••• We’ve known for a while now that the owner of the La Cumbre Plaza lot once home to Sears has been working on a plan to redevelop it; now we know with what. A preliminary housing development form was submitted two four-story buildings with 443 apartments total. The developer has until May 19 to submit a formal application. P.S. The big mixed-use development (with up to 700 apartments) on the Macy’s lot is called The Neighborhood at State & Hope, and there’s a website about it.
••• A Pilates Reformer studio called Body Tonic has opened in the Funk Zone at 224 Helena Avenue.
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••• The Historic Landmarks Commission’s December 18 agenda has a few items of note. First up: The 1923 Craftsman house at 228 E. Figueroa Street (Santa Barbara/Garden) is “proposed for demolition to be replaced by a multi-unit residential project,” details of which are unknown. The City’s Architectural Historian found the building qualifies as a historic resource, but a firm hired by the developer is arguing otherwise. Worth considering, it seems to me, is that “the property is adjacent to a historic Structure of Merit at 224 E. Figueroa Street [second photo below], and across the street from three historic Structures of Merit at 223A E. Figueroa Street [third photo], 223D E. Figueroa Street, 223F E. Figueroa Street.” Walk the block and you’ll see that they clearly add up to a sum greater than the parts.
••• Second, 517 Chapala Street (Haley/Cota), currently the Carzoid auto dealership, is no longer slated to be a hotel. Instead, “The project consists of a proposal to demolish the existing automobile dealership with 1,300 square feet of office space, merge the two lots, and construct a new 15-unit multi-story residential apartment complex [….] No vehicle parking is proposed pursuant to [delusional state law] AB-2097.” (Parking downtown is only going to get tougher….) As for the design, it could be worse, but it surely pales in comparison to the standout buildings on either side.
••• Third, the car wash at 524 N. Milpas Street (Haley/Cota) is proposed to be demolished, and the lot combined with 518 N. Milpas Street (La Pachanga). The explanation: “Listed on the Historic Resources Inventory, [518 N. Milpas was] constructed in 1925 by Elmer Whittaker in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. Proposal for a lot merger and to demolish the non-historic car wash building at 524 N. Milpas Street and non-contributing portions of the building at 518 N. Milpas Street to construct a new 23-unit multi-story residential apartment complex […] incorporating the historic façade on 518 Milpas into the project. The project includes 20 covered vehicle parking spaces onsite and three uncovered parking spaces offsite. Project is adjacent to historic Structures of Merit at 514-516 N. Milpas Street, and all the buildings from 502-516 are Structures of Merit at they were all built together as a commercial street front.)” Moreover, the “unit mix includes four studios, two one-bedroom units, three-three story townhomes, 14 two-bedroom units. Units ranging in size from 487 sf. to 2, 080 sf. with an average unit size of 924 sf. Two of the units will be designated for moderate inclusionary housing. Two of the units will be designated for very low income inclusionary housing.”
••• Fourth, the commercial office building at 12 E. Carrillo Street (State/Anacapa)—”originally constructed in 1927 for the Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce”—will be converted to 12 residential units.
••• Two more shops have opened at The Post: The Great (with “more than just clothing—a curation of collectibles from small businesses, accessories, apothecary, treasures for your home or clothing for a new baby”; pictured below) and Maygel Coronel (women’s swimwear and other apparel). Also, Organic Oren, an L.A.-based food delivery service, will have a dedicated pickup spot at the shopping center. I was surprised to see on the website that the company doesn’t use onion in any of its dishes, and it only uses garlic in two. Are alliums something that people are avoiding now?
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No onions or garlic are generally considered for an anti-inflammatory diet, particularly if solving for IBS, SIBO or other. Interesting nonetheless..
Great round of updates for end of year, thank you!
As a cook- people say they are allergic to onions A LOT. I wonder if Brittany’s reply is the reason people use it vs saying their diet doesn’t allow onions?
I hope the buildings under consideration for demolition will be saved.