Massive housing development proposed in downtown Santa Barbara. Here’s a look at the plan

A 642-unit apartment project that reaches 76 feet tall is proposed for the Santa Barbara’s La Cumbre Plaza.

The father-and-son team of Matthew and Jim Taylor have proposed the giant development, which would dramatically transform the upper State Street area.

The Macy’s store lease expires in 2028 and the building would be demolished to make room for housing, restaurants and retail, which will also cover the parking lot areas.

The shops and restaurants across the street, including Panda Express, Chipotle, and See’s Candies, would remain.

“The 8.7-acre parcel at the northeast portion of La Cumbre Plaza provides an ideal location for redevelopment into housing, as well as new shops and restaurants,” said Matthew Taylor. “We look forward to continuing to work with the city and our community to meet the city’s critical housing needs and create an attractive and fun community for State Street.”

Of the 642 housing units, less than 10% (54 units) would be rented at below-market rents.

Santa Barbara, like most coastal cities, is experiencing a housing shortage, and activists have pushed for more housing that is affordable for low-income and middle-income renters.

“There is a whole lot more to affordability than just subsidized housing,” Taylor said. “People in Santa Barbara need housing opportunities that bridge the gap between that and purchasing a $2 million-plus home.”

Taylor said his project aims to serve a variety of people and families.

“We are actively working with employers to provide options that work for their employees through an employer-sponsored housing program,” Taylor said.

The Taylors planned to hold a Community Open House about their preliminary application to the city from 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the Grace Fisher Foundation Inclusive Arts Clubhouse in La Cumbre Plaza. It’s at 120 S Hope Ave, Unit F118.

The project is expected to go to the Architectural Board of Review in February and Planning Commission in April for preliminary review. The city is expecting a formal application sometime this summer.

The project would build a mix of studio apartments, one-bedroom units, two-bedroom units and a few three-bedroom units, according to the city of Santa Barbara.

About 32 of the units are proposed for very low-income households. Another 24 would be for moderate-income renters.

The Taylor family has called the project The Neighborhood at State & Hope.

The Taylors own part of what’s commonly known as La Cumbre Plaza. On the Sears side, Alliance Residential, a Flagstaff, Arizona-based housing developer, is in talks with Riviera Dairy, one of the major property owners to develop hundreds of units, Noozhawk has previously reported.

It’s unclear when the Riviera Dairy project would come forward. Stores in the middle of the mall would remain, but the Macy’s and Sears buildings would be demolished and replaced with housing if these developments get built.

The Taylors first proposed their project more than a year ago. The city of Santa Barbara, including Mayor Randy Rowse and Councilman Eric Friedman, wanted to create a way to plan the entire plaza together, to increase the number of housing units at the site.

That didn’t happen. Instead, at a Santa Barbara County Association of Governments meeting, First District Santa Barbara County Supervisor Das Williams led efforts to kill the city’s $1.1 million request to create a specific plan.

The city wanted the funding to work with developers and create an overall housing development at the 31-acre site, but the developers, whose public relations consultant lobbied SBCAG board members prior to the meeting, said a specific plan would stall their projects.

Friedman said the development “is as significant to our city as when La Cumbre Plaza was originally built nearly 60 years ago.”

He said housing is desperately needed in Santa Barbara.

“However, where I share concerns with fellow residents in the neighborhoods surrounding La Cumbre is that housing should not be created in a vacuum,” Friedman said. “It needs to address and plan for a number of community and infrastructure requirements including water use, solid waste and trash, traffic and circulation, emergency response, potential increases to the student population in the Hope School District and other critical infrastructure.”

Friedman also wants more below-market units.

“This project also raises the question of how effective the State of California’s changes in housing laws that take away local control are in terms of creating units that are truly affordable for the middle class since less than 10% of units have affordable restrictions,” Friedman said.