CREATING A VILLAGE To continue with the development of a 325-unit, mixed use complex dubbed “The Village,” the City Council is expected to approve an additional $20,700.
The money will fund a contract extension for Keyser Marston Associates, Inc., a consulting firm that will help negotiate a contract with the principal developer, The Related Companies. Keyser Marston was involved in developing a list of qualifications competing developers had to follow when proposing designs for The Village.
Qualifications are that the 325 apartments should be a mix of condominiums and rental units; 160 of the rental units should be very low and low income; some units should be live-work spaces for artists; the overall design should have a “pedestrian, human scale;” building heights be as low as possible; and the project should include as much open space as possible.
The Village will be the largest entity in the proposed Civic Center specific plan. It will include 11 acres, three of which will be for housing. The land was purchased from RAND Corp. when it built it’s new facility near City Hall.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 14, 2006. Read the original PDF.