James Perse Appears to Be Moving Down the Street

••• James Perse is taking over the Angel store on Coast Village Road (and Angel is moving next to Bree’osh). The question remains whether this will be Perse’s third Montecito shop—along with the ones at the Montecito Country Mart and Rosewood Miramar Beach—or whether one of those is moving. I’d bet money on the Country Mart shop closing, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Mashburn took its place. The other day, at Mashburn’s Brentwood Country Mart outpost, a staffer told me that the Country Mart’s Jim Rosenfield has been hoping to find a space for the brand here.

••• San Francisco–based The Haunt has launched 90-minute ghost tours in Solvang ($49). The highlights: “Haunted 1900’s Danish architecture in historic Solvang; seek out the paranormal using professional ghost hunting tools; gripping stories of documented hauntings and true crimes.”

••• After I mentioned that the city of Santa Barbara bought 222 E. Anapamu Street (as disclosed in Hayes Commercial Group’s second-quarter report), Liz pointed out that it backs up against the current Santa Barbara Police Department station on E. Figueroa (perhaps the city has determined what to do with it once the SBPD moves to E. Cota Street), and Jim asked what the purchase price was. The deed actually shows no value, so either no money was involved in the transfer (e.g., a swap), or the city has found a way to hide it. The transfer happened on June 30, and a month later, the former owner, Ll&A 2 LLC, filed a deed of trust reconveyance. Perhaps the city paid off the debt associated with the property in exchange for taking it over…? I’m in way over my head here, so any experts out there should feel free to chime in. UPDATE 8/14: “According to our Finance Director, Keith DeMartini, the building was purchased for $4.3 million,” said a rep for the City Administrator’s office. And then I also heard from a reader in city government who said, “Government entities purchasing/taking properties within their jurisdiction are not subject to transfer taxes or property taxes. Thus, there’s no declaration on the deed, but it doesn’t mean there’s anything shady about the transfer.”

••• The Goleta Lemon Festival is September 30 and October 1 at Girsh Park: “The festival is Goleta’s largest community event of the year, hosting over 80-plus booths featuring local non-profit organizations, crafts, lemony foods and beverages, and lemon-themed souvenirs.”

••• Item #1 of note on this Wednesday’s Historic Landmarks Commission agenda: a new building on the long, narrow lot at 123 E. Carrillo (Anacapa/Santa Barbara): “a new three-story residential apartment complex with a small commercial office fronting Carrillo Street. The development is comprised of three building volumes: one dedicated to units under the City’s Average Unit-Size Density Incentive Program comprised of three 2bed/1bath units with an average unit size of 962 square feet, a central stairway structure, and a mixed-use building comprised of ground floor waste/recycling and bike storage, a 287-square-foot commercial office, and an 850-square-foot Accessory Dwelling Unit occupying the second and third floor. The project includes exterior balconies and roof decks with solar array on supporting trellis structures and planters.” The existing one-story building would be demolished.

••• Item #2 from the HLC agenda: “Proposal to redevelop Ambassador Park [100 W. Cabrillo Boulevard] to celebrate Chumash cultural heritage and improve access and usage of the park. Project includes new landscaping and hardscaping, a gathering area for educational events and Chumash ceremonies/storytelling, and multi-lingual interpretative signage.”

················

Sign up for the Siteline email newsletter and you’ll never miss a post.