Hankey Capital Proposes Apartment Building in Santa Monica

Hankey Capital has cut in half the height of a 16-story apartment building first proposed under the state builder’s remedy.

The Hancock Park-based developer has filed revised plans to build an eight-story, 90-unit complex at 1441 Lincoln Boulevard, Urbanize Los Angeles reported.

Plans call for a building containing 90 studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments with underground parking for 94 cars. Nine units would be set aside as affordable housing for very low-, low- and moderate-income households.

The white building, designed by Venice-based Ottinger Architects, includes vertical windows and exterior balconies, according to a rendering.

The cost and timeline for the project were not disclosed.

The proposed development began as one of 14 builder’s remedy projects by Neil Shekhter’s WS Communities in 2022, which the developer later agreed to process administratively with the City of Santa Monica.

Shekhter’s WS Communities was then forced last year to surrender more than half of its portfolio to lenders, including Hankey and Madison Realty Capital, which have pushed forward with his former builder’s remedy projects.

In November, the Ukrainian-born founder of WS Communities and NMS Properties died of unknown causes, according to his family. He was in his early 60s.

A representative from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said there is no record of Shekhter’s death.

Hankey Capital, founded in 1982 by Don Hankey, now owns more than 1 million square feet of commercial property and 500,000 square feet of urban land in Southern California valued at more than $1 billion, according to its website. The lending firm also carries more than $1.5 billion in loans.

In December, Hankey filed similar plans to build an eight-story, 129-unit building at 2901 West Santa Monica Boulevard. The initial development, filed under the builder’s remedy, had called for a 12-story highrise with 190 apartments.

— Dana Bartholomew