Downtown Santa Barbara Apartments + Self Storage
The 102 W. De La Guerra project is another example of REthink’s creative approach to housing under increasingly difficult residential development conditions. This 44-unit project was made feasible by incorporating two key cost saving measures: the introduction of a significant amount of mixed-use commercial space to amortize the land cost, and the elimination of onsite parking. The project is in the center of Santa Barbara’s downtown: walking distance to a full array of amenities and workplaces just a few steps from Paseo Nuevo. Those without a car will benefit from not paying for parking and others will be able to conveniently rent a spot in a nearby parking lot. The project’s market-rate microunits will be priced below any other new project on the market delivering attainable rents without any subsidy. In addition to these “affordable by design” units, the project incorporates two Very Low Income and two Moderate income Affordable units. The five-story micro-unit project has achieved an effective density well in excess of the base density.
Also part of this project is the rehabilitation of the historic Telephone Building in El Pueblo Viejo at the corner of Chapala and Canon Perdido. During the rehabilitation process, REthink successfully registered the building at the Federal Register of Historic Places and has conducted an extensive rehabilitation of the building including replacing nearly all major systems and upgrading structural elements. The historic building will be complemented by a new 75,000 SF self-storage building tucked away between it and the new residential building.