenges from prior ARB reviews, appreciating "the responsiveness" to needs and comments.
"I’m supportive of the project and just interested to see the development," board member Craig Hamilton added. "There’s so many pieces to it that have improved."
Speakers voicing their support ranged from representatives of local economic leaders to environmental advocates, such as Urban Forest Task Force member Jerry Rubin, who admired the care given to the Fig Tree.
"I certainly hope that this can be approved, it’s going to benefit so much [to] the community … I’m grateful to all of the employees [and] really appreciate all the work that’s being done," Rubin said, adding that he hopes the development can be completed in time for the 2028 Olympic Games.
On the economic front, Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. Business & Community Development Manager Martin Ronzio-Garcia stated that the development is estimated to contribute over $444 million to the city’s general fund and over $112 million to local schools, with a total economic impact exceeding the $3 billion mark. Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce Director of Government Affairs Alex Brown added that the Chamber has expressed "enthusiastic support" for the project.
"We believe the project represents a visionary step forward for our city, integrating contemporary architecture, sustainability and beautifully landscaped open spaces," Brown said. "Over the next 25 years, the project is projected to generate hundreds of millions in direct taxes and billions in overall economic impact … after years of rigorous planning and approvals, we hope that Santa Monica can reap the benefits of this project."
Though the ARB item on the Miramar development was not a public hearing or a regular-agendized item, the board recommended that the project move forward to the Landmarks Commission. City staff will now review the project, specifically a historic preservation consultant assessing conformance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards, and the Landmarks Commission public hearing for application is anticipated to take place in either September or October.
