Planning Commission Meeting: June 20, 2007

Agenda Item: 11-A

To: Planning Commission

From: Eileen Fogarty, Director of Planning and Community Development

Subject: Discussion and Recommendation to the City of Santa Monica Redevelopment Agency on the Design Consistency of the Proposed Santa Monica Place Remodel with the Downtown Redevelopment Plan.

Address: 395 Santa Monica Place

Applicant: Macerich Company.

Recommended Action

It is recommended that the Planning Commission discuss the proposed project and convey appropriate design recommendations to the Santa Monica Redevelopment Agency consistent with Sections 410 and 422 of the Downtown Redevelopment Plan contained in Attachment B.

Executive Summary

The applicant proposes to remodel the existing 676,181 square foot Santa Monica Place shopping mall to improve the existing mall, establish an outdoor connection to the Third Street Promenade, relocate the Food Court to the third level with public access to views, and open portions of the roof to the sky. The site is located on the downtown block bounded by Broadway to the north, Colorado Avenue to the South, Second Street to the west and Fourth Street to the east. The site is currently developed with an indoor shopping mall built in 1980, which is 121 feet high at the highest point, with skylight projections to 126 feet. The zoning is C-3C, Downtown Overlay District, and comprises the Redevelopment Agency’s Downtown Redevelopment project area.

In order to accomplish the proposed remodel, the applicant proposes to demolish portions of fourth, fifth and sixth levels of the parking decks which are located in the northwestern corner of the Agency-owned parking Structure Number 7, amounting to 63 parking spaces. The project will be submitted to both the Redevelopment Agency and the City for review and approval. The Redevelopment Agency review includes review of the CEQA analysis, for which an Initial Study (IS) is currently underway, amendments to the existing legal documents associated with the original construction of Santa Monica Place. It also includes review of the proposed project for consistency with Redevelopment Plan requirements in Plan §410 that alterations “…be safe and sound in all physical respects, and be attractive in appearance and not detrimental to the surrounding uses,” as well as requirements in Plan §422 that the remodel be “in accordance with architectural, landscape, and site plans submitted to and approved by the Agency” consistent with objectives of the Plan “to create an attractive and pleasant environment” through “consideration to good design, open space, and other amenities to enhance the aesthetic quality of the Project area.” The following illustration shows the review process fort his project..

The applicant is seeking advisory design guidance from the Planning Commission prior to the Agency’s consideration of the proposed project. The City process will include review of an Administrative permit, and Architectural Review Board approval (appeal able to the Planning Commission). The Administrative Approval application was submitted on March 6, 2007, and the project has already been subject to both pre-submittal and Planning design team review in relation to integration and compatibility with the downtown.

Key issues that have been discussed and refined in the pre-submittal design review include:

· Revision of the Colorado entrance to make it more inviting and to provide design equity with other entrances.

· Design dialogue related to a concept plan for the as yet un-leased former Robinson’s May site at the corner of 2^nd Street and Broadway which occupies a key corner in the downtown. The applicant has worked with staff to provide design revisions to all the entrances and continues to work with the planning design team to further refine the building facade concept of the former Rob-May building to improve its pedestrian orientation and interaction with the street front while allowing the most potential flexibility for future tenants

· The proposed gross leasable area will be 548,322 square feet, which is an approximate 10,000 square foot reduction from the current gross leasable area.

The Planning Commission should consider the proposed project and shape their discussion in relation to building and urban design and overall project aesthetics with emphasis on:

• Integration of the project into the downtown and adjacent surroundings.
• Compatibility of the four proposed remodeled entrances to the downtown
• Urban design of the conceptual design proposal for the exterior remodel of the former Robinson’s-May site at the corner of Second and Broadway.

Background

In the late 1970s, the Santa Monica Redevelopment Agency entered into a Disposition and Development Agreement for the creation of Santa Monica Place, an indoor mall designed to rejuvenate Santa Monica’s struggling downtown. The project opened in 1980. In 1990, the mall underwent a remodel and in 1999 was acquired by the Macerich Company, an owner and operator of shopping centers nationwide that is headquartered in Santa Monica.

During 2002, City staff and consultants worked with Macerich on a master plan for revitalizing Santa Monica Place, as part of the comprehensive update to the Civic Center Specific Plan. In June 2002, the City Council, Civic Center Working Group and Promenade Uses Task Force reviewed the proposed master plan, which was subsequently incorporated into the draft update of the Civic Center Specific Plan and related environmental review. In November 2004, the Macerich Company submitted an application for a development agreement to comprehensively redevelop Santa Monica Place. The proposed redevelopment included complete demolition of the existing building and parking structures, to be replaced with a mixed-use project of retail, restaurants, apartments, condominiums, offices and underground parking.

