Council
Approves Mall Remodel |
By Anita Varghese
Staff Writer
September 13 -- The City
Council Tuesday unanimously approved
the newest proposal to remodel Santa
Monica Place, giving City staff and
owner Macerich the go-ahead to amend
existing agreements for the construction,
operation and maintenance of a redesigned
mall and adjacent parking facilities.
After the Planning Commission’s unanimous
approval in June, Macerich officials
will now seek the go-ahead from the
Arts Commission, Architectural Review
Board (ARB) and the California Coastal
Commission with an eye to reopening
the indoor mall in fall 2009.
The proposal is central to the vitality of Downtown,
is well-integrated with the existing urban fabric
and increases available open space and pedestrian
walkways, Planning Director Eileen Fogarty told
the council.
“In terms of urban design, this (new proposal)
is such a positive project for the city,”
Fogarty said. “The mall, which has been
an asset and the city’s living room, can
now be integrated into a project that looks outward
with improved pedestrian orientation and streetscape.”
Key components of the redesign include removing
large portions of the roof and connecting the
mall to the Third Street Promenade; demolishing
a portion of Parking Structure 7; creating a stronger
pedestrian orientation at Second Street, Fourth
Street and Colorado Avenue, and creating an open-air
dining area on the third floor.
The proposed project will retain the two anchor
department store buildings -- one of which has
yet to be leased -- and maintain the existing
building height of 56 feet, while reducing leasable
square footage by 10,234 square feet, according
to the proposal.
Macerich has agreed to make improve the streetscape
on Colorado Avenue and the sidewalk paving on
Second and Fourth Streets and upgrade the elevators
and staircases in the two City-owned parking structures
attached to the mall.
Macerich officials have conducted a comprehensive
public input and outreach campaign since the City
Council two-and-a-half years ago rejected plans
for a major redevelopment of the struggling 27-year-old
mall that included three 21-story condo towers.
“Santa Monica Place really
is different from our other projects
nationwide, and it is our number one
priority to get it right,” said
Robert Aptaker, Macerich vice president
of development.
“Everything we are doing is within the
existing footprint,” he said. “It
is an adaptive reuse, not an expansion.”
As proposed, the project does not alter traffic
and circulation in the downtown area, because
a reduction in square footage factors in as not
intensifying travel to and from the mall, according
to City staff’s California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA) findings.
However, Council member Kevin McKeown and a representative
from the Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable
City (SMCLC) foresee more traffic, because the
main goal of redesigning the mall is to increase
the number of shoppers and visitors.
“A key question has been asked at every
single community meeting held by Macerich on new
plans for Santa Monica Place,” said Diana
Gordon, an SMCLC advisory board member. “How
is the City going to understand and calibrate
the new traffic impacts from a successful revamp
of the mall?
“Council members didn’t get an answer
(from staff) when the question was asked earlier
in the evening, and they are not going to with
the traffic studies in the staff report,”
Gordon said. “The community has no confidence
in the current traffic studies.”
Although McKeown is worried the redesigned mall
will bring more traffic to the Downtown area,
he believes Macerich’s proposal could alleviate
difficult turns for drivers at Broadway and Colorado
Avenue.
He also believes it will make it safer for pedestrians
at Fourth Street and Colorado Avenue, which is
a “very busy and dangerous intersection
for pedestrians.”
McKeown also believes the project could capitalize
on a proposal to bring light rail to Downtown
Santa Monica that is currently being discussed
by City and Los Angeles County officials.
The stalled project received a major
boost this month when the California
Transportation Commission greenlighted
$315 million to help bring the rail
line being built to Culver City to
Santa Monica. (see
story)
The remodel of the mall -- which was designed
by world-renowned Santa Monica architect Frank
Gehry -- is enthusiastically supported by the
Chamber of Commerce and Downtown officials.
“The board feels that the success of Santa
Monica Place is essential for the Bayside District,”
said Kathleen Rawson, executive director of the
Bayside District Corporation, which runs the Downtown.
“It is our hope that Macerich will be able
to obtain all required approvals necessary
without delay, and that development
will proceed as quickly as possible,”
Rawson said.
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