Tahiti Marina Apartments

As one of Southern California’s most prized recreational areas, Marina del Rey is the realization of a dream that spans more than 100 years. What began as the vision of a 19th century real estate speculator has endured bankruptcy, unsympathetic government reports, two world wars and mother nature, to become a popular destination for day visitors, tourists, water sports enthusiasts and business travelers. The construction of the marina began in 1953 when the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors authorized the construction and after many obstacles only on April 10, 1965 Marina del Rey was formally dedicated and began construction.

The Tahiti Marina Apartments & Docks are situated on the western, predominately residential side of Marina del Rey which contains approximately 5 acres of land area and 6.1 acres of water area. The existing Tahiti Marina Apartments, originally constructed in 1967, consist of 149 apartment units within one three-story apartment building. The units are contained in three stories constructed over an open-air parking garage. The outdoor amenities serving the apartment tenants include 7,200 sq. ft. pool area, 1,600 sq. ft. gym, 5,000 sq. ft. sun deck, 6,400 sq. ft. BBQ deck area.

Complete design and renovation of the existing late-1960’s building includes the interiors of the 149 apartments, public areas and the façades with a new innovative and exciting design to transform the aging structure into a contemporary building with high-quality improvements appropriate for the Marina del Rey of today and years to come.

The architecture of the new façade shall exert a new character while engaging the existing building to celebrate this unique site on the water. The new design of the building is inspired by the most important elements of the site: boating and the water. A curving horizontal laminated blue color glass surface wraps around the entire building creating new balcony enclosures while changing the dynamic of the static building into a more fluid and organic vessel. The new elements of the façade create a variety of textures and forms, which make the building, seem lighter.

The pool area, club house, toilet facilities, landscaping, lighting, promenade, and bulkhead railing will all be renovated as part of this project. The existing pool area shall be renovated with new glass /metal pool area enclosure, new spa, paving enhancement, water feature, and wood decks with updated landscaping to enhance the quality of the space. The new pool and garden area shall be furnished with high-quality furnishing to improve the quality of the experience. The construction of new gym below the deck on the east side of the building shall be highly improved with new equipments, lockers, showers, and toilet facilities.

The existing concrete curb edge between driveway and waterfront walk will be removed to visually treat the entire perimeter of the building as the Marina Promenade. In lieu of the concrete curb and drains, a portion of the parking stalls will be paved with drivable grass with bio-swale treatment, which will satisfy the project’s storm-water-management requirements and create a park-like promenade. A seamless edge of vehicular parking and waterfront walk is delineated with a line of concrete ball bumper stop and punctuated with flowering trees and benches. Ultimately, the Tahiti Marina Promenade will be an inviting destination for an evening stroll or a quiet place to sit and enjoy the marina.