Last week, Carpinteria’s Coastal View News reported that a developer has big plans for a 27.53-acre site (5669 and 5885 Carpinteria Avenue) on the Carpinteria bluffs: “roughly 7 acres of organic farm; a hotel with a 59-room lodge, 34 bungalows and six cabins; 16 residential units located in a single building; open space and trails; and a restaurant, event space and farm stand designed to serve the community.” The topic was discussed this past Wednesday by a special meeting of the City Council, Planning Commission, and Architectural Review Board. I didn’t learn of the matter far enough in advance to warn you about it—I need to get the CVN in my news rotation—and I didn’t attend the meeting because this matter will take years to resolve. As the folks trying to open the Surfliner Inn downtown can tell you, Carpinterians are not known for embracing change.
The site is east of Casitas Pass Road, nestled against the Carpinteria Bluffs Nature Preserve, and it’s currently occupied by the Tee Time driving range and farmland, with an undeveloped part between the railroad tracks and the bluff’s edge.
The developer is Matt Cooper of the Post Group in L.A., who is behind a number of mixed-use projects there; the architect is not named. The top-line description and the concept review presentation are worth a look (and both are quoted from in this post).
Some highlights include renderings of the “5,150-square-foot main building which will house the lobby and reception area, as well as a library, retail, an indoor/outdoor café/bar, mini theatre, hotel administrative offices, restrooms, and a 1,000-square-foot exterior deck that provides outdoor seating and access to other areas of the Property.”
“Hotel amenities will include a wellness area and pool facilities. The pool area will feature a pool, hot tub, 10-seat pool bar, bathrooms, changing rooms and lounge area for approximately 60 guests with a 1,500-square-foot building. These facilities will extend off the rear portion of the hotel’s main building. Wellness amenities include a 1,900-square-foot building gym and approximately 3,150-square-foot building of wellness facilities which will include a reception area, juice bar, treatment rooms, restrooms, saunas and steam rooms.”
The restaurant:
The event space (with 200-person capacity):
As for the hotel accommodations, “Hotel rooms will be dispersed through low-rise lodges, bungalows, and cabins as follows: Lodges (59 keys total with approximately 23,580 square feet of floor area); Bungalows (34 single-story keys total with approximately 22,400 square feet of floor area); Cabins (6 single-story keys total with approximately 3,200 square feet of floor area).” Perhaps in an effort to make the the two-story “lodges” look smaller, we get elevations in lieu of full renderings:
And these are the cabins/bungalows. “A walking trail system connects all cabins and bungalows to the main property and out to the preserve trails.”
The developer would like to add “16 workforce housing units to provide housing for on-site team members, along with the Carpinteria workforce community,” but also provided 32- and 48-unit options (all three are sited up against the Carpinteria Avenue border).
And there’s also a farm: “The Project will prominently feature a regenerative farm. Project plans call for approximately six of farmland and ancillary structures to include a farm office, garage/workshop, storage and distribution area, delivery and receiving area, compost area, and farm yard. Farm uses will be located on the northern portion of the Property with the actual farm land fronting Carpinteria Avenue. Ancillary farm structures will be placed along the northwestern Property boundary. The Project anticipates that an approximately 1,700-square-foot farm maintenance will be provided.”
While this all sounds like a lot, buildings make up only a small percentage of the development: “Of the existing 27.53 acres, 20 acres will be for open space including native habitat restoration, public trails, and an organic farm. Another 5.93 acres will be for ground-level hardscape including walkways, terraces, driveways and parking all on permeable surfaces. The remaining 1.6 acres will be used for the hotel, restaurant, event barn, farm operations and residential spaces with sustainable design practices.”
One of the places the developer compares this project to is Babylonstoren in South Africa, where I had the good fortune to stay a few years ago. Carp would be lucky to have such an elegant addition—we’ll have to wait and see whether this meets that high standard. I’ll do my best to keep an eye on the project via Coastal View News and the Carpinteria Bluffs organization.
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Noooo not the driving range!!!
Presumably the bluff trail section will remain open to the public?
You’re right that is similar to the magnificent Babylonstoren in SA, which is absolutely fantastic! But I think this isn’t the right location for this. It would be a shame to lose the natural beauty of the bluffs as they are for a lot of aesthetic and environmental reasons to develop this land. I could see this location on the other side of the freeway or in the foothills. Off of Padaro on Santa Claus Ln., or even by the orchid farms.
Hi I usually am opposed to big developments like this but if they really preserve such a large part of the land in native plants and an organic farm it’s better than so many alternatives . Thank for keeping us posted…
Carla
Wow what a great addition to Carp this would be. An organic farm, new restaurant and coffee shop, and upstaged walking trails?! How are people opposed to this when the bill of acreage will be preserved and open to public even though it’s private land. Hope to take my kids here when it opens
To all those Carpinterians, please keep the Bluffs as they are. No developement!
Wait this seems great! It looks like it’s not even really on the bluffs, not sure why the title implies that. It’s proposing to remodel over the area where the driving range is and the farm. I think it would be a beautiful addition I’m so excited and I hope it gets approved!