Santa Monica’s first-ever modular affordable housing development celebrates ribbon cutting

March 27, 2026 4:13 PM

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (March 27, 2026) - The city of Santa Monica partnered with Community Corporation of Santa Monica and St. Joseph Center to celebrate the ribbon cutting of Berkeley Station, Santa Monica's first-ever modular affordable housing development.

Berkeley Station offers 13 affordable apartments for low income families and young adults facing housing insecurity. The city of Santa Monica supported the development with an $11.32 million Housing Trust Fund construction loan and 13 Project Based Vouchers from the Santa Monica Housing Authority. St. Joseph Center will provide on site case management and supportive services for young adult residents enrolled in its Santa Monica Youth Resource Team program.

"Berkeley Station is proof that Santa Monica can take on the housing crisis with urgency and results," Santa Monica Mayor Caroline Torosis said. "We are cutting through delays and embracing new approaches like modular construction to deliver affordable homes faster and more efficiently. For the young adults and families moving in, this means stability, opportunity and the ability to stay rooted in the community they call home. This is the work of making sure Santa Monica remains a city where working people can build a future."

The state has identified factory-built housing as a priority solution to the state's affordable housing crisis and is now pursuing policies to speed up the process and remove obstacles unique to modular construction.

"This building has been such an exciting innovation for us," said Community Corp. Executive Director Tara Barauskas. "What started as our first-ever modular development is now 13 real homes for low-income families and young adults in need of support. Cutting this ribbon today means Santa Monica has a new model for what efficient and smarter affordable housing can look like."

The prefabricated living units were designed by Brooks + Scarpa, incorporating the firm's NEST Toolkit, a kit of parts modular system designed to help address the region's housing shortage, which won a $1 million grant from the L.A. County Housing Innovation Challenge. Plant Prefab constructed the apartments at their factory in Tejon Ranch and installed them on the narrow infill lot over three days.

The development will offer residents a community garden, laundry facilities, a rooftop deck and a community room. Berkeley Station is an all-electric building and was designed to meet LEED Gold standards. The building includes solar panels and Energy Star appliances.

"Berkeley Station shows how we can deliver high-quality, affordable homes more quickly and efficiently for those who need them most," said Dr. Ryan J. Smith, president and CEO of St. Joseph Center. "We're especially proud to support the young adults who will call Berkeley Station home through our Santa Monica Youth Resource Team program, providing the services needed to not only secure housing, but to sustain it and build long-term pathways to economic mobility."

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