Santa Cruz Changes 113: 2024 downtown commercial

It's been a trying year for businesses in downtown Santa Cruz, especially south of Cathcart Street. Street closures and other disruptions due to several major construction projects have made getting around more difficult, while the anticipated increase in foot traffic from all the new downtown residents is just beginning to arrive. Most of the retail/commercial spaces in those new buildings remain empty.

Business changes include:

Businesses opened, closed and/or replaced.
* Mad Yolks breakfast restaurant opened next to Pleasure Pizza on Pacific. The adjacent spaces, formerly Peet's Coffee and Palace Arts, remain empty.
* Rosie McCann's Irish Pub & Restaurant reopened on Pacific Ave.
* Pretty Good Advice veggie/vegan cafe replaced Pacific Thai on Pacific.
* Gobi Mongolian BBQ opened in the former Marini's confectionery space on Pacific Ave.
* New Leaf Market closed on Pacific at Soquel Ave. (new River Street store to open in 2025, in former Ross clothing store space at Gateway Center).
* Rock 'n Roll Donut Bar closed on Pacific Avenue, after only 6 months in business.
* Alderwood on Pacific restaurant closed - the original Alderwood on Walnut at Cedar remains.
* Phō House Vietnamese restaurant replaced Hōm Korean Kitchen on Pacific.
* Soif Wine Bar on Walnut Avenue replaced by the new seafood-focused restaurant Hook & Line.
* Tarros Mexican Restaurant and Bar replaced Firefly Tavern, in the former 99 Bottles space on Walnut.
* GSC (formerly Cafe Gratitude) closed on Lincoln Street.
* Izzy's Ices opened on Lincoln Street.
* Mariposa Coffee Bar opened at SE corner of Pacific and Cathcart.
* Next door on Cathcart, Oyuki Sushi & Peruvian Cuisine opened.
* Münch cafe closed at SW corner of Pacific and Laurel.
* Bonesio Liquor closed at NW corner of Pacific and Laurel (the entire property is for sale, but Taqueria Jalapeños remains open).
* The Neighbor's Pub opened on Pacific south of Laurel.
* Motion Pacific dance studio closed on Front Street.
* Flower Bar closed on Cedar Street.
* A number of used clothing stores have recently opened on Pacific.

Next week, a look ahead to 2025.

Santa Cruz Changes 112 - Meetings This Week

Two City of Santa Cruz project proposals that have been discussed here previously have public meetings this week, one of them remote-only (thanks to Michael Lewis for the roundup).

1. Monday, Dec. 16, "Clocktower" proposal (Changes 94):

2. Wednesday, Dec. 19, Planning Commission meeting, 7:00 pm. 831 Water Street (Changes 19)

Santa Cruz Changes 111: 2450 Mattison Lane, Live Oak

 

This development was recommended for approval by the Santa Cruz County Planning Commission at its 12-11-2024 meeting. The site is a former chicken ranch in Live Oak. The subdivision will be accessed from the bend of Mattison Lane. It's the right half of the cleared land in the satellite view at right. Here's some of the  agenda description, followed by a detail from the developer's Site Plan (rotated 90 degrees):

2450 Mattison Lane, Santa Cruz , 95062         APNs: 029-391-01, -02, -03 & 029-061-19

  Proposal to demolish two existing residential dwellings and related outbuildings, subdivide the property into 25 residential parcels, and to construct 25 townhomes ranging from approximately 1,300 square feet to 2,100 square feet in size. The project includes a 40-percent Density Bonus in exchange for the provision of four affordable units. Requires the Planning Commission to adopt a Resolution, sending a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors regarding adoption of the Planned Unit Development Ordinance, and for approval of Application No. 221077 including a Subdivision, Residential Development Permit with Density Bonus, Roadway/Roadside Exception, and Preliminary Grading Review and regarding adoption of the Mitigated Negative Declaration per the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA),

Property located on the south side of Mattison Lane (2450 Mattison Lane) approximately 325 feet east of Maciel Avenue, and spans four contiguous Assessor's Parcels (APNs 029-391-01, 029-391-02, 029-391-03 & 029-061-19) in the Live Oak Planning Area.

APPLICANT: Ken Hart for Swift Consulting Services

OWNER: Claudio Locatelli

 

Santa Cruz Changes 110: Graham Hill housing

I try to write about new development proposals before the first public meeting, and was first made aware of this one back in September by a Santa Cruz Local article, but missed the meeting date until seeing a report after the fact (reported in Lookout Santa Cruz) . The image above, a view from the Graham Hill Road side, is from the developer. The site (currently a vacant horse pasture) is adjacent to both the Graham Hill Showgrounds and the Woods Cove housing development (51 luxury homes built in 2003-04). Details of "The Haven" proposal (as reported by Santa Cruz Local) include:

Project description

* Total units: 161.

