Tishman Speyer's 110-Unit Santa Monica Tower Returns to Review
Tishman Speyer's 8-story, 110-unit plan at 1338 5th St, Santa Monica, returned to the Architectural Review Board Nov. 2 at 85 feet with 95 parking spaces.
- Source Briefing
- Public record
- Also reported by Urbanize LA
Tishman Speyer’s plan for a former parking lot at 1338 5th Street in downtown Santa Monica went back before the city’s Architectural Review Board on Nov. 2, with fresh renderings and a plan set that fixes the numbers. Urbanize LA reported the new renderings on Nov. 6.
Why it matters
The site is one of eight entitled Santa Monica parcels Tishman Speyer took over from WS Communities in 2021. Urbanize LA reports four of the eight are complete and the rest are in entitlement or permitting. The 1338 5th St plan has been reworked from the earlier six-story, 120-unit version into an eight-story, market-rate building designed by Ottinger Architects. The latest sheets are dated Oct. 8, 2026, and name 1338 5th Street Owner, L.L.C. as owner, with Tishman Speyer as the operating developer.
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The plan keeps affordable housing off the site. Per the plan set, 12 affordable units are located at 1323 5th Street, which Urbanize LA says will consolidate affordable housing for several Tishman Speyer projects. More on the market is on the Los Angeles hub.
The numbers
The Ottinger plan set on the Nov. 2 agenda lists 110 apartments: 30 studios, 66 one-bedrooms and 14 two-bedrooms. The lot is 14,985 square feet. Base density at a 4.0:1 floor-area ratio is 78 units, and a 50% density bonus lifts the ceiling to 117, so the proposal sits seven units under the cap.
Height is 85 feet over eight stories, one foot above the 84-foot base limit through a waiver, on three subterranean parking levels. Parking totals 95 spaces, or 0.86 per unit after an incentive, against a stated maximum of 69 for the market-rate units under the code table.
What’s next
The board’s Nov. 2 session was a design presentation, and the agenda document does not say whether a vote was taken. The plan still needs ARB sign-off on massing and materials before building permits. Watch for a follow-up hearing, and for movement on the 1323 5th Street affordable building that the off-site units depend on.
On the record
The Ottinger Architects plan set for the Nov. 2, 2026 ARB agenda lists 110 units (30 studios, 66 one-bedrooms, 14 two-bedrooms), 95 parking spaces at 0.86 per unit, and an 85-foot height on a 14,985 square foot lot.
Public record · smgov.net
Primary record
- Public recordBase density of 78 units at 4.0:1 FAR rises to a 117-unit ceiling with a 50% density bonus; the plan proposes 110 and puts 12 affordable units off-site at 1323 5th St.View the record on smgov.net
Also reported by