By Jonathan Friedman
Lookout Staff

August 24, 2010 -- The Planning Commission last week on Wednesday approved a 20-unit condominium project proposed by real estate giant Trammell Crow for the southeast corner of Ocean Avenue and San Vicente Boulevard. However, most of the commissioners said they did not like the Spanish Revival architectural style of the proposed buildings.

The project will go before the Architectural Review Board (ARB) for design review. The commissioners could only comment on the design, and do not have the power to make demands about it, except for massing and other similar issues. The commission’s approval of the project can be appealed to the City Council.

The proposed project calls for three buildings (two with three stories and one with four stories) surrounding a 5,000-square-foot courtyard. The architectural style includes white-wash plaster and tile work. Five units are designated for affordability by “moderate income” households. Proposed unit sizes from 850 square feet to 4,000 square feet.

The project includes 43 underground parking spaces. Other features include landscaping in the courtyard and open space for the units.

This project will replace a 47-unit, two-building apartment complex currently on the property that was built in the 1950s. The Landmarks Commission had designated the existing complex as a landmark because it was the home of Santa Monica’s first female mayor, Clo Hoover. This decision was overturned last year by the City Council.

Residents of the rent-controlled apartment were evicted from the complex. This was a concern for several comm

issioners, who raised issues about changing demographics in Santa Monica due to a reduction in affordable housing opportunities.

A previous proposal for the project from two years ago featuring what City officials called a contemporary style was blasted by area residents on various grounds, including the project’s mass. The greatly retooled proposal also has its critics. Landmarks Commissioner John Berley told the Planning Commission he would prefer something that is “more responsive and representative of the neighborhood context and our Santa Monica sense of place.”

Planning Commissioner Gwynn Pugh, who is an architect in the city, said, “I am quite horrified, I think, by this style. We’re not Newport Beach. We’re not Santa Barbara. We’re Santa Monica. And this is not a Santa Monica project in my opinion … I find it not appropriate as a gateway building to a community that doesn’t have buildings like this.”

When asked about the reason for the selection of the architectural style, project architect Howard Laks said, “We felt the Spanish Revival architecture was more residential in scale, provides a sense of community … [and is]compatible with other projects in the neighborhood”

Laks further described the project as “soft” without “hard edges.” He called the surrounding buildings’ architectural styles as “eclectic.” Howard Laks served as architectural boardmember with the city for eight years.

"I am quite horrified, I think, by this style. We're not Newport Beach. We're not Santa Barbara
   Gwynn Pugh”

“We felt the Spanish Revival architecture was more residential in scale, provides a sense of community … [and is]compatible with other projects in the neighborhood”
    Howard Laks