S A N TA M O N I C A
REFLECTING THE CONCERNS OF THE COMMUNITY
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INSIDE SANTA MONICA POLICE MAKE LOOTING ARRESTS
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October 02 – October 08, 2020 Volume XLXVI, Issue 61
Santa Monica City Council Approves Miramar Expansion Project moves forward by 4-2 vote By Sam Catanzaro
Santa Monica City Council has approved plans that have been in the works for a decade to redevelop the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows, despite opposition from the mayor and a councilmember. In a meeting that began Tuesday night and ended in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, Santa Monica City Council approved the proposed redevelopment of the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows with a 4-2 vote. The hotel, located at Wilshire Boulevard and Ocean Avenue, has been around since the 1920s. Under plans from the Athens Group, the hotel will double in size, retaining the existing Palisades Building and Moreton Bay Fig Tree. The 502,157-square-foot redevelopment proposal, which has been drastically altered three times during a decade-long planning process, calls for 312 guest rooms 60 condominiums and around 18,000 square feet of commercial space. In addition, land will be set aside on 2nd Street for a 100 percent affordable housing complex with 42 units. The project is expected to provide a boost to Santa Monica’s economy hit hard by the COVID-19 shutdown. “The revenues that will flow from this project are something we really need to take into consideration, particularly in the dire fiscal straits we are in,” said Councilmember Ted Winterer, who voted in favor of the proposal. “This project is important right now, more than anything else to show that the City is open to people who want to come in and reinvest in our City.” Mayor Kevin McKeown and Councilmember Sue Himmelrich were the
Photo: : Courtesy Miramar Santa Monica
A rendering of the Miramar redevelopment.
two dissenting votes and both took issue with the inclusion of luxury condos in the proposal. “I do not believe that this, with the inclusion of luxury condos, is a project that we should be going forward with,” McKeown said. “The alleged connection to the very welcome affordable housing was a red herring. Our laws require a percentage of affordable when housing is built, but in a Development Agreement we can demand affordable housing as a community benefit without having to tie it to any other housing
production, especially top-dollar oversized condos.” “My no vote was also because of the 60 luxury condos which I have been opposed to for quite a long time. I don’t believe they are a requirement to make this project feasible. I also object to the lack of a viewpoint at the top of the project, but I think the two go together to show why this project is not a good Santa Monica project,” Himmelrich said. “In my experience these are not great community partners, they will do whatever they need to do to maximize their profit.
This is a private capital company made up of very few holders.” Councilmember Gleam Davis recused herself from the debate and vote on the project. Davis is married to John Prindle, a high ranking employee with Dell Technologies and Dell’s CEO Michael Dell owns the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows through his investment firm MSD Capital. According to Davis, her family would not benefit financially from the Council’s approval of the Miramar
Miramar Expansion, see page 7
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