Tishman Speyer Unveils Plans for 110-Unit Santa Monica Apartment Tower

Developer Tishman Speyer has shared new renderings for a proposed apartment project at 1338 5th Street in Santa Monica, presented to the city's Architectural Review Board. The site is currently a parking lot on the west side of 5th Street, north of Santa Monica Boulevard.

The plan calls for an eight-story building with 110 market-rate units and three levels of underground parking. The unit mix includes studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. Ottinger Architects is designing a contemporary podium-style building with a U-shaped massing and a projecting balcony grid, according to a city staff report.

The project uses density bonus incentives but includes no on-site affordable housing. Its 12 required affordable units will instead be built at 1323 5th Street, a location that will serve several Tishman Speyer developments together. The developer acquired this site and seven other properties from WS Communities in 2021. Four of those projects are complete, and the rest are in entitlement or permitting.

For builders and lenders, the takeaway is that off-site affordable compliance is being used to consolidate obligations across a multi-project portfolio in Santa Monica.