Big change is on the way for one of Santa Monica’s few undeveloped plots of ocean view property, as the Beverly Hills hoteliers behind Shutters on the Beach and Casa del Mar move forward with plans for apartments and retail near the beach. The Planning Commission will review development agreements for two, mixed-use apartment complexes from Thomas and Edward Slatkin at their Oct. 3 meeting.
A 22-unit apartment complex with a modern, modular design and ground floor retail and restaurant space is planned for the current vacant lot south of Casa del Mar at 1921 Ocean Front Walk. The upper floors will consist of staggered and layered solid wood siding, ocean-view decks and windows to provide “texture and varied color,” according to a staff report.
The site is a single 23,258 square foot plot on the northwest corner of Ocean Way and Bay Street. The design for the four-story complex received support from the city’s Architectural Review Board, insisting “the building should have a strong design identity” and should not attempt to imitate the nearby Casa del Mar.
The plans include 12 one-bedroom apartments, seven two-bedroom apartments and three three-bedroom apartments.
“The floor plan layouts feature large apartments with each residential unit having been designed with an ocean view. The roof features an approximate 2,400 square-foot common deck space over-looking Santa Monica Beach and the Pacific Ocean,” the staff report said.
The ground floor plans leave enough room for two restaurants with entrances facing the beach (Proposition S limits all new beachfront restaurants to 2,000 square feet). A three-story underground parking garage will have 56 parking spaces and 43 bike spaces.
The developers have offered to build four moderately affordable units off-site, at their second project at 1828 Ocean Avenue. Tenants would have to make fifty percent of the medium income to qualify to move in.
The Ocean Avenue complex would transform a current parking lot servicing Casa del Mar into a five-story complex with 83 units, 2,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and 273 underground parking spots in a three-level garage. A rooftop terrace with a swimming pool, lounges and citrus trees tops off the Koning Eizenberg Architecture structure.
An additional 12 affordable housing units will bring the total number to 17 located inside the 1828 Ocean Avenue project.
The Planning Commission will meet Wednesday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m. inside City Council Chambers, 1685 Main Street.
kate@smdp.com
