Landmark Sea Castle Apartments to Be Rebuilt

The Sea Castle, a landmark oceanfront apartment building that was red-tagged after the 1994 Northridge earthquake and then destroyed by fire two years later, will rise again, the City Council has decided.

In a unanimous decision Tuesday, council members voted to allow developer Sea Castle Partners to rebuild the 178-unit, eight-story structure in accordance with the city Earthquake Recovery Act, said associate city planner Bruce Leach.

That ordinance requires the developer to build the same size structure with the same number of units as the former building, Leach said.

Sea Castle residents who were displaced by the earthquake have first priority for tenancy, Leach said.

Forty-five of the units will be reserved for low- and moderate-income tenants. The remaining units will be priced at market rates.

Although the number of parking spaces for the building will increase from 54 to at least 71, opponents of a reborn Sea Castle have argued that there is not enough parking to accommodate all residents and parking problems in the area will be exacerbated.

“The horrendous nightmare it’s going to cause . . . has got to be addressed,” said Ellen Brennan, who lives near the Sea Castle site. However, she said, “I am a bit encouraged by the fact that the City Council seems to be making every effort to find a solution.”