Model Adaptive Reuse Housing Project, 16 W. Mission St.

SEPPS Senior Planner Heidi Jones secured a City of Santa Barbara approval for this 23-unit rental housing project in early 2020. The existing mixed-use building was prime for adaptive reuse and resulted in providing much needed rental housing stock in the city. Utilizing the City’s Average Unit-Size Density (AUD) program and State Density Bonus Law (SDBL), this project provides 23 rental apartments, two (2) of which are dedicated to very-low-income tenants. The apartments are comprised of nine (9) studio apartments, eleven (11) 1-bedroom units, and three (3) 2- bedroom units.

The building and site were transformed with renovated interior and exterior improvements and now provide complementary amenities such as outdoor seating areas, improved landscaping, modern screen fencing, retrofitted lighting and bicycle parking. Supplementing the refreshed view from Mission Street are public improvements, designed to be consistent with the City’s Pedestrian Master Plan. We are impressed with how this building was transformed and repurposed, as shown in the photographs below. SEPPS is currently involved in entitling several other AUD and SDBL housing projects in the City of Santa Barbara and we have a special appreciation for projects that augment the essential rental housing supply in our community.