OMA's Winning "The Plaza at Santa Monica" Entry

OMA is on a winning spree on both American coasts right now: we reported last week that the team consisting of OMA, Tishman Realty and UIA Management had won the Miami Beach Convention Center Master Plan competition, and just earlier this month, OMA's New York office was also declared winner of a major competition for a mixed use development in Santa Monica, California. In both cases, OMA's submissions prevailed over entries by fellow finalists Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG).

We have put together some more information about the Santa Monica project, titled "The Plaza at Santa Monica," below.

Project Description from OMA:

The building integrates a ground level plaza and elevated terraces that provide an additional 56,500 sf of programmable open space compared to the original site. These public spaces are capable of hosting a wide range of outdoor programming, including a market galleria and the existing public ice rink. A cultural venue is embedded at the heart of the building, with street level access and a dedicated park.

The site will be anchored by office spaces designed to create a hub for the growing tech industry within the greater Los Angeles area. The office complex will be supported by a boutique hotel offering 225 rooms with unobstructed views of the city, beach and mountains. The project will also provide pedestrian improvements such as wide sidewalks, bike lanes, landscaping, street furniture and additional public parking.

The recommendation will be reviewed by Santa Monica’s City Council on August 27th before the project formally proceeds in 2014.

The selection panel praised OMA’s approach, commenting: “The proposed design delivers iconic architecture from all elevations, as well as a highly flexible interior space design that could most easily accommodate potential design modifications and adjust to market demand changes in the future. Additionally, the site design maximizes the public view corridor toward the open plaza areas and integrates within the framework of downtown and adjacent properties.”

Shohei Shigematsu, director of OMA New York and lead designer, commented: “Our ambition was to contribute to Santa Monica’s diverse network of public spaces, from the recreational plazas at the Pier and Palisades Park to contained commercial centers like Third Street Promenade and Santa Monica Place. Our design provides residents, tourists, and entrepreneurs a dynamic new public realm – a stepped building that achieves a strong interaction between interior program and exterior environments.”

Project Summary provided by Santa Monica City Staff:

Metropolitan Pacific Capital, DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, and Clarett West Development are proposing a hotel and office development with ground level retail and cultural space, as well as some flex space that could be used for office or residential. The public plaza is at the corner of 4th St. and Arizona Ave. A series of rectangular, block‐length bars step up from the middle of the site toward the southern edge, reaching a height of 148 feet. The diagonal placement of the building’s blocks creates four elevated terraces, the lowest of which is public space.

Floors 2‐4 are proposed as office space, floors 5‐7 are flex space for office or residential, and floors 8‐12 are hotel. The rooftop contains a hotel pool and bar with public access for viewing. A 1,220 space underground parking garage is proposed; 580 of the spaces would be public. A special purpose entity would manage public open space and ensure active year‐round programming, including a seasonal ice skating rink.

Public Objectives and Economics:

As proposed, the project would provide several public gathering spaces, pedestrian passages through the site, neighborhood serving retail, cultural facilities, a bicycle station and related facilities, public parking, iconic architecture, and possibly affordable housing or a financial contribution.

The development would cost $331.3 million to build. The developer proposes providing an annual ground lease payment of $1.3 million. The proposed annual open space management budget starts at $704,000 in year one and reaches $860,000 by year 4.

Project Details:

Total Building Gross Sq Ft 448,182
Hotel 127,308
Office 172,293
Office/Residential Flex 85,511
Retail 40,271
Cultural 12,046
Service/Back of House 10,753

Public Open Space Sq Ft 56,574
Main ground level plaza 20,756
Corner plaza AZ & 5th 2,558
Pocket park on 5th 4,292
Pocket park on 4th 3,933
Hotel entrance/drive 5,050
Paseo and bike lane 7,206
2nd level terrace 12,969

Total Parking 1,220
Public 580
Private 640

Elevation and Massing
Maximum Height 148’
Maximum Stories 12
FAR 3.75

Development Team:

Metropolitan Pacific Capital, lead development partner; Clarett West Development, co‐developer; DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, financial equity partner; Office for Metropolitan Architecture, lead design architect; Van Tilburg, Banvard & Soderbergh, AIA, local architect; Olin, landscape architect; Biederman Redevelopment Venture Corp, community space management; Armbruster Goldsmith & Delvac LLP, entitlements; Boomerang Automated Parking System Inc., parking; Arup, IPD, and Crain & Assoc., other consultant services.