Santa Monica approves development agreement affordable housing at 1318 4th Street

The Santa Monica City Council has a development and disposition agreement for the former site of Parking Structure 3 at 1318 4th Street, clearing the way for EAH Housing to begin seeking public financing for a proposed affordable housing complex which would rise on the property.

A design concept approved earlier this year calls for the site to be developed with a new six-story building featuring 122 studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments - including 50 units of supportive housing - atop ground-floor commercial space and subterranean parking for 116 vehicles.

The apartments are to be reserved for individuals and families earning at or below 30 and 80 percent of the area median income level, and will be sourced from city waitlists.

Parking Structure 3 site in Downtown Santa MonicaGoogle Maps

VTBS Architects, Epstein & Associates, AMJ Construction Management, California Housing Partnership, and The Lynch Group, Inc. are part of the project team, according to a city staff report.

EAH Housing is set to begin construction at 1318 4th Street by Winter 2027 and complete work on the project by 2029. That represents a faster timeline than expected in April 2024, when it was estimated that work could begin by 2028 and be completed by 2030.

The estimated cost for the development is $123 million, likely making it the first affordable or supportive housing development in Los Angeles County to cost more than $1 million per dwelling unit.

Santa Monica has also identified various city owned sites for development with affordable or supportive housing in its approved 2021-2029 Housing Element. They include a trio of parking lots along the Wilshire corridor, as well as sites at the Bergamot Arts Center, along Main Street, and at 4th Street and Arizona Avenue.

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