The 4.5 acres that make up the two Outer State Street lots the Sandman Inn and Downtown Brewing Co. call home will have a new look after Thursday’s decision by the Santa Barbara Planning Commission.

A 6-0 vote gave developers of the property the green light on a project that’s been in the works for six years. Commissioner Sheila Lodge was absent.

Although it has taken different incarnations as it has made its way through city boards and commissions, the approved project calls for 73 condominiums, an office building and two commercial condos.

The existing businesses at 3714 and 3744 State St. will be demolished to make way for the new developments.

When the project started out, it included plans for a new hotel and residential units, but also presented some alternatives, including one that is very similar to the current proposal. The environmental documents that were conducted included those alternatives, and though the approved project is slightly different, city staff said the scope of the original documents would suffice.

Public speakers expressed concern about the discrepancy in the documents and what might happen if a project comes forward that looks completely different from the one proposed now.

Assistant City Attorney Scott Vincent said the environmental review documents themselves don’t approve a project, and that if a new project came forward, it would still have to be approved by the Planning Commission or the City Council.

The condos on the property will be a range of sizes, starting with two one-bedroom units of about 873 square feet, 52 two-bedroom units ranging from 1,080 square feet to 1,350 square feet, and 19 three-bedroom units of 1,425 to 1,520 square feet.

According to city staff reports, 11 of those units would include sales prices targeted to middle-income households, which would qualify a family of four with annual household income of $80,520 to $107,360.

The residential subdivision also would include a community center and open space totaling 1,200 square feet, and 241 parking spaces, the majority of which will be located underground.

It has been a long process for the backers of the project, and Thursday’s meeting was actually the sixth time the proposal has come before the Planning Commission.

City staff said the project exceeds open space and setback requirements and has two units above the minimum for affordable housing requirements. Staff also said the project’s impacts on traffic in the area were “less than significant.”

Greg Parker of Investec Real Estate Companies, one of the groups behind the new project, said it will present some serious improvements to what was originally proposed, and what’s there now.

“It’s a sea of asphalt,” Parker said of the Sandman Inn parking lot.

He said the new plan would present less traffic in the area than the original plan — up to 800 fewer trips per day would be made by car from the development.

The project’s proximity to downtown, shopping and transportation corridors “brings life to upper State Street,” he said. “It’s a project we’re proud of.”

“We think it substantially reduces the impact on the city,” as compared to the original plan, he said.

Commissioners agreed, and praised the project for its sustainable design elements, such as using reclaimed water, native plants and photovoltaics to power the buildings.

“This project has improved at every iteration,” Commissioner Addison Thompson said.

“I’m hoping we won’t see anything like La Entrada,” Commissioner Chairmaine Jacobs cautioned city staff, referring to a State Street project that began under one developer but switched hands when he filed for bankruptcy after approvals were given by the city. “This project has just gotten better and better.”

Jacobs said she would like to see the community gates to the subdivision remain unlocked so neighbors could walk through it to access State Street.

“That the room is this empty is a good sign,” said Commissioner Bendy White, remarking about the sparsely attended meeting that had only four public-comment speakers.

The project may be appealed to the City Council until Jan. 7.

— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com.