You know, sometimes you walk by a building and think, that place has some stories to tell.
What if those stories weren’t just about the people who lived or worked there, but about the building itself, and the idea of giving older buildings a whole new life of stories through adaptive reuse. It’s relevant as Santa Monica grapples with issues like sustainability, affordability, and preserving our unique beachfront character. Think about some of your favorite spots in Santa Monica, say, like El Cholo. That building actually used to be a car dealership and garage. Or the Victorian on Main St, an old house that’s now a bar and event space?
What’s so interesting about adaptive reuse is that it can take so many forms. It’s not just about turning old factories into trendy lofts, although SM.a.r.t. has written about conversion to affordable housing for years. We see things like airplane hangars turned into event spaces like the Barker Hangar. Or Googie style restaurants like the Penguin finding new life as a dental office, and then being once again adaptively reused as a restaurant.
Adaptive reuse isn’t just about quirky aesthetics. It’s about making our city more sustainable, more affordable. And, what makes adaptive reuse so sustainable? Well, the greenest building is the one that’s already standing and not demolished. Construction creates a ton of waste. It actually makes up about 40% of all the stuff we send to landfills. By reusing existing structures we reduce waste, and have less negative environmental impact.
Is it more expensive to renovate an old building than to build a new one? Not necessarily. Of course, there are costs in bringing old buildings up to current codes, e.g. accessibility, earthquake safety, and energy efficiency, etc. But adaptive reuse can actually be up to 20% cheaper than tearing down and building new, as you preserve all the embedded energy that went into creating the original structure.
Preserving the character of older buildings often hold a lot of sentimental value and community memories. You probably have certain places in Santa Monica that you feel a special connection to, that have a specific memory associated with them. And those are the kinds of places that adaptive reuse helps to preserve. It’s keeping those little pockets of history and personality alive instead of letting them get bulldozed for yet another generic high-rise.
Another important aspect is that retaining smaller existing buildings can actually create more opportunities for local businesses, independent bookstores, and neighborhood cafes that give Santa Monica its charm. They often can’t afford the sky-high rents in the new developments, many of which remain empty due to those high rents. So adaptive reuse could actually help keep Santa Monica affordable, at least for small businesses. And it’s not just about businesses, as adaptive reuse can and should play a role in creating more ‘actually affordable’ housing, as SMa.r.t. has been writing about for more than ten years.
One criticism of adaptive reuse came from a Planning Commissioner who argued that it’s not always financially feasible, especially when it comes to converting office space into affordable housing as office space and apartment spacial and functional requirements are different. And she pointed out that the gap between office rents and what people can afford to pay for housing can be wide, likely requiring government subsidies to bridge that gap and the City might not have the resources to do that. Especially in its current economic state. Thanks to fiscal mismanagement and personnel costs over the past 20 years or so we seem to be on the verge of bankruptcy. It’s a tough balance to strike, especially when a developers profits are prioritized, and council members didn’t seem to have the courage over these past 15-20 years to push back on encroaching state laws that are wresting local planning control.
As such there is the issue of meeting Santa Monica’s state-mandated affordable housing requirements, which is a huge challenge, as we have already met the market rate requirements of roughly 2800+/- units, but are nowhere near meeting the required 6100+/- “affordable” units. At the current development rate of about 85 market-rate units to 15 affordable units, it will require another approximately 30,000 units to be built. Whoa! Let that sink in while considering the need to address the increased water, sewer, power, traffic, other infrastructure needs, and the necessary funding.
Basically, if you include some affordable housing units in your project the state lets you build taller and more dense than the local zoning code allows. To date, there are projects in the concept phase of up to 34 stories, even though the city is supposed to be trying to reduce building heights. Not happening. These density bonus laws are acting like steroids, pushing developers to prioritize size and profit over the well-being of the community. The city recently formed an adaptive reuse technical working group to explore the issue and propose recommendations, (a little late!), but the question is whether it can actually make a difference given these powerful state regulations that previous city councils never fought against.
We have to ask ourselves, what kind of Santa Monica do we want to live in, and what kind of city do we leave for future generations? An example of adaptive reuse that has already happened in Santa Monica, is the old Paper Mate building. It’s called the Pen Factory now, and it’s been transformed into office space, and by incorporating some green space and a dog park, this industrial site was made more human-scaled and integrated into the neighborhood without adding additional height. Well done.
But the Penn factory could have been even better if the developer had reduced some office space and included housing, balancing the jobs/housing imbalance. Maybe through additional zoning incentives, or even some form of financial assistance. The city’s role becomes crucial in the need to find creative ways to make affordable housing a more attractive option for developers or find a way to simply stop the unnecessary over-building of market-rate units.
So what do we do about these state density bonus laws that seem to be driving so much of the development that’s changing the face of Santa Monica? Playing out in cities all across California as the state pushes for more housing, local communities are trying to figure out how to balance those mandates with their own visions for their future. While the intent might be to encourage more affordable housing, in reality, these laws lead to luxury developments that don’t really help people who are struggling to afford to live here.T he affordable units in those new buildings are often still way out of reach for many people. And these laws create a kind of arms race where developers are constantly trying to push the limits of what’s allowed, resulting in taller buildings, more density, and a gradual erosion of the community’s character. One thing that’s clear is that we can’t just rely on the old model of building high rises.
It’s about solutions that create a city that is sustainable, equitable, and livable for everyone, and adaptive reuse can play a big role in that. It’s not a magic bullet, but it helps preserve our history, reduce our environmental impact, create more affordable housing options, and foster a more vibrant and interesting urban environment. Do we continue to follow the trend of high-rise development that we’re seeing being built across our town? Or do we preserve the more human-scale beach town that Santa Monica is known for and the relief it provides our regional neighbors as they trek here to the beaches to escape the heat of the valleys and east side on those unbearable hot summer days? Maybe hot winter days too with global warming.
We need to move away from this idea of growth at all costs and embrace a balanced approach that considers the long-term well-being of both people and the planet. It’s not just about buildings. It’s about people. It’s about the kind of community we want to create here in Santa Monica. It’s about finding ways to balance progress with preservation, affordability, with sustainability. Livability, not just profitability!
Bob Taylor, AIA
For SMa.r.t.
Send comments to santamonicasmart@gmail.com
Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow
Robert H. Taylor AIA, Architect; Dan Jansenson, Architect & Building and Fire-Life Safety Commission; Thane Roberts, Architect; Mario Fonda-Bonardi AIA, Architect; Samuel Tolkin Architect & Planning Commissioner; Michael Jolly, AIR-CRE; Jack Hillbrand AIA, Architect & Landmarks Commissioner
For previous articles see www.santamonicaarch.wordpress.com/writing
