Santa Monica’s celebrity magnet high-rise rental at 1221 Ocean Ave. is getting a multimillion-dollar makeover by Donald Bren’s Irvine Co., in part due to festering mold.

Greice Santo

Public records show that the building, also known as Champagne Towers, has been remediating mold for several months, but the white tower may have been breeding spores for years.

While not surprising given its breezy and panoramic location next to the Pacific Ocean just north of the Santa Monica pier between Arizona and Wilshire Blvd., it is unusual for a building to go the distance on repairs. Residents, who have ranged from Britney Spears to Larry David, are now getting royal relocation packages while numerous apartments that rent between $10,000 to more than $40,000 per month and more stand vacant.

Some residents have been shifted to Beverly Hills townhouses or the nearby Fairmont Miramar, sources said, while others are being shuffled from floor-to-floor.

Philanthropist gambler and longtime former resident “Robin Hood 702” first alerted Irvine upper management of problems in the property years ago. “Donald Bren and Irvine Co. have a long way to go to bringing Champagne Towers back to the glory days, when it was the most sought-after residence in all of Los Angeles with its notorious rooftop pool parties and unparalled staff and service” Robin Hood said.

At that time it was not unusual to see model and actress Greice Santo basking in the sun next to folks that included Megan Fox and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, while Spears would go topless.

Calls to the Irvine Co. spokesman were not immediately returned.