••• Two items of note in the Hayes Commercial Group‘s Q1 report…. First, something called Candy X is moving into the former Starbucks at 800 State Street (De La Guerra). Anyone know what Candy X might sell? Google took me somewhere NSFW.
••• And second, Gallery Santa Barbara leased 1220 State Street, most recently a Wendy Foster outpost.
••• Muna plays the Santa Barbara Bowl on October 17.
••• Lotusland goes before the Montecito Board of Architectural Review on May 14 for the “conceptual review of a phased master plan, including: garden shop storage building of approximately 207 square feet, staff office building of approximately 561 square feet, horticulture complex consisting of restrooms of approximately 1,113 square feet and greenhouse with attached headhouse of approximately 3,650 total square feet, orchard pavilion and visitor restroom building of approximately 3,000 square feet, garden restroom building of approximately 229 square feet, cycad garden shade structure of approximately 193 square feet, six caretaker housing units totaling approximately 4,133 square feet (unit size range from approximately 404 to 790 square feet). The following structures will be demolished: pink cottage, garage, greenhouse, storage shed, and nursery structures. Other site improvements include reconfiguration of the Cold Spring Road entry gate, underground water storage, stormwater improvements, accessibility upgrades, utility and irrigation replacements, and solar arrays at the staff parking area and within the Horticulture Complex.”
••• Santa Barbara Yoga Collective has opened on the Mesa around the corner from Corner Tap at 1905 Cliff Drive.
••• A show of works by Hunt Slonem, famous for his rabbits, is at Seimandi & Leprieur from May 15 through June 7. Below: “Dream State.”
••• Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore, opening this summer at State and Gutierrez, is now accepting donations. More info on what how can be found here.
••• Is the city encouraging developers to use beige on downtown buildings? Take 219 E. Haley Street and 425 Garden Street, both of which incorporate tones better suited to outer Las Vegas. As for the architecture, I love how 219 E. Haley (apparently being called Alena on Haley, which sounds like a porn-y caption) looks from the front, and I hope the side gets obscured by whatever gets built nearby. But 425 Garden is a mishmash that should’ve been sent back to the drawing board. Is it supposed to resemble seven buildings smushed together? What was the goal with the windowless section in the middle? It’s an extra shame because that’s a busy corridor.
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Beige is a historically appropriate color for downtown Santa Barbara (think adobe). We’ve just become too used to stark white with a red tile roof
That said, I hope that windowless section is for an elevator or staircase because, yeah, it looks like a patch to fuse two things together
Having toured the building I can confirm the section in question is an elevator.
I agree. Idt these desert colors look good at all + they look out of place. The design standard seems to be morphing from Spanish to Cal Desert. (Granted, in the industrial area there is flexibility. But should it be expressed in this way?)
These latest iterations/interpretations are NOT the way forward. If you want to add color to our current, narrow interpretation of Spanish architectural, the only template we seem comfortable using, take a trip to Barcelona. It’s much more colorful and playful. Authentic too, almost by definition. Fortunately much of the side of this building on Haley will be obscured by the next building going up at the corner, two parcels over – up the street. (Love’s Towing did not sell out I was told so there will be gap canyon). However, I believe that the corner building has the same developer, certainly the same construction company per the sign, and so may have the same look. Regarding the other apartments on Garden, with the scrunched together look, I’m certain this is what the city asked for. Straight up and across is always the cheapest way to build. A developer would rarely voluntarily modulate the facade and fenestration. But one can create beauty and interesting features in other ways. Europe has tons of facades that have uniform depth from the street, but have incredible awnings, reliefs, decorations etc. Here we have less uniformity perhaps, with no beauty certainly, so what’s the point? The goal was sacrificed by being rigid or adamant. There is no try.