After a couple of intense meetings, a proposed 22-unit housing project at 932 De la Vina St. seems to have won over Santa Barbara’s Historic Landmarks Commission.

“The commission finds this to be an exceptional building and sets a high bar for future development,” said Steve Hausz, a commission member.

The housing project is to replace an existing Jiffy Lube at the site, at the intersection of West Carrillo Street across from the downtown Ralphs supermarket.

Crews plan to demolish the single-story structure to construct a mostly three-story, 22-unit, apartment building.

The landmarks commission provided positive comments on the project, which still needs to work its way through the planning process, including going before the Planning Commission. That commission will be reviewing the project in a pre-application hearing.

The apartments will feature a mix of 14 two-bedroom, two-bathroom units; seven one-bedroom, one bathroom units; and a single two-bedroom, one-bath unit. The units have an average square footage of 765 feet.

Although parking is not required, current plans call for 21 covered vehicle parking spaces located in a garage, and 22 spaces for bicycle parking.

The project was originally panned by the Historic Landmarks Commission, but the architectural team has revised the building into something more appealing.

“You have the language of the Santa Barbara-style down really well,” board member Robert Ooley observed. “You are telling a great story in this building.

“I certainly appreciate the fact that a very bulky four-story building has turned into a very romantic three-story building, with a little bump in the middle.”

Architect Henry Lenny said he decided to “simplify” the building by removing most balconies and the awnings facing Carrillo Street.

The idea, he said, was to make the building more compatible with the Hotel de Riviera next door at 115 W. Carrillo St.

The California Craftsman-style hotel, a city landmark, is owned and operated by the Santa Barbara Community Housing Corp. for dually diagnosed homeless individuals.

The new building will be about 50 feet at its highest point. None of the units will have an entrance from Carrillo Street.

“We (did) as much as we could to keep the integrity of the Spanish Colonial Revival on the most visible areas,” Lenny said.

Some of the commissioners asked about whether there could be commercial space on the ground floor, but the development team pushed back on that idea.

“The intention is to provide as many housing units as we can in this small opportunity,” developer Craig Minus said.

Commissioner Ed Lenvik called the project “fantastic.”

“I would have to work hard to find anything critical on it,” he said. “To drive down that street and say ‘where did that lube shop go,’ will be a wonderful thing.”

The first time the project went before the commission, member Keith Butler had called it a “monstrosity.”

Not anymore.

“Forgive me,” he said. “This is really, really nice.”