West LA Times

City of Santa Monica issued the following announcement on Mar. 23. 

At its meeting last night, the Santa Monica City Council approved a Master Plan for the second phase expansion of the Providence Saint John’s Health Center Campus at 2121 Santa Monica Blvd. With Council's approval of the Master Plan and Third Amendment to the Development Agreement comes a phased long-range plan for construction of 680,000 square feet of development for new wellness, health care, and medical research facilities.

“Santa Monica is fortunate to have exceptional healthcare providers that offer cutting-edge essential services to our community,” said Mayor Sue Himmelrich. “This second phase plan for enhancing the Providence Saint John’s campus will both expand local healthcare innovations and create funds to reinvest in other areas of critical need in Santa Monica, including addressing behavioral and mental health, as well as the regional crisis of homelessness.”

Approval of the master plan also includes a new child and family development center and ten units of deed-restricted affordable housing. The plan also expands the community’s access to high-quality health care, promotes economic investment in Santa Monica, and provides substantial, long term community benefits that address critical unmet community healthcare needs. These benefits will support the community priority of addressing homelessness and produce a significant financial investment of at least $10 million to support City initiatives to address the community’s unmet behavioral health needs.

The first phase of the project came after the 1994 Northridge earthquake, with a Development Agreement executed in 1998 and construction concluding in 2013. Phase two has been underway since 2015.

The renegotiated community benefit package for the 55-year term of the agreement reflects three key strategies:

1. Maintains certain ongoing community benefits categories including on-site childcare, a transportation demand management program, and the Child & Family Development Center Youth and Family Program.
2. Requires Saint John’s to provide increased annual cash grant support to other non-profit organizations who provide a range of programs to address homelessness and other critical health and social service needs in the community.
3. Secures a significant, up-front financial investment from Providence of at least $10 million to support Santa Monica initiatives that directly respond to the City’s priority to address behavioral health needs in the community.

With the approval of the Master Plan, each building proposed for construction on the site bounded by Santa Monica Blvd., 20th St., Arizona Ave. and 23rd St. during the 17-year period when the plan is active, must be consistent with the Phase Two Master Plan and each new building will require Planning Commission review and approval.

The Master Plan has undergone in-depth City review and the Providence team has made a series of significant revisions in response to City comments that have been focused on creating a plan that supports orderly, phased, and integrated development at the Saint John’s campus. Good neighbor conditions were prioritized by the City throughout the review process.

For more information about Providence Saint John’s Development Agreement, download the staff report from the March 22, 2022, Council meeting.

Original source can be found here.