A proposal to renovate and expand the Fairmont Miramar Hotel faces its next hurdle on September 2, when the project is scheduled for a hearing before the Santa Monica Planning Commission.

The hotel, located at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Ocean Avenue, has been in operation since the 1920s.  Under plans from the Athens Group, the facility would nearly double in size, retaining the existing Palisades Building and Moreton Bay Fig Tree while accommodating new construction along the southern side of the property.  A full buildout f the project would include:

  • 312 guest rooms;
  • 60 for-sale condominiums;
  • approximately 18,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space;
  • hotel amenities; and
  • parking for 428 vehicles.

The project also sets aside land at 1127 2nd Street for the development of a 100 percent affordable housing complex with a minimum of 42 residential units.  The rental development would be built by a separate entity.

Pelli Clarke Pelli is designing the Miramar development, which would add two new buildings - one reaching the 10-story, 130-foot maximum height allowed under the Downtown Santa Monica Community Plan. 

The buildings would have curving facades highlighted by horizontal lines, with setbacks used to create a series of amenity decks.  The Moreton Bay Fig Tree would sit at the center of a 14,000-square-foot garden which opens to Ocean Avenue.

An economic impact study submitted to the City of Santa Monica indicates that the project would result in $418 million in economic impact and generate over 3,000 jobs.

Completion of the hotel is expected in 2026.

In addition to voting on entitlements, the Planning Commission is also slated to consider a development agreement for the Miramar project, which would require the availability of publicly-available open spaces, as well as public art, a local hiring program, and other contributions to the Santa Monica community.

The project is one of a handful of large mixed-use projects planned in Downtown Santa Monica, including a proposed Frank Gehry-designed hotel and housing complex a few blocks south at Ocean Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard.