Santa Monica Development: 353 Homes Rising Near Bergamot
- Leegie Parker
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
Published on August 5, 2026 by Leegie Parker
Leegie Parker | Real Estate Advisor | DRE 01020534 | Compass | Leegie.com
Quick Answer A 353-unit apartment community called Modera Santa Monica is planned for 1633 26th Street, replacing an aging office building two blocks from the 26th St/Bergamot Metro Station. It's part of a broader Santa Monica development trend converting underused office space along the Santa Monica, West LA, and Brentwood border into housing near transit. |
A new Santa Monica development is taking shape at 1633 26th Street, where Mill Creek Residential has unveiled updated plans for a 353-unit apartment community called Modera Santa Monica. The project would replace an aging three-story office building with an eight-story residential building two blocks from the 26th St/Bergamot Metro Station, right where Santa Monica, West LA, and Brentwood meet.
I lived in this neighborhood years ago, first near 24th and Arizona, then at Santa Monica and Harvard, and I remember when the Water Gardens complex opened just up the street in the fall of 1990. I've sold property in and around this corridor ever since, and watching an office building give way to housing here feels like the next chapter in a stretch of Santa Monica that has never stopped changing.
What's Planned for 1633 26th Street?
Mill Creek Residential's Modera Santa Monica would bring 353 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments to the site, including 36 units set aside as deed-restricted affordable housing.
The design, from architect AC Martin, replaces the existing office building and surface parking lot with a podium-style building built around two landscaped courtyards, along with a 468-space parking garage. The shift from a surface parking lot to a landscaped, pedestrian-friendly layout is intentional, given how close the site sits to the E Line, which connects directly to Downtown LA and Santa Monica State Beach. The site sits two blocks from the 26th St/Bergamot Metro Station and just north of the Water Garden office complex. The project still needs final approval from the city, so there's no confirmed timeline yet for demolition or construction to begin.
Why Is Office Space Turning Into Housing Here?
This project is part of a larger shift in Santa Monica's Bergamot corridor, where remote work has left older office buildings underused and residential redevelopment has become the more practical use of the land.
My guess is that turning a dated, half-empty office building into a more attractive residential project is a genuine improvement for the neighborhood, and it makes sense given how much office space has sat underused since companies shifted to remote and hybrid work. This isn't an isolated project either. A 1,500-unit complex has been proposed a few blocks away at 3030 Nebraska Avenue, a 401-unit building was already approved next door at 1655 26th Street, and the city has its own plans for housing on the adjacent Bergamot Station land.
What Does This Mean for Santa Monica, West LA, and Brentwood?
For the pocket where Santa Monica, West LA, and Brentwood meet, this wave of projects points toward a more walkable, transit-connected neighborhood built around the E Line rather than surface parking lots and daytime office traffic.
This stretch near 26th and Olympic looked completely different back in the late 1980s. The Paper Mate pen factory sat right across the street, the Gladding, McBean brick yard operated a few blocks over, and the old Southern Pacific rail line ran along Exposition Boulevard past overgrown scrapyards and chain-link fences. It took a nearly decade-long fight to rezone that industrial land before the Water Gardens broke ground in 1988 and opened in 1990, and that project was the real turning point for this corridor, from a blue-collar industrial pocket into the office district, and now the residential district, it's becoming. This next wave, office space converting to apartments near the train, feels like a continuation of that same shift. It's worth watching how it shapes the surrounding blocks in Santa Monica, West LA, and Brentwood over the next few years, both for the character of the neighborhood and for property values nearby.
FAQ
Where is 1633 26th Street located?
The site sits at 1633 26th Street in Santa Monica, about two blocks from the 26th St/Bergamot Metro Station and close to where Santa Monica, West LA, and Brentwood meet, just north of the Water Garden office complex.
How many apartments are planned for the site?
Mill Creek Residential's Modera Santa Monica proposes 353 apartments, including 36 deed-restricted affordable units, along with a 468-space parking garage.
Is this the only development planned for the area?
No. It's one of several nearby projects, including a proposed 1,500-unit complex at 3030 Nebraska Avenue, an approved 401-unit building next door at 1655 26th Street, and future housing planned on the adjacent Bergamot Station land.
I'd love to hear what you think, whether you remember this stretch of Santa Monica before the Water Gardens went in, or you're just curious how the neighborhood keeps evolving. Feel free to reach out anytime, I always enjoy talking through what's changing in these pockets of the Westside.
Key Takeaways ● Mill Creek Residential's Modera Santa Monica would bring 353 apartments, including 36 affordable units, to 1633 26th Street, replacing an aging office building two blocks from the 26th St/Bergamot Metro Station. ● The project sits on the border where Santa Monica, West LA, and Brentwood meet, and reflects a broader shift of underused office space in the corridor toward transit-oriented housing. ● It's part of a larger wave of nearby projects, including a proposed 1,500-unit complex at 3030 Nebraska Avenue and an approved 401-unit building at 1655 26th Street. ● The site has changed dramatically since the Water Gardens complex opened nearby in fall 1990, and this next chapter continues decades of transformation along this stretch. ● No firm timeline exists yet for demolition or construction, since the project still needs final city approvals. |
Leegie Parker
Real Estate Advisor, Compass
DRE 01020534
310-739-9202 | Leegie@Leegie.com | Leegie.com
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