A proposal to redevelop and expand upon Santa Monica's historic Miramar Hotel has taken another step forward, with the publication of the project's draft environmental impact report.  

The Miramar, located at the northeast corner of Ocean Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard, has operated as a hotel since the early 1920s.  MSD Capital, the owner of the property, has proposed a combination of new construction and historic preservation which will create a 312-room hotel, 60 condominiums, above a ground-floor retail space and a 475-car garage.

Additionally, plans call for the construction of a 100 percent affordable housing building on an off-site property at 1127 2nd Street, featuring somewhere between 30 and 48 residential units.

Designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, the project calls the construction of a new building as tall as 10 stories - reaching the maximum 130-foot height allowed under the Downtown Santa Monica Community Plan.  Renderings depict a curving mid-rise structure with numerous setbacks used to create resident and guest amenity decks.

Landscape architecture firm Gustafson Guthrie Nichol is designing approximately 14,000 square feet of publicly-accessible gardens on the property, highlighted by a U-shaped courtyard centered on the Moreton Bay Fig Tree.  The new plaza is to be wrapped by commercial uses, including the Bungalow and FIG restaurants.

Construction of the hotel and condominiums could begin as soon as late 2022, according to the environmental impact report, and be completed in approximately 33 months.

The affordable housing is slated to begin construction in the summer or fall of 2023, and open in late 2024 or early 2025 - prior to the completion of the expanded hotel.

MSD Capital, founded by Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell, is not the only real estate investment firm eyeing large projects along Ocean Avenue.

Two blocks south at Wilshire Boulevard, Worthe Real Estate Group has tapped Frank Gehry to design a similar mixed-use development featuring a hotel, housing, and retail space.