By Hector Gonzalez and Niki Cervantes
Staff Writers

March 16, 2015 -- Four private development projects that would change the face of Downtown are expected to make their way through the planning approval process this year, City officials said.

Three hotels that include housing, and a mixed-use residential development are among the 20 “priority” projects expected to be taken up by the City’s Planning Commission after it completes its review of the City’s proposed new zoning code ordinance.

The commission wasn’t able “to review a lot of projects the last several months because they’ve been focused on getting the ordinance done,” Planning Director David Martin said in early February.

After the process is completed, the Planning Commission will turn its attention to the priority projects stalled in a “very clogged” pipeline of proposals, Martin said.

Below are the major private development projects slated for Downtown that are expected to be reviewed by the Planning Commission this year.

The Fairmont Miramar Hotel

One of the most closely watched projects in the city is the proposed $255 million redevelopment and modernization project slated for the 86-year-old Fairmont Miramar Hotel.

The developer, MSD Capital, submitted plans in May 2013 for a “mixed-use luxury hotel” that would replace two of the existing buildings with three new ones, including one that would rise higher than 300 feet and have as many as 120 condos.

But “based on comments they we’re hearing from the public,” including concerns about the proposed tower’s height, MSD officials decided to redesign the project, Martin said.

“We are expecting from them a revised project that will look completely different from what they originally submitted, and we haven’t seen that yet,” Martin said.

Alan Epstein of MSD Capital said the developer is working on the design with the award-winning architectural firm Pelli Clarke Pelli.

"We are continuing our design work and are very excited about our new design direction,” Epstein said. “Our new plan solves the on-site parking problem, generates significant new revenue for the City and creates new affordable housing in Downtown Santa Monica. We look forward to presenting our new plan to the residents of Santa Monica soon."

In the meantime, the City Council has given an interim green light to the plans so MSD can move forward with environmental impact studies and other necessary paperwork.

“A revised plan from them will incorporate the Environmental Impact Report, and all that will be published at some point down the road when it’s all buttoned up,” Martin said.

The Gehry-Designed Hotel

A mixed-use project designed by famed architect Frank Gehry on a 2-acre parcel at Ocean Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard is set to go to the Planning Commission sometime in March for a “float up” review, Martin said.

If commission members deem it appropriate, they could suggest that the project go to the Council for input, he said.

When developers M. David Paul and Associates and Worthe Real Estate Group submitted the plan to the city in March 2013, Gehry promised the new high-rise would change the face of Santa Monica’s skyline.

But the proposal drew mixed reactions during a public unveiling that month. Some residents were concerned about the height of the design.

Included in the plan is a 244-foot tall hotel building with 125 rooms and 25 condo units. Retail and restaurant space, as well as 19-rent controlled apartments would take up the ground floor.

“There are currently rent-controlled apartments on the site, so in order to remove those units to build the new project, they would replace those rent control units,” Martin said.

Two existing historic buildings on the site — a Spanish Colonial house and a Victorian-style house that were formerly used as residences but now serve as office and retail spaces — will be preserved as part of the project, he said.

The two landmark buildings would be incorporated into a proposed 36,000-square-foot “museum campus.” There would be an additional third building behind the two historic houses, and an underground exhibition space.

The Wyndham Hotel Project

Although project developer FelCor Lodging Trust filed plans with the Planning Department last June to redesign the former Holiday Inn near the entrance to the Pier, the project is “still going through the process,” Martin said.

Newly renamed the Wyndham Hotel, the 170,104-square-foot project at 120 Colorado Ave. would be built at one of Santa Monica’s choicest locales — between the redeveloped Civic Center and the heart of Downtown Santa Monica.

Another mixed-use project slated to receive priority by the Planning Commission this year, the development would include 211 hotel rooms and 25 condo units. It also would feature about 13,680 square feet of restaurant space, 3,600 square feet of retail and 5,470 square feet of meeting space, according to City records.

Designed by the awarded-winning, Venice-based architecture firm The Jerde Partnership, the proposed project would replace the seven-story hotel built in 1967. Three new buildings would rise up from the site, ranging in height from five to 15 stories, the latter of which would be twice as tall as the City’s height limit.
 

The Fred Segal Housing and Retail Development

In July 2014, planning commissioners gave their blessing to a proposed seven-story mixed-use housing and retail project at 500 Broadway that would replace one Fred Segal complex of small boutique stores.

Last October, Council members voted unanimously to allow the project to move forward, but the development remains far from a done deal, Martin said.

Although council members praised it, the project by developer DK Broadway LLC was still undergoing an environmental impact review as of early February, he said.

After that review is completed, the project is expected to return to the Planning Commission by the end of this year. Commission members will then decide whether to recommend the project to the Council for approval or feedback, Martin said.

If approved as proposed, the project would bring 262 new residential units just one block from the future Downtown Santa Monica Expo Light Rail Station.

A 39,600-square-foot commercial area on the ground floor would feature a grocery store, a fitness center and lease space for local small businesses, according to City records. The project’s total height would not exceed the City’s proposed 84-foot height limit.

Several residents who attended the City Council meeting in October when the plans were presented complimented the developer on the project’s design.

“I look at this project and I see a developer who really wants to work with this community,” said former Planning Commissioner Frank Gruber.