Santa Barbara County successfully fought to keep the Embarcadero Del Norte building that includes the Isla Vista Neighborhood Clinic and now plans to rent out the rest of the space to UCSB and nonprofit tenants. (Lara Cooper / Noozhawk file photo)

Santa Barbara County officials are set to approve a renovations budget for the Isla Vista Neighborhood Clinic building, which will soon house three additional tenants.

Nearly a year after the county assumed ownership of the buildings, the County Board of Supervisors is expected to approve $335,000 in improvements to the two-story clinic building at 970 Embarcadero del Mar at Tuesday’s meeting in Santa Maria. 

The county took control of the buildings on the former site of the St. Athanasius Orthodox Church at 970, 976 and 881 Embarcadero del Mar after the state dissolved all redevelopment agencies, including the Isla Vista RDA that owned the property in the unincorporated area adjacent to UC Santa Barbara.

County General Services plans to renovate the multitenant office building, where the Isla Vista Neighborhood Clinic occupies nearly a third of the square footage.

The rest of the 9,914-square-foot building is vacant, which is why the county hopes to spruce up the office spaces and the ground floor multipurpose space that often hosts community meetings.

With supervisor approval Tuesday, renovations will be funded with $236,060 in remaining bond proceeds related to the properties and $100,000 from the county’s committed fund balance facilities maintenance account.

Nine organizations applied to lease space in the building, with general services staff choosing three.

The Regents of the University of California will lease 1,244 square feet to provide UCSB students with expanded services related to mental health, wellness, advocacy and prevention services. UCSB will pay $3,676 per month for rent.

Another tenant will be the Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, which will lease 573 square feet for a monthly rent of $1,694.

Isla Vista Youth Projects rounds out the tenant list, leasing 381 square feet for $1,126 a month. The nonprofit organization served more than 1,800 families last year through its four programs, including Isla Vista Children’s Center, THRIVE Isla Vista, the Elementary After-School Program and Family Resource Center — the latter of which the organization plans to open in the county building.

Each tenant will sign a five-year lease, agreeing to a 3-percent annual rent increase.

The former church property at 976 Embarcadero del Mar remains a front-runner to eventually house an Isla Vista community center.

— Noozhawk staff writer Gina Potthoff can be reached at gpotthoff@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.