Tishman Speyer is looking to upzone a parking-lot site on Lincoln Boulevard, swapping out a previously approved five-story plan at 1318 Lincoln Blvd for an eight-story building with 110 market-rate apartments and a three-level underground garage. The revised proposal shifts required affordable housing off-site and nearly triples the unit count at the downtown location. The update appeared this week on a new project website and is set to be presented to neighbors at a virtual community meeting next Thursday.
What the new plan proposes
According to the 1318 Lincoln Project, the developer now wants an eight-story building with 110 market-rate apartments, indoor and outdoor resident amenities, and 95 vehicle parking spaces spread across three subterranean levels. The site states that 11 affordable units would be delivered off-site at 1325 5th Street, and it posts SB 330 drawings along with a public notice for a virtual community meeting. The project page lists the owner as 1318 Lincoln Boulevard Owner, L.L.C. and provides details for an online neighborhood meeting on Thursday, April 16.
How the plan differs from the 2018 entitlement
City records show the property was originally entitled in February 2018 for a five-story building with 43 apartments, roughly 3,224 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and subterranean parking, according to the City of Santa Monica. The development tracker identifies the file as 16ENT-0102 and records the approval date as Feb. 7, 2018. Those baseline entitlements are what Tishman Speyer is now proposing to replace through a new round of re-entitlement.
Part of a bigger Santa Monica playbook
Tishman Speyer bought a cluster of eight developable parcels in downtown Santa Monica in 2022 as part of what the firm brands the Santa Monica Collection, a move first reported at the time by The Real Deal. The company has since announced an equity partner for the collection and promoted the program via a Tishman Speyer press release on PR Newswire. Urbanize LA later reported that Tishman Speyer sought an extension of entitlements for the 1318 Lincoln site in 2023 as the developer timed construction to market conditions.
What comes next
The project page notes that the submittal is framed as an Administrative Approval housing project under SMMC 9.39.020 and posts SB 330 drawings for public review, a process that can shorten discretionary review for qualifying housing projects, according to the 1318 Lincoln Project. The proposal must still comply with city development standards and any applicable environmental review; the city's tracker shows the prior entitlement on the site was listed as CEQA-exempt. Neighbors are invited to join the April 16 online meeting to review plans and ask questions before any formal city decision.
Why neighbors will watch
The bump in height and unit count, along with the choice to satisfy affordability requirements off-site, is likely to be front and center for residents and planners weighing neighborhood scale against housing production. The revision lands as Tishman Speyer is already building and planning multiple properties in Downtown Santa Monica, a broader program that local outlets have been tracking. As reported by Urbanize LA, the firm owns several nearby parcels and is advancing its wider Santa Monica Collection of developments.
