Last spring, the Santa Monica Planning Commission recommended the approval of a five-story, mixed-use building comprising eight condominium units, ground floor retail, and nearly 11,000 square feet of office space across two floors.
Applicant Carl Smith of Telemachus Studio has gone back to the drawing board, drafting a new proposal for 20 condominium units and 2,743 square feet of ground floor retail, scrapping the office component altogether.
“The proposed project’s mix of uses has since been revised for consistency with the Downtown Community Plan’s Housing Project definition which requires at least 75% of a mixed-use development’s floor area to be devoted to residential uses,” explains a staff report by the Planning Commission.
The revisions were considered during an April 21st meeting of the Santa Monica Planning Commission in which the commissioners voted unanimously to recommend the approval of the vesting tentative tract map. Essentially, this gives the applicant the right to proceed with development plans so long as they comply with the regulations that are in place at the time of the vesting tentative tract map’s approval.
Located at 1448 7th Street, the 7,500-square-foot development site is currently occupied by a vacant, eight-unit residential building and a surface parking lot. It’s surrounded by two- and three-story office buildings and the Santa Monica Fire Department headquarters. Lee and Yen Property, LLC is listed as the property owner.
The latest iteration of the proposed project calls for a 60-foot tall building over an 18-space subterranean parking garage. There would be 15 market-rate units and five affordable units, along with a private roof deck and parking for 48 bicycles.
The unit mix consists of two market-rate studios, five market-rate and one affordable one-bedroom units, five market-rate and four affordable two-bedroom units, and three market-rate three-bedroom units. Suite sizes would range from 775 to 1,475 square feet with no significant size variation between the market-rate and affordable units.
Updated renderings and building plans are not yet publicly available. The previous design depicted a clean-lined, five-story building with wood cladding, an angled roofline, glass balcony railings and floor-to-ceiling windows. The ground floor showcased large, dark-trimmed storefront windows with the residential entry situated off to the right.
If approved, the revised 20-unit condo project would put residents within walking distance of the Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica Public Library, the Expo Line’s Downtown Santa Monica station, Santa Monica State Beach, and countless shops, bars and restaurants.
