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# Main Street project finally a done deal
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/main-street-project-finally-a-done-deal/
- Published: 2002-09-20T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T00:44:37.000Z
- Author: Carolyn Sackariason
- Tags: Real Estate & Housing, Main St, #archive-import

*Board reluctantly decorates, approves ‘the box’*

The developer of a massive apartment and retail complex on Main Street has finally won city government approval to rejuvenate a blighted section of town.

But it didn’t come without serious expense and frustration for Howard Jacobs, owner of the property where the former Pioneer Boulangerie Bakery sits and another parcel across the street.

Dozens of government officials also have spent an exorbitant amount of time and energy reviewing the project while experiencing a certain level of frustration with the process.

Jacobs’ plan to redevelop the area has gone through at least four major revamps in 3 1/2 years, when he first purchased the property. He has been seeking the blessing of city government ever since — jumping over countless hurdles within City Hall. Every aspect of the development was put under enormous scrutiny — from the height and width of the buildings’ elevators to how the potted plants on the top floor of the building will be watered, to the color of paint and kind of materials that will be used for the exterior.

Most city officials would agree the rigorous public review process has made the project architecturally better, but there are some, including the ones who ultimately approved it Wednesday, who think it doesn’t belong in Santa Monica.

Because of a tangled web of bureaucracy and local politics, the Santa Monica Planning Commission had to go against its earlier decision of denying the project. Commissioners reluctantly voted 5-2 to approve it.

Planning commissioners denied the project in December, saying the 170,000-square-foot development will ruin the character of Main Street and its surrounding neighborhoods mostly because it’s too big — the west side of the project will take up an entire city block. The commissioners, as well as some residents in the area, also feel the project will clog the streets with traffic.

Kathleen Masser, an area resident who has fought against the project since its inception, said nothing can be done architecturally to mask the enormity of the buildings — except for possibly shrink wrap.

However, the city council, Main Street business owners and other residents think the 133-unit rental apartment and retail complex will save the run-down area, which is now home to transients and littered streets.

“It’s really in a bad state,” said one resident, who grew up in the neighborhood and didn’t want to give his name. He added that he’s disappointed that two tractors sit on the property yet nothing is being done.

“Somebody wants to do something with the place and it’s just not happening,” he said.

Jacobs hopes the development will redefine an area that has sat vacant for too long, while at the same time create a new life for the north end of Main Street, which has all but died in terms of economics, aesthetics and quality of life.

“The project is a substantial link between the redevelopment of the civic center and the south portion of Main Street,” he said. “I think it will fill a void in the neighborhood.”

Jacobs envisions the ground floor of the buildings’ retail space to have neighborhood-serving stores, which would possibly include the old Pioneer Boulangerie Bakery — a former gathering place for the community.

“They have been waiting for 3 1/2 years, and it would be a shame if they weren’t interested still,” he said.

By the time it’s all said and done, it will have taken Jacobs nearly six years to finish the project — about three years too long in his mind.

“In Santa Monica, by the time it’s done, it will have taken between five and six years to get an apartment building built,” he said, adding he expected the entire approval process to take 18 months. The delays were not just from bureaucratic methods, but also because the review process became convoluted, he said.

> “In Santa Monica, by the time it’s done, it will have taken between five and six years to get an apartment building built.” — — HOWARD JACOBS Real estate developer

Jacobs filed a lawsuit against the city in 2001, claiming it has cost him millions of dollars because it dragged its feet in completing the environmental impact review of the project. The report was completed late last year, several months after the supposed deadline. The lawsuit is still pending.

Jacobs appealed the planning commission’s denial to the city council, which unanimously approved it in February after Jacobs made substantial changes to the buildings’ facades. But the architectural review board voted it down, despite that Jacobs made changes based on recommendations by council and city officials.

As a matter of process, Jacobs chose to appeal the decision to the planning commission instead of going back in front of the ARB with more changes. The developer said he believed he wouldn’t get a fair shake in front the ARB and also thinks its review was out of its legal purview.

As a matter of law, the planning commission was limited to only reviewing the project’s architectural design, landscaping and exterior aspects this time because it was acting as the ARB.

That put the planning commission in an awkward position because its members didn’t want the project as proposed in the first place. On Wednesday, commissioners described the development as a “box” they didn’t particularly like but had to decorate it.

“The issue of the size of this project and the traffic it will create is behind us,” said commissioner Barbara Brown, adding that giving the appearance of a fair review is as important as being fair. “We all know that we didn’t approve this project... We have to call a halt here and move on.”

Commissioner Kelly Olsen, who with commissioner Geraldine Moyle, voted against the project, said it’s irresponsible to not fine tune the building’s architecture to make it the best project possible.

On Thursday, Olsen said he thought Brown was trying to end the project’s three-hour review on Wednesday for personal reasons.

“I think it was a commissioner who was cranky and wanted to go home,” he said. “We have a responsibility, and I don’t think saying ‘good enough’ is good enough.”

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/092002-01_01.jpg)

(Photo: Andrew H. Fixmer/Daily Press)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 20, 2002.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/092002.pdf?ref=smdp.com)