Board reviews 443‑unit proposal for former Sears site at 3845 State Street

The Santa Barbara Architectural Board of Review conducted a pre‑application consultation on March 3, 2025, for a proposal to demolish two commercial structures (the former Sears store and auto center) at 3845 State Street and construct a 443‑unit rental housing development on a portion of La Cumbre Plaza, staff and the applicant said.

The project team described the site and program: the redevelopment would be built in two phases on about 9.45 acres of the larger 31‑acre La Cumbre Plaza parcel assemblage, include 36 studios, 183 one‑bedroom, 201 two‑bedroom and 23 three‑bedroom units, a freestanding 10,000‑square‑foot leasing and amenity building, courtyards and a multi‑use path along Arroyo Burro Creek. The proposal is being developed under the city’s Average Unit Size/Density (AUD) incentive program; 10 percent of units are proposed as moderate‑income inclusionary units per the AUD rental requirements, the planner said.

The board’s review was strictly advisory: Patsy Price, contract case planner to the city, reminded the board that the session was a pre‑application design consultation and that staff will provide a written feedback letter and that a Planning Commission concept review is scheduled for April 3, 2025. Price noted the project must demonstrate compliance with project compatibility findings, the Upper State Street design guidelines and the city’s outdoor lighting guidelines.

Why it matters: The redevelopment would add a large concentration of market‑rate rental housing in the Upper State Street area under the AUD program — a program intended to encourage smaller average unit sizes and higher densities near transit — and will touch dozens of urban design, circulation and creek‑edge issues that affect neighbors, nearby businesses and city infrastructure.

What the applicant presented

Dave Ade, the applicant representing Kennedy Wilson, and RC Allen, principal architect with Architectural Orange, presented site plans, massing studies and sections showing how the project would step with existing topography and the proposed wrap‑style buildings with above‑grade parking.

RC Allen said the project is organized around three main building elements: a four‑story on‑grade building fronting La Cumbre Road, a wrap building in two phases that encloses above‑grade parking, and the single‑story amenity/leasing building. Allen and the team emphasized they were trying to respond to steep, altered grades across the site (the presentation showed building pads…