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PC - Action Item: Discussion and Recommendation to City Council on the Top Redevelopment Proposal for 11029 Washington Boulevard
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Meeting Date: September 24, 2025
Contact Person/Dept.: Jesse Mays, Assistant City Manager, City Manager’s Office
Phone Number: (310) 253-000
Fiscal Impact: Yes [ ] No [X] General Fund: Yes [ ] No [X]
Public Hearing: [ ] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
City Council Action Required: Yes [X] No [ ] Date: 11/10/2025
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - Planning Commission (09/18/2025); Social Media (09/12/25)
Department Approval: Mark Muenzer, Planning & Development Director (09/17/2025) _____________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Planning Commission discuss and make a recommendation to the City Council on the top redevelopment proposal for 11029 Washington Boulevard.
PROCEDURES
1. Chair calls on staff for a brief staff report and Planning Commission poses questions to staff.
2. Chair provides each of the respondents the opportunity to speak for 5 minutes and Planning Commission poses questions to respondents.
3. Chair calls for comments from the general public.
3. Planning Commission discusses the matter and arrives at its recommendation to the City Council.
BACKGROUND/ DISCUSSION
On September 9, 2023, the City Council approved purchase of the property located at 11029 Washington Boulevard. Between 1953 and 2023, it was used as the Martin B. Retting gun shop. The property is a 0.2777-acre parcel containing a 4,660 square foot, one-story building with a former retail and office use built in 1953. The site is a corner lot with 20 parking spaces. The parcel is zoned Mixed-Use Corridor 1 (MU-1) - 35 dwelling units per acre.
Community Input
At the May 28, 2024 City Council meeting, the City Council discussed how to determine the future use of the property. The City Council directed staff to return to City Council with a proposal for a robust public input process to determine the future use of the property, for its consideration. Staff presented a public input proposal at the September 10, 2024 City Council meeting, which was approved by City Council. Public input took place from September 2024 through November 2024.
The public (mainly current residents but also those who live near Culver City, work in Culver City, own a business in Culver City, or former residents) submitted 103 unique ideas for what the City could do with the property. The category of ideas which were submitted most often are (with the number of individuals submitting the idea in parentheses): Affordable Housing (58), Community/Recreation Center (45), Commercial Development (restaurant, store, business) (36), Arts Center (performing and/or visual arts) (34), Park/Open Space (including gardens, community gardens, sport courts, pools) (22), Social Services (including homelessness, childcare, mental health) (18), Market Rate Housing (10), Sell/Give Away the property (10), Museum (7), and Business Incubator (3). It is important to note that this was not a scientific survey, but a snapshot of the various ideas in the community as contributed by people who chose to fill out the form.
Approximately 60 people attended an October 2024 community meeting at the property, and of those 43 people completed an evaluation form of the 83 ideas that had been submitted at the time. They were asked to check a box next to ideas that they liked. They could check multiple boxes. Staff counted the number of likes garnered by each idea, and then ranked them from most popular to least popular. The ideas that generated the most likes (with the number of likes noted in parentheses) were: Art Studio/School (18), Community Garden (16), Affordable Housing (15), Garden (15), and Makerspace (14). It’s important to note that this is not a scientific community survey, but rather an indication of the uses that would be most appealing to people attending a weekend morning art event, who chose to complete the form.
Request for Proposals
At the April 14, 2025 City Council meeting, the City Council discussed the public input received. After discussion, the City Council directed staff to issue a request for proposals for a redevelopment project at the site that would include housing, commercial, and community space. The City Council indicated a preference, but not a requirement, for affordable housing units on the site. The City Council indicated a willingness to consider modifying regulations for this site if it will result in a better project. At the City Council meeting on July 9, 2025, the City Council directed staff to request Planning Commission to recommend the top proposal to the City Council.
Redevelopment Proposals
The request for proposals for the redevelopment of 11029 Washington Boulevard was posted to the City’s webpage on May 29, 2025 (Attachment 1). Proposals were due on August 28, 2025. The City received six proposals. One proposal was rejected because the proposer did not fulfill all of the requirements specified in the request for proposals (they also did not attend the mandatory site visit).
A panel of City staff from the City Manager’s Office and the Housing and Human Services and Planning and Development Departments reviewed the five remaining proposals (Attachments 2 to 6) and rated them out of a total of 100 possible points, using the criteria specified in the request for proposals (Attachment 7):
Development Vision & Design Quality: Clarity, creativity, contextual fit, quality of architecture and urban design, site activation. Maximum Points: 20
Affordable Housing Program: Depth of affordability, number of affordable units, duration of affordability, population served. Maximum Points: 20
Development Team Experience: Relevant experience with similar mixed-use, residential, or Public-private developments. Maximum Points: 10
Financial Feasibility & Capacity : Realism of pro forma and budget, sound financing plan, demonstrated capacity to deliver. Maximum Points: 10
Community & Commercial Space Plan: Quality, accessibility, and usefulness of community-serving and commercial space. Maximum Points: 10
City Revenue Generation: One-time and/or ongoing revenue to the City (e.g. land sale, land lease, tax revenue, etc.). Maximum Points: 10
Community Engagement Strategy: Thoughtfulness and inclusivity of outreach and engagement plans. Maximum Points: 8
Public Benefit Commitments: Local hiring, training programs, or sustainability commitments. Maximum Points: 6
Responsiveness & Completeness: Overall completeness and responsiveness to RFP requirements. Maximum Points: 6
The five proposers and their proposal’s staff panel ratings, based on the above criteria, are as follows:
West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation 93
Venice Community Housing Corporation 90
Decro Corporation 81
Develop With Skill, Design With Skill 76
Eleos Ventures, LLC 70
Respondents have been invited to attend the September 24, 2025 Planning Commission meeting to each give a five-minute presentation about their project, as well as answer questions from the Planning Commission.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION
Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, Section 15061(b)(3), the Project is exempt because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the Project, currently an advisory pre-development discussion, will have a significant effect on the environment.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
There is no financial impact from discussing the proposals and making a recommendation to City Council.
ATTACHMENTS
1. 11029 Washington RFP
2. WHCHC Proposal
3. VCHC Proposal
4. Decro Proposal
5. DWSDWS Proposal
6. Eleos Proposal
7. Scoring Criteria
MOTION
That the Planning Commission:
1. Recommend the top proposal for City Council’s consideration for the redevelopment of 11029 Washington Boulevard.