Cypress Equity more than doubles unit count at Santa Monica project

Cypress Equity Investments has more than doubled the number of units at a proposed housing complex on Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica. 

The firm now plans to build 170 units at 2501 Wilshire Boulevard — up from an original plan of 71 units, Urbanize reported, citing a project website. 

The complex, which will replace a number of commercial buildings, is slated to be an eight-story building with 17 affordable units, plus above ground-floor commercial space and an underground parking garage with spaces for 253 cars. 

The development was originally designed as a four-story complex with 71 units. 

Cypress Equity, run by Michael Sorochinsky, is developing more than 1,000 units in the city of Santa Monica. At 1527 Lincoln Boulevard, it recently upsized an apartment project to 210 units from an original 114-unit plan. 

At 2025 Wilshire Boulevard, the firm also plans to build a four-story complex with 46 units and roughly 5,100 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. 

Cypress Equity is not the only firm trying to add to Santa Monica’s housing stock. Tishman Speyer, the New York-based developer, is building 620 units across eight parcels in the city. 

And a few developers, including Neil Shekhter’s WS Communities, have tried pushing through projects using builder’s remedy — a legal penalty that allows developers to bypass zoning entirely if cities fail to meet a deadline to score a state-approved housing plan. 

WS Communities settled with the City of Santa Monica in May. The developer agreed to pull most of its builder’s remedy applications in exchange for expedited processing and additional incentives on potential new projects that align with the city’s updated and more pro-density zoning code.

— Isabella Farr