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Frank Gehry's Ocean Avenue Project gets the final go-ahead in Santa Monica

2022-07-19T13:23:00-04:00

After nearly a decade of planning and design changes, Frank Gehry’s proposed Ocean Avenue mixed-use development has finally been given the go-ahead by the Santa Monica City Council.

Gehry Partners says it will be characterized by a “full-service hotel, world-class exhibitions and programs in a new space for cultural institutions, affordable and market rate housing, and a variety of publicly accessible spaces including a new pedestrian mall,” and come along with a LEED Silver certification. The estimated cost of the project is around $243 million, and the firm says it will include a cultural program and employment package that will deliver an estimated $53.3 million in economic benefits to the Westside community.

Image courtesy Gehry Partners LLP

“The Frank Gehry Project is unique, brings new amenities like a cultural institution to the Downtown, and will provide one-time funds to deliver City services including transportation infrastructure, parks, re...

Almost there for Frank Gehry's proposed Ocean Avenue Project in Santa Monica

2022-05-17T19:35:00-04:00

Ahead of this week’s scheduled planning commission meeting in Santa Monica, Gehry Partners has revealed updated renderings for the proposed Ocean Avenue Project that would install a new mixed-use cultural campus in the heart of Los Angeles’ beachy Westside.

The proposal calls for the creation of a new 120-room hotel, 100 deed-restricted apartment units, 36,000 square feet of retail and dining accommodation, and a 35,000-square-foot museum to be contained within an existing two-acre plot, with two additional landmarked structures being included as bookends for the cultural entity. If approved, construction is expected to take place over a period of 34 to 36 months with a total budget of around $350 million for the entire project.

Image courtesy Gehry Partners LLP.

Renderings appear to show a vibrant pedestrian scene punctuated by two undulated forms reminiscent of Gehry’s recent LUMA Arles Tower and the Building 32 design he completed for the Massachu...

Gehry Partners-designed mixed-use complex advances in Santa Monica

2020-05-22T20:17:00-04:00

A sizable Gehry Partners-designed mixed-use complex planned for a corner site in Santa Monica, California is making its way through the city's approval process.

Urbanize.la reports that an preliminary environmental impact report for the project was recently published detailing the specifics of the project's sculptural tower and its low-slung supporting structures.

Site Plan. Image courtesy of City of Santa Monica.

Comprised of a series of Gehry's classic twisting and wind-blown forms, the complex is criss-crossed by pedestrian pathways and features a diminutive corner structure wrapped in glossy metal panels.

In all, the project is set to bring a 120-room hotel, 100 apartments, 36,000 square feet of retail spaces, and restaurant space; and a 35,000-square-foot "museum and gallery campus" to the site, Urbanize reports. Additionally, two landmarked structures that currently occupy the site will be relocated to make room for the project.

The project is one of several slated for the ...

Environmental impact evaluation begins for Frank Gehry's Ocean Avenue Project

2019-01-02T20:20:00-05:00

The City of Santa Monica issued a notice of preparation for an environmental impact report for the Ocean Avenue Project...The project, as currently imagined, calls for the construction of mid-rise and low-rise structures, as well as the preservation of two landmarks homes fronting Ocean Avenue.

The City of Santa Monica issued a notice on December 21 to prepare an Environmental Impact Report for Frank Gehry's proposed Ocean Avenue Project. The mixed-use development includes retail/restaurant space, a public observation deck, cultural uses, that hotel tower (which had its height reduced to 12 stories), and more. The report will address multiple areas of potential environmental effects like water quality, land use and planning, noise, cultural resources and historic structures, and aesthetics and shade/shadow effects. The report is one significant step forward for the project, but a timeline is yet to be announced.

Frank Gehry presents reworked and shortened Santa Monica hotel tower

2018-01-05T14:05:00-05:00

A developer looking to erect a hotel tower designed by Frank Gehry on Santa Monica’s iconic Ocean Avenue has reworked its plans and released a new rendering of the project. Originally proposed five years ago as 22 stories, the hotel has been reduced to 12 stories—or 130 feet—to comply with the city’s new development plan for downtown. It’s just one part of a larger project that would also include a museum, shops, ground-floor open space, and 79 apartments.

The newly released rendering shows the Gehry-designed hotel tower as a considerably shortened and reworked version of what was originally proposed in March of 2013 — before the city's new height rules and design guidelines for downtown Santa Monica were implemented. For comparison, check out the rendering of the original proposal below.

The original 22-story Ocean Avenue Project proposal from 2013.

"The design team has received significant input from the community outreach process, the planning department, and the Architectural Review Board," it reads on the project's website.

Public viewing platform. Image: Gehry Partners.

"The extensive outreach process used in developing the approved DCP informed the revised project, resulting in a lower maximum height appropriate to the Downtown context. A slender tower is oriented in an east-west direction, maximizing views to the oceanfront from areas to the east."

Image: Gehry Partners.

"The building street fronts are modulated to enhance activi...

Frank Gehry designing new tower in Santa Monica

2013-03-04T11:52:00-05:00

Frank Gehry is designing a new 22-story tower that developers want to build in downtown Santa Monica, near the intersection of Ocean Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard, according to the official website for the project. The structure will feature space for a hotel and condominiums, as well as restaurant and retail space.