The Return of the Two-Hotel Funk Zone Development

••• The big mixed-use development at 35 Anacapa in the Funk Zone—different from the one involving the block with the Dart Coffee Garden—is back in front of the city’s Architectural Board of Review today (March 20). While the design has been tweaked since the project first appeared in the fall of 2021, the scope is not substantially different. I don’t understand the two-hotel part; in this iteration, they share a lobby and other amenities, but there are two manager’s units. (And just six rooms each?) In any event, I boldfaced a few items of note, and bear in mind that while the hotel(s) require parking, the other uses (in this instance) do not.

A new three-story building (27,386 SF) on a 0.51-acre vacant lot located at the southwest corner of Anacapa Street and E. Mason Street in the OC zone. The project will include 15,741 SF of non-residential area, including 12,175 SF of commercial area and 3,566 SF of hotel area. A total of 14,993 SF of demolition credit is available on the project site. The proposed building includes two 6-room small hotels (total of 12 hotel rooms, +/- 300 SF each), hotel lobby/amenities/back-of-house, and other commercial services including: corner market/bodega, restaurant, and tasting rooms. A total of two residential manager’s units (+/- 600 SF each) will be provided for the two hotels. The project proposes a total of 15 parking spaces, including 2 ADA spaces, for the required 12 spaces for the hotel rooms, pursuant to State of California State AB2097, with no minimum requirements for parking on commercial uses within 1/2 mile from a Major Transit Stops.

••• The Coral Casino was on the agenda for last Wednesday’s meeting of the Montecito Planning Commission (which was postponed because of the weather the day before). The agenda didn’t say what exactly the discussion would be about, so I looked into it. As expected, Biltmore guests will no longer be allowed access to the club, and the restaurant, Tydes, will be opened to the general public. Moreover, the number of members of reciprocal clubs (at least 75 miles away) to be allowed in will be cut in half, from 120 to 60. And across the street, the Biltmore will be reduced to 192 hotel rooms (the hotel is currently allowed to have 229, but apparently only has 206), to be “accomplished with interior alterations only to combine adjacent separate guestrooms into singular, larger guestrooms (including suites and junior suites).”

••• Hozier plays the Santa Barbara Bowl on October 28.

••• The folks at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden invited me over for a chat, and afterward we explored the Backcountry area for kids that debuted last June. It was pretty cool! There are boulders and logs to walk on, ropes to clamber up the hillside, a hedge maze, sculptural structures like the one below, and more.

••• Presale memberships to The Pad climbing gym, opening in Magnolia Center in May, go on sale this week: “You’ll be among the first members and get a sweet gift card—a big one. We’re talking triple digits here, folks!”)

••• The third-annual Santa Barbara Surf Film Festival is June 9 and 10 at the Lobero Theatre: “Our festival will showcase captivating surf cinema from incredible film directors, creatives, and surfers to feature a fantastic lineup of classic and cutting-edge feature films. A highlight of our 2023 event will be the outdoor Surf Film Festival Block Party which will host a variety of surf exhibitors, local artisans, all-day live music, bomb food and artisanal drinks.”

••• No one guessed last week’s Where in Santa Barbara…?, so here’s the answer: it’s the Adult Store on State (Gutierrez/Haley), which I’m sure you didn’t even know existed.

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