Two mixed-use apartment projects in Santa Monica can now move forward thanks to a fresh injection of funding for developer Cypress Equity Investments.
Los Angeles-based Cypress secured a $170 million construction loan for the two developments, Urbanize Los Angeles reported. The deal, with an undisclosed lender, was announced on LinkedIn by Tom Hayter, CEI’s vice president of investments. The money will allow Cypress to proceed with residential developments that will replace commercial buildings near Douglas Park.
At 2025 Wilshire Boulevard, CEI plans to erect an eight-story building with 150 units above roughly 8,600 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and a three-level subterranean parking garage with 205 spaces. The site currently houses a strip mall and a commercial building that previously hosted a Chipotle and a Veggie Grill.
Half a mile up the road, at 2501 Wilshire Boulevard, across the street from Douglas Park, CEI is planning another eight-story building with 170 units above approximately 9,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and a four-level, 253-stall parking garage.
Both the 2025 and 2501 Wilshire projects, in addition to another Cypress development that recently broke ground at 1901 Wilshire, are part of Santa Monica’s off-site affordable housing program. The pilot effort allows density bonus incentives such as these to build the required affordable housing at an off-site location. CEI has 646 apartments in development in total in Santa Monica, according to Hayter, with the other being another mixed-use effort at 234 Pico Boulevard.
The housing comes as Santa Monica’s multifamily market sees the steepest decline in rents in Greater Los Angeles. As of last month, rents in the seaside city have fallen 8.1 percent year over year, according to Apartment List data; Zumper recorded an even steeper annual drop of 12 percent. Still, despite the downturn, Santa Monica remains among the priciest submarkets in Southern California, with rents 7 percent above the L.A. metro median.
CEI isn’t alone in seeking opportunities in Santa Monica. Trammell Crow is planning 456 units near the Santa Monica Airport airport and an LLC named 1655 Property is looking to build 401 units by the Bergamot Station Arts Center.
— Chris Malone Méndez
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