Santa Monica Post Office Site for Sale

By Jonathan Friedman
Associate Editor

June 19, 2017 -- Reconstruction of the old post office in Downtown Santa Monica has already begun, but the owner who fought through several controversial hearings to get the project approved apparently doesn’t want the property anymore.

The site on Fifth Street off Arizona Avenue, which was designated a historic landmark in 2014, is up for sale.

The price tag is “best offer,” according to an online notice from Industry Partners and Pegasus Investments, who appear to be handling the sale. A marketing brochure for the proposed sale calls the property that was built in 1938 a “one-of-a-kind, historic opportunity in Downtown Santa Monica.” SkyDance Media, a movie production company headed by David Ellison (son of multi-billionaire Larry Ellison), purchased the property for a reported $25 million three years ago. The post office closed the previous year. (Photo courtesy Santa Monica Conservancy)

A proposal to renovate the property while keeping some historic features such as the post office sign became controversial last year because of a proposed fence to be built around the building.

Some people, including planning commissioners, were bothered by the fence. But SkyDance said it was needed to prevent those who see the sign and think the post office is still open from entering the property.

A divided Planning Commission approved the project in April 2016 during an awkward meeting in which the panel at first denied the application, then Commissioner Mario Fonda-Bonardi reversed his vote (“Commission Denies, Then Approves Santa Monica Post Office Conversion,” April 25, 2016).

Planning Commissioner Jennifer Kennedy appealed that approval to the City Council later in the year, but her appeal was denied.