> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Hotel to stay true to roots Project hopes to please both preservationists and developers
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/hotel-to-stay-true-to-roots-project-hopes-to-please-both-preservationists-and-developers/
- Published: 2007-03-14T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T00:14:17.000Z
- Author: Kevin Herrera
- Tags: Real Estate & Housing, Downtown, #archive-import

*Design of Ocean Avenue hotel still in works*

DOWNTOWN Guests looking to rest their heads on Ocean Avenue may have another option now that a development agreement has been reached between City Hall and those financing a new 73-room hotel.

The developer will renovate and restore two landmark buildings on the 1300 block of Ocean Avenue and incorporate them into the project, which is expected to be a modern design that will help accentuate features of the historic Victorian and Spanish Colonial Revival structures, according to city officials and an attorney for the developer.

The Victorian home will be moved slightly to the north and renovated into a restaurant, while the Spanish Colonial structure will be converted into the hotel’s lobby and cafe. A public plaza will connect the two with the hotel, said Sarah Lejeune, a senior planner with City Hall who has been working with the developer, Legg Mason Real Estate Investors.

“One of the chief benefits is the preservation and reuse of the landmarked buildings,” Lejeune said.“One of the advantages we have with moving the Victorian building is that it will open up the site, and if the project progresses per the intent of the developer, in some ways we create better access to those resources.”

Conversations with the developer have been “productive,” according to Lejeune, with the developer agreeing to decrease the size of the hotel by two rooms so that it did not overwhelm the historic structures. The actual hotel will be situated on the current site of an office building that will be demolished to make way for the modern facility.

The project has been in the works for the last three years, according to Chris Harding, an attorney representing Legg Mason, who added that his client is looking forward to an April 4 meeting of the Planning Commission where he can present the project to the public and continue the necessary steps towards construction.

“My client is very open to design,”Harding told the Bayside District’s land and assets committee Tuesday, before it endorsed the project.“Design is not the issue.We’re looking to build a project that meets the city’s requirements and addresses their concerns.

“My client doesn’t have an artist’s ego.” A preliminary sketch of the project shows the Victorian house situated to the north and the Spanish Colonial to the south, with the new L-shaped hotel building at the rear of the property. There is a trellis on the roof where solar panels might be installed, alongside a rooftop swimming pool. The design has yet to be finalized.

Adding another hotel in town will provide some relief to tourists, who are currently faced with high occupancy rates and even higher prices, according to a report by PKF Consulting, which observes trends in the hospitality industry.

While many areas suffered from the post 9/11 lull in travel, Santa Monica weathered the storm and recovered relatively quickly, continuing to enjoy annual increases in the number of visitors to the area. Demand is high for hotels near the beach, with an estimated 784,396 rooms occupied last year in Santa Monica. That figure represents a robust 81-percent occupancy rate — five points higher than the average for Los Angeles County, according to PKF.

The average daily room rate in Santa Monica in 2006 was $249.47, with PKF projecting an increase of 7 percent by the end of this year.

In voting to support the project, Bayside board member Johannes Van Tilburg, an architect, called the hotel “terrific.”

“You couldn’t ask for anything more.”

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/031407-02_01.jpg)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 14, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/031407.pdf?ref=smdp.com)