••• The plan to convert the former Nordstrom building (817 State Street) to offices has been scrapped, says commercial real estate agent Caitlin Hensel. Instead, the upper floors will become 85 residential units; whether they’ll be condos or rentals is unclear. The remaining 10,000-ish square feet could be “retail, fitness, grocery, experience-based uses—we are open to creative ideas!” (The proposal to demolish Paseo Nuevo excludes the building.)
••• Mad Dogs & Englishmen bike shop on Coast Village Road has closed. UPDATE: It’s working on a new space in the area, where “the big focus will be on our vintage inspired bikes and our special sidecars.”
••• R. spotted four new pickleball courts at the Montecito Family YMCA. It’ll be interesting to see how neighbors feel about the noise.
••• Out of the Box Theatre Company‘s production of Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 runs through April 13.
••• Jewelry brand Carolina Bucci is joining the Montecito Country Mart lineup. I had been under the impression that Clare V. was expanding, but I guess it just moved one storefront over.
••• Arrediamo Home Decor (and mainly carpets), which already has a shop in Summerland’s Big Yellow House, is opening a second shop at 911 State Street (Canon Perdido/Carrillo).
••• Gogol Bordello plays the Arlington Theatre on July 25.
••• You can spend the night, so to speak, with Albert Brooks on May 29 at the Lobero Theatre. Either way, Broadcast News warrants a rewatch.
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State street could really use some broadly useful, premium, businesses that boost foot traffic in the area. A good grocery would be my top pick. Ideally TriCounty could set-up, but something like WholeFoods would also work.
An Equinox gym could also be good, or alternatively SBAC/Swell would want to see-up an additional location there?
An Erewhon would be a great fit!
I remember when everyone thought WHOLE FOODS would save Santa Barbara
whole foods saved the circuit city building, lol
My husband and I think Equinox would be a no-brainer in SB and are perplexed as to why Swell seems to be the only larger “health club” facility in town. There are many boutiques and small gyms and I mean no disrespect to anybody operating in the market…
The addition of housing in the old Nordstrom is the kind of thing that will attract the businesses mentioned (grocery store, gym, etc.). I applaud this direction and hope Paseo Nuevo will be the site of even more housing.
Separate note: Interesting that Arrediamo Home Decor is opening a second location, as I see that the Big Yellow House building has been listed for a while ($6,195,000).
Awesome news about Nordstrom. We’re never going to fix downtown with adding in housing. Let’s keep our urban core vibrant. I’d rather see us build out downtown than develop open space, etc.
(Did you mean to write “fix downtown withOUT adding in housing” ?)
Yes, I did. Thank you for the correction.
With all the housing that is planned, it would be cool to have businesses that cater to residents in addition to tourists. I would love to see mom and pop stores make a comeback: a grocery store, a butcher, a baker, a hardware store, a gym, an (affordable) furniture store, a bike store, a day care center, a doggy day care, etc. With the crazy lease prices, these small businesses could share space and save money. A beer garden could bring additional life downtown. I would also love to see an up-scale flea market on State Street. Anything that would make downtown attractive for locals again!
I 100% agree with you regarding a nice grocery (not Ralphs) and butcher would add a lot to downtown SB. That said, downtown already has good mom and pop options for: hardware store (home improvement center), dog daycare (camp K9), fantastic bakery (Alessia), bike store (several), furniture store (several new and thrift options), and gyms (can’t speak to the quality). Do you frequent any of these? If not, please start and you will be part of the solution :)
I do, but I was thinking more about a solution that caters to all these residents without adding any car trips. I think the options for furniture in Santa Barbara are laughable, and while I think Alessia is incredible, it’s a bit too pricey to do day-to-day bakery shopping (at least for me). There is going to be a huge amount of residents added to the Paseo, so more options for everyday shopping will be sorely needed. And the more we can keep these folks downtown, the quicker we are going to bring back some life there.
Trying to wrap my head around having a furniture store close by to avoid car trips.
The Institution Ale beer garden is the coolest hangout space in all of downtown. Let’s get these apartments and condo permitted without gouging the developers on permits and fees