A long vacant stretch of open space on Santa Barbara’s waterfront could soon become the city’s newest luxury hotel.
The Santa Barbara Planning Commission on Thursday gave unanimous support to the latest version of the hotel project on the corner of East Cabrillo Boulevard and South Calle Cesar Chavez.
“This project is fantastic,” commissioner Gabe Escobedo exclaimed. “I love the changes.”
The project is part of a development agreement between the City of Santa Barbara and the family of the late Fess Parker, which built what is now the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort in the next block at 633 E. Cabrillo Blvd., Chase Palm Park to the west of the proposed hotel, and a youth hostel.
A previously approved version of the hotel project called for 150 rooms and 111 parking spaces at the site, officiall 433 E. Cabrillo Blvd. and 103 S. Calle Cesar Chavez. In 2019, however, the Parker family partnered with developer Robert Green to change the design of the hotel and reduce the number of rooms to 86.
“We’re very excited about this particular opportunity,” said Green, president and CEO of The Robert Green Co., a commercial real estate development company headquartered in Encinitas.
The new project also would reduce the number of parking spaces to 104, which would be valet, and on the north side of the Union Pacific railroad tracks. The hotel also would have access to more than 100 spaces at the nearby Hilton hotel.
The development would include a detached one-story retail building, patios, gardens, a spa and electric vehicle parking spaces. The hotel’s bar would be open to the public.
Green outlined his vision for the hotel at the Planning Commission meeting.
“This is a spectacular location,” he said. “We love the oceanfront quality of it. We plan to bring a product to Santa Barbara that really doesn’t exist right now.”
Greeen noted that the Santa Barbara area has high-quality hotels, such as the Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara, the Rosewood Miramar Beach and The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, which he called “the top echelon of the hotels in the market.”
He said there’s another level of hotels in the area, citing the Hotel Californian at 36 State St. He said the proposed new hotel will “sit below the price point of the Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton and Rosewood, but above the other hotels in the market like the Californian.”
Green also said the hotel would be focused on a “high-quality food and beverage experience.” It will be one of the best places in the region, he said, for a wedding or family gathering.
“I am extremely excited,” Green said, adding that his company will affiliate with a hotel brand.
He noted that the company could pull a permit to build on the vacant lot now, but won’t for a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The city’s community development director will make the determination about whether the proposed changes to the project conform with what was previously approved. In addition to the Planning Commission, the Architectural Board of Review and the Historic Landmarks Commission have granted approval of the new project.
“What is before us is just so much better,” said planning commissioner Sheila Lodge observed.
Commissioner Lesley Wiscomb agreed.
“This a very exciting project,” she said. “I think it is a much better project for the community in a lot of ways. I like the opennnes of the footprint facing Cabrillo Boulevard. I don’t think there’s anything not to like about this project.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
