Santa Monica Vermont TOD

Santa Monica Vermont TOD transforms underutilized Metro station land in East Hollywood into a transit-oriented community hub for low-income residents. Developed by nonprofit Little Tokyo Service Center in partnership with LA Metro, the project delivers 187 affordable and supportive housing units wrapped around an improved transit plaza at the Vermont/Santa Monica B Line station.

RELM’s landscape architecture organizes a network of terraced open spaces that support everyday community life across the housing and station interface. At grade, a transit plaza with retail and seating activates the public frontage and strengthens the rider experience on what had been a neglected plaza. A ground-floor residential alley includes kitchen and community gardens that encourage neighborly gathering and shared stewardship. Upper-level children’s play areas and lookout terraces extend amenity space vertically, linking homes to the public realm below through cascading outdoor stairs and bridges that keep social life visible and connected.

Recognizing that transit access and stable housing are inseparable for many low-income households, the program designates a substantial share of units as permanent supportive housing while integrating shared outdoor rooms into daily urban life. The landscape works with the architect’s modest material palette of CMU block, cast-in-place concrete, and corrugated metal screens. Plantings soften the living environment and express a distinctly Southern California urban character—utility, vibrancy, and open air—without overpowering the housing fabric.

By pairing an activated plaza with gardens, play terraces, and clear sightlines, the open-space armature fosters neighborliness, supports safety through passive observation, and elevates the transit experience for residents and riders in one of Los Angeles’s densest neighborhoods.