Santa Monica Vermont Apts
New affordable housing and neighborhood retail activates underutilized real estate around the Vermont/Santa Monica subway station. The station is located close to Los Angeles Community College in low-income, ethnically diverse East Hollywood. East Hollywood is one of the densest neighborhoods in the City. The station opened in 1999 featuring a pink granite plaza and a signature elliptical portal, but the Transit Authority (Metro) did not control sufficient residual property to catalyze development opportunities. It was not until 2017 when nonprofit developer Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC) approached Metro with the idea of combining their adjacent properties with the Metro-owned land that a vision for a community hub emerged.
Designed in conjunction with LA METRO and in conformance with the LA City Station Neighborhood Area Plan, the project improves multimodal mobility, pedestrian amenity, and reinvigorates the plaza. A density bonus provided by LA’s Transit-Oriented Communities boosts unit density.
Limiting unit types to just five, standardized kitchen, and bath modules and panelized construction facilitates cost effectiveness. The project is pursuing LEED Platinum.
Design focused on both energizing the public space and optimizing quality of life for residents in the new housing. 24,000 sf of retail space including a food hall with local vendors rings the station and extends along the street to the west and south. Cascading landscaped open space expands and strengthens the station plaza, while connecting the social life of the housing to public life below. Featured outdoor stairs and bridges connect the 187 apartments, ranging from studios to three-bedroom units, on five levels. Together with a distributed approach to shared amenities including play areas, laundries, picnic areas, and community rooms the planning encourages social interaction while fostering informal exercise. The visibility also contributes to “eyes on the street” security.
Los Angeles’ long tradition of brightly painted vernacular buildings continues. At the same time sunshades, profiled metal siding, and balconies add amenity and detail to animate and weave the design into a varied context.
STATUS
Under Construction; Pursuing LEED Platinum
LOCATION
Los Angeles, CA
CLIENT
Little Tokyo Service Center
PROGRAM
187 Affordable Units, 7,000 SF Supportive Community Space, 24,000 SF Retail, and Parking