Additional building would give Miramar 502 rooms
By Daily Press staff
COUNCIL CHAMBERS — Elected officials will consider tonight whether City Hall will allow a luxury hotel to move forward on plans to redevelop, which last year involved a 16-story apartment building in downtown Santa Monica.
Although the apartment tower has been scrapped, owners of the Fairmont Miramar Hotel, located on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Ocean Avenue, now propose to build another hotel with 200 rooms. The height of the building has not yet been determined, but Matt Dinapoli, a part-owner of the hotel, said he would prefer that the new hotel not be limited by current height restrictions. In a letter to the Santa Monica City Council, Dinapoli said he and other hotel representatives believe that determining the appropriate height is best accomplished through discussions between City Hall and the developer.
Those discussions would be part of a “development agreement,” which Dinapoli is applying for tonight. It would allow the hotel and City Hall to enter into negotiations for any future project on the site. Development agreements typically list city requirements that might not be explicitly written into zoning codes or laws. It would also set a time period for when development must begin in order for the agreement to be valid.
Dinapoli laid out the plan a year ago in front of the Planning Commission, which shocked some members and citizens because of its sheer size. But Dinapoli insisted that the plans are not a formal proposal, but rather the beginning of a community forum on what should be built on the historic site.
At the Planning Commission hearing, Dinapoli said the project would create a “gateway to Santa Monica,” as well as complement the existing white tower at 100 Wilshire Blvd., which can be seen for miles along the coast.
Based on concerns from planning commission members and citizens, Miramar officials tweaked their original plans. Instead of developing 100 apartments on the Wilshire Boulevard and Ocean Avenue site, a 200-room hotel is planned. On a second parcel, on Second Street between Wilshire Boulevard and California Avenue, Miramar officials propose using the land to either build affordable or assisted-living housing. Underneath the entire site would be a 600-car parking garage. About 20,000 square feet of retail space along Wilshire Boulevard also is proposed.
The plans are to redevelop the southern portion of the site, which now has a two-story office and restaurant complex, a surface parking lot and a one-story support building that faces Ocean Avenue. The hotel currently has 302 rooms and houses support facilities that include a 10-story building, a six-story building, one-and two-story buildings, and the restaurant and office complex.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 2, 2003. Read the original PDF.