Tishman Speyer Starts Construction on Santa Monica Project

The property at 711 Colorado Ave. Images courtesy of KFA

Tishman Speyer has broken ground on the first phase of its major multifamily project in Santa Monica, Calif. The firm is looking to complete the first portion of the Santa Monica Collection in late 2024, with the remaining buildings to be completed in 2025.

The first phase of the Santa Monica Collection will include 340 rental apartments and approximately 18,700 square feet of street-level retail. According to Tishman Speyer, the first round of construction will include 83 affordable apartments, 56 of which will comprise 100 percent affordable senior living community at 711 Colorado Ave designed by KFA.

To better serve its senior residents, Tishman Speyer is partnering with the local nonprofit organization WISE & Healthy Aging to offer services to older residents. The firm is also offering the organization a two-bed unit to create the first elder abuse shelter in Los Angeles, Molly Davies, president & CEO of WISE & Healthy Aging, said in a prepared statement.

The other three rental buildings include 1650 Lincoln Blvd., which will also be designed by KFA, 1430 Lincoln Blvd., designed by Studio T-SQ, and 501 Broadway. When fully built out, the four buildings will make up the first phase of Tishman Speyer’s Santa Monica Collection. Earlier this year, the firm also landed Basis Investment Group as an equity partner for the project. The firm acquired an 11 percent stake for $30 million.

Tishman Speyer began the Santa Monica Collection project by acquiring eight development sites in the city’s downtown from WS Communities in January 2022. The remainder of the project includes 277 rental units, 12 percent of which will be affordable units, and 12,760 square feet of retail that will come online across four additional buildings.

Bringing affordable housing to both coasts

Beyond the Santa Monica Collection, Tishman Speyer has plenty of experience with market rate and affordable housing communities. The firm has developed approximately 3,100 homes, 1,100 of which are affordable, in San Francisco. In July 2020, Tishman Speyer also decided to start an affordable housing platform that focuses on low- to middle-income communities in New York.

As for its West Coast projects, Tishman Speyer has been working on a number of affordable housing projects. Its San Francisco portfolio includes Mira, a 392-unit condo tower where 40 percent of the units are designated below market rate, and Mission Rock, a waterfront development that includes 1,100 residential units, including affordable units.