By Melody Hanatani
Daily Press Staff Writer
CITY HALL A proposal to construct a new Travelodge motel on Ocean Avenue, stimulating an area considered dull by some business owners, received a nod from planning officials on Wednesday, pushing the project forward after staying stagnant for some time.
The Planning Commission voted to push the bid for a new 164-room motel to the City Council and Architectural Review Board, which will be tasked with reviewing the general plan for the project and the design elements of the lodge, respectively.
The Farzam family, which has been in the hospitality industry for more than 30 years and owns four properties in Santa Monica, including three on Ocean Avenue, is proposing to consolidate the lots for the existing Pacific Sands Motel and adjoining Travelodge to construct one new and improved Travelodge.
The proposed four-story limited-amenity lodge, which means it wouldn’t have a restaurant or other features typically found in a hotel — would be roughly 89,000 square feet in size with nearly 300 parking spaces in a subterranean garage. Rooms in the new Travelodge would be priced at about $150 a night, significantly lower than the average rate for an upscale room at $235 a night, according to Michael Farzam, the property owner.
The project also proposes ground floor retail spaces on both the Ocean Avenue and Second Street sides of the motel.
The Farzam family reviewed several options for the site when it acquired the two motels a few years ago, including renovation and leaving the properties as is, both of which were found not to be economically feasible. The former option would’ve been so costly that the owners would be forced to raise the prices, Farzam said.
The family opted for more affordable lodging, he said.
“We run almost 100 percent all year round and we are happy with that niche.”
“We think it works well for us and works well for the under-served district in Downtown Santa Monica and the Coastal Zone, which is a lost trade,” Farzam added.
The underground parking garage would fill a local employee parking drought, providing spaces for workers at the Ivy at the Shore restaurant and the Makai Lounge, both of which are located on Ocean Avenue.
Planning Commission Chairman Gwynn Pugh raised some concerns about offering extra parking, noting that it seems to go against City Hall’s goal of decreasing vehicular trips in the downtown area and encouraging alternative transportation.
Commissioners Gleam Davis and Julie Lopez-Dad disagreed, pointing out that the applicant is not proposing public parking, but alleviating woes for workers in the area. Davis suggested possibly limiting the parking to employees and closing it to the public.
Lopez-Dad said that taking away the motel’s ability to offer parking spaces would economically choke the city, cutting off revenues that parking fees would bring in.
“The business community has been asking for it,” Lopez-Dad said.
The Travelodge project also includes the construction of a three-story bridge between the main motel on Ocean Avenue and an annex on Second Street, separated by an alley where hotel guests have been involved in near car accidents, Farzam said.
Several commissioners seemed to have reservations about the bridge, including Pugh who said he wanted the overpass to be of scale, suggesting it be shrinked to a one or two-story bridge.
“You need to find a way to make a smaller bridge work,” Pugh said.
Many of the Farzam’s neighbors and business owners who spoke during the meeting did so in favor of the project, pointing to the need to enliven the dull stretch of Second Street between Colorado Avenue and Broadway. A new motel with ground-floor retail on the Second Street side would bring some nice flavor to the block, they said.
Other project proponents said the dilapidated motel is in need of some attention.
“I hear tourists that come asking myself or the managers that work for us if there is somewhere reasonable to stay in the city,” Tony Lardas, who owns the McDonald’s on the corner of Colorado and Second, said. “It’s often the Holiday Inn.”
Not all of its neighbors were supportive.
Bob Ruth, who owns a building at 1522-24 Second Street, directly behind the motel, said the proposed project would block the view of the ocean for his tenants and asked that it be reduced in height. Farzam is proposing the building to be at 45 feet, which is within zoning regulations.
“It is a wall in front of us that blocks the view,” Ruth, who has owned the apartment for about a year, said.
Farzam mentioned that he was able to reach a deal with Macerich last year, allowing the motel to be built up to 45 feet and adding several extra feet in height to the Santa Monica Place renovation project, keeping the public’s view of the ocean from the mall.
The project also raised some flags in the Environmental Impact Report, which found the new motel would bring in more traffic and that the construction would impact air quality. Farzam said he believed the report was overstated.
The commission ultimately decided to move the project forward with some adjustments, including reducing the pedestrian bridge from three to one or two stories.
“I think it’s a worthwhile project,” Pugh said. “I like the idea of affordability … and I like the idea of simplicity.”
melodyh@smdp.com
