A new look for Santa Monica five-story apartment building

A new mixed-use project from developer WNMS Communities is set to make another appearance before Santa Monica’s planning commission. As part of its review, we’re seeing new renderings for the project, which has undergone some design changes as a result of its last trip to the commission.

The five-story mixed-use building is proposed for 1650 Lincoln Boulevard. It would bring 98 apartments (eight of which are affordable) and approximately 7,135 square feet of ground floor commercial tenant space to the block.

The development would also hold three levels of underground parking for 205 cars and 173 bicycles. It’s also about 10 minutes on foot from the Downtown Santa Monica Expo Line station.

This meeting is the “second round of discussion on the project following a February meeting that included specific criticism of the project from the Commission,” notes the Santa Monica Daily Press.

In response, the building’s design has been altered to feature more natural light and airflow into the central courtyard. Commissioners also expressed concerns about its proximity to the 10 Freeway. Now, the developer says it will install air filters in apartments and change those filters twice a year.

Planning staffers appear to be satisfied with the changes; they’re recommending the commission approve the plans.

WNMS Communities is an outgrowth of major Santa Monica landlord NMS Properties. NMS announced in January 2017 that WNMS would take over operations and management of all of NMS’s proposed market-rate and affordable housing projects, the Daily Press reported at the time.

The split came after a Los Angeles Superior Court judge found that NMS Properties CEO Neil Shekhter turned forged contracts into the court during the course of a civil lawsuit. Following the decision, the Santa Monica City Council “promised greater scrutiny” in NMS projects in the city, where NMS controls about 2,000 housing units and has at least eight developments in the works, the Press reports.