The city of Goleta received an award Saturday for its Sumida Gardens Project from the Central Coast Chapter of the American Planning Association.
Sumida Gardens is a 200-unit multifamily development project that includes 34 city-subsidized affordable housing units in the city’s Old Town Redevelopment Project Area. The city was notified on March 22 that it would be presented with the award. City Council members and city staff attended the awards presentation in Ventura.
“We are extremely pleased to see the Sumida Gardens Project receive this recognition from the APA. This project included the first affordable housing undertaken by the city’s Redevelopment Agency. Further, it could not have been made possible without the commitment of the City Council to the important revitalization, economic development and affordable housing efforts of the city,” said Vyto Adomaitis, Goleta’s director of redevelopment.
The Sumida Gardens project, developed by the Towbes Group, had been contemplated for nearly 15 years, pre-dating city incorporation. In early 2007, the City Council asked City Manager Daniel Singer to explore the feasibility of this project.
At Singer’s request, Adomaitis led the project team that included city staff and consultants from the Rosenow Spevacek Group and legal counsel from Burke Williams & Sorensen. The project team conducted an intensive eight-month programmatic, financial and legal review with representatives from the Towbes Group.
In November 2007, the City Council and Redevelopment Agency approved the project and construction was completed in August 2009.
— Michelle Greene is an administrative services director for the city of Goleta.