••• Today’s agenda for the city’s Architectural Board of Review includes a few items of note. First: a new look for the “new four-story, 46-unit apartment building with 19 automobile parking spaces and 46 bicycle parking spaces”—i.e., aspirational California math—at 15 S. Hope Avenue (where Aga John Oriental Rugs was). “The average unit size is 703 square feet and proposed as 100% affordable.” It’s an improvement over the previous design and a breath of fresh air. The architect is L.A.’s OfficeUntitled.
••• Second, there’s the “new-mixed use development, consisting of a 5-story, 44-unit residential apartment building and 4-story and basement self-storage facility” at 102 W. De La Guerra Street (between Chapala and De La Vina, with the self-storage going inside the former Frontier building at Chapala and Canon Perdido). It’s also an improvement, but more character would be welcome.
••• Last and also least, according to the consent agenda, the Shell gas station at 3060 State Street (at Calle Palo Colorado) is getting a remodeled and expanded convenience store that will be rebranded as a SnakRun. What’s uglier: the name or the logo? P.S. At other locations, the car wash component is called WashRun, so I wouldn’t be surprised if that shows up here, too.
••• On November 23, the Riviera Theatre will host a screening of No Country for Old Men and a conversation with actor Josh Brolin, who has a new memoir (and a house here). I’ve never seen No Country for Old Men, because I abhor violence, so here’s another clip from Flirting With Disaster.
••• According to Radius Commercial Real Estate‘s Q3 report, “World Market has placed its 23,976-square-foot property at 610 State Street [at Cota] on the market; while 24 Hour Fitness is vacating its substantial space at 820 State Street in 2025.” UPDATE: I understand that the World Market store is for lease, not for sale.
••• The owners of Hotel El Roblar in Ojai, which is coming along very nicely, bought the former World University building across N. Ventura Street and intend to open a spa there.
••• Through January 5 at the Elverhøj Museum of History & Art in Solvang: “The Visual Feast, a gallery show featuring esteemed artist Roland Petersen. As a Danish-born American painter, printmaker, and professor emeritus at U.C. Davis, Petersen’s career spans over 50 years with works in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of Art, Hirshhorn Museum, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern art, among many.” Below: “The Rains Came.”
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Even more businesses leaving downtown, and with 24 hr fitness they can’t even (incorrectly) blame it on the “retail apocalypse”. When will city council finally wake up to the current state of State St. being bad for business?
State street is pretty amazing compared to most downtowns in this country. Are you aware this is a national issue due to shifts to online shopping? Times have changed.
Santa Barbara is pretty amazing compared to most city’s in the country. Are you aware that 24hr fitness is not retail, and the “national issue” due to online shopping is greatly exagerated? Brick and mortar stores still represent 85% of shopping and is growing as more retailers combine the digital and in person shopping experience. What’s hurting retail is lack of foot traffic, the number of people coming down to State Street today is still less than it was pre-pandemic.
Yes the place is a dungeon and there are only about 100 other gyms in town… the true culprit.
Why must you be able to drive by a business for it to exist?
My young padawan, why must you walk when you can drive?
Because not all Santa Barbarians agree with you. Your obvious “bring cars back for laughable reasons” comment take 304
I worry about the parking for all of these structures. The one on Hope said 19 parking spaces for 46 units which does not seem sufficient. The building on De la Guerra did not mention parking at all. The streets will become overrun with cars parked for tenants.
Kudos to the developers of 15 S Hope Ave for proposing something outside the box, that I think fits well in the general character of SB. It’s nice to see something different from generic post modern Spanish Revival being proposed. I wish them luck.
Quasi related – all this pizza talk make me realize I feel the same way about generic post modern Spanish Revival the same way I feel about Rusty’s Pizza – It’s all over town, it’s mediocre at best, and someone you know swears it’s really good.
Is it supposed to look like Snake Run? I agree, terrible logo.