It’s inevitable.

The iconic Macy’s building in Santa Barbara’s La Cumbre Plaza will come down.

The building has a lease through 2028, but once the lease is up it could be demolished to make way for a large housing project.

The city of Santa Barbara stated in a report released this week that the three-story Macy’s building, built in 1967, has no historical significance, either through architecture or era that it was built, nor is it associated with any substantive or prominent individual.

The report comes as developers Matthew and Jim Taylor have proposed The Neighborhood, a nearly 700-unit housing project on part of La Cumbre Plaza, 3805 State St.

A separate housing project is planned for the Sears building in the plaza.

The city’s Historic Landmarks Commission is set to talk about the historic resources report on Wednesday.

“As a result of the lack of significant associations and architectural merit, 3805 State
Street is not eligible for designation in the National Register of Historic Places
(NRHP), California Register of Historical Resources (CRHR) or as a City Landmark or
Structure of Merit,” the report states.

The Taylors want to demolish La Cumbre Plaza to build a 689-unit apartment project, with retail dining, and commercial, park and public spaces.

The 26-page historic resources report offers a riveting historical background on the mall, why it was built and why there is no historical reason to preserve the Macy’ building.

Macy’s was previously Robinson’s and was part of a wave of major retailers that opened stores developed after World War II. La Cumbre Plaza was the eighth Robinson’s department store to open in California

“Although associated with this national trend of suburban retail development for major retailers, it is not a unique or important example of this development pattern,” the report states.

“As such, the subject property was not the first or last department store to open a suburban area during this period of development.”

Robinson’s became Robinson’s-May 1993, and then Macy’s in 2005.

Before it was a mall, the area was developed for agriculture and livestock, with only a few homesteads sparsely located throughout the landscape and roads to help residents navigate through the county, according to the Historic Resources report.

William Lasarzig owned a 16-acre lemon grove on the corner of State Street and Hope Avenue, and Tony Prevedello owned a 30-acre dairy to the south, where the Sears building sits.

In 1965, Ernest W. Hahn Inc., a developer and contractor, signed a 65-year lease on the Lasarzig property and a 63-year lease for the Prevedello property.

“After much contention from neighbors, Hahn began construction of a commercial center
in 1967,” the report states. “La Cumbre Plaza was the first suburban shopping mall in Santa Barbara featuring two anchor department stores, Robinson’s and Sears.”

Macy’s was designed by architect Gin Dan Wong and Max Reder Horwitz in the New Formalism style.

According to the report, the elements reflect a postwar style of architecture, but it also is somewhat ubiquitous and can be seen throughout Southern California.

“The lack of architectural ornamentation and unique materials on the subject property further contributes to the property’s inability to rise to the level of significance required,” the report states.

The demolition of the Macy’s building would be a major hurdle that would allow the La Cumbre Plaza project to move forward, once the department store’s lease runs out. Although Macy announced last year that it was closing dozens of stores statewide, the Santa Barbara store was not on the list.

Taylor told Noozhawk that he has not had any conversations with Macy’s about ending the lease before 2028.

The Taylors submitted their application to develop La Cumbre Plaza last June and have been going back and forth with the city ever since on revisions. The city is set to send its latest response letter back to the Taylors within about two weeks.

The city is trying to work with the Taylors to increase the affordability component of the project. Currently, the project consists of 94 studio, 381 one-bedroom units, 192 two-bedroom units and 17 three-bedroom units, a total of 856 parking spaces, 743 bicycle parking spaces and an open yard area.

The project would consist of six separate buildings at varying heights from two to six stories with two levels of subterranean parking for residential use and two ground-level parking garages for commercial use, according to the city. The project proposes 39 units for very low-income residents.

“City staff is still in discussions with the Taylors on how to improve the affordability component of the project and the additional community benefit items,” City Councilman Eric Friedman said.

He said the conversation includes the potential funding of the city’s Local Housing Trust Fund or other options to create additional below-market-rate housing units.

“I am optimistic that the Taylors and city staff will find consensus on how to enhance affordable housing and create publicly accessible community spaces that are needed in the north part of town,” Friedman said.