••• “Riviera Park, which housed the original buildings of what would later become UC Santa Barbara, was sold on July 22 for an undisclosed sum. The buyer was the Yardi family, an increasingly active real estate investor in the Santa Barbara area [….] the family expects to maintain the property as a campus that ‘brings value and benefit’ to the broader community. The plan is to take the next six to 12 months to evaluate the property and develop a plan.” That’s the complex across from El Encanto (and home to the Riviera Theatre), and it has been ripe for reinvention for a long time. Imagine if there was a restaurant there…. P.S. The price was $26.825 million according to the deed report. —Pacific Coast Business Times
••• A long look at the bike path the county wants to build along Modoc Road, which means removing a lot of trees—and how there’s another option that could save them. —Noozhawk
••• “The 155-residential-unit mixed-use SOMOfunk project began its long journey through the city review process Monday, as the Santa Barbara Architectural Board of Review took a first crack at the design, which would create a whole new look for an entire city block in the Funk Zone. […] The board itself was generally supportive of the proposal and agreed 5-1 to move the project forward to the city’s Planning Commission, ruling that it ‘provisionally met’ the criteria for the city’s design guidelines.” —Independent
••• Season four of the TV show “Love Island” will be filmed at Dos Pueblos Ranch: “Concern Grows over Raunchy Reality Show’s Effect on Nocturnal Creatures as Rumors Swirl About Plans for Campground on Property.” —Independent
••• “The Santa Barbara City Council received an update on the work of the State Street Advisory Committee and State Street Master Plan’s consultant selection process and then voted unanimously to award a […] $709,156 contact, plus extra expenditures, with MIG, Inc. The consultant has worked with many other California cities including Pasadena and Berkeley.” —KEYT
••• “Mixed Reviews of UCSB’s Munger Hall Mockup [….] UC Santa Barbara Students, Faculty, and Staff Share Feedback from Guided Tours.” —Independent
••• The apartment complex proposed for 222 E. Canon Perdido (Santa Barbara/Garden) got smaller (“from four stories to three and 34 units to 27”) at the request of the Historic Landmarks Commission, which frustrated the city’s Planning Commission, because it wants more housing. Also of note: “Christine Pierron, an architect with the Cearnal Collective, said the firm is in talks with the city about converting that area into green or open space for the project. The developer also is in talks with El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park to donate a portion of the property for an easement.” —Noozhawk
••• “The Carpinteria City Council will keep its temporary ban on chain stores in effect for the next year while staff members work on permanent rules to promote small businesses and the city’s ‘small beach town’ character.” If Trader Joe’s expressed interest, of course, everyone would welcome it with open arms. —Noozhawk
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