Development combines retail and residential units
By Toi Creel
A 50-unit affordable housing complex recently broke ground in Santa Monica’s Pico Neighborhood.
Located at 1819 Pico Boulevard, the former site of Mount Hermon Baptist Church, the groundbreaking was broadcast via virtual ceremony back in early April by the Community Corporation of Santa Monica, a Santa Monica-based non-profit organization that builds and manages affordable housing.
The project is a four-story building combining a mix of 48 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. The structure will also include 4,174 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and enough parking for 49 vehicles located in the basement.
Apartment rent prices are listed with the low income in mind, starting at price points of $522 and getting up to $2,028. Based on a 2020 staff report from treasurer.ca.gov. on the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, in order to live in the apartments income ranges have to be between 30- 80 percent of the average area income.
The building would be designed by architecture firm Brooks + Scarpa and funded in part by the city of Santa Monica. The total cost of $41 million, would be split between the City of Santa Monica (providing $13.3 million), a bank loan and additional tax credits. The anticipated cost to construct each unit is around $792,000.
The project is one of several newly constructed affordable housing units in the Pico neighborhood. Less than a mile away on 14th street, there’s a 73-unit senior affordable housing complex that recently broke ground, also by Community Corp.
