Frank Gehry’s long-awaited Santa Monica project takes big step forward

A long-awaited Frank Gehry project in downtown Santa Monica took a major step forward last week. The city’s planning commission discussed the “Ocean Avenue Project” — a major mixed-use plan intended as a kind of contemporary civic and cultural anchor for the affluent coastal city — for several hours at a hearing on May 18 before voting to send it along for consideration by the elected city council.