Community backlash over Fairmont Miramar overhaul

7 Feb, 2012

The Santa Monica Daily Press reports that community groups are coming out against a major overhaul of the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows, which is set to get its first official look by the Planning Commission. There are two opposing sides: Friends of the Miramar (for the project) and Santa Monicans Against the Miramar Expansion (against it). Some are condemning the project as a "massive mixed-use project out of place in the neighborhood" and an "attempt by New York developers to demolish the historic hotel and replace it with a Las Vegas style hotel-condo-retail complex." A proposal calls for the addition of 133 feet of condos, which could block ocean views, thus decreasing some property values. Meanwhile, backers of the project see the Miramar's renovation as an opportunity to fix up the hotel and bring in much-needed revenue.