A three-story multi-family residential development is being proposed for the current site of a McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams facility on East Canon Perdido Street in Santa Barbara.
On Tuesday, the city’s Architectural Board of Review scrutinized preliminary designs for the 50-unit project and found the mass, bulk and scale to be overwhelming for the neighborhood.
The designs include a gray concrete base below brick facades at 835 E. Canon Perdido St.
The industrial style is a nod toward the now-residential neighborhood’s industrial past, said Detlev Peikert of the project’s architectural firm, RRM Design Group.
Plans showed the residential building abutting Canon Perdido St., Philinda Avenue and Clifford Street, with 50 covered car parking spaces and another 50 covered bike spots in the middle.
Above the parking would be a rooftop deck.
That layout, Peikert noted, was intended in part to limit tenants’ views into neighboring Nopal Street residences.
Current designs call for 26 two-bedroom units and 24 studio units, with “The Old Dairy” written across one facade — a nod to the name of the one-story McConnell’s facility.
McConnell’s owner Michael Palmer said he wants the project to preserve the neighborhood while retaining its manufacturing past.
A handful of neighbors expressed concern over impacts to parking, congestion and views from their homes.
The site is in the neighborhood of Santa Barbara High School and the Santa Barbara Bowl. Both attract a lot of traffic, noted City Councilman Jason Dominguez.
The Santa Barbara Unified School District’s purchasing of the nearby National Guard Armory for educational and recreational purposes will only increase that, he said.
“The mass is a concern for this neighborhood,” Dominguez commented.
The ABR concurred, arguing the industrial style was a bit overwhelming for the area and that the mass, bulk and scale too much for the neighborhood.
“It really would be more appropriate for this building to take on some of the architectural features, materials, scale and massing of (landmarks like the Armory), than to try to assert an industrial image into this neighborhood,” said ABR member Howard Wittausch.
Board members recommended greater setbacks to mitigate some of the massing, and “more functional outdoor space” on the ground level to give the buildings a more “gentle,” residential character.
The project will be back to the board — which was not voting its approval or disapproval — with modifications based on its feedback.
As a project over 15,000 square feet proposed under Average Unit Density Program, it will also eventually go before the city’s Planning Commission.
— Noozhawk staff writer Sam Goldman can be reached at sgoldman@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