In January 2005, the City Council considered the conceptual Development Agreement proposal. Council chose not to move forward with negotiations on the specific concept proposed and directed staff to work with Macerich in an extensive community engagement process to hear ideas from the community on what changes, if any, should be made to Santa Monica Place. During the period between March and May 2005, public outreach included, workshop invitations and a questionnaire mailed to nearly 46,000 Santa Monica households, four community workshops that facilitated participation by nearly 300 community members; facilitated community interest group meetings with several Santa Monica boards and commissions; randomly sampled telephone survey of Santa Monica households; and Reimagine Santa Monica Place website with updates and summary information.

During the summer of 2005, Federated Department Stores (the parent company of Macy’s) announced the acquisition of May Co. (the parent company of Robinson-May) and in early 2006 announced it was closing the Robinson-May store at Santa Monica Place. As a result, the Macerich Company requested that Reimagine Santa Monica Place activities be placed on hold, awaiting further information on the disposition of the Robinson-May store. Macerich subsequently acquired the site. The Macerich Company has significantly re-evaluated their plans for Santa Monica Place as reflected in their remodel proposal. The current proposal is a remodel of Santa Monica Place rather than a comprehensive redevelopment, and maintenance of the existing permitted building height of 121 feet while reducing gross leasable square footage by 10,234 square feet, slightly reducing the intensity of site development.

Project / Site Information

The project is sited in the heart of the downtown. The current buildings were constructed in 1980, as a means of revitalizing a struggling downtown. As was typical of mall design at that time, the mall is internally focused, with minimal integration into the surrounding context. The current proposal intends to change the focus, and integrate the existing buildings with the downtown as much as possible within the parameters of a remodel. As noted earlier, the project does not propose any increase to height or square footage but is reducing the existing square footage by approximately 10,000 square feet, and reconfigures the existing mall within the same axial floor plan.

The principle design components of the remodel are as follows:

Entrances:

Redesign of the four entrances to promote a more welcoming pedestrian oriented and integrated design. Each entrance intends to augment the character of its particular context.

· The entrance from Broadway, across from the Third Street Promenade, will be the most significantly changed, removing the roof from the current façade line back to the center of the building, and re-configuring the store fronts to create a continuation of the outdoor mall street frontage found on Third Street. In order to accomplish this urban design component, the existing food court will be relocated to the Third Floor, with the intent of providing an ambiance of open space and views, as well as a providing a pubic accessible urban gathering place associated with both counnter and table service restaurants.

Entrance from Broadway

· The Fourth Street entrance has been redesigned to provide a cleared entrance and path of travel, with the intent of providing direct pedestrian and visual access from the street to the corner stores, activating the corner and the building façade.

Entrance Entrance From 4^th St

· The Colorado Avenue entrance is proposed to be redesigned to provide a more welcoming entrance with the intent to simplify the current complex series of stairs and ramps, to allow for this entrance to better connect to the Civic Center area have a more significant presence in relation to the importance of Colorado Avenue and its role as a thoroughfare.

Entrance From Colorado

· The Second Street entrance will open the second and third floors to make the third floor open space and dining area visible from the street, and using an undulating, curved architectural vocabulary to associate with the proximity of the beach and Pacific Ocean.

Entrance from 2^nd Street

Open Air

The project proposes to partially convert the mall to an outdoor environment by removing the roof from the northerly axis to provide a stronger connection to the Promenade. Additionally portions of the roof in the mall interior would be removed creating courtyards and pedestrian walkways that are open to the sky, benefiting from natural ventilation and air circulation.

Food Service

As part of the effort to strengthen the connection with the Third Street Promenade, the food court, which is currently located on the northern axis that approaches the Promenade, would need to be relocated to allow the architectural vocabulary of the existing successful outdoor mall to extend into this site. The Food Court is proposed to be re-located to the third floor, where it will be juxtaposed with outdoor seating, viewing areas, and adjacent to other restaurant uses. The intent of this principally outdoor space is to create a public amenity that allows for food service choices combined with a more attractive option for outdoor dining and enjoyment of views toward the ocean.

Demolition of Portions of the Parking Deck

In order to complete the key concept of opening the northern axis towards the Promenade, the project requires that a portion of Parking Structure 7, a Redevelopment Agency-owned parking structure, be demolished. The demolition would remove the portions of the garage over the food court and retail space. Approximately 63 parking spaces will be removed. However, given the reduction of square footage of approximately 10,000 square feet throughout the mall, and re-striping of parking structures numbers 7 and 8, the project will comply with both Zoning Ordinance and Redevelopment Plan parking standards.

Environmental Analysis

The project is currently undergoing an Initial Study (IS) process. A more intense version of the proposed project was previously studied under the Civic Center Specific Plan EIR, and the proposed use involves a reduced project as well as a reduction in square footage from the existing on-site use. Based on the findings of the Initial Study, the appropriate CEQA process will be followed, including circulation for public comment.

