Bring on the shine.
Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone is getting an anchor development rich with shops, a restaurant, eateries, and fitness area, brought to you by the developers of the successful “The Post” on Cabrillo Boulevard.
The Platform at the corner of Garden and Yanonali streets moved closer to construction on Wednesday at the Historic Landmarks Commission. The board voted unanimously to support changes to the design, which is envisioned to help further strengthen the Funk Zone’s flair among locals and tourists.
The project earlier this year received support and approval from the Santa Barbara Planning Commission and the HLC. The development team went back to the HLC after making some changes to the building and landscaping design.
“We have taken a very beautiful design and made refinements to it,” said Courtney Miller, whose firm is now working on the plan. “We’ve introduced more restraint and simplicity into the overall hardscape and plant design.”
The new development includes two two-story buildings with general retail, a gym, and fast-casual and fine-dining restaurants. The site is not eligible for housing because it is part of the Cabrillo Plaza Specific Plan.
The project, designed by architect Brian Cearnal, includes a habitat restoration plan to restore, enhance and preserve the portion of Laguna Channel that runs along the eastern boundary.
The changes at the site, 301 E. Yanonali St., include moving the restaurant closer to Garden Street, pushing out the courtyard facades about three feet, adding a restroom, moving a trash enclosure, and shifting the electric vehicle parking spaces.
The team brought in firm CJM: LA to touch up some of the landscape design, including adding accent to the entryway pavement.
“We really felt the archway at the main entry was very special architecturally so it needed something underneath to help address that,” Miller said.
“The idea is to draw people here,” Miller added.
She also simplified the planters, added colorful tile benches throughout, and permeable concrete that is tan-colored, with matching gravel parking spaces, similar to the upper school parking lot at Laguna Blanca.
“It is meant to feel textural and less commercial,” Miller said.
Commissioner Ed Lenvik said he really liked the landscaping design plan, and also suggested adding some greenery or flowers to the wall that borders the long driveway.
“I hope that that driveway doesn’t take on the characteristic of an alley,” Lenvik said.
He suggested some kind of lighting to contrast the spot with State Street.
“One of the things about downtown Santa Barbara right now is there is no light,” Lenvik said. “There is no lighting downtown on State Street to speak of.”
Joseph Miller and David Fishbein are the principals of the Runyon Group, which has developed retail projects in Los Angeles, and most recently, the Post on Cabrillo Boulevard near Montecito.
They purchased the Yanonali site in 2020. A previous proposal to build commercial retail was approved in 2019, but approvals expired in 2022. They submitted the new project afterward.
