Santa Cruz Changes 97: the 850 Almar Triangle

For years, I've walked past the large triangular vacant lot across Almar Avenue from the Westside Safeway shopping center, wondering if anything would ever happen there. It appears that the wait is nearly over. At right is an aerial view of what it looks like now. Along the bottom of the triangle is the Rail Trail.

Here's an architectural rendering of the proposed 38-unit 100% "affordable" apartment development, from beyond the upper point of the triangle in the view above. 

And below is some of the city planning dept. info about the project and the upcoming August 7 Planning Commission public hearing:

Santa Cruz Changes 96: The Park at Rispin Mansion

 

Restoration has been a long time coming to Capitola's Rispin Mansion, and it has often seemed like it would never come at all. The now-unusable 7,000+ square-foot mansion was last occupied in 1959, and the City of Capitola bought the property in 1985, but just this year construction finally began to turn the landscaped and extensively hardscaped grounds into a city park named "The Park at Rispin Mansion". In 2011, the city "entombed" the building by restoring its roof and floor, and closing up all openings to the outside. No further restoration of the building is planned. Situated across Wharf Road from the new Capitola library (see Changes post #), the new park will be another nice public amenity in that neighborhood.