Project Analysis

Urban Design & Neighborhood Compatibility,

In reviewing the project for urban design and neighborhood compatibility staff has worked with the applicant on the following design issues which have resulted in revisions to the pre-submittal design:

· Creating a focal point for the termination of the connection to the Third Street Promenade

· Clarifying the grade change and pedestrian path of travel and redesigning the stairs on the Fourth Street entry.

· Envisioning the most direct path of travel for the interior circulation in relation to placement of interior escalators.

· Opening up the retail to the Colorado Avenue entrance, and reconfiguring the stairs and ADA ramp to create a more inviting sense of entry.

· Designing a conceptual program for the former Robinson’s-May site to emphasize pedestrian orientation in compliance with the downtown urban design standards and creating the standard for ensuring that the southeast corner of Second Street and Broadway is integrated into the downtown context.

The applicant continues to work with staff on these key design components:

· Refining the design for the Colorado Avenue entry to provide a ramp configuration which relates better to the overall organic geometric vocabulary used elsewhere on the site,

· Concepts for additional articulation to the former Robinson’s-May building:

The current design addresses staff recommendations to provide greater pedestrian orientation at the significant corner of 2^{nd St}and Broadway, but further consideration to design concepts to provide articulation and detail to the facades are necessary.

Earlier concept

former Rob-May site

Current concept

former Rob-May site

Public Outreach:

In addition to the early public outreach related to Re-Imagine Santa Monica Place noted above, the applicant held 12 meetings with community groups during the summer and fall of 2006 to discuss concepts for a remodel project. Based on the plans submitted on March 6, Planning staff held a design update meeting on March 12 to discuss the project and take public comments. Approximately 80 members of the public attended a presentation and question and answer session discussions The key issues raised in the community meeting were:

· Traffic in the downtown

· Visual and pedestrian linkages from Colorado to Broadway

· Location of bathrooms

· Economically diverse retail

· Public transportation

· Entrance design

While most comments were in favor of the concept of revitalizing the mall and opening it to the outdoors, several preferred the closed indoor mall.

Conclusion

Staff supports the direction of the building design and relation to the urban context as required by the Downtown Redevelopment Plan in that the design will improve the integration into the downtown, create more inviting entrances and make a better connection with the Third Street Promenade which is an anchor of the downtown. Staff supports the concept of providing an urban courtyard and food court with access to public views, better pedestrian connections between the Civic Center area, Third Street and Santa Monica Place, and believes the increase in pedestrian amenities associated with this re-model project will justify the removal of a portion of the Agency owned parking structure while maintaining adequate required parking. Staff seeks Planning Commission direction on providing recommendations in relation to the former Robinson’s -May site and refinement of the Colorado entrance.

Prepared by: Sarah Lejeune, Senior Planner

Paul Foley, Principal Planner

Attachments

A. Public Notice

B. Project Proposal

ATTACHMENT A

NOTICE OF A PUBLIC HEARING BEFORE THE SANTA MONICA PLANNING COMMISSION

Design Discussion of Proposed Santa Monica Place Remodel

A public hearing will be held by the Planning Commission for a design discussion of the proposed Santa Monica Place remodel and recommendation to the City of Santa Monica Redevelopment Agency on the design consistency of the proposed Santa Monica Place remodel with the Downtown Redevelopment Plan.

The applicant proposes to remodel the existing 676,181 square foot Santa Monica Place shopping mall to improve the existing mall, establish an outdoor connection to the Third Street Promenade, relocate the Food Court to the third level with public access to views, in addition to opening portions of the roof to the sky. The site is located on the downtown block circumscribed by Broadway to the north, Colorado Avenue to the South, Second Street to the west and Fourth Street to the east. The site is currently developed with an indoor shopping mall built in 1980, which is 121 feet high, with skylight projections to 126 feet. The zoning is C-3C, Downtown Overlay District, and comprises the Redevelopment Agency’s Downtown Redevelopment project area. The proposed remodel project will maintain the existing height and reduce the square footage by approximately 10,234 square feet.

Address: 395 Santa Monica Place

Applicant: Macerich Company.

DATE/TIME: WEDNESDAY, June 20, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.

LOCATION: City Council Chambers, Second Floor, Santa Monica City Hall

1685 Main Street, Santa Monica, California

MORE INFORMATION

If you want more information about this project, please contact Principal Planner Paul Foley at (310) 458-8341, or by e-mail at Paul-Foley@SMGOV.net

The meeting facility is wheelchair accessible. For disability-related accommodations, please contact (310) 458-8341 or (310) 458-8696 TTY at least 72 hours in advance. All written materials are available in alternate format upon request. Santa Monica Big Blue Bus Lines numbered 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10 serve City Hall.

ESPAÑOL

Esto es una noticia de una audiencia pública para revisar applicaciónes proponiendo desarrollo en Santa Monica. Si deseas más información, favor de llamar a Carmen Gutierrez en la División de Planificación al número (310) 458-8341.