The future of downtown Santa Barbara’s abandoned Greyhound bus station may be new retail and office space.
On Wednesday, architects presented plans for two buildings to the city’s Historical Landmarks Commission for a second conceptual review.
The last Greyhound bus to leave the 32 W. Carrillo St. station was in 2012, and the line now runs from 224 Chapala St. near the Amtrak station and the waterfront.
The somewhat-dilapidated one-story former station, next to the Metropolitan Transit District center, has been empty and fenced off for a while.
“This is basically designed to be a flexible retail office use,” said Brian Cearnal of the project’s architectural firm, The Cearnal Collective.
Proposed are a 10,300-square-foot, two-story building alongside a separate 990-square-foot, one-story building.
Also planned for the square-shaped parcel are outdoor patios, two net new trees, a narrower Chapala Street driveway, wider surrounding sidewalks and more “traditional Mediterranean, Santa Barbara landscaping,” said Nicole Horn, a project manager with Courtney Jane Miller Landscape Architecture.
The relatively simply design received praise from the commission, with Commissioner Michael Drury calling it “a real boon for that corner.”
Commissioner Judy Orias recommended adding some sort of commemoration for the Greyhound Station after all its years of service there.
The city Planning Commission now has to review the project’s development plan.
The Historic Landmarks Commission also reviewed a number of developments proposed under the Average Unit Density program that are making their way through the city’s review process.
The AUD program is meant to encourage the development of smaller, more-affordable workforce housing that is close to public transit, commercial services and parks in a city with a dearth of rental housing and a high cost of living.
One project at 325 W. Anapamu St. would remove a house, garage and shed for a two-story, nine-unit residential apartment. Plans call for removing five trees and adding a 10-space carport and 10 bicycle parking spots.
Another proposal at 1703 Chapala St. would incorporate three one-bedroom units and one five-bedroom unit into a “Queen Anne Free Classic”-style residence, which was built in 1903 and is under consideration for the city’s catalogue of historic resources.
An AUD proposal at 634 Anacapa St. would demolish two commercial buildings and a residence for a three-story mixed-use development totaling 28,000 square feet, including 5,000 square feet of commercial space, eight studio apartments, 13 one-bedroom units and nine two-bedroom units.
A three-story, 26-unit building over an underground parking structure at 214 E. De La Guerra St. would require the removal of a two-story residence, three sheds and a parking lot.
It would feature 4,800 square feet of commercial space, and would keep two existing dwellings at the address, including the Louisa Ygnacio Residence, which is expected to be named a city landmark in the spring, according to the city.
A project a few blocks west at 113 W. De La Guerra St. would replace three commercial buildings and surrounding hardscape with a 23-unit mixed-use development of two and three stories.
The façade and tile roof of one of the old commercial buildings would be preserved, as the 88-year-old W. D. Smith Building is on the city’s potential historic resources list.
— 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.
