The Santa Monica City Council has unanimously approved a construction contract with Pankow Special Projects LP for just over $28 million to build a public beach club on Pacific Coast Highway.

The project will be funded through a $27.5 million grant from the Annenberg Foundation. The Annenberg Community Beach Club will on 5.5 acres at 415 Pacific Coast Highway, the site of Marion Davies’ former Santa Monica estate. The property is owned by California State Parks and will be maintained by the city.

Construction is planned to begin this summer, and the club should be open to the public in early 2009.

The club will use historic structures from the Davies estate, which was built by William Randolph Hearst in the 1920s for his mistress. Davies’ guest house and the original swimming pool are slated to be restored as part of the adaptive reuse project and the club will also include meeting rooms, a snack bar and volleyball courts, among other features.

Last year, the council approved a plan for the project, but the site has been the subject of some controversy, including a lawsuit filed by neighbors to block the formation of the public club. A settlement was reached last September.