Prolific local developer WS Communities could replace two parking lots near the intersection of 5th Street and Arizona Avenue with apartments, according to a presentation to the Santa Monica Architectural Review Board.

The first project, slated for a property at 1323 5th Street, calls for the construction of a six-story edifice featuring 11 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, 41 single-room occupancy units, and 1,870 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.  The proposed development would include one basement level with bicycle storage, but no on-site automobile parking.

According to a project information sheet, a total of nine apartments would be set aside as affordable housing.

The second project, which would rise across the street at 1338 5th Street, is imagined as a larger six-story structure featuring 26 market-rate apartments and 94 SRO units above street-fronting commercial space.

Both projects are being designed by KFA Architecture, and are depicted as contemporary low-rise structures lined by cantilevered balconies.

The projects are among six proposed SRO developments from WS Communities that have been granted expedited processing as the result of a settlement agreement between the developer and the City of Santa Monica.  A determination for each within 90 days of the final date of Administrative Approvals, and in the event of an appeal, a hearing must be scheduled within 60 days and a final determination issued 30 days afterward.

Both project sites are close neighbors to a large City-owned parking lot at the corner of 5th and Arizona, where developers Metropolitan Pacific Capital and Clarett West Development are seeking to construct an OMA-designed complex consisting of a hotel, retail, open space, and potentially housing.