Paseo Nuevo 2.0 Is Taking Shape

••• The Santa Barbara city council “enthusiastically supported Yardi Systems’[s] proposal to move its headquarters into the former downtown Macy’s and a proposal from DSP—a joint venture of Dune, Shopoff Realty Investments and Praelium—to redevelop the former Nordstrom into 80 to 112 apartments. […] As part of the deal, Yardi and DSP would contribute $5.7 million to the local housing trust fund to support affordable housing development, $700,000 from Yardi for parking garage maintenance and $1 million from DSP for downtown improvement. […] The deal means that [Yardi] would acquire all of Paseo Propco LLC/AB Commercial’s interests at Paseo Nuevo. That would include the Macy’s building, the inline shopping center and the mall’s parking Lot 1.” All well and good. But then “councilwoman Kristen Sneddon asked that the project include a dedicated space for Chumash cultural heritage, and for there to be a local-first leasing priority for the retail spaces owned by Yardi.” No and no: the Chumash do not need a space at the mall, and downtown Santa Barbara is desperate for national retail, not more local retail. —Noozhawk

••• Preliminary results from this week’s primary elections; many races are still undecided. —Independent

••• “More Than 2,050 Immigration-Related Arrests on Central Coast Since January 2025 [….] Immigrant rights advocates noted a shift away from the attention-grabbing workplace raids conducted by ICE and DHS during early 2025 to a new approach with higher numbers of arrests that occur outside the view of the public in spaces like county jails and immigration check-in appointments.” —Independent

••• “Sandpiper Golf Club’s Renovation Project Scores Approval of Goleta Council [….] The proposal for a major renovation and new clubhouse now will go to the California Coastal Commission.” Renovation isn’t the right word; this is a full-scale redo. —Noozhawk

••• “Residents in certain coastal neighborhoods are being asked to approve a wildfire suppression assessment in two high fire hazard areas, labeled as coastal and coastal interior neighborhoods. If approved, property owners in the new assessment would pay a yearly rate of $122.95 per single-family home, which would increase each year based on the consumer price index, not to exceed 4%. It would pay for homeowners to get three free home evaluations a year, roadside vegetation clearing, and free vegetation chipping from the Santa Barbara City Fire Department. […] The proposed assessment covers neighborhoods around open spaces such as Elings Park, the Douglas Family Preserve, Honda Valley Park and Hilda McIntyre Ray Park.” —Noozhawk

••• Two months old but news to me: “Getty Center in Los Angeles Is Closing for Year of Renovations [….] The art museum will close to the public in March 2027 to replace its aging tram system and modernize some galleries.” —New York Times

••• The tree of the month is the Himalayan maple, “a rather odd maple tree—one that fails to have nearly every aspect usually associated with maples. It is not deciduous—its leaves neither change color nor fall off in autumn; rather, it is evergreen the year round. Moreover, its leaves are neither lobed nor indented—like the stylized maple leaf on the Canadian flag; instead, they are lance-shaped and bear smooth margins that may be slightly scalloped. The only thing ‘maple-ish’ about it are its seeds, which are the traditional winged samaras.” —Edhat (photo by David Gress of Santa Barbara Beautiful)

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