MarBorg Industries, Santa Barbara’s trash and recycling hauler, is planning to build a two-story corporate headquarters.
The site will have 102 parking spaces and 12 bicycle spaces and include hardscape and landscape improvements throughout the site.
The Santa Barbara Architectural Board of Review recently gave approval to the carbon neutral building design.
The project is planned for the corner of Quinientos and South Quarantina streets and is bordered by MarBorg’s vehicle staging yard and mulch plant.
“MarBorg’s current office location is approaching a level that will exceed available space due to ongoing and increased demand for services to meet community needs,” said John Cuykendall, a planner at DMI Commercial Real Estate Services, the consultant representing MarBorg.
MarBorg officials said consolidating the company’s services will allow them to bring staff under one roof and serve the public more efficiently. The site, at 2 S. Quarantina St., is currently used for vehicle and equipment storage.
“This is an important consolidation of all its administrative functions in one place, and it is going to make a big difference for them,” project architect Brian Cearnal said.
It also will bring a new glass-focused building to the area. In one area, the glass wall is recessed into the building to create a seating area for employees that will connect to a cafeteria space.
“I hope that it will inspire that neighborhood, inspire them to greater things,” ABR member Dennis Whelan said.
“I think it is a gorgeous building,” board member Richard Six said at a recent meeting.
MarBorg has a 15-year, $400 million contract to provide all trash and recycling services for the city.
In 2003, it wrested half of the city’s trash-hauling contract from Allied Waste/BFI, with State Street the dividing line. A few years later, MarBorg took over the entire city. The company also provides solid waste hauling services for Goleta, Buellton and some unincorporated county areas.
MarBorg also owns a compressed natural gas filling station for its CNG facilities, and a construction and debris recycling and diversion facility.
MarBorg is locally owned by the Borgatello family and was started 85 years ago by Mario Borgatello Sr.
The city’s Planning Commission previously designated the project as a “community priority” because it would streamline solid waste response to satisfy community needs and enhance public health and welfare.
In addition, “the project would enhance the local economy by offering long-term employment opportunities that have the potential to enhance the city’s revenue base and supports a local business in the Santa Barbara community that is being maintained and redeveloped.”
Brian Barnwell, a member of the city Planning Commission, said he appreciated the architecture, particularly in an area that is highly industrial.
“The glass component of it is something that I think is nice, and I hope it sets a trend to this area, which really doesn’t have too much architectural definition to it,” Barnwell said. “This is a very nice building.”