The Street Seen: Parking Lot Housing
175 Ocean Park Blvd @ Neilson Way (Ocean Park Apartments)
Ocean Park Redevelopment Project affordable housing on the North East Corner of Neilson and Ocean Park Blvd.
In 1963, to provide housing of last resort for persons displaced by the Santa Monica Redevelopment Agency’s Ocean Park Redevelopment Project, two buildings (originally constructed in 1947 and 1955) on the ocean front Promenade with a total of 27 rental units, were relocated across Neilson Way to their current location at 175 Ocean Park Boulevard.
In 1977 the Santa Monica Redevelopment Agency obtained a Coastal Permit for the the completion of the Ocean Park Redevelopment Project. The California Coastal Commission was established in 1972 and the California Coastal Act of 1976 extended the Coastal Commission's authority indefinitely. One of the conditions of the Coastal Permit was the rehabilitation of the 175 Ocean Park Boulevard buildings and the operation of the property as affordable housing for persons and families of low to moderate income for a period of not less than 30 years (2007).
The Parking Authority of the City of Santa Monica (Parking Authority) owns 175 Ocean Park Boulevard (and parking lots #9 & #10 & #11 behind Main St). The Parking Authority was established by the City in 1950 for the acquisition or building of parking, and maintains and operates parking lots and parking structures. The City Council sits, as needed, in the Council Chambers, as the Parking Authority.
Although initially fully occupied, by 1984 both buildings had been in very poor condition for several years and were no longer habitable. In 1985 to fulfill the Santa Monica Redevelopment Agency’s Coastal Permit obligations and effectuate a rehabilitation of the buildings, the Parking Authority leased 175 Ocean Park Boulevard to the Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles (HACoLA) for 50 years (2035) with a possible extension of 25 years (2060) for $75,000.
HACoLA received funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to rehabilitate and operate the property. HACoLA continues to receive HUD funding to provide housing subsidy to eligible low-income families residing in the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County and 62 participating cities through Public Housing and the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program.
Currently, the two 2-story buildings with 22 units and a total of 16,312 sq-ft occupy the south three-fourths of the 402 ft x 100 ft wide (40,256 sq-ft) parcel (APN 4288-014-901). The parcel is zoned R3-A - that is R3 Medium Density Residential with an off street parking overlay - a so-called “A” lot.
The R3-A parcel can be used for:
surface parking in support of the commercial Main St district, or
R3 permitted uses. For R3 zoning with 100% affordable housing, there is no limit on the number of stories but there is a height limit of 40 ft. This before any State affordable housing bonuses are applied.
All of the property immediately east of Neilson, from Hollister to Kinney, is City owned “A” lot - with R3-A zoning on the north five parcels and R4-A zoning on the south two parcels. There are no other “A” lots in Ocean Park.
Parking lot #26 at Strand, which is on the same parcel as the adjoining Community Gardens, is zoned Parks and Open Space (OS). Housing is not a permitted use for OS zoning.