* Affordable units: 26 townhomes for low-income applicants and seven townhomes for moderate-income applicants. Income limits are set annually by state and federal agencies.

* Height: Variable. Includes single-story homes and three-story townhomes.

* Parking: 691 spaces.

Santa Cruz Changes 109: 232 River Street

 

This site is to the right in the image above, across River Street from the San Lorenzo Lumber parking lot, and adjacent to the old deco-style motel (that building will remain). The developer wants to demolish the existing house (behind the white picket fence) and build a 27-unit condominium building, which will share a long driveway with the old deco-style building. This stretch of River Street has many narrow-but-deep lots that end at the river levee, which dictates the narrow-but-deep shape of developments. 

The City of Santa Cruz has scheduled a pre-application informational meeting. From the City project page:

Below is an image from the developer's plan set:

Santa Cruz Changes 108: 831 Water Street - again

The first page of the submitted plan set is the image above, showing a current view of the project site, as seen from the Water street-Branciforte Ave. intersection. Below is one of the developer's renderings of the finished project from the same vantage, which includes some fanciful street changes that are not part of the proposal. 

This site was the subject of Changes 21, back in June of 2021. On the development proposal submitted at that time, that post opined: "It's not hard to envision a re-development that would improve on what's there now. The proposed structure, however, is a massive change that will be strenuously opposed by many of its residential neighbors. Several years of permit applications, presentations, and public meetings lie ahead, so we won't know for some time how this turns out."

That turned out to be true, and the original proposal was withdrawn. Now, developers are ready to try again, with a somewhat scaled-down version and even more help from state housing policies. According to a Santa Cruz Sentinel story: "The building would contain 800 square feet of retail space, 2,500 square feet of work/live units, a community room, shared spaces, on-site laundry and a manager’s office on the ground ground floor. In sum, the building would contain 140 housing units that are a mix of studios, one, two, three-bedroom and work/live apartments." Gone from the first proposal, among other non-housing elements, is the controversial rooftop restaurant/bar.

An online community meeting is planned. From the city's project page: 

"What: 831 Water St. mixed-use development online community meeting
When: 6 to 7:30 p.m., Nov. 20
Where: Online via Zoom at us06web.84416407747"

Santa Cruz Changes 107: Soquel Drive at 41st Avenue

This corner has been waiting a long time for Changes. A Nissan car-dealership proposal was approved by the County in 2018, but a lawsuit stopped completion of permitting. Then the end of the COVID recession brought inflation in construction costs, causing the owner to give up on the idea, and the eight adjoining parcels went back on the market. Fast forward to 2024 and new owners: housing developer Pacific West Companies/Linc Housing Corporation are proposing a 289-unit affordable housing development. Watch for the probable next step soon - a pre-application public presentation.

The image above is from a Lookout Santa Cruz article by Wallace Baine. More info is in a 2022 LSC article by Max Chun.

Santa Cruz Changes 106: Kresge College, UCSC

The photo above shows the new academic center building at Kresge College, on the UCSC campus, as approached from the end of the long elevated bridge spanning a deep ravine.

Unlike the new East Meadow housing (Changes 95), much of the built environment of UCSC is hidden in the redwoods. So, for those Santa Cruzans who don't have regular business on campus, it's easy to lose track of what's going on up there. Kresge College - one of the original five - is in the middle of a major expansion and, at the same time, a major renovation of the existing campus, whose early-1970s construction has not proven robust enough to survive the passing years.

The project continues, as seen in the photo below:

   

Santa Cruz Changes 105: Another week, another public meeting

This upcoming week's meeting is on Monday, and concerns a proposed mixed-use development project in the 900 block of Water Street, between Branciforte Avenue and across from Branciforte School. The proposal is similar to many others we've seen recently, with one exception - the 105 residential units are all single-room-occupancy (SRO). 

A similar project proposal for this site was approved in 2022, so this meeting will present modifications to that proposal. Here's an excerpt copied from the City project webpage:

Below is a Google Street View image of the 900 block, seen from the Branciforte Avenue intersection.

p.s. Follow-up to post 104, about the Silver Spur property: Lookout Santa Cruz has a report on the meeting.

Santa Cruz Changes 104: Public meeting at Silver Spur

A new development is proposed for several parcels on Soquel Drive between Santa Cruz and Capitola, including the site of the venerable Silver Spur restaurant. The proposal is to be presented at a public meeting scheduled for Oct. 17, as reported by Wallace Baine for Lookout Santa Cruz:

"The community meeting to talk about the plans for the Silver Spur property takes place at the restaurant, 2650 Soquel Dr., on Thursday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. The public is invited. . . . 

     [Silver Spur’s owner, Daniel] Govea said that the project will feature 189 units of housing on a site that includes the Spur and some neighboring businesses and properties."

 

The image at right is a Google satellite view of the area. I have not yet seen plans showing the developer's proposal, so it's not yet clear which parcels are